I am getting sick to death of certain Saints players being lambasted not only on social media but by other fan websites, it needs to stop.

Whilst I can appreciate why some supporters may not be happy with the performance not only of the team this season, but also individual players, what I find hard to accept is the witch hunts that go on against certain individuals.

I said something similar a couple of seasons ago when both Pelle and Sadio Mane in particular were coming in for some immense stick from certain sections of the crowd, however after they left at the end of that season, suddenly they became hero worshipped by many of those who had previously slagged them off, yet now hold them up as a stick to beat not only our current squad with, but the likes of Les Reed as well, claiming they have never been replaced.

This seems to have esculated after the point at Brighton, in fairness a decent point given that the only team to go to the Amex and win have been Manchester City, but this has not been good enough for the moaners, Fraser Forster, Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond being the whipping boys so far this season.

But it is unfair on Sunday to blame them, Fraser Forster might well have done better on the Brighton equaliser, but it took a deflection that slightly wrong footed him and although there would have been some Premier League keepers that might have got it , there are just as many who would have let it in. Forster was not given enough credit for the rest of his game at the Amex, where he did everything that you would want for him including coming and dealing with crosses under pressure.

Some fans are just willing Forster to make a mistake, yet they forget that he has kept clean sheets in several crucial games this season, including a man of the match performance against Crystal Palace.

But Forster like Tadic and Redmond has mitigating circumstances why he has not been playing with confidence including not yet having a settled defence in front of him and that is a big issue for a goalkeeper.

Tadic and Redmond are also as big a scapegoats as Forster, but again no one looks into the reasons why they are playing badly, no one considers that they are both essentially wingers, they like to cross to a centre forward, Sunday was a good example of why they are failing, they can put in crosses all day, but of you are trying to hit a single 5ft 8 forward who is being marked by two 6ft 4 central defenders, then your choice is either put the crosses in and see them eaten up by the defence and get blamed for that, or check back and keep possession, either way eventually it destroys your confidence.

I am not saying that any of the three players mentioned are totally without fault or blame, but what I am saying is that they should be supported and not subject to the frothing at the mouth I saw at Brighton or the witch hunts I see on social media.

The problem then gets worse as more and more jump in and make it seem a crisis rather than a drama, yes the football is not great or entertaining, but we are still 10th in the League and we could still go to Brighton and get a point despite being so bad, that should tell some of these fans that we do not have bad players and I include Forster, Tadic and Redmond in that, we are just not playing well or perhaps more importantly finding the right formation.

The other issue is that it is fine to demand that these three be immediately dropped, but who do you replace them with ?

Alex McCarthy is the only option to replace Forster and he has not played much in the past year due to injury both long term last season and short term this, would he be better ?

Likewise Tadic and Redmond, who would go in, Boufal would be the obvious choice but that wonder goal aside none of his performances have really demanded he be played ahead of them, Josh Sims and Jake Hesketh are injured, so it is then a case of playing players out of position and neither Steven Davis or JWP are natural wide men.

If we don't have the players at the club to do better then yes we need to change that, but we cannot do anyting till January so what is the point in demanding something that cannot be changed now, better to keep behind the team and hope that it improves before then, that will be the time to moan not now when nothing can be done.

The real issue is the way we are set up, we play wide men but have no centre forward for them to aim at, we play a short central striker who needs balls in the channels, but we have no one who can seemingly hit these balls, we are caught between a rock and a hard place, for some it is easier to blame individuals than look at the root cause of why they and the team are not playing to their full potential.

So these players need our support, not our abuse, are we supporters of Southampton Football Club ? or do we go because we enjoy ranting at players, certainly the man in front of me at Brighton seemed to be practising for the upcoming World's Angriest Man Finals, why travel across the country when your stock words of encouragment are "For F*cks Sake Saints/Forster/Tadic/Redmond" !

Perhaps we have been spoiled by constant years of improvement, but there was always going to be a time when we hit a plateau and lst season was it, yet if 8th is our plateau that is far better than at any time in our history and we need to remember that, we need to be realistic about what we can achieve and how we can achieve it.

All I hear now is people moaning about not being entertained, to be brutal, most people do not support football clubs to be entertained, they support them because thats what they do, over the year we moaned about Manchester United and Liverpool fans only supporting their clubs because they were succesful, but there now seems to be a new generation here that is saying they support Saints because of just that !

Personally in 45 years or so of following Saints, most of it has not been entertaining or successful come to that, the last five years in the Premier League including last season, in the main have all been better seasons than most of the 30 odd other seasons I have watched us in the top flight.

