After only one defeat in 7 months at St Mary's, suddenly we have rolled out the red carpet and welcome sign to visiting sides as we again gifted the game for our second defeat in four days at home.

After the Newcastle game although it was a disappointment, there was a feeling that we had played well and given it our best shot, after this game there was only a feeling that we had got everything wrong we possibly could have got wrong.

Firstly there was the line up, we congested up the midfield and played only one up front with Broja dropping to the bench.

This was clearly not working from the outset, it was hard to see just what we were trying to achieve here, although we almost went ahead with Watford needing to clear a header off the line.

But it was clear that we were too casual, we weren't working hard enough and too many players just weren't at the races, this proved to be the case in the 14th minute when we casually knocked the ball from Forster to Benarek and then to Salisu who under no real pressure hit a short back pass that left Forster stranded and enabled Hernandez to round the keeper and slot home.

It got worse 20 minutes later when Romain Perraud left Hernandez completely unmarked at the far post and he fired home from close range, perhaps Forster should have done a little better here although the shot was hit with force and he had little time to react.

But it could have been worse and Forster needed to come out and block when Watford had a man through on him one on one.

A goal from Elyounoussi on the stroke of half time roused the crowd and gave hope for the second half, surely we could not play as badly after the break.

Ralph made a change in the interval bringing on Broja for Smallbone and restoring two up top, but it made little difference, Broja tried hard but could make little impact, even when changing to three at the back with Oriol Romeu dropping in between Salisu & Bednarek.

Our passing and movement was laboured and we still lacked any sort of urgency.

With 16 minutes left on came Redmond and we reverted back to 4-4-2, it made little difference although Redmond did have a good run and cross that saw Che Adams force the keeper into a great save.

You always felt that if we got an equaliser we would win the game as it would surely kick us back into gear, but it never happened.

Strangely in my opinion was the fact that Adam Armstrong didn't get on the pitch after his lively cameo on Thursday, we needed his running and ability to get on the end of through balls, but the change never came.

Suddenly in the space of a week we have gone from the form team of the Premier League to two straight defeats and that is worrying, especially since in two of those games we just weren't at the races and of the 8 goals conceded most were avoidable and the result of lapses in concentration and poor defending.

Ralph made a mistake in this game in his selections and substitutions, it wasn't his first mistakes, it won't be his last, but show me a manager who hasn't got it wrong from time to time.

We can come back from this, we now need to use this performance to motivate us for the Manchester City cup tie, perhaps the players themselves had one eye on that game, this game was a disappointment, but it was a set back and not a disaster, we still hold 10th place, but we could have really put some daylight between us and the chasing pack.

Photo: Action Images

wibbersda added 09:41 - Mar 14 Zero points from 3 bankers', only Saints can do this. They should be embarrassed.
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blambo added 09:51 - Mar 14 Poor. The new owner will be wondering what he has bought...
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highfield49 added 10:12 - Mar 14 I think that I need to get off the roller coaster, I'm feeling a bit sick at the moment.
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wrathoftazz added 10:13 - Mar 14 Lol "show me a manager who hasn't from time to time" .. difference is, most managers who get it wrong more than right get sacked. I really wish the editor here would just come out and say "you know what, I love Ralph, I've been Ralph whipped and no matter what anyone says, I don't care" Where MOST established PL teams have a blip of loosing, ours is the opposite, when we have a blip, it's winning. We have proven AGAIN, we are useless. There is no consistency (apart from being useless) and if we play like that against Man City, it could well be ANOTHER 9nil.

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wessexman added 10:15 - Mar 14 I hope Ralph and the squad can find the motivation to put in a good performance on Sunday. If we approach the game with the same casual attitude and work rate, City will fill their boots. We used to call Ranieri the "tinkerman" but Ralph is not far behind. It is infuriating to see his line ups and tactics at times even more so when we can all see they are not working after 30 minutes or so. Football managers sometimes think the game is rocket science and the crowd are there to be educated. WRONG! We have now had 3 successive defeats......arguably all self inflicted. Do we ever learn?

