The sight of a Saints shirt thrown by a fan on to the pitch perhaps said it all about a game that encompassed the entire season in 90 minutes, as once Saints were the architects of their own downfall.

This game perhaps more than any other was the story of the season, at times Saints were awful and lacked passion and looked a beaten side, but at others they played perhaps their best football of the season. Sadly the individual awful moments were more than the individual good ones.

But sadly the story was mainly about some poor defending and four goals handed to Nottingham Forest, the fact that they only had four shots on target tells you something about the game.

It was one that Saints don't like to play and once again it was a case of a Saints attack breaking down and Forest going on the counter and benefitting from some shocking defencing.

Saints started well enough and in the first 15 minutes it could be claimed that we were the better side, Che Adams seeing a shot blocked, but this was the story of the game, Forest through themselves into the tackle and blocked the ball, too many of our players didn't.

Then against the run of play came the Forest opener, they took a free kick and played it forward quickly and we conceded yet another goal on the break.

Three minutes later it got worse, Forest again poured forward and we had around half a dozen opportunities to clear, we took none of them and the ball was hooked in at close range, Armando Bella-Kotchap failing to get near his man.

We needed to get back in the game quickly and we did, James Ward Prowse nicked the ball we moved forward quickly and a slide rule pass to Charly Alcatraz saw the January signing reduce the deficit.

We were back in the game and as half time approached you felt that getting into the game with only a goal deficit gave us a platform for the second half.

But again we shot ourself in the foot, Ainsley Maitland-Niles initially made a good tackle, but he dawdled on the ball a second too long and their man got his foot in front and then got a penalty, 3-1 down at the break it didn't look good.

But in the second half again we reduced the arrears, a corner headed home by Lyanco, a player who could in the main hold his head up high in the passion he played with.

But with 17 minutes left it was the same old story again, plenty of possession but then given away cheaply, plenty of opportunities to clear and the ball fired home from close range with the keeper flailing and two defenders nowhere.

At this stage you thought that was it, some started to leave, but in fairness Saints kept going, Sulemana saw a decent shot well saved and the Forest crowd were not as vocal as they had been even with a two goal lead.

But they got their voices back when they thought they went 5-2 up, again more poor defending from Saints, but the linesman didn't spot the offside and VAR did and Saints were still in it just.

As 7 minutes of injury time was signalled, much of it due to Forest's blatant gamesmanship, never have I seen a side have players go down with so many injuries and attempt to turn the game into a farce, came a moment that silenced the crowd,

Saints were now pouring forward with the likes of Onauchu on and Romeo Lavia was brought down in the area with James Ward Prowse duly despatching the penalty.

Forest were now desperate, every trick in the book was being used and Saints huffed and puffed but couldn't quite get the goal that would truly have silenced the City Ground.

This was not a great performance by Saints there are some that say our players had no passion, I would say most of them did, but the problem was the ones that have blighted the season, giving the ball away too cheaply, poor marking at set pieces, being unable to defend sides coming at us on the break and lacking concentration at key moments.

But this is mainly down to one thing and that is a lack of leadership on the pitch, James Ward Prowse is a leader by example but is not a leader of men, there is a difference !

We lacked an Alan Ball, a Jimmy Case and in latter days a Steven Davis, players who could organise and lead the team, we lack a Jose Fonte at the back, someone who can hold a line and organise.

We scored 3 goals away from home, that should have been enough to win it, it wasn't because once again we conceded as many and in this case more than we scored.

This finishes us off, mathematically we are not down, that could likely happen at the weekend, there will be many recriminations from the fans, there will be screaming and ranting that the club is rotten from the top to the bottom, that is wrong, to be blunt we can pinpoint where we went wrong, the poor transfer windows, where we failed to sign the leaders that we needed on the pitch, the change of managers, the failure to get someone experienced in to help Ruben Selles.

The list goes on, but they are all things that we can put right, whether we will do in the summer is yet to be decided, but the hope is that we will do.

We have to reboot, reset and then go again.

On a final note I have not been kind to Forest in this report, in truth as a team they are not as good as Saints, but they are better organised and with leaders, they also had magnificent support throughout the majority of the match, anyone who was at the game would not deny that .

Those supporters would rightly claim that with Forest having a League title, two European cups and several other domestic trophies to their name they are a big club, they have waited 25 years to return to the top flight, but they are embracing that.

I always say it is not what you have just done but what you do next and if we want to go straight back up, we have to back the club as those forest fans have done, at Forest the Saints supporters were like the team, at times magnificent and at times not so good, it was not happy clapping, we all got behind the team and roared it on, but Forest's support last night was truly exceptional, they were right behind their team from the off, even though it had the propensity to go wrong for them.

Some of the usual suspects will say I'm having a go at Saints supporters, they couldn't be more wrong, I want our fans to be like the Forest fans were last night, passionate and backing their team from all sides of the ground, we have a core of fans that do that both home and away, let's get this season over, get our gripes off our chest in the final few games, then put it behind us and move forward.

