I have been saying the same thing since January 2017 and nearly four years later nothing has changed and is indeed getting worse, anyone care to tell me I am wrong ?

As Saints went down to their third defeat of the season and three games which they have conceded 8 goals, all of which have seen dismal defending, I a about to rest my case for the defence, or should I say case against the defence.

I keep banging on about the same things but the reason I do is because they keep happening, some people tell me I have something against Jack Stephens and others, but the truth is all I have against them is their inability to defend and repeated basic errors.

Put bluntly we have a top 8 side going forward and a Championship central defence that keeps getting caught.

Today against Spurs we should have been dead and buried first half but Var & The linesman kept us in it, we took the lead and almost held it to half time, but almost is not good enough.

Spurs game plan was simple, just play the ball forward, we cannot defend, it could have been another 9 today, the only good thing about the day defensively was team spirit kept us going.

How devastated must the rest of the team felt when they battles hard to get us into a winning position, only to see the defence throw it away though poor defending, an inability to actually be organised and handle attacks and ball watching.

Some people got quite animated when I suggested during the re start that we had got lucky in some games, some even told me that Jack Stephens would play for England, I ask you today, does anyone still think that ?

I'm sorry to have to make him the scapegoat, truth is it is not his fault, he is an honest player being asked to do a job that he is not good enough to do and that is hold the back line.

The blunt truth is that the two fullbacks are good enough, the rest of the team is good enough the centre of defence is not.

Perhaps Salisu will improve matter but he will not be the complete solution.

The thing is the solution is cheap, there must be a 31-33 year old experienced central defender out there who can read a game and organise our back four, find him sign him and things will improve.

I have been saying the same thing for nearly four years, last season I said that some weeks we get away with it others we don't, this season in the first three games we haven't got away with it at all because all our opponents have sussed it, sling the ball forward we defend like schoolboys.

We are a good team, we are a good squad, but the problem is glaringly obvious, I have been saying it for a long time, does anyone now disagree, or do you think we were just unlucky. !

Photo: Action Images

SaintBrock added 20:34 - Sep 20 What nobody is doing is giving credit to Mourinho. We've seen it with him time and time again with several clubs, he watches the first half without getting too involved then makes a couple of changes at HT to exploit the errors he sees in the opposition's game plan. Not that it was particularly difficult today to see how easy it was to defeat Ralph's high-line game. Long balls over the top to fast front runners. Bingo! Puzzle is why Ralph did nothing about it when he could see clearly that the opponents tactics had changed after HT, so why didn't Ralph change our tactics to counter what Mourinho was doing? 100% Ralph to blame. Our players weren't that bad, just a very bad system that they barely understand led to a collapse of morale and loss of concentration and commitment.

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saintpete01 added 20:37 - Sep 20 EDDIE HOWE NOW
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saintpete01 added 20:39 - Sep 20 EDDIE HOWE NOW LOVE RALPH FOR HIS ENTHUSIASM BUT
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saintpete01 added 20:40 - Sep 20 EDDIE HOWE NOW LOVE RALPH FOR HIS ENTHUSIASM BUT
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PatfromPoole added 21:41 - Sep 20 Today typified why we’re a better side away. We wouldn’t be so daft to play the high line away from home.
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ElijahK added 21:59 - Sep 20 I mean I don’t get why people are blaming individuals!? I mean yeah we had a few who who stood out as worse than others, but in the end Hastenhurtle is actually a decent manager and is the best we’ve had since coming back to the prem (along with Potch and Koeman)! The fact is that the people who are at fault is basically the whole team bar our attack, because our team (bar our attack) has not been at premier league standard since the start of the season! And it’s not just the players on the pitch a dit’s also the board and the people in charge of transfers, as we’ve basically signed nobody as Salisu we had before the transfer market opened and Walker-Peters was always coming after the loan! But the fact is that if you asked any saints fan after we signed Peters, of which position do we DESPERATELY NEED, then they’d of all said a central midfielder as Romeo is just shit, and Smallbones too young and unfortunately we can’t clone Ward-Prowse, meaning that we were desperate for a central midfielder, and the fact that we haven’t signed one in a MONTH SINCE THEN is just ridiculous! So really I personally think this is everyone’s fault, bar Hasenhuttles and our attackers!

