Saints once again failed to hit the back of the net as they went down to a very disappointing defeat at the Hawthorns.

Saints ended the weekend in sixth place after going down to a solitary goal against West Brom, scored after barely a minute had gone.

It was a case of deja vu as the visitors enjoyed 64% possession and had almost double the efforts that the home side had on goal, but out of our 12 shots only 2 were on target and the truth is we are not working the opposition goalkeeper enough.

But good sides don't become bad sides overnight, a goal will change things and once we get it things will change, but until we do the pressure will mount on us.

It truth there was not a lot more that Ronald Koeman could have done, he started with an attacking line up and wasnt afraid to change it after only 25 minutes, but despite most of the ball we couldnt turn it into goals.

But we created chances and no one is hiding on another day we really might have had a goal perhaps more, but nerves are getting the better of us at present in front of goal and we need to break that circle.

The game as a spectacle though was broken up by the blatant time wasting tactics, Tony Pulis has already inflicted his own brand of winning nasty on the Baggies and Ben Foster was time wasting with only 15 minutes on the clock enraging the travelling support.
But even after this defeat we are still sixth, we are still only 2 points from a top four position and after Chelsea's win against Spurs in the Capital One Cup Final means that sixth will guarantee a Europa League spot this season so there is still plenty to play for.

Perhaps the sour note though is how many Saints supporters are turning on their own players, the abuse meted out to Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic was appalling, I can understand people's frustrations but it helps no one with the screamed abuse hurled at those two in particular, some people were literally frothing at the mouth.

The season still has a long way to go, perhaps it will not pan out as hoped a couple of weeks ago but there is still money in the game yet, what we do need though is all our supporters behind "ALL" the team on Tuesday, if they are then perhaps we can break this vicious circle we find ourselves in, if they don'e and resort to abusing certain individuals then I fear for the rest of the season.

Photo: Action Images

Jesus_02 added 09:22 - Mar 2 Turning on the players is not only pointless but badly aimed, surely Koeman would be the one to blame for selecting them? But then having a go at Koeman would be ridiculous right? Answer just get behind a team that is going through a sticky spell.
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saintstowin added 09:30 - Mar 2 I think lots of us looked at February and thought it looked pretty good especially after an excellent run of wins against good opposition. It’s a shame it hasn’t panned out as we hoped. It is clear Pelle is both tired and lacking confidence. I just about lean towards persisting with him, partly as the other options don’t appeal to me and partly as it is bound to change soon, I hope! I think the unsettled midfield is as much to do with our current form, I’ve no stats but our midfield 3 or 4 can’t have been the same for many games over the last month or so. I have absolute faith in Koeman but I feel, even with some injuries, he’s tinkered a little more than needed, and I don’t blame him, he’s looking for that key to goals and wins. And I’m sure the vast majority agree that turning on our players is a ridiculous way to go about supporting your team. I think we need to gamble more, the obvious one being shoot more often. But also run at defences, try not to be worried about being tackled, commit the opposition a bit more than we currently are doing where we seem to get so far, then look up and assess options and pass the ball (and the buck), sure we retain possession but ultimately we create little. I think someone pointed out 3 of the 8 goals of the month were against us so that’s bad luck right there, especially how early some have come. I for one refuse to become negative, I’d love to still be 3rd and I’m gutted the teams we lost players to are overtaking us but 6th is good and a win tomorrow will make everyone cheer up. It’s good we have a game so soon after Saturday.

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rattleyeyes added 09:46 - Mar 2 Can we finish 7th Nick and still make europe?
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davepid added 10:05 - Mar 2 Hi Nic. Thanks as ever for this and other posts. But can I say I don't think you've analyised the game very much. I was there and I can well understand your reluctance to go back over a very sorry performance. For me the positives were Bertrand fitting in where he left off , Long's reemergence with his usual speed and industry, and I would mention Yoshida ( despite his part in the goal) who I thought had a fair game and got at least one crucial block in during the first half. But the sum of our parts don't currently add up to much; early in the season they added up to more than the sum of our parts , and I for one don't know why and no longer spend time guessing. Finally, their goal . Simple set piece from half way ,one kick into the area , a clean first time strike. The last time we scored something similar was ,I think, Stoke away in the capital one cup ,four months ago. What I wouldn't give for us to do that now. Rather than take the free kick quickly to someone five yards way, five or more further passes, then maybe a cross into a box of the move hasn't already broken down.

