There is no way to dress this game up, I can't fault our players for a lack of effort, but they were totally devoid of any form of leadership, motivation or for that matter a game plan, it is hard to see a way forward with Nathan Jones in charge at this moment.

Nottingham Forest came with a game plan, Saints appeared to have none, they looked a team that had no confidence in their manager's tactics, but did at least try to put in the effort, even though nothing seemed to go right for them.

Forest had a game plan, sit back and let Saints come at them and then go at them fast on the break, Nathan Jones had put out a rather strange team, 3 at the back and with two full backs playing as wing backs, one of them in Kyle Walker Peters can do that job, the other in Romain Perraud cannot.

In midfield he had the return of Romeo Lavia and JWP & Elyounoussi sitting in front of them with Sekou Mara & Che Adams up front.

Most fans wondered why Stuart Armstrong & Samuel Edozie weren't in the starting line up.

As mentioned Forest had their game plan and were sticking to it, Saints had no form of inspiration in their play to break them down.

Forest almost went ahead when Romain Perraud tried to shield the ball on the touchline and failed to do so, from the resulting break, Forest really should have gone ahead, hitting the bar when it looked easier to score.

Surely this should have rung alarm bells, our passing was awful and it was this that Forest were looking to exploit, Lyanco was the centre of the back three and his job was to move the ball to the midfield, in the 27th minute he had plenty of time to do so but gave a poor pass away cheaply, Forest broke quickly and scored their first away goal since the opening week of the season. It would be the first and only shot on target of the game by either team.

To put it bluntly this wasn't Lyanco's or the teams first appalling piece of passing.

But there was plenty of time on the clock to put things right, but there was no real pattern of play from Saints.

Time and time again they got the ball and moved forward but too often hit it long which was food and drink for Forest's defenders.

We had to little experience in the team to be able to break down the wall of yellow.

In the 65th minute there was a triple substitution, Perraud went off with Edozie coming on and at least we had an attacking option down the right, Sekou Mara had looked completely lost up front and on came Adam Armstrong. Strangely Romeo Lavia also came off to be replaced by Joe Aribo, this was panic measures and to be blunt at this stage we lost all form of shape.

Although we picked up the pace, the truth was we were playing to a system and although it wasn't working the manager seemed unable to change tact, we rarely got the ball through to any of the strikers nor did we create shooting positions.

Bizarrely it was the 85th minute before Nathan Jones mad another substitution, at last came on Stuart Armstrong whose first action was to fall over and have to give away a foul and a yellow card to ensure that the visitors didn't break again.

But it was a case of too little too late and despite effectively playing just two at the back and everyone else charging forward, even sheer weight of numbers produced nothing.

A word about referee Thomas Bramall, whilst the defeat cannot be blamed on him, the fact was he was appalling and lost control of the game, Forest got away with a series of petty fouls and also going down at every opportunity.

They run roughshod over the ref, at one substitution despite the player going off being only 10 yards from the Kingsland touchline and being blocked by Saints players who were pointing out to the ref that under the laws of the game he had to leave at the nearest point, the referee pulled the Saints players off him and allowed him to saunter virtually the whole width of the pitch to the dugout.

So if you account for this, various other Forest players going down injured, a lengthy stoppage to treat Che Adams and indeed 9 second half substitutions spread over 6 different timings, it would be fair to assume that there would be a substantial period of injury time, god knows how Mr Bramall only made it 4 minutes, that didn't even cover the substitutions let along the injuries and time wasting.

The crowd although silent at times stayed with the team and didn't get on it's back until the final whistle and in truth they had every right to boo the team off the pitch and more poignantly the manager too.

Being blunt it is hard to see where Nathan Jones goes forward after this, the squad is in disarray, I didn't meet a Saints supporter who has any confidence in him before this game, let alone after it.

He has had two months to gel the squad, he hasn't done this and indeed he seems to have made it worse rather than better in all departments, he spent a lot of time gesturing on the touchline, but there seemed to be little correlation between this and what was actually happening on the pitch.

