Will Russell Martin do something different against Spurs, ? Will Saints players be employed to utilise their own abilities, instead of being shoe horned to play way that is clearly not working.

Early indications are that Saints will have a few players returning from injury for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to St Mary's, but to put it bluntly most Southampton supporters have lost faith in Russell Martin and what little positivity there still is in and around St Mary's is fast evaporating and defeat to the North London Yobbo's will just about finish it off.

But it doesn't matter what players are available, it doesn't matter who plays, the pattern is always the same, overplaying along our defensive line and individual errors costing us dearly.

Russell Martin showed his contempt for Saints supporters last weekend when referring to the travelling fans at Villa cheering when the ball was cleared long and that we then conceded within 10 seconds, he fails to point out that had Taylor Harwood-Bellis cleared his lined instead of trying to get the ball down and play, then the ball would have been safely in the stands and not nestling in our net.

Everyone bar Russell Martin seem to know what the problem is, yet he still sails blindly on, insisting that his possession football game is implemented, even when it is clear that for whatever reason, not working.

His answer is not changing the playing style to suit the players he has to hand, which would seem to be the sensible answer, but to keep changing the players to try and find a winning formula.

This has cost us dearly, we are the Premier League team with the most errors leading to goals stat, this is no coincidence.

Good managers adapt their tactics to suit the players that they have to hand, yes I have written this virtually every weekend this season, that is no coincidence either, I do so because it keeps happening and that the manager is unable or unwilling to adapt.

That is now alienating him from the fanbase, only 7 months ago most Saints fans were enjoying one of the great moments in Southampton FC history, our support was at it's best in many a year, yet now it has dropped like a stone and older fans are likening it to the 1983/84 season when then manager Ian Branfoot ironically played the polar opposite of Russell Martin's type of football, what was then called the long ball game.

Branfoot would not change and paid the price in January 1984, we just about saved our skins that season, but we cannot afford to wait till January this season.

Most of this preview so far has been about Russell Martin, that is because he has made this season all about himself, there is almost no point in speculating on what team he will put out or how they will play, we all know that the answer is there will be a scattergun approach to selection and that someone will be made a scapegoat and replaced by someone who has barely played in the previous few games, we know that we will pass the ball along the back and the opposition will be hovering waiting to press and force the inevitable mistake that will cost us a goal or two.

We are like the Titanic heading for the iceberg, but in this case we have a Captain in Russell Martin who is refusing to turn the wheel and try and avoid it, he is ploughing on regardless, because he believes that his way is the only way.

At 5.45 this evening we will see the team he has picked and wonder where a few of the players are actually playing, we will then watch us pass the ball and pass the ball again, it will rarely be passed to a forward, even more rarely, one in the opposition box.

We will then see a mistake and we will then see defeat snatched from the jaws of a draw, most will go home mumbling, some will moan on the internet, nothing will have changed on or off the pitch and we will repeat this again and again unless something changes.

There has to be a catalyst for change, clearly that catalyst is not going to be the manager, back in 83/84 the catalyst was the supporters, who stood up and said NO we will tolerate this no longer !

Where will the catalyst come now, something has to change !

All Photos Via Reuters

Centurion added 09:37 - Dec 15 I remember we did OK in the 1983/84 season!
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Colburn added 10:38 - Dec 15 What iceberg? Do people really still believe that..!? Why increase the insurance to over double just before the’Titanic’ set sail? Why were the richest who controlled America like John Aster on board yet JPMorgan and co somehow forgot the boat was leaving? How was it that Aster and co were against the Federal Reserve and JP etc set it up a year after the’iceberg’..? Nothing to see here.. You started it.. I see us as more of an oil tanker slowly turning rather than the class of an ocean liner at the moment anyway with our uninspiring number of points and goals. We came 2nd in 1984… McMenemy was the manager. It was probably 94.. But you are right, similar dumb stubbornness but polarised styles. Although we don’t have a maverick this time round to ignore the manager and bang in 2 of the best goals seen in the Prem.. I have often disagreed about the club and manager with you Nick but I think your assessment of Martin’s style, his attitude and how it will impact us as a club is spot on. We all have him time after these mistakes cost us automatic promotion last year but to carry on regardless against more punishing opponents has reaped the rewards predicted by you, all the ex player pundits and many more. If he wants to play tippy tappy on the edge of the box then we shouldn’t have any tall clumsy centre backs on the pitch but a load of nimble midfielders, then we won’t be able to defend set pieces.. The problem isn’t having