Photo: Action Images

wessexman added 13:02 - May 9 You mention a host of things which need to change if we are to mount a credible challenge for promotion next season. I suggest it needs a sea change. Whether the foolish egos on the board are capable of this is very questionable.
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saintmark1976 added 13:08 - May 9 Relegation is an outcome caused by the actions of the totally incompetent management of our club at all levels over the last Five Years, not by us losing to Forest yesterday. How the highest paid Board member ( Semmens ? ) has been allowed to draw an annual salary of £830000 during a period in which the club has been in perpetual decline is totally beyond my comprehension.More importantly can anybody think of a legitimate reason as to why the Board as currently constituted should be allowed to be trusted to navigate a path back to The Premiership?

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abrowne53 added 13:09 - May 9 0h well, let’s look forward to better days and an exciting upcoming Championship season and let’s play ‘Sell, Release, Return’ and pick our squad and starters…here goes: Sell ((if the price is right): Adams, Bella-K, JWP, KWP, Lavia, Salisu £200,000+ estimated in Release: Armstrong S, Elynoussi, Maitland-Niles, McCarthy, Orsic, Walcott £200,000+ per week £10M+ per annum estimated off the wage bill Return: Chalke, Lawrence, Nlundulu, Payne, Simeu, Small, Smallbone, Stephens, Tella, Watts Starting XI 4-3-3/4-2-1-3 Bazunu; Livramento, Bednarek, Caleta-Car, Perraud; Smallbone, Lyanco (capt), Alcatraz Tella, Onuachu, Armstrong A; Second XI Cabillero; Bree, Simeu, Stephens, Larios; Aribo, Diallo, Djenepo; Sulemana, Mara, Edozie Academy XI: Bycroft; Payne, Lawrence, Otseh-Taiwo, Small; Watts, Chalke, Dibling; Ballard, Nlundulu, Diamond Good enough to re-set win Championship.

2

codge added 13:11 - May 9 This report could of been from just about most if not all of the losses we have had to endure this season a sad cometary on an awful time to be a Saints fan.
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LordDZLucan added 13:31 - May 9 The new owners tried to make up for 5 years of lack of investment in the team by buying a lorry load of youngsters in the last 2 transfer windows. It hasn't worked because it takes time to adapt to the Premier League. But those youngsters will have learnt a lot over the season and will be better players if and when we come back up. As for the Forest fans, when it's your first season in the Premier League for 25 years you're bound to be loving every minute of it. Let's see how positive they are when they've had 5 years in the Premier League like the ones we've just had!

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HythePeer added 13:46 - May 9 Luckily I once saw Swindon play in a pointless cup match, I say luckily, because it makes this Saints side the second worst side I have seen. The managers and players have no idea how football works. I can't imagine another group of people that earn so much and yet are so bad at their job. No doubt they will get relegated and continue to lose there. Hopefully, some of the "better" players and managers will leave and the team will be better for it.

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PaleRider added 13:57 - May 9 Abrowne - some good suggestions. However, would players like Aribo and Stephens be willing to be second string? Also, there is no spine - we need some leadership and experience.
2

davidargyll added 13:58 - May 9 Three things: 1. JWP after the game: “It’s been too easy. Right from the first game against Spurs until now we’ve not really learned anything, not really progressed, we’ve just taken these results as they are and that’s the most disappointing thing. When you keep doing the same thing and keep getting the same results, we’ve not learnt from it and that’s the frustrating thing.” Now that tells me that, no matter what you think of the abilities - or lack of - of the players, I think JWP is saying that the coaching staff have simply not been doing their job; because surely any coach worth his salt would have seen the basic errors we’ve been making all season, eg defending corners, getting back to defend crosses etc., and correct them? 2. After a few weeks of the season, you can imagine what went through the Saints’ players heads: “Well Bournemouth are useless, Forest are definitely going down and Wolves look as if they’re in trouble…AND WE ARE BETTER THAN THEM…”. Coupled with 1. above, what’s that expression about pride and falling, let alone “we are too good to go down”…? 3. I have always reckoned that the majority of the players won’t actually be bid away and/or leave of their own accord, except I reckon KWP, Alcaraz and Lavia (and I hear Liverpool are after Tino L). But JWP basically also said after the game that he’s staying, not 100% but he loves the club too much. So don’t let gets too negative about next season even if we really need an Eddie Howe-type manager who can get the basics right.