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SaintNick added 10:22 - Mar 14 This defeat was disappointing, but the loss to Newcastle was against a team who hadn't lost in the Premier League since before Xmas and whose form had been that of a top 10 side averaging 2 points a game in that run and Villa are a team of equal stature to ourselves
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SaintPaulVW added 10:24 - Mar 14 It's the hope that - always - kills you. COYR
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IanRC added 10:32 - Mar 14 Very poor 0 points out of 9 against strugglers is just not good enough. Clearly we have issues against sides that park the bus after going ahead, doubt that will be a problem next Sunday. Broja clearly struggles in these cases as he cannot use his pace so much due to the deep defending. Don’t know what has happened to Salisu, since his minor injury his form has dipped significantly although I still think he and Bednarak are the best centre backs we have in the absence of our loan out players. Redmond should have been on much earlier, thought Elyounousi was awful second half and surprised Adam Armstrong did not get on. Pity about JWPs free kick but in reality we should not have needed it. Shame also that the officials didn’t do their jobs regarding var and the time wasting was appalling again. Perhaps if a player is on the ground he should be sent to the opposite touch line when he ‘recovers’ regardless of whether the trainer comes on although I suppose that would just add more time. Perhaps referees should be encouraged to add penalty time where a player goes down but the trainer is not required. Really hope the players are in a better frame of mind next Sunday.

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Bawdrip added 10:35 - Mar 14 What a dreadful day. Two road closures added 50 miles to my long round trip from Somerset. Then on arrival I find we're just playing one striker against a side bottom but one. Why wasn"t Adam Armstrong in the side or given an apearance from the bench given his bright performance against Newcastle? I always thought this would be a tough game against a side battling against relegation and packing their defence. We do struggle against such teams and today showed little initiative to break them down. I don't know which half was worse. The first saw some ridiculous errors (the first goal a complete disaster and the second not much better). However, after pulling a goal back right on half time I think the second was probably even worse with our total failure to build on that goal Yes Watford did constantly break the game up (they'd learnt well from Newcastle) but we should have been able to deal with that. A thoroughly miserable day!

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beynali73 added 10:37 - Mar 14 Not totally surprised at this outcome but still very disappointed. We can complain about officials and teams who time waste but we cannnot control thoses elements so Ralph should focus on what we can control i.e. having the best 11 for the job. He has form for getting these calls wrong on quite a regualr basis and when he tries to get clever it usually backfires or we ride our luck and get a few lucky breaks i.e. v West Ham in the cup where we could have been 2 or 3 down against a very average side before we scored. Everyone knows that in the premiership you cannot just turn up and take the points based on league position. Starting with Smallbone and one recognised forward was complacent. As for players saving themselves for the QF v City. I cannot buy that - if this lot cannot get a result against Watford and Newcastle and get swamped by Villa they are not going to come out of the City game without anything other than the ability to focus on the league. And if we somehow manage to beat City will the players then be saving themselves for the SF too? If so that will mean more league games lost. Looking at the remaining 8 games or so everyone of them is a game that without the correct preparation and the strongest starting 11 we will lose. I cannot see that 35 points will be enough to stay up so we are in a relegation fight still - one which starts with Burnley away.

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Bawdrip added 10:48 - Mar 14 On the radio Ralph said his team selection and formation was designed to confuse Watford. It certainly confused us!
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vanmans added 10:53 - Mar 14 Total Embarrassment. Why play slow tippy tappy football across our own defence this can only lead to mistakes as it did. Why did Adam Armstrong not start after his performance on Thursday night? Why play only one striker against a bottom 3 team?
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HythePeer added 10:58 - Mar 14 He dropped the best two players! 😜
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halftimeorange added 11:33 - Mar 14 KWP versus Watford sums this up as everyone else was absent in varying degrees. This was our worst performance (if it can be described thus) since the home 9-0. The way the team was set up was Ralph's dummy run for the cup-tie. I don't know whether our players were confused, already on holiday or washed out but, the combination of all three was certainly evident. I've seen more coordination from our local park teams than our first twenty minutes. It was truly embarrassing.