18 years ago Rupert Lowe made a brave decision when he sacked Paul Sturrock after only 13 Premier League games, stating that he had got it wrong, this seems to be the case with Nathan Jones, are Rasmus Ankersen and Sport Republic big enough to do the same now.

Although things are bleak, the situation is not yet beyond repair, a win at Everton in the next game although not lifting us out of the bottom three could see us draw level on points with 17th and give us hope.

But time is running out, do we let Nathan Jones stay and risk seeing things get worse and beyond redemption or do we get rid of him now !

Photo: Action Images

codge added 10:41 - Jan 5 If l said this was pathetic l would be giving to much credit to Saints,we have a big problem and can’t see we’re this team can save us from the drop. There does not appear to be a natural leader on this team as JWP has not shown he has the ability to lead.The manager l am afraid is not up to the job and we looked so disorganized again at times.Really can’t see us getting many positive results at this point with these young players even though they are talented but in the Premier it takes a lot more than that alone. Trying to stay positive but getting harder and harder.

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felly1 added 10:43 - Jan 5 I really thought things couldn't get any worse, but last nights performance was utterly abject. The manager is clearly not the right fit for us and never was. We were always going to likely struggle this season and with Ralph looking shot to bits and out of ideas we needed a change. Unfortunately yet another poor decision by Sports Republic has resulted in this. I get the impression they have zero common sense and live by data driven answers. Ultimately the squad is neither good enough nor experienced enough to handle this league and barring a miracle we're going down with or without Jones at the helm. Just gutted for my 9 year old as he's so enthusiastic about Saints regardless of the never ending hapless home defeats that he's witnessed over the last 3 years. When will this misery end?

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Scoot added 10:46 - Jan 5 Can't fault our players for lack of effort? Were we watching the same game? Adams spends most of his time skipping, Bazunu constantly went long, Mara barely saw the ball & Lyanco if not fit for shitt city let alone us, although he does run but there's more to the game than that. And our sheep worrier has no clue at all. Sorry about my temper but it's hughes and Pelligrini all over again. Having said that they did get the odd win

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Ifonly added 11:00 - Jan 5 Rightly or wrongly, he's not going to be sacked. They'll give him a season in the championship before they do anything. After all they were clear about why they recruited him - to develop young players. That doesn't happen over 4 games. It might happen over a season at best, not 4 games. Even if they do sack him, we'll probably still be relegated. I put a bet on that in September after looking at the squad. I haven't changed my mind. A better manager could build a more cohesive team in 3 months but we'll still be stuck with the squad weaknesses that have been there for a while. If we get any decent players in the January window, we will have to vastly over pay for them, so you do wonder: what's the point? Better to start focusing on next season when, with the right planning and whoever is in charge, we will probably start winning games again. That's what I'm looking forward to.

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davidargyll added 11:01 - Jan 5 “Hopefully Nathan Jones has learned something in his first few games in the Premier League, if he has then we can win this game, if he hasn't then we are in trouble.” From your preview report. Well you’ve had your answer…and I cannot believe I’m alone in thinking that this was the WORST PERFORMANCE AT ST MARYS FOR MANY YEARS. Was it comedy or tragedy? Or a bit of both? Well if it had opened last night on Broadway it wouldn’t last the week. Jones losing the plot isn’t the half of it. Give him a chance? Do me a favour! Many (not me) think that Ralph was bad but this guy makes him look like Pep! He couldn’t manage his way out of a paper bag, has zero knowledge about the PL, has learned nothing and only managed to instil total confusion into the squad. HE IS COMPLETE CR*P AND THE LONGER THE BOARD DELAY, THE MORE DISASTROUS IT WILL BE. HE ABSOLUTELY CATEGORICALLY HAS TO BE FIRED. A couple of off-pitch observations I would make about the game: 1. Jones spent the entire H1 and some of H2 screaming at his players. My seat is just above the tunnel and we could all hear him and see the result. WHICH WAS UTTERLY CONFUSING THE PLAYERS HE WAS SCREAMING AT! No wonder they played like headless chickens. That is a sign of DREADFUL MAN-MANAGEMENT; losing the dressing-room cannot be far away if it hasn’t happened already. 2. “Nothing wrong structurally…all round we pressed well…we had enough of the game to get a result…”. Jones’ absurd comments on R5L. On Sky he said THE SITUATION “WAS NOT ENTIRELY OF MY MAKING”. so clearly, very unprofessionally, TRYING TO PASS THE BUCK. And then amazingly, according to press reports, he was “surprised” by the fans ferocious reaction. Can anyone now seriously believe that he is not only incompetent but also completely deluded? 3. The only positive? Looking up at the face of Martin Semmens at the end of the game, we could all see he was a very unhappy bunny, clearly thinking that it had been a terrible performance, entirely understanding the boos and jeers and realising the Board had made a disastrous decision appointing Jones. Let’s just hope he still retains the power to bring about a change and I PDQ.