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SanMarco added 11:20 - Mar 2 Yes Davepid - and Pelle scored that goal at Stoke and none of us as we celebrated worried about how it was created...
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saintwizzler added 11:32 - Mar 2 Was it Gardos who turned his back on the shot for the goal? Whoever it was needs a kick up the ärśė
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TimSaint added 12:22 - Mar 2 Saintwizzler - yes it was Gardos who watched the shot and turned his back instead of closing him down. Perhaps that was why he was subbed in the formation change ? With regards to time wasting, yes, they did it persistently, but perhaps we need to do this in order to actually win a game for a change - obviously we need to score first though !!! The time wasting is just what Forster was doing away to Arsenal in the cup, bit perhaps Forster got booked much earlier on, so didn't persist. A simple yellow early doors would have prevented this (as would one to a player kicking the ball away etc), but we never seem to get these decisions So onto Palace then and hopefully they will have lots of injuries and suspensions that have been well publicised. Also hoping that Jedinak gets a healthy ban for his deliberate elbow v the hammers - but I'm guessing not, as he would miss the Saints game and the FA do their up most to ensure teams gets bans lifted in order to play us a la Matic !!!

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Zambucco added 13:30 - Mar 2 We can criticise teams for time wasting, refs for bad decisions, hope for teams to have injuries. None of these matter if we hit the net! We wouldn't even notice or care. We've had a stunning season, we've punched above our weight and we've enjoyed every minute. Now we've hit a bad patch, confidence is low and it has affected the team and crowd. All we can do is, be patient, the tide will turn, players will start scoring again, and we'll finish in fine style. Imagine what it has been like for the so called big teams struggling, but then hitting a good streak, Liverpool Utd & Spurs spring to mind. They were no different in their criticism of their team and management, It's football, it's what we do. To a certain extent players having a bad spell know they will get stick. It's like my missus moaning that I haven't given her 6 crashing orgasms every night, jeez 2 should be enough" We have the artillery to beat these teams still, after all we have the same team that put 8 past Sunderland. Patience and contentment that a 'small' team could upset the hierarchy for so long will turn it around COYR!

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DPeps added 14:02 - Mar 2 I was at the game, but couldn't bring myself to watch the highlights on MotD. So perhaps I'm wrong on some of the below... Let's start with the positives (there aren't many): We carved through WBA on a number of occasions. Bertrand and Clyne were particularly threatening. Elia linked up well with Bertrand. We actually created a few very good chances, which we've not done in recent games. Now the negatives: WBA goal - don't know if it was a series of individual errors or a problem with the defensive formation we were playing. To my mind, Forster should be prepared to come for the first ball. For a big keeper he doesn't come out for much - either long balls or crosses. Yoshida could have done better with the header (but, as others have mentioned, he generally played well otherwise). We had 5 defenders and 2 defensive midfielders on at that point, but no-one was anywhere near their main-man up front. Perhaps it's down to the formation and maybe no-one knew their position. I seem to remember us playing 5 at the back (or 3, whichever way you look at it) earlier in the season and it not working out. Of course, it's good to mix up formation - something we hardly ever did last season - but everyone needs to know their role (to quote The Rock). It goes without saying that our finishing was poor, but Pelle wasn't the only culprit. For all his problems at the moment, I say persist with Pelle. He linked up well others and was often in the right place at the right time. I agree with others about pointlessness of abusing our players. I think the management are as much to blame for current problems through tactical decisions being made and lack of alternatives to Pelle (Long instead of Pelle is obviously one alternative, but if you play him up front by himself we won't win any long balls - see Sheff Utd game). The most depressing thing about Saturday was being stood a few rows behind a 'fan' who was shouting racist abuse at Mane and Elia. Other fans shouted at him and he toned it down a little, but didn't completely stop. Terrible

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BoondockSaint added 14:05 - Mar 2 Winning nasty is still winning! This is not figure skating where you get points for artistic impression! Deja vu all over again! Lots of possession, hardly any shots. Few on goal. Pelle misses a sitter. Mane goes short side and only hits post or net. Shane Long comes on, runs about a bit, creating "scoring chances" that don't produce goals. The opposition scores the only goal they need by taking a long range blast without settling the ball whenever they get the chance (unlike Saints). Rinse, repeat.

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OldRed added 17:15 - Mar 2 The players are simply tired and worn down and the pressure of maintaining a top four position with the expectations of the fans is too much. There was no expectation at the start of the season as by all accounts we were doomed. We've had 13 different goalscorers this season which is incredible, so yes we just haven't become a bad team overnight - we've become a poorer team over the last couple of months. I wonder about the commitment of Clyne and Schneiderlin, reading every week how they are expected to leave in the summer.

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