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DPeps added 12:39 - Mar 14 Further evidence, if it was needed that under Ralph we are very FORM-Y. We go on good runs where we look great, and then go on awful runs. History tells us that these poor runs last a while, so best to strap ourselves in. As an eternal optimist, what I would say is that at least no clubs will buy Salisu (yet)!
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ItchenNorth added 12:46 - Mar 14 Worst performance of the 3 by a long shot. We had an off day vs Villa, but that was coming. Vs Toon we played better, but Toon are full of confidence, so I could see that coming as well. But Watford..........terrible performance. The only player that could come out with their head held high was KWP (again). Nevermind. Cup glory awaits! In Ralph we trust.
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felly1 added 12:49 - Mar 14 Terrible performance and depressing result. We're so poor at dealing with counter attacking sides. When we try and move the ball forward we are quickly crowded out and our quick passing game falls apart. Our confidence is gone and teams have sussed us out. They scent blood and we're fragile.
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RedandWight added 12:59 - Mar 14 My 11 year old son was really excited before hand to be going to the match. During the game he turned to me and said, "This is an utter disgrace". I actually felt embarrassed. I've seen us lose to very good teams when you could not fault our commitment, effort or team tactics, you could still stand up and applaud the performance at the end, this wasn't one of those games.

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Block8 added 13:05 - Mar 14 Not much to say that hasn't already been said on tactics, we have never done well against anyone who negates our reliance on full backs as our main source of supply and the last two games confirm that perfectly. A few of the players looked tired on Thursday and I, probably many others too, expected a few changes. However having spent the first 10 minutes trying to work out our formation, I gave up, as it appeared that Smallbone was playing just behind Adams and that didn't make sense. We are highly unlikely to get into Europe, although I am aware each league position is worth around 1 million but we have a chance of winning the FA cup, so this was the game to give the guys a rest. We desperately need a creative central midfield player which will genuinely allow us to alter tactics and play a bit better through the middle. Apart from our own short comings, Newcastle out worked us and Watford, with the ball, out played us.

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onetowatch added 13:32 - Mar 14 Definitely a case of Ralph over thinking this one....I can understand the reason for resting Broja, based on recent performances, but why change the shape and only play one recognised forward at home to Watford - unbelievable. Also a kick in the teeth to AA after looking very lively on Thursday..
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LordDZLucan added 13:52 - Mar 14 All teams have off days. It just so happens that we've now had 3 off days on the trot. The trick is to dig in and still get a result somehow through sheer endeavour and by not making mistakes. However, the work rate has not been been good enough in those 3 games and the centre backs, particularly Salisu, have been making mistakes by the barrowload. There seems to be a collective lack of concentration which, if it was Chelsea, you could maybe understand. But what have our players got to worry about?