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landsdownsaint added 11:02 - Jan 5 Our players are better than we are seeing , wasn’t long ago we beat Chelsea & Lavia was bossing the game , we had an identity & structure ,under Ralph the young player looked confident & even in our darkest hours we showed character & allways bounced back ! There’s nothing here now , il say it again RH should’ve been given the 6 weeks unless we had a proper PL manager lined up .

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TimSaint added 11:02 - Jan 5 A most pathetic performance that lacked effort, motivation, drive and urgency. Another goal gifted, this time to a team that don't score away. Another poor showing up front, another poor showing in midfield and a ridiculously comical performance from the defence. How at least 5 of those players were even on the pitch last night is unbelievable. We had over half the team under performing and the rest had to try to carry them, so is it any wonder we lost ? Most just strolled around, like they have in recent games, expecting a win, or expecting others to take the initiative and do the work for them. Far too much tippy tappy casual passing when we should be going at them, trying to score 2 goals to win the game. We have to score 2 or more to win games, as we always concede, but we are so shot shy, we didn't even manage an effort on target last night. In Adams, A Armstrong and Mara - we have by far the worst strike force in the Prem. I can't see where our next goal is coming from, let alone our next point.

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SaintPaulVW added 11:05 - Jan 5 Very few players did well last night KWP, JWP, Lavia, Salisu and Stu Armstrong in his 8 odd minutes!, probably did the best. Rest seemed to just be lost, wandering around and playing half heartedly. The set up - 5 at the back at home against a team that has scored one goal - the tactics - constantly giving the ball back by long kicks and the comments to the press just scream that Jones isn't up to the job. Going to be an awful season if he stays - I really think the 9-0 record could be at risk of being beaten if we play a top motivated side. Need a modern Ball/Mcmenemy combo to rescue us and fast. COYR please!

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HythePeer added 11:06 - Jan 5 There was a lot of empty seats; some of the fans left before the end, even more left before the start.
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Number_58 added 11:07 - Jan 5 I see that Che Adams' terrible misses are now so common that they don't even warrant a mention in match reports anymore.
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landsdownsaint added 11:10 - Jan 5 Unless there’s we got a very capable manager lined up , bring Ralph back home
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Ninja9 added 11:10 - Jan 5 Well if Sport Republic continue with this manager , i think that tells us all we need to know about them . I know people who will not be going to any more games while this manager stays in his position . It may or may not have been time to part with Ralph but, its got far worse now .
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1962saint added 11:17 - Jan 5 Looking at the table we are not in an impossible position mathematically but I can’t see us picking up many points under the present management. Also it’s hard to pinpoint 3 teams in the bottom half of the table that are worse. Prospects look grim and a long hard winter seems likely.
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saintkev added 11:21 - Jan 5 EVERYONE knows the board made the wrong appointment in Jones. I turned to my lad after 15 mins of the Brighton game and said that Jones will be gone within a month He’s so far out of his depth We have no pattern of play, No tactics, No idea how we will create chances. I don’t even feel sorry for him as he hasn’t tried hard enough to win over the fans to get them onside The fact that we didn’t even speak to another manager after Ralph left bewilders me I can’t believe that I’m now praying that Sean Dyche will still speak with us after we totally overlooked him before I still believe that with the right manager and coaching team, we could put out a team and a formation and a style of play that would at least create the opposition problems. The board need to put their hands up and admit they’ve made a BIG mistake in appointing Jones whilst there is still time. With a new manager, an experienced striker and a midfielder to replace Romeu…. We still have a chance of staying up The clock is ticking ……