I am not claiming to be some sort of super fan here, the majority of people who go to the games are solidly behind the team and support it, but there is a growing faction who go to have a go at the players, social media and fan websites esculate that and make it seem that things are far worse then they actually are, we need perspective and to look at things with clarity rather than just following what the next man is saying.

We all need to be behind the team and manager, no one goes out there to play badly, support from the fans helps and we need to remember that, like any other fan I have my opinions on players, I voice them in the pub or on message boards like any other fan, but I try to back my opinions up with reasons why not just because they have played badly, when I go to the games I am behind every single man in a Saints shirt for the 90 minutes, again that is nothing out of the ordinary, it's just what football supporters do, or at least used to.

It's a team game, we should win as a team, draw as a team and lose as a team, that includes the supporters. Individual errors sometimes cost games, but they even out over a season, the team is bigger than the individual.

This is a period of consolidation, things take time and in every season since we returned to the Premier League, including last year, it has generally been the case that patience has been rewarded, remember that !

Photo: Action Images

skiptonsaint added 13:43 - Nov 1 I was in the second row at Brighton and there was abuse shouted loudly that the players could clearly hear and I can understand why some fans felt the need to try and wake the players up as it feels like we are just sleepwalking to a possible very difficult league position in about 9 games time. They didn't seem very keen to come over at the end, even when we lost at Stoke more came over to applaud. I take Nicks article as a call for us all the stick together during one of the most frustrating times I remember for goals and entertainment and his positivity during difficult times has lifted the mood on this board before. But it is getting very difficult now to keep the frustration bottled up for sure. I think if we saw 100 percent effort and results were not going our way there would be less abuse but that clearly wasn't the case In the second half at Brighton and with a lot less games this season there is no excuse for that. Their confidence looks shot and now is a big test for MP as he has got to get them playing with more effort and less fear

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LesVivian added 13:47 - Nov 1 I don't know why the manager is tinkering with the defence - apart from Forster, they have done well generally. I don't see what Yoshida and Stephens have done wrong, although I recognise that Van Dyke is a class player and needs to be included. The big problem has been mentioned already - crosses coming into a striker who needs through-balls!
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abingdonsaint added 13:53 - Nov 1 In fairness Nick, you may not abuse Yoshida, but you certainly pick on him. I noticed in your Brighton report that you managed to get a dig in even though he wasn’t even playing, by saying he ‘wouldn’t get into their team’. Pretty sure he would actually, and as others have said, central defence is the least of our problems at the moment in any case. If we are judging purely on errors, Forster is way out in front. On a more general point, I have been attending Saints games since 1968 and can honestly say I have never abused any of our players during the game. It’s totally counter-productive. However, I can understand the frustration at the moment as, for whatever reason, we are currently performing way less than the sum of our parts. With due respect to Brighton, their entire squad is probably worth half the market value of the back four alone we fielded on Sunday. We need to be much more assertive in these games, and Pellegrino is falling into the same trap as Puel. We seem to have an inferiority complex. Wouldn’t have happened under Pochettino!

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Soton added 15:08 - Nov 1 I sort of agree with you but it doesn’t stack up the way you hammer Yoshida, last season he was our only option yet you still hammered him, now you say it’s wrong if the player is the only option! Cut out the one rule for you another for everyone else and you might sound more credible
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redandwhitedee added 15:19 - Nov 1 Your own behaviour over Yoshida has been appalling, especially given the fantastic service he has given the club. Look in the mirror before shaming others.
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Hugh_Jarce added 16:01 - Nov 1 3 or 4 players are in poor form and on top of that MP seems to have succeeded in making us even less entertaining than Uncle Claude. Although I would never boo (or cheer sarcastically) during a game, I throw enough money at this club to have a voice and I thought that is what this forum is for?
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BoondockSaint added 16:27 - Nov 1 Nick, you are talking to the wrong people. The vast majority of us come to this site for it's civil debate. I, for one refuse to join (anti) social media because it is just a cesspit of mob mentality abuse. On this site (which we are grateful for you running) we might have strong opinions, but they are a result of our wanting to see Saints succeed, and we usually back up our opinions with examples: I slag Les Reed all the time because football (or any other sport for that matter) is won in the board room and training field and he deserves it because other teams are catching up and passing us. I don't think I ever slagged Pelle or Mane, but I will "...now hold them up as a stick to beat not only our current squad with, but the likes of Les Reed as well, claiming they have never been replaced." because their 23 goals have simply NOT be replaced. You point out that if Forster was sat down, we don't have a quality replacement. Well who's fault is that? Again Les not bothering to have a quality backup (who would also compete for the starting spot). As for the training ground, (run by Eric Black), players never improve on their weaknesses. Forster is still batting balls back to opposing players, and not using his size to come out and grab crosses, JWP's corners and free kicks are still wide of the mark, and the penalty shooting ( with exception of Gabbiadini) is horrible. So please don't lump us in with the baying mob. We care, we argue our points, and many times posters have followed up clearing the air with each other so that neither is offended. OK, there will be a short pause while we all clap ourselves the back.......