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davidargyll added 13:55 - Mar 14 My experience is that there are few games when you can say, with any degree of certainty, that a game is won or lost because of the effort, or lack of, of one player. Yesterday though was one of them. I have been rather on Salisu’s back for a number of games - some may say unfairly - and I have been ploughing a lonely furrow about how in and out he is at best. To me, others were believing the hype rather than the evidence of their own eyes. Or was it more a case of comparing him with other backs and thinking that he was miles better? Well yesterday, I think everyone saw how abysmal he can be: 1. Watford’s first goal came from an almost unbelievably careless gift to Hernandez by Salisu who had a fairly simple tap in. 2. But having so lazily given the ball away, he made virtually no effort to get back to do anything to stop it going into the open goalmouth, in fact that lack of trying to correct his monumental error was almost the worst aspect of his entire game. 3. His position I thought was left centre back; so WTF was he doing faffing around towards the right hand corner post when the cross came in (over him) for Hernandez, whom he should have been marking, to make a completely unchallenged shot and their second goal? 4. And at the other end, from corners/crosses he had no less than three free headers, or at least he towered above everybody else, but, quel surprise, he cocked it up every time. As I have posted previously, he does play some good stuff but yesterday, even if some may say I am being very unkind, I maintain that single-handedly he caused us to lose this game. Cockups happen of course but idiocy and lack of effort are unforgivable. IMO, he continues to be average at best, plodding and overconfident, and the sooner Ralph puts Saliuseless on the naughty step for several games the better. PS. Is it just coincidence that the moment one or two of our players get praised to the heavens by the press, commentators, other media “pundits”(!) and the rest, they seem to begin to underperform? To me the only player who has been consistently praised but who HAS played even better subsequently is KWP. Others though really need to look at him as an example and then take a good hard look at themselves…

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TimSaint added 14:34 - Mar 14 Over the last 3 games, we have gone back to how it was 6 month ago. No organisation, no urgency and they look content to just (try to) pass it round, hoping that someone will take the responsibility of making a killer pass or actually shooting and if they don't, they re-set by passing it all the way back to FF. The last 3 performances have been as bad as I have seen this season and the fact that all 3 teams were below us when we played them is very worrying. We didn't turn up against Villa and were so lacklustre once we fell behind. It was a similar story against Newcastle. No will to win, no urgency and played into their hands. Yesterday was an absolute abortion. Everyone was awful. Nobody could even control the ball properly, often having to take extra touches and because of this, our passing game was totally off. I've never seen us give the ball away so much, or seen so many unforced errors in a single game. Even with time to pick our passes, we still couldn't get it right and we often rode our luck, so could easily have let in another couple of goals. The whole team had a 'mare and as for starting with 1 up front against a team that had just conceded 4, WTF ? Was RH using this as an experimental formation to use next week v Man City ? Still it was a blatant hand ball and should have been a penalty - the one given to Arsenal was way softer than ours, so where's the consistency ? !! The game was summed up by Elyounoussi, on Solent on the way home. He said that everyone makes mistakes and we should learn from them. Yesterday proved that they haven't even learnt from their mistakes against Villa and Newcastle. They are either complacent, on the beach, or saving themselves for Sunday. But let's face it, there is little competition for places and nobody used yesterday's game to prove themselves to RH, despite a few changes and substitutions. If we play like that on Sunday, we are going to need calculators !!

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SanMarco added 15:37 - Mar 14 I wonder how many 'big team' managerial shortlists Ralph is still on after this most dismal of performances. I got the definite impression that he was getting over-confident after our good run. You just can't swan around thinking you've cracked it at this level of football. We were easily beaten by a side who are going down. If Ralph deserves the plaudits for good results then he needs to accept the criticism for one of the worst performances I have seen in a long time. Get a grip man - as had been said by many already, if we play like that on Sunday...

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JoeEgg added 07:50 - Mar 15 Just a postscript to what has already been written. The 'In Ralph we trust' boys are a little quiet anyway so I need not add my two pennyworth to the Watford game. Surely like me, most fans most have been amazed at the starting line up. To select one striker/forward when you have a home game against a team that specialises in getting beaten all the time, is quite simply an appalling mistake and so typical of Ralph who loves to tinker with selections and so often has to try to appear 'clever' with his surprises and choices. As others have pointed out he appears, according to our wonderful media, to be on the short list for teams like Man Utd while at the same time announcing his own retirement in 2 seasons time! He has survived some incredibly poor sequences of results in the past and no doubt will do so again. But with so many key players with big decisions of their own to make come the end of the season, the last thing we want now is an extended run of losses and a 0-9 at City! Time for the new owners to show their hand?

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