Russell Martin did not stick to his pre match promise of playing his best available side and made 6 changes to his starting outfield 10, after a promising start, the game faded into a familiar pattern.

The changes were rung in the starting line up with Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale seeing 6 outfield changes in front of him from the side that kicked off at Manchester City on Saturday.

But this was still a side full of experience with only Lesley Ugochukwu & Mateus Fernandes fitting the description of youngsters.

The game started well, Saints taking command and passing it around and it was no surprise when Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed home to give us the lead, when Adam Armstrong doubled the lead on 35 minutes from the penalty spot, you felt that there would only be one winner and an emphatic one at that.

But the second goal only served to stir up Stoke City and as the break approached you sensed that Saints might yet throw away yet another lead, some panic stricken defending saw the ball rebound off Sugawara and an acrobatic finish from Phillips halved the lead on the stroke of half time.

Now you sensed that that it was game on and that proved to be the case when on 54 minutes yet more poor defending saw Stoke take the lead.

Yet again we had thrown away a lead with a lack of organisation and leadership.

Now the game fell into a pattern that has become all too familiar, we passed the ball and then we passed it again, but rarely did we actually threaten the Stoke goal, they however looked threatening on the break and could have taken the lead, but Sugawara made a great desperate last ditch clearance with the ball almost crossing the goal line.

On 67 minutes off came Mateus Fernandes, just about our only creative player along with Cameron Archer and on came Ben Brereton Dias and Tall Paul Onuachu and things did not get better, we had plenty of possession, 78% to be exact, but Stoke got men behind the ball and frustrated both the team and the crowd, yes we passed and passed the ball, but we did little with it.

On 81 minutes we took off Jan Bednarek and Adam Armstrong and brought on Sulemana and Sam Amo-Ameyaw, but the game didn't change much, in fact it got worse, now we were now even more disorganised than before, we got into promising positions, but we didn't make anything of them.

But the game did have a twist, out of the blue James Bree fired in a low shot into the bottom right hand corner from 25 yards in the 88th minute to give Saints a win that no one thought would happen.

There was still 2 minutes plus injury time to navigate, in truth 8 minutes added was probably kind to Saints given the number of subs made & the amount of time that Stoke players spent on the ground needing treatment.

But the goal seemed to break Stoke hearts and we saw out the remaining minutes without any real scares.

But the fact remained that once again we had struggled, we had again got into a winning position but thrown it away, we had shown that possession football does not work for us at either end, both defensively and also from an attacking perspective, as mentioned 78% possession, but only 12 attempts on goal, Stoke had 6, we had only 5 on target, Stoke scored both of their only 2 on target.

More worryingly we had only 32 touches in the Stoke penalty area, this highlights our failure to get the ball into positions to score goals, Stoke who had 22% possession had 15 touches in our box.

The Stoke keeper aside from the goals had only 2 saves to make.

All of this adds up to show that we do not have the players to play this possession football game, our team seem to be playing to instruction and afraid to play the killer ball unless it is nailed on, we are scared to play quick balls into the box to try and catch the opposition on the back foot.

Put bluntly we might have won this game, but if I was on the Southampton board, it would have rung alarm bells, if we cannot implement this style against Stoke who with respect are an average Championship side, then how is it ever going to work in the Premier League.

In the league the focus on our game has all been about the defensive lapses, but this game highlighted our lack of goals and to be blunt, our board should be asking the question as to why with 78% possession we created so few chances, our forwards rarely get a decent chance, they make runs, but never get the ball, it is played out wide and then back to the midfield again.

This is why we are losing so many games and enough is enough, Russell Martin cannot say he has not had enough time to change things and that is the problem, he is inflexible, it is his way or nothing else, this could be the difference between being a great manager or just another has been, good managers adapt to the squad they have and are prepared to make changes when things aren't working.

Art the moment Martin doesn't seem to have any answers other than just playing keep ball, I truly worry about going into the Everton game on Saturday, I cannot see anything other than us doing the same things and getting the same results.

For me as I have said, we might have scraped a win in this game, but the deficiencies were there for all to see just as plainly than if we had lost, something has to change and if Russell Martin cannot change, then Russell Martin must be changed, I truly hope that I am proved wrong !