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kingolaf added 17:48 - Nov 1 Boufal looks to go forward every time he gets the ball. He scored against WBA, and won the free-kick that led to the goal against Brighton by running forward with the ball. Contrast that with the ponderous slow negative play of Redmond, Tadic and JWP. He has to play, and as a no.10. I do agree with the general sentiment of your piece though Nick. We shouldn't scapegoat players, but it has been a frustrating season, and our position is a little false at the moment as we have only played Man U out of the big sides. Tadic gets on my tits. He should stop diving all over the place and Redmond needs to put his hand up when he f*cks up rather than give someone else a boll*cking.

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underweststand added 17:49 - Nov 1 Comments like those you criticise are brought about through frustration over the lack of goals rather than wins. Historically Saints problems have been caused by poor defences rather than a lack of goal scoring..now the boot is on the other foot. Many of those who first panicked last season when our CB pairing was the under-used Yoshida and the " new boy " Jack Stephens had changed their tune by the end of the season, and the thought of "losing " VvD didn't seem such a big problem. We have a good choice for Cb's now, but the outstanding problem is still a lack of goals, and for many of us the apparent exclusion of (a fit) Charlie Austin up front is the key factor for critics on here. Difficult to criticise Pellegrino whose still trying to find a solution that many fans can see as clear as daylight. I thought the sight of two 6'4" CB in the Brighton side was a foregone conclusion even before last Sundays kick-off, but I suppose MP will continue to play these " lightweights " in attack until they eventually score a goal., but for th fans of Shane Long - it's been a LONG wait. As for the comments / criticism of Forster (?)...he will undoubtedly continue to be selected (regardless) until he breaks a leg ....or until we sign Joe Hart.(!)

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saintmark1976 added 18:42 - Nov 1 Nick, what the players receive now is nothing compared to the stick handed out by Southampton dockers from under the west stand at the Dell in the "good old days". Frankly, some of the current squad deserve to be reminded that we can see their lack of effort and passion for the shirt, something which can never be said about your own pet scapegoat Mr Yoshida.
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SaintBrock added 19:12 - Nov 1 What's wrong with calling a spade a spade? These blokes are paid millions (by us) and we are told repeatedly that they are professionals. If they are considered good enough to play for a top ten PL side and then don't perform week in, week out they deserve to be called out. Most fans have far more emotional commitment to Saints than any of these over-paid pampered prima donnas and will be the ones left to pick up the pieces when they've all jiggered off to their next paymasters.

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saintpp added 19:17 - Nov 1 Great article Nick. id like to add we have fans who moan about entertaintment yet we have gifted player in Boufal He isnt exactly encouraged to try stuff by groans moans and people posting that he doesnt do anything hes a waste of money. He made the free kick create two other good chances showed some skill on the ball and he gets slated but he actually did more to attack than any of the others. Redmond was joint top scorer with 8 goals last year not a bad tally for player in his position band he isnt having the best of seasons maybe due to being played on the left in a role Mp wants him to play in AS for the morons who booed him before he came on the pitch what good did they think it would do? Redmonds going 'ooh im bit off form but they booed me so ill play better' No. It shows lack of support when we they need it and the same booing fans wonder why players leave. They might as well cheer the other team then. At least when we had the dell there were die hard fans in there due to the ticket shortage and no internet doom mongers to spread discontent, As for Yoshi well im not his biggest fan but he hasnt done much wrong this season it is harsh but as you say hoedt is better at bringing the ball out and probably a better defender. Would Cedric been left alone to mark Murray had Yoshi been there as it was mismatch that should not have happened. Football is case of too many fans not enough supporters and with saints it would laughable if it wasnt so sad.. Following them since the 60s and this is one of the best most times for consistency at the highest level. God know what these moaning fans will be like if they were to expereince a relegation battle or maybe they have short memories. The exciting football seems to have left saints for now but no reason to write it and all the players and management off and that it wont return. We need points on the board before anything else.