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ElijahK added 22:00 - Sep 20 I mean I don’t get why people are blaming individuals!? I mean yeah we had a few who who stood out as worse than others, but in the end Hastenhurtle is actually a decent manager and is the best we’ve had since coming back to the prem (along with Potch and Koeman)! The fact is that the people who are at fault is basically the whole team bar our attack, because our team (bar our attack) has not been at premier league standard since the start of the season! And it’s not just the players on the pitch a dit’s also the board and the people in charge of transfers, as we’ve basically signed nobody as Salisu we had before the transfer market opened and Walker-Peters was always coming after the loan! But the fact is that if you asked any saints fan after we signed Peters, of which position do we DESPERATELY NEED, then they’d of all said a central midfielder as Romeo is just rubbish recently and Smallbones too young and unfortunately we can’t clone Ward-Prowse, meaning that we were desperate for a central midfielder, and the fact that we haven’t signed one in a MONTH SINCE THEN is just ridiculous! So really I personally think this is everyone’s fault, bar Hasenhuttles and our attackers!

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ElijahK added 22:01 - Sep 20 I mean I don’t get why people are blaming individuals!? I mean yeah we had a few who who stood out as worse than others, but in the end Hastenhurtle is actually a decent manager and is the best we’ve had since coming back to the prem (along with Potch and Koeman)! The fact is that the people who are at fault is basically the whole team bar our attack, because our team (bar our attack) has not been at premier league standard since the start of the season!

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SanMarco added 22:09 - Sep 20 Ralph's excuses: 1. Naive players - the naivity I saw was in continuing with a system that the defensive players were being exposed by. 2. Small squad - unless we sold a player during the match then he already knew that 3. Players only fit enough to press for 45 minutes - obviously begs the question WHY?? but if that is the case then continuing the system in the second half was perhaps a tad foolish. Yes our central defence isn't good enough and this is not helped by a dodgy keeper and Romeu's lack of pace and poor passing. Ralph is aware of these problems but plays a system that exposes them. To turn round and call then naive is unfair. Every team we play is now totally aware of those wide open spaces behind our defence and it won't just be the top teams that take advantage. It is incredible that we have still done nothing about our weakness at the back but until/unless we do then Ralph needs to develop the odd plan B. I know in the classical story the tortoise beats the hare but Son could have paused for a cup of tea and a fag and Stephens would have still been nowhere near. On the plus side Djenepo and Armstrong were good and Ings too after a couple of quiet games.

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ElijahK added 22:15 - Sep 20 With MacCarthy though I personally didn’t want Forster, but seeing how poor MacCarthy was against Brentford and yet AGAIN today! I personally think we might as well give Forster another chance as the worst that could happen (if MacCarthy continues to play like this) is that we get a goalie just as bad!
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Saintaxidriver added 22:49 - Sep 20 You can't play a high line if your centre backs have no pace. Also felt every time Stephens got the ball it was like time stopped and he went into meditation mode! Hope Salisu has some pace and we need another pacey centre half to go with him. Keep Stephens and Bednarek as backup. We played some good stuff going forward and could easily have had a couple more goals but every team will score against us with this high line and slow centre backs!

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KriSaint added 02:12 - Sep 21 Many good points here to reflect on. Thanks. I will add that important small margins were not on our side. We should have been leading 2-0 or 3-0 at half time, and it is fair to say that Adams' finishing was not good enough, but his efforts in build up play was generally fine, I think. For instance what a great assist for Ingsys ruled out goal (handball). McCarthy looked at his team mates with blame in his eyes after 1-1, but the primary player to blame was himself for not running out and making the angle much smaller. Maybe McC could have even tackled Son when Son connected to the ball if McC had been alert and aware and had left his goal line pronto. I like McC and think he has become much more vocal and better at coming out for high crosses, but isn´ty he a little inconsistant? It would have made such a difference, I think, if he had saved the 1-1 just before half time. Unfortunately VAR overlooked that Kanes dysproportionatly long and forward bend upper body was clearly a fraction OFFside at left arm pit level - and maybe even arse level - when Lo Celso passed the ball to him in the build up to 2-1. Bertrand made Kane a couple of centimeters OFFside, and I will claim this forever.

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saintstowin added 07:48 - Sep 21 I have seen us defend badly but I have never seen so many one on ones from any professional football team in my life. It is a disastrous tactic. I don’t understand the long term benefit because even a wonderful new defender as part of a better back four isn’t going to want to or be able to play this way successfully. I am glad Match of the Day 2 just laid into the system. They made a point that whilst the manager takes some blame, actually during a game players need to step up and change it too. I agree that some of our defending will often be lacking because of the standard of player but to expose ourselves like this ten times in a match is ridiculous.