All Photos Via Reuters

IanRC added 09:14 - Oct 30 Martin is clueless, ideal opportunity to start Amo-Ayew or Sulemana (who ultimately was our saviour and the only player to give Tall Paul a decent cross) but Fraser starts and then is replaced by Cornet, who for most of the time seemed to be attacking the wrong end. Lucky to get through mainly thanks to Khamaldeen, Fernandes, Sugawara and Harwood-Bellis. The Chelsea loanee was hopeless too, conceding possession in dangerous positions.

8

obelisk added 09:31 - Oct 30 I think RM worries that by scoring goals he gives possession back to the opposition on the half way line. Have to agree with Nick though. I've had enough of this boring sideways walking football where forwards making runs in behind are just ignored. Even Tall Paul was giving his team mates some ear-ache over their lack of decent service last night. Fact is last night showed Saints to be at a pretty average Championship level. It's decision time for SR. More of this insipid nonsense and relegation to Championship mediocrity with the lowest ever points total or change the plan to at least give us a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.

16

sandywelsh added 09:40 - Oct 30 Martin needs to be Sacked today and a proven premier league manager brought in. Someone like Moyes would only need a couple of training sessions to know who his best team was.
11

JoeEgg added 09:51 - Oct 30 A poor game devoid of quality and full of mistakes and confused defenders. For the umpteenth time the possession based football does not suit our players who clearly are not good enough to play this way effectively. Stoke are a struggling Championship side and made nine changes for this match. If we have any forwards who can actually score goals in the Premier League we will never know it because of the time it takes for the ball to reach them and the absence of good crosses and activity the box. Presumably only previously made financial decisions by the Board are stopping Sports Republic from sacking the clueless manager. Martin had to find more excuses for his failed team selection and failure to build on a 2-0 lead. Apparently the players that could have made a difference were all at home being ill! Fortunately they will make miraculous recoveries just in time to allow another shuffling of the pack for the Everton and Wolves matches. We all know that Stephens, Smallbone and Manning will make all the difference come Saturday as they return to bring the much needed strength and leadership back to the side! That and a goodwill message from friend Guardiola imploring Martin to carry on with his winning formula and continue stacking up the League points! Nobody can claim that Everton and Wolves should be dangerous opponents - so we should have a chance at the weekend - but they are better organised, more practical in both approach and execution, and dont have Martin to tell them how 'brilliant' they are in all those 'monents'.

8

beynali73 added 09:56 - Oct 30 Sports Directs strategy seems to be grind fans down to indifference and get a few big pay days from yo-yoing. It's working pretty well so far. I'm still amazed that RM managed promotion regarding the brand of football he promotes but in part its a reflection of the gulf between the top flight and the rest. How can a team that concedes among the highest goals in a league also get promoted? It shouldn't make any sense but in the surreal world of the championship Saints and RM managed it due to the lack of quality in the Championship. Although this approach has come unstuck in the premiership as we do not have the players to outscore the opposition and unlike teams in the championship the majority of our defensive gifts are taken - although Man City helped us keep the GD down thankfully. The question is can Sports Direct appoint a better manager than RM or will they repeat their previous track record on managerial appointments? COYRs

4

SanMarco added 09:57 - Oct 30 At least we won I suppose but truly abysmal other than that. We were ultimately lucky not to lose against the poorest team we will play this season. It showcased the sterility of the football RM plays. No quality (until Bree at the end) and boring, ineffectual football. If Stoke aren't relegated this will be a second division game next season - and the signs are not good. This should have been 4 or 5 nil - the fact it wasn't says all you need to know about RM and SR.

11

halftimeorange added 10:09 - Oct 30 Have to say I was bored witless for much of the game in much the same way as the schoolchildren surrounding me who had been unlucky enough to be "treated" during half term to a visit to St Marys. Trouble was they all had mobile phones and understood the technology enough to while away the time we took to move the ball backwards and sideways. Me, I can make and take calls and send and receive messages and that's about it but, that would have been enough if I'd had Russell's number as I would've contacted him and politely requested that he ask the players to entertain us. Next season I suggest the board endeavour to fill all the inevitable empty seats in the stadium by offering cut-price tickets to all registered insomniacs - like Premier Inns they can guarantee a good night's sleep. My facetiousness doesn't include the tidy James Bree who deserves to be playing more first-team football than he's currently getting at Saints. As for Cornet well, his cone appears not to contain any ice-cream.

