In a run stretching back to the tail end of last season, suddenly there are no goals at either end of the pitch !
One thing you have usually been able to say about Saints, not just in recent times but over the years, is that you are never short of a goal or two at either end of the pitch, Saints started last season leaking goals left right and centre, indeed in the opening four fixtures last season they conceded a grand total of 8, however they also scored 5 themselves.
This term however its the polar opposite, Saints have scored 2 and conceded 2 for a grand total of only 4 goals, less than were netted in last term's opener at Man City alone.
But this barren spell hasn't just started this season, it's roots can be traced back to the tail end of last, in the final 6 games of 2012/13 Saints scored only 3 goals, there total conceded of 7 isn't a bad ratio, but the picture is blurred slightly when you consider that 3 of those were scored in 1 game against West Brom at home when we were taken to the cleaners.
So what has suddenly changed that has made us so tight at the back, yet so lacking in fire power up front, certainly the form of Rickie Lambert would be one factor, his goalscoring record seems to have a very definite line through it, pre Pochettino arriving and since, last term he hit 10 league goals in 22 games under Nigel Adkins, after the change of manager he hit only 5 in 16 although it has to be said that initially he maintained his ratio scoring 4 times in Pochettino's first 8, but managing only 1, in the final game against Stoke in the final 8, that drought has continued with Rickie netting only once in 4 this term, that being a penalty.
The point of this is that our lack of goals this season is not something that's due to a change in style this term, its something that's been on the cards for a while now, yes Saints have tightened up at the back, but why have the goals dried up so dramatically ?
Its even more of a puzzle in that like Sunday's 0-0 draw against West Ham, Saints have often played a number of attacking players, in this case three strikers and in Adam Lallana an attacking midfielder.
But perhaps this is the problem at least in scoring goals, the balance isn't there, its fine having three forwards, but you have to supply them and on Sunday the outfield players were either defenders, defensive midfielders or essentially attackers, leaving the only true creative player as Adam Lallana.
Last season Saints had a purple patch where in an 8 game period they scored 15 goals and in the process earned 14 points, but the downside was that they were conceding goals, 10 in that same period although in fairness 4 came in that rout up at Newcastle, after the win at Reading though something changed, even up at the Madjeski although we kept a clean sheet we could have been 3 down before we scored, luckily Reading squandered 3 easy chances and that maybe made Pochettino think, certainly in the final half dozen games we tightened up in the main, but at the same time we were never the same going forward.
Now we should be ready to go back to attacking more and in the process scoring more, Lovren at the back has certainly helped in cutting out those errors that were costing us dearly last term, so we should have the confidence to get forward a lot more.
So having succeeded in shoring up at the back, the manager now has to start getting it right going forward and we haven't done that yet as our goals tally attests, playing attacking players doesn't mean goals, you have to get the balance right and we haven't done that, indeed I think our balance has gone in the wrong direction as we strive to shoe in Osvaldo and Lambert with the result that we don't get the best out of either player.
Im sure Mauricio Pochettino will get it right, his reputation is one of playing a formation and making it work, he isn't playing his preferred formation at present, he is playing a version of it, but to be blunt there are too many square pegs in round holes at present, Im sure he will re focus and get Saints back into scoring mode, if he does then we have a squad capable of a top 10 finish, if he doesn't and this run continues then we could be dragged into a relegation battle.