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SaintBrock added 09:38 - Sep 21 As fanciful as it may sound there is just the possibility that Hasenhuttl wants out and a 6,7 or 8 goal drubbing would have given him the perfect opportunity to offer his resignation, just as he did last year after that never-to-be-mentioned-again result. Why might he want out? Simply because he is totally PO with all the BS promises (lies) of financial support to bring in players he wants that never materialise.

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petedoors1 added 10:03 - Sep 21 Well said Nick you are proved right again about our unorganised defence. We must have the to slowest centre backs in the premier league who are only ok for back up. We need a new one to play alongside Salisu. We also need 2 new midfielders 1 defensive and one creative. What has happened to Ward-Prowse he has done nothing in the first 3 games?
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SanMarco added 10:10 - Sep 21 I don't think it is fanciful at all that he is sending messages SaintBrock. If he wants out he would have been sensible to resign before kick-off rather after such a match though, given the criticism he has got. Perhaps it is more a "look what is going to happen if we don't strengthen" message. That second half certainly felt like a mad professor persisting with an experiment as the lights flicker on and off and the thunder and lightning get worse and worse...

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Consigliere added 12:25 - Sep 21 Well I've now had plenty of time to think about this and have read all the many interesting comments above. The conclusion I've come to is that I agree with SaintTaxiDriver - you can't play a high line (which I think we would all like the team to continue to do as its so exciting to watch) if you haven't got fit or quick enough defenders to get back into position and snuff out the danger when the other side chuck the ball over the top. So its both a system error and a defence error. We need to make a choice. Either abandon the high press (boring boring) or get the defenders real fit and quick. That is a management issue and I'm sure Ralph will want to sort it out.

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Nomaesaints added 18:36 - Sep 21 Can someone tell me why we have gone to this high line since the new season started? I saw a recording of the match today and we could have been 3 up at HT After the second Spurs goal RH should have made the changes as it was obvious Spurs had it figured out By the way why do we sign defenders that are not fit!!
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Number_58 added 16:15 - Sep 22 Where are the articles slagging off our owner and the terrible way the club's being run? Maybe if Gao actually had some money to spend on some 'leaders' then Nick wouldn't have to write an identical match report every week. You can't keep blaming the same players without eventually questioning why they are in the team.
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kristianJ added 16:22 - Sep 22 For me the result was more to do with the system than the players. Trying to play an offside trap on the half way line is madness for any team regardless of personnel. You effectively give the opponent nearly half a pitch to boot the ball in to. Even with quick cbs (which we don’t have) the defensive line would be pulled all over the place. We must play deeper. We also need cover or a replacement for Romeu. Smallbone is a decent player, but he’s not a DM. For me this is the most obvious weakness in our squad and was clearly a factor in the shambolic 2nd half performance.

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theralpholution added 16:57 - Sep 23 Same article, not because the problem was the same in this game but because the writer is fixated on trying to establish a pattern of failings that will be remedied by a mystery experienced defender to replace his arch nemesis Jack Stephens. Son's pace exposed the defence time and again as he was put clean through. Is this Stephen's fault? Is it likely that a 31 year old defender would have fared any better? Would he have been able to catch Son with pace? Would he have gone against Ralph's instructions to play higher up the pitch. Much as I like Ralph and his adventurous way of playing, the tactics here were flawed. No centre half would be as fast as Son and therefore the way to negate his threat would have been for the team to retain the ball better or to sit deeper. I know it's a poor result but t's still early days, I'm sure he will sort it out and I assume Salisu will be faster and that the players will get fitter. This squad is improving with players who have the wrong attitude are being dumped. It is a process that is still in its relatively early stages and although playing with the high line was misguided against a team of such qualities we are on our way to much better football and have been for some time. Adams missed chances chances but showed an ability to drop deep and effectively partnered Ings, Djenepo looked a much bigger threat than Redmond and Walker-Peters another strong addition. There are better results ahead and a 31 defender is not the answer for this young side.

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SanMarco added 18:48 - Sep 23 No reason why a quick CB could not have turned quickly and given Son a run for his money. Yes - they are defending too high (watching Liverpool at Chelsea you saw where the line should be - a good few yards back) but that isn't an excuse for Stephens's poor play. Oh and the 31 year old will be telling the other CB to chase Son, not doing it himself!!!
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