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Consigliere added 19:19 - Nov 1 Nick's essential point is that success in sport as in most other things is 90% in the head, so jeering your own players adversely affects their confidence and is therefore counter-productive. On that point I think that all opinions on this thread can probably agree. Nothing more to say really!
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saintpp added 19:26 - Nov 1 Great article well said. Flair player liek Boufal and redmond and also tadic need fans supporting them not waiting for them to make a mistake and boo. Total morons would boo when of their own players as hes waiting to come on they might as well cheer the other team on.Then i see fans posting redmond is shit after the game..he was only on the pitch 15 minutes! Boufal created more chances then any of he others and won the free kick yet fans post he did nothing. They want entertainment well watch him and then encourage him is the way to support even if some stuff doesnt come off at least hes trying it. Too many moaners in one of them most consistent top flight eras in our history, Yes it hasnt been that exciting but get points on the board and then worry about that.

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halftimeorange added 20:04 - Nov 1 I'll keep my comments to a minimum. It is easy to confuse criticism with disappointment. Me, I'm disappointed to recognise that Redmond will never realise his potential. I'm disappointed to see that Forster has failed to repeat the high standards we all know he was capable of before that injury. I'm really disappointed to see the very talented player that is Tadic frustrated by having no target man to feed and, lastly, I'm disappointed that I can't do anything about it other than moan.

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brownk added 20:07 - Nov 1 Very good article and very true. Some of the comments on twitter are embarrassing about our players and we should be counting our blessings that we are in many ways punching above our weight. We have a club to be proud of and at times I wonder why some fans watch if they are not going to get behind whoever plays. It is interesting that so many of the responses to this article are negative. I have watched a lot of PL games and so many sides set up not to lose and it is not easy to create opportunities to score or play exciting attractive football. Sides like WBA try to kill games and Foster was wasting time in the first half at St Mary's ......this was even true of Man Utd with all the millions they have to spend! If we all get behind the team it's amazing how that can inspire a team.

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brownk added 20:09 - Nov 1 I totally agree!
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skiptonsaint added 20:27 - Nov 1 Very good point made by someone earlier about other teams catching up. It does feel like that this season... They will all have improved black box analytical systems now no doubt
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DellHero added 21:17 - Nov 1 a couple of those paragraphs were well over 100 words (each) without a hint of a full stop anywhere. real beauts.
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allsaint54 added 21:26 - Nov 1 In one breath you talk about the strength in depth we have & then say there is no one to replace the underperforming FF, Tadic & Redmond. I still believe all our issues come back to the coaching & the style of play that we've adopted for the last 18 months. Why oh why is Ian Black still coaching, can't people recall what happened to Villa.
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kenis added 07:57 - Nov 2 Agree with the sentiment but like others immediately thought of your own seeming bias towards criticising and undermining Yoshida, it doesn’t seem to matter how he plays there is always a comment about him not being premiership quality or good enough to get in other pl teams.
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LoisDeem added 10:45 - Nov 2 I am hoping everyone will adhere to the new rules regarding player witch hunts from now on then, Nick! Many demanding and self righteous types will have booing muscles readily prepared for the visit of Burnley, who will be more than defending an exemplary away record at St Mary's. No doubt there will be yet another (near) full house with a large number ready to pounce on backs and recite their dogmatic 'told you so' rhetoric. This is not support, and does not help. I won't expect too much from our team shorn of Lemina -the main fulcrum of our recent modus operandi of late -and I can then be pleasantly surprised when we get any return from this match. For my part I do believe that some of the other areas of our game that were starting to come good (two up top, successful substitutions, rotation and fluidity of defence and attack etc) can only happen successfully around the steely offensive core that is Lemina and Romeu. Teamwork is also key, and that extends to the privileged number in the stands for those two hours. Please, please abstain from the boo's and character assassination whilst there -no more own goals from we fans!

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WanderingSaint added 18:14 - Nov 2 Incredible irony here. Your persecution of Yoshi has led me to look for another fan site for Saints news and vies. I haven’t found one yet. So, leave the guy alone and give him praise when he deserves it, which is most of the time, and you may well keep this somewhat disgruntled member (others also call me a “member” but that’s another story).
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SaintPaulVW added 20:07 - Nov 2 Yoshida and Stephens did a fantastic job standing in last season when both first choice centre backs left/got injured. Their reward? To be constantly criticised on here when our real problem, as it is this season is our forwards just CAN'T SCORE in open play. So while I agree there shouldn't be witch hunts. Please practice what you preach.
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TygerUppercut added 21:33 - Nov 2 Saintnik are you on a mission to be the most sanctimonious, patronising hypocrite on the planet!? Your witchhunt Is against saints fans whom You criticise at every oppurtunity You can! Fair play for your website but it doesnt give You the right to preach down to the rest of us with your self righteous diatribe
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