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saintmark1976 added 11:28 - Jan 5 Another very fair, balanced and objective report Nick. Everything about the Saints has got worse recently excepting your post match comments, so some sort of silver lining I suppose. I concur wholeheartedly with your comments concerning the referee, he was utterly pitiful. I got the impression that he deliberately attempted to slow the match tempo down for his own advantage in order to give himself more time to make his decisions. Played at a faster pace and he would have been even further out of his depth. Where do we go from here? Despite the current run of form we are not yet cut adrift and there are twenty matches still to play so a chance remains to retain our Premiership status. It really is down to the owners now, either they splash the cash and strengthen the squad in the window or they accept the inevitable, which is that the current squad is not up to the job without reinforcement. For what it’s worth.My own view is that they have already made a business decision which is that they are quite happy to play in the Championship next season using the proceeds of Premiership parachute payments and funds from player sales, thus recovering most if not all of the money they paid for the club together with the transfer fees paid during the last close season. Asset stripping at it’s finest.

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SanMarco added 11:37 - Jan 5 It is indeed difficult to know where we go from here. We are disintegrating. Last night was an embarrassment. Short of a tardis trip back to last June and an alteration of the summer's haphazard transfer policy + a sacking of Ralph then with a proper replacement, I would say we are probably doomed. Sports Republic have to carry the can for all this. The warning signs were there in the final 15 games of last season. The disastrous appointment of Jones was the final nail in the coffin. I feel sorry for Jones - it is not his fault he is out of his depth. Anyone in his position would have said yes to the Saints offer. The truth is there is nothing a manager can say after that performance. Yes he has caught the inexplicable five-at-the-back disease but I have a feeling that formations may be the least of our many problems. We now either accept it is our turn for the drop and plan for the future or we admit the mistake over Jones and make a proper managerial appointment. That + a few decent signings might raise our survival chances to 5% - at the moment it is ZERO.

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Springhill_old_boy added 11:38 - Jan 5 If he actually said that Saints pressed well ... I don´t know if he understands what a press actually is. I saw at times one player would trigger a press .. and then the rest would not be in synch which meant that the press was useless. There was a complete lack of cohesion and it is clear that the players do not understand whatever system of game that he is trying to play. The Lyanco mistake.. I am re watching it (on the Forest you tube channel because on the Saints one they just show the Forest player running in on goal) When he receives the ball and moves forward ALL of the surrounding Saints players are static .. When the Forest player presses him he cuts off 2 possible passing lines and is forced to try and pass to Salisu .. who stays completely still and is not up with play. Due to the inertia of both Ward Prowse and Lavia this pass was the only one he could play whilst being pressed ... Due to the poor positioning of Salisu and the fact that Salisu was on his blind side the pass was underhit. Again this is basic build up play that a competent coach would focus on ..

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ChristchurchSaint added 11:40 - Jan 5 After the Brighton game, I posted that the game was dire, this one was even worse, probably the worst I’ve seen in 61 years of supporting them. Despite Jones saying that “it’s not of my making”, IT IS! if he felt he wasn’t up to the job, then he should have refused the offer. Ralph had a lot of problems, but I always felt that with the right players, in the right formation, then he would do a decent job. I was excited when Sports Republic bought the club, I felt that the dreary days of the last few years were behind us. How wrong could I be! By letting us get relegated and asset strip, in order to get a return on their investment, do they not realise that when they eventually come to sell our beloved club, they will not get anywhere near the sum that they paid for it? Sad days ahead yet again.

