Saints extended their unbeaten run to 13 games, this was a flat performance and we lacked a spark in the midfield where too many passes were going astray so this was very much a case of another two points dropped.

One thing was apparent in this game and that was Flynn Downes has become a key player in the midfield, with him as we showed against Cardiff City, we dominate games and create chances, without him we are pedestrian and cant seem to pass the ball quickly or perhaps more importantly accurately.

Stuart Armstrong at the moment is a shadow of his former self, over the past few years he has often found it difficult to play games in quick succession and this looked evidence of that, his passing was poor and he failed to create chances, but he was far from the only culprit in this game, we looked lacklustre, we failed to take the game to our opponents when the chance arose and we overplayed on too many occasions.

That was the case in the 50th minute when we tried to run the ball out of defence when it was clear that there was nowhere to go and we paid the price with the home side taking the lead, the manner of which will give fuel to some.

That lead didn't last too long with sub Sam Edozie firing home with 23 minutes to go, you would have hoped that would be the cue for a late onslaught, but it didn't happen, again the midfield was too disjointed and couldn't create.

You have to question why at 90 minutes both Stuart Armstrong and Will Smallbone were still on the pitch when the problem was getting the ball in the centre of the park and passing it.

Also why did Charley Alcatraz play no part till the 90th minute, yes he was poor at Watford, but he is a quality player, he should have been on earlier

But although this was another disappointment, it was still the 13th game unbeaten and that should not be forgotten, on a look at the League table it is going to be hard to get into the top two, but we are still not even half way through the season, all we can do is keep on going and hope that the top two blow up.

This season is a marathon not a sprint, all you can do is keep going in what is a war of attrition, many wrote Saints off at the start of the season, two bad results but not two defeats, that is something to consider, we are 4th in the League and just need to keep going, it is always going to be about the next game and not the last.

Photo: Action Images

JoeEgg added 12:06 - Dec 15 " we looked lacklustre, we failed to take the game to our opponents when the chance arose and we overplayed on too many occasions." Very true Nick - contrast this with Russell Martin's "proud of the boys" and the usual constant reference to everyone and everything being "brilliant"! Presumably he thought he was 'brilliant' too as he sought the adoration of the travelling fans after the match - I prefer the comment in the Forum: "He’s a bit of a suave PR bullshit merchant"! This was another boring encounter., only this time more like boring, boring, boring. Martin's ""I am really proud of the performance as I thought we were really good tonight against a well-organised team." Was he really referring to Coventry v Saints? With one or two glorious exceptions we have had to suffer Martin's tippy tappy tactics all season. Martin has his favourites who presumably have taken best to his chosen mode of play. We are stuck with him and at least he can rest assured he will be kept on while the unbeaten run continues. There were few, if any, players who emerged from the Coventry match with much credit, with perhaps our normally most reliable contributor, Adam Armstrong, the most guilty of them all!! Presumably one reason, Nick, why your report is short and somewhat later than usual - is because it was difficult I imagine to find much to be positive about. On the contrary RM will be constantly assuring us that everyone was, in fact "brilliant"!

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Block8 added 12:29 - Dec 15 Apparently they are releasing a new safe sex video called The Saints Way - Loads of fore play but no penetration! Seriously we have an issue with releasing the ball forward from midfield and I do agree we missed Downes, who is probably now our most consistent performer. Keep ball is fine but we need a spark, if nothing else to encourage the fans. This was the same as the Huddersfield death by football performance. We want to sing and cheer but there is little to get excited about. Just a little more forward passing please, the movement from the front line is good but unfortunately we don't seem to look more than five yards! Saturday is another game lets get a win. COYR

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DPeps added 13:42 - Dec 15 Draw was a fair reflection, I thought. Coventry were well set up to break down most of our attacks. It's a decent result away against a decent team on a good run. Aribo is not a winger, and looked better when moved to CM. I think this is a more natural position for him as he's good at breaking up play. We lack creativity in midfield. Once they'd marked Stu out of the game we resorted to attacks down the wings, which becomes very predictable. The subs were effective and I think Charley is a good option for attacking midfield. We should use him more and accept that some days he won't be at it. Che unfortunately adds little to the team when he starts. He doesn't suit our style. I reckon he had about 5 touches in the 65mins he was on. My dream is that we sell Che and get Ings in, as he has far better link up with midfield. I don't get the hatred for Manning. He's not a world beater but he's a decent defender and attacker and always provides an option. Glad to see Baz is looking good. KWP MOM

