One of the big reasons of our success so far this season has been our confidence in our own ability and the way we play without fear, some fans however dont seem to realise that.
Saints fans at the start of the season heralded our high tempo pressing game and the way that when we got the ball it wasn't all about hoofing it forward aimlessly, but keeping the ball and building up from the back.
This is of course a good tactic, good sides wont just pump the ball forward from the goalkeeper, they know that in effect this is giving the opposition a 50/50 chance of winning it back off you, whereas if you pass it you have a far better chance of retaining possession.
One of the big reasons this has worked so well has been the ability of Artur Boruc to distribute the ball so well, when he has the ball in his hands he rarely pumps it forward, preferring to find one of his teammates with a deft throw that can quickly turn defence into attack and this has been a big advantage to Mauricio Pochettino in helping him get the side playing the possession game he is trying to drill into it.
Of course when you play this sort of game you have to take some risk, especially when the opposition play you at your own game and press you, in recent weeks this has gone wrong twice, the first occaission against Hull City saw Artur Boruc do exactly what he has done week in week out all season, that is pass the ball to one of his own teammates accurately to feet, if he does this he has done his job, of course any player will be receiving the ball under some sort of pressure, but if that player has an outlet where he in turn has time to control the ball and pass it on to a teammmate, then the onus is on the player receiving the ball to do his job properly and continue the passing movement, against Hull this did not happen, Wanyama did exactly what he has done in every game and made himself available for the ball, problem is he tried to be too clever and gave it away, therefore the fault laid with Wanyama not Boruc.
In the second incident at Arsenal its a lot easier to lay the blame, Boruc made a monumental error of judgement, not once some would say, but two or three times, but like Wanyama, its not what he did last time that counts now, its what he does next.
Some will try and create a drama out of a small hiccup, but those that do seem to be completely missing the point of just how we play and just what has enabled us to achieve the success we have so far on the pitch this season.
As I started this article with that success has been achieved by playing a certain way and not being scared to continue to play that way, we have to accept that there will be the odd hiccup and error, but as long as they remain occasional then in the long term we will benefit a lot more than we will lose out.
But what we dont want to create in our players is a fear to continue with this style, when players start to lose confidence in themselves or in their team mates to do the job and play those passes under pressure then they start to take the easy option and in our case the easy option for Artur Boruc would be for him to hoof it up on every occasion, yes he would clear his lines and take the responsibility of of himself, but it would have a very detrimental effect on the way that Saints play.
We need Boruc to have confidence to keep passing the ball, we need Wanyama to keep dropping deep and want the ball to his feet, indeed we need our entire team to be demanding the ball, so far this season we have carried no passengers in that none of our players have hidden, some have had bad games, but they have kept wanting the ball and kept that confidence that if they keep getting it then they will do something positive with it, once that ceases and the fear kicks in that if they make a mistake the crowd will be on their back then its a slippery slope that soon sees even the most confident player in the side wonder whether a few misplaced passes from him will see him subject to the type of abuse that certain other members of his team seem to have to endure from sections of the crowd.
So the message here is plain and simple, we as supporters need to keep our players confident and playing without fear, they need to know that we are behind them 100%, of course we wont tolerate those that either try to be too flashy in the wrong ituations or indeed dont try at all, but so far at least this hasnt been the case with anyone who has pulled on a Saints shirt, all have tried to play to exactly the instructions of the manager and how he wants them to use the ball when they get it.
As many people have told me when I question why they have openly abused a Saints player in a game " Im entitled to my opinion" I absolutely agree with this, but opinions are for the pub or internet message boards, we are "supporters" not "opinioners" look at the definition, that being the case we should go to games to "Support" our team, we are not there to give an "opinion"
If Saints continue to play as they have done this season and keep passing the ball, then there is no reason why we shouldnt have our best season since 2003 when we finished 8th, but if the crowd start to make the players scared to do their jobs, then it would be easy for our form to slip as we concede possession a lot more easily, one of the reasons for us having the best defence in the league is that we have a lot of possession, so just why are some of our supporters screaming at the team to pump it aimlessly forward as we did for much of last season !