0

Farlow added 14:25 - May 9 I still believe we have had enough decent players to survive but the management has been woefully inept.The other reason weve been relegated is we,re still trying to buy players for £15m when most of the top liners cost £40m.min.
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Peterx added 15:17 - May 9 We have good/adequate players but the sum of the parts is poor. Can be blamed on poor management which can be blamed on the people who hired the management.
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onetowatch added 15:38 - May 9 Reading 'david argylls' comments, I thought it strange how a comment from a player can be interpreted differently. Re JWP after the game, I'm certainly not saying which is correct, only time will tell, but I took his comment 'What happens beyond that, who knows, I don't know,' referring to after the next 3 games as a virtual sign off - and I certainly wouldn't blame him for going. I have never condoned supporters booing or putting players down during a game, but I think all Saints fans, during the last 2 home games, should make it very clear to the board exactly how we feel about how badly they have managed our club leading to this inevitable relagation...

4

underweststand added 15:46 - May 9 Losing this game against Forest was less dispiriting than our defeat at SMS in January where we had 63% possession, but gifted the game and gave them their first away win. Just one of 11 HOME DEFEATS . Don't let's blame the fans, but its almost as if the players themselves are afraid to play home games.(!) At times we look better playing away. 4 away wins, and 2 creditable draws is a better away record than some clubs above us who will survive to play in the Prem. next season. Last night's game ..was S.N.A.F.U. again. We play 45 minutes of good football, yet gift the game to the opposition through inept defending and a lack of attacking prowess. It's fine to talk about skill, etc. but what I wouldn't give to have a striker like Awoniyi. No frills, but someone who clearly know show to finish properly. What's that you say ?. We have one. Oh ,you mean than 6'7 " man-mountain who has a career 75 goals already, and occasionally gets a final 15 minute run-out - when the game is already lost. Maybe someone should tell the manager who can maybe give him a whole 45 minutes more often. Oh... what a pity ...as there isn't so much time left - is there?

6

DellBoyWally added 16:18 - May 9 Can't be arsed. Said all before over several months!!
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halftimeorange added 16:28 - May 9 If it was down to me I'd try and get another season out of Lavia and build a team around him. He 's been the brightest spark in our team of misfits. I don't care what JWP says about Selles, I've seen nothing that gives me any confidence for next season. There are a lot of managers in the Championship who aren't Premiership quality, but understand that it's a battle down there and how to fight it. Someone in the mould of what Alan Pardew was when he first managed us - and before anyone says something derogatory, don't forget he gave us Rickie Lambert and Lee Barnard, both who might have come in useful recently. I'm unsure about Bazanu, Willie Caballero might be good for a season and then we need a dominant centre-back and as I have already alluded to, a decent striker. We seem to have the money, we certainly need experienced leaders on and off the pitch so I'm hoping Sports Republic will have learned their lessons and approach next season in a more measured manner than has been apparent this time around!

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Monksway added 18:34 - May 9 Just a couple of thoughts. Many of the current squad must be exhausted by losing, it's a hard habit to break so a clear out is definitely needed for the benefit of all concerned. Also we are in this mess because of a conceptual business model rather than a pragmatic approach focussing purely on building a competitive squad. If only we had kept Forster and Romeo, bought Ben Mee plus a quality striker and perhaps a couple for the future.... But everything is easy in hindsight.

2

AmericanSaint added 18:39 - May 9 Well, I think we can all agree that there have been MANY mistakes over this season. Too many to name here. So looking forward, I think the big question is how many of our current players who will still be under contract for next season are going to look to move on. Then we can really see who is left and are they worth keeping. The one thing we need to do is get the right mix of youngsters and veterans. I think there are a few players who think they are better than they really are and will force a move (Bella-K, Salisu) and also some veterans who fancy a change (AA, CA, SA, KWP, Perraud, Djenepo and JWP). Add that Moi, Walcott, Caballero are out of contract, this will leave a lot of fringe players as our "core". Now add that Bazunu and Tella are being said to be sold, then it leaves even bigger gaps. All this shifting will mean the board will have lots of work this summer and if they screw this up, we are going to have problems for years to come. Cross your fingers and pray they get some of this right and give a fighting chance next season.

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Jesus_02 added 18:42 - May 9 To win promotion next season we need a premier league standard first 11 and a PL league standard manager. To do this we need to do what we should have done last season. Decent striker and decent midfield general . I would love to see an experienced central defender in there too but I think that might be pushing it. Bazunu has been cursed with an ever changing and unstable back line. Its hard to judge , but I think he is brave and a good shot stopper, I also think that his mentality has been good. I would stick with him I've never really understood why McCarthy has been at the club and how badly Fraser Forster was managed/treated.

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MSB added 19:20 - May 9 Graham Potter ASAP please
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SanMarco added 23:38 - May 9 "in truth as a team they are not as good as Saints" - the league table and our two games against them suggest that may not be accurate. There was an aspect of the circus about last night's game, two poor sides trying to hand it to the opposition but as usual we managed to out-clown the opposition. Sports Republic are totally responsible for our relegation. I don't know whether it was primarily complacency, arrogance, inexperience or just plain incompetence but several of their most catastrophic decisions beggar belief. Usually with bad decisions you can work out why they were made even when they were obviously wrong but I cannot begin to work out certain choices made...

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