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halftimeorange added 14:41 - Dec 15 I think we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we are not going to see automatic promotion this season. At best, RM's way of playing is a work in progress. At worst it's pedestrian and unvaried. The lack of a second goal scorer after Adam Armstrong (who chose Wednesday to have an off day) is our main failing but, the lack of a true playmaker is close behind. I regret that Manning also had a poor game, constantly losing the ball, being outpaced and often out of position. Yes, he does fight for the ball but, that simply isn't good enough and Bree is a safer bet. The other irritation on Wednesday was Jan Bednarek putting his foot on the ball when we were obviously already not getting forward quickly enough. Why? Anyway, we don't own a core of the team that would keep us up even if we did win the play-offs. If this experiment means we stay in the Championship then the prospect of watching such dreary football for another season will drive many supporters away. If we were winning and losing 4-3 or 3-2 every week I for one would be happier.

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HythePeer added 15:48 - Dec 15 I seemed to be watching a different game to everyone else? I thought they played quite well, creating a lot of chances. They created 12 chances, the second highest in the league that day. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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landsdownsaint added 18:51 - Dec 15 Its a tough one coz it is boring but you can’t deny the quality RM has them playing , my fear is he thinks stringing 30/40 passes together is more important that actually scoring a goal , I can see why the board like him coz he’s breeding players for big money & he’s doing that brilliantly, seems like actual results aren’t priority…. Imho
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Dunstable_Saint added 19:39 - Dec 15 Completely agree with hythepeer. I went to the game and whilst we weren’t exceptional the team created plenty of chances. Armstrong hit the bar, could have had a pen, Aribo shot just over was in the second half, loads of corners.. one cleared off the line I think. Sometimes the ball is slow to shift forward so there does need to be some work put into runs and quick balls forward. The benefit would be keeping the opposition guessing at the moment they know exactly what we are going to do. I also liked the way both teams were going for the win at the end. Finally the playing out from the back is amazing… so much pressure but all the players are calm. It’s scary but fantastic to watch.

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DPeps added 19:50 - Dec 15 Agree with the positive comments. Think what RM has achieved in a short time. He inherited a big squad in a mess, no obvious style of play, rubbish more or less every week. Now we have a recognisable way of playing and a team that wants to play for the manager. Yes we're in a lower league but I still think it's impressive what's been achieved. Fans have to be realistic about this season. Leicester have retained most of their quality so that's one automatic place gone. Ipswich are doing what we did all those seasons ago when we got back in the PL. Playoffs would be a good result imo

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IanRC added 19:52 - Dec 15 I thought it was pretty dismal. Prior to the game I thought Manning had turned a corner but true to his form previously he was responsible for us conceding, running into an obviously blind alley. Sadly as others have noted AA had an off day otherwise we would of been out of sight by half time. Need to do something to start scoring some goals as our easily winnable games are consistently slipping away from us. Not sure the traitor Ings is the answer though, we rescued him last time and he showed us no loyalty. Thought we badly miss Sulemana as he consistently creates opportunities for others, hope we hold onto him in the window. Hope too that he and Ross Stewart are back quickly.

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Bowlercow added 20:27 - Dec 15 I think those who find this style of play boring may just as well pack up going to games This is,and will be for some time the way football is played If you want to blame someone blame Pep G He started it
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TimSaint added 09:55 - Dec 16 Nick's favourite has a bad game and was a fault for the goal, so he picks on Stuart Armstrong !! Goals change games and virtually all Cov's chances, including their goal, came as a result of a Saints mistake or misplaced pass. Sure many of our players gave the ball away, but equally, we failed to take good chances and often made the wrong decisions in the opposition's box. Most teams we play will sit back against us and try to hit us on the break, or go for it a bit more in the 2nd half. We need to learn to adapt our play accordingly. Still. If we win our home games and draw away, a 2 points per game average means we will be up there come the end of the season. The trouble is, I not sure 2 per game is enough this season with the top 3 doing so well. Half a season to go, so let's step it up on the adapting and scoring fronts.

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mattlegod added 09:59 - Dec 16 Ipswich and Leicester are tearing up the record book, making our position look average. At the half way point last season, the top two were on 45 and 43 and Luton who also got promoted were on 29. Let's keep this real guys, anyone who thought we were going to compete with Leicester this season is deluded, it was always going to be play offs at best so a 13 game unbeaten run and possibly 42 points at the half way stage is totally where the realists amongst us hoped we would be.

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