7

davidargyll added 10:44 - Oct 30 My only comment on last nights general dross would be, who on earth agreed to buy Cornet? Whether or not he has been any good in the past, under RM’s “brilliant” management, he makes statues look skilful and busy. Useless us being too kind. As for the management situation, I do sense that a lot more fans have now turned against him thank God, so, scratched record I may be but, I say again RUSSELL MARTIN OUT ASAP.

7

Bowlercow added 11:30 - Oct 30 For the first time last night I didn't enjoy the game at all after the first 30 minutes Nick a couple of points You say he didn't put out his strangest available team What he considered to be his strongest,what you considered to be his strongest and what I consider to be his strongest are almost certainly3 different things Unless I was at a different game Stoke never took the lead I found our play to be so slow and wondrous At one time I counted 26 passes and all we got was a corner Cornet can go back to WHU in January and at the other end of the scale Bree should get more game time I don't agree that RM should be sacked It's pointless changing managers Us Leeds and Leicester all changed managers two seasons ago but we still got relegated If he continues to drill his methods into the squad the eventually enough of them will get it At least enough to stop us getting the record for the lowest points totalh

-4

HythePeer added 11:49 - Oct 30 What's the point of suspending managers who then sit up in the stands, arguably in a better position, and then communicate with their staff? They should be banned from watching the game. Or, would that be considered an advantage for certain teams?
1

stmichael added 12:02 - Oct 30 We simply don’t have the fans to play this system. A basic grasp of football is required and sadly all We have is archaic dinasours who think David Moyes and his ilk are our saviour 🤷‍♂️
-10

landsdownsaint added 12:17 - Oct 30 A 6ft 7 player &when plan A ain’t working we ain’t allowed to use one of our obvious strengths because the managers can’t be proved wrong !… I think tall Paul ain’t a bad player
7

ItchenNorth added 12:34 - Oct 30 When a team comes up with a game plan of putting 10 men behind the ball for 90mins, and going down wasting time on any occasion. You get a game with ridiculous possession stats for one side (Saints) and fans moaning when the better-quality side can not easily break through. Stoke had no intention of engaging in a game with us and their plan nearly worked as we gifted them two easily defensible goals. This was a Championship game that followed the path we saw for most of last season with teams sitting back, digging in, maybe getting a foothold in the game and then Saints in the end finding a way to win. Not the greatest game I've ever been to, but credit to those who could be bothered to turn up last night, as the fans inside St Marys stuck with the team all night, despite the frustrations of yet again conceding soft goals and making the night longer than necessary!

5

wibbersda added 13:09 - Oct 30 Remember when we were top for points dropped from winning positions with Ralph. Looks like more of the same. I'm beginning to think it is a Southampton thing!
3

SaintPaulVW added 15:05 - Oct 30 Dull forgettable game. But into the quarter finals which is good. COYR
0

Whatsforpud added 18:16 - Oct 30 Generally speaking, today's football is mostly about possession. When the ball is received, pass the ball in the direction you are facing. For heaven's sake, don't turn to go forward and try to actually beat a man! very seldom do you see this in the middle of the pitch - occasionally on the wing where it seems the safest place. .
2

bartley41 added 18:58 - Oct 30 Let's get back to basics, it's goals that win matches not just a high percentage of possession. Has anyone looked at the league table and told RM change your style or we change you! Football is also about entertainment but tippy , tappy sideways is not entertainment!
5

blubberboy added 08:37 - Oct 31 Everyone can see it now. Saints were a little too good for the Championship but, as results have clearly demonstrated they are nowhere near good enough for the Premier League. Answer: Change the way we play or bring in a manager who will. I'm sick of the press comparing us with Burnley but they did show last season that sticking to your ideals is not the answer. The more you persist with a flawed approach the more opposing teams will work you out. I'm pretty sure we will lose to Everton on Saturday and will be amazed if RM doesn't depart soon afterwards.

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