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Rustyhelmet added 11:44 - Jan 5 Agree with the majority Nick, but I’d argue that we also had very little ‘effort’ to go with the complete lack of tactics, set-up, plan, formation and bizarre selection and substitutions. Also getting on the refs back is pointless, we were just as bad as Forest, and infact we should utilise it more to try and get more from it as JWP seems to be our only method of getting the ball near the opposition goal. It’s difficult to see where we go from here, the players weren’t responding under RH, arguably we’ve got even worse under the current clown, but who is out there that would want to join a very soon championship bound calamity?…

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wibbersda added 11:46 - Jan 5 What just happened? This is not any kind of Football I know. NJ says he will give Southampton its own identity and style, well-done fella mission accomplished. To be fair to the players they are only doing what the Manager instructs them to do, and they are bemused as much as us. The only time we show anything is when players who carry the ball forward, Stu, and Edozie, playing Prem style, which is probably why NJ benched them as he wants everyone to Hoof It up to the opposition defence. If he goes immediately I still think we are doomed, and what a waste the 6 week break was with this inept fool.

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stmichael added 11:51 - Jan 5 Totally agree Nick.. He has to go and i was hoping he would be gone by now. Who expects us to still be in either cup this time next week and follow that with defeat at Everton and this place will be toxic. The problem is we have an even bigger problem than Jones and thats Sport Republic and in reality there is bugger all we can do about them.. Semmens himself is very responsible too and we are stuck with this clown as well. With such incompetence above all we can look forward too is more light shows because at the end of the day that all us fans want - better light shows FFS

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lemmsy added 11:57 - Jan 5 Personally I didn’t want Ralph sacked but understand why he had to go with the expression’ be careful what you wish for’ ringing alarm bells when others said he was clueless.With the decision made you have to move on and give the new man a chance.Now I’m very much the optimist but last night was shocking.Che Adams looked like he’s not interested & the whole team had no structure or strategy , lump it forward and Hope for the best. I’m not keen on hire & fire but can’t see NJ changing things . Hope I’m wrong

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Ifonly added 12:02 - Jan 5 Get real everyone. They gave him a 3 and a half year contract. They're not going to sack him after a few games no matter how much the fans want it. Meanwhile, no quality player is going to want to walk in to a toxic atmosphere like last night unless it's for one last big payday, which is never a good reason. We are where we are, which is bottom of the league and heading down.

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davenbennett added 12:10 - Jan 5 It all goes back to the summer and Sports Republic decisions. Should have sacked Ralph. Missed out on Gakpo and Ramos for the sake of a few £m. Brought in 10 players. Only Bazuma and Lavia 1st teamers. If want to bring in youth to develop, then no issues with Edozie, Lavia and B-K. But why then Larios and Mara? Aribo and C-C more experienced, but nit good enough. So, in summer could gave brought in Gakpo and Ramos, Edozie, B-K and Bazunu for around same money as the 10 got in. M-N loan been waste if £. For an England player trying to re-build his career, very poor. Now look like missing out on good Croatian winger due to €2m diifference in valuation. Same error as with Gakpo and Ramos. They might have wanted more in wages. But get rid Walcott, Djeneppo, Ely, AA, Adams, Diallo, Lyanco, not buy Aribo, Mara, C-C, M-N on loan, would free up wage bill. Are Tella and even Smallbone any worse than what we have? Or JJM, Bellis, or Ballard?

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JoeEgg added 12:41 - Jan 5 Didn't take Nick long to get last nights report up! Steve Cooper had his 'average' side playing to a plan of sorts - they were fortunate but it worked for them. I wonder if Nathan Jones will still be in place for the Frank Lampard v Nathan Jones show? I doubt if there is anyone who believes now that Nathan Jones was the right choice as Ralph's replacement. But can Sports Republic or someone tell me where this incredible decision came from, and just who was it that thought this unfortunate man was right for the job? I know you can criticise any or all of the players on last nights showing - but surely everyone could have agreed months ago, it is impossible to see where the next goal is ever coming from! The best we can hope for is a JWP set piece! So the last glimmer of hope would be the arrival in the next few days - not wait until Jan 31st- of the more interesting forward targets quoted in recent press releases - and at least three of the buggers! If any of these prospective signings were at all concerned about joining a struggling manager and team, they will most certainly be having second thoughts now!

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