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Southampton V Leicester City The Verdict Monday, 21st Oct 2024 08:55 Well what can be said about this game, it was a game of two halves where the biggest talking point was the referee, but lets also be pragmatic, Leicester played with organisation and passion and looked the better side for most of the game. This was a game that Saints should have won, 2-0 up at half time, it was surely all about game management in the second half, but the truth was we had none, just as we needed to keep it tight and batten down the hatches, a lack of leadership both on and off the pitch once again cost us dearly. But it started well, after hitting the bar early on a good run and cross from Ryan Manning found Cameron Archer who fired home to give Saints the lead after only 8 minutes, another fine run down the same wing from Kyle Walker Peters saw Joe Aribo double the lead and although Leicester hit the inside of the post we seemed to be holding firm and were good value for the lead, although the Foxes had shown enough to suggest it would not be an easy second half.
That proved to be the case, Saints stayed strong for 15 minutes of so but then the game swung after Yuri Sugawara went off injured, Kyle Walker Peters switched to right back and within minutes Leicester had marauded down our left side and crossed for the Foxes to halve the deficit. Now it was truly going to be about game management. but we seemed to lack any both on and off the field, Leicester were now on top and pouring forward, we needed cool heads, but it was Will Smallbone who came on, now I am not a critic of Smallbone, but was he really the man to come and shore things up after being out injured for the last month or so. The obvious choice here was to bring on Charlie Taylor at left back and switch KWP, square pegs in square holes, but we changed 3 positions in one foul swoop and that broke our rhythm.
The obvious choice would surely have been Adam Lallana, I have heard somewhere that he was injured in the warm up, but this is the 3rd game in a row he has not got off the bench, that is baffling, there seems to be a problem here. Off went Cameron Archer for Paul Onuauchu, and things did not get better, once again only minutes after a substitution came a goal conceded, we just couldn't seem to get organised and keep the ball and Leicester were rampant, a fine save from Aarron Ramsdale kept the ball out, most thought that we had somehow kept the ball out, VAR showed Ryan Fraser literally had a hand in it, tugging on a shirt and the resulting penalty was tucked away.
Now we were down to 10 men and under the cosh, but somehow we held on till the final minute of 7 added for injuries etc, you all know what happened next. So where did it all go wrong ? Yes the referee was no help, he was awful, he did not let the game flow and flashed yellow cards for the most innocuous challenges, Ryan Manning was booked in the 6th minute, Matteus Fernades in the 10th and by the 36th, Referee Taylor had another 2 of our men in his book, not one Leicester player had joined them. Of course the big talking point was the fact that Taylor gave a penalty for Leicester, VAR was more responsible for that and in truth Fraser was guilty as charged, but Saints had a similar appeal turned down with Taylor only yards away and VAR not suggesting he take a look. But these things happen in football, we should never have been in this position, the game turned on game management, Steve Cooper made the right changes for Leicester and turned the game, we made baffling ones and threw it away.
Russell Martin is suddenly turning to players that have done nothing for the club, it seems like he is desperate, Tall Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana have done nothing for this club in 2 1/2 years, and that didn't look like changing on Saturday. Just as we needed cool heads on the pitch, these two were brought on by Martin, the big question is why ! I could understand it if we had been in Leicester's position and chasing the game, but we weren't. On 68 minutes when Onuachu came on we were 2-1 up, we needed experience and work rate, Adam Armstrong would have been the obvious choice here, he will put in a shift and close down to stop build ups, Tall Paul is ok when the ball is near him, but he can't run.
So for me this was what cost us dearly, a total lack of game management, it was just as much about the players who did not get on the pitch, than those that were, no Adam Armstrong, no Adam Lallana, No Lesley Ugochokwu, these three stayed on the bench, when all three were those that could have made a contribution. Sulemana & Onuauchu have made it quite clear that they don't want to be at the club, how does that make those that do want to play for the club feel, not just those stuck on the bench, but those not in the matchday squad, Ben Brereton Diaz, Sam Amo- Ameyaw, Maxwel Cornet, even these three have better track records, these sort of selection's do not unite squads, they create division and tension and they make players question the manager. On Saturday Steve Cooper changed the game for Leicester and our manager seemed to be stuck in the headlights and not sure what to do for the best, I would love Russell martin to turn things around, I stuck up for him last season and I did so in the early games of this, but I truly cannot see anything at the moment that makes me feel that he can change things, he is just chopping and changing without any real conviction other than hoping something will work. That means there is only one solution and that is a change of manager. All Photos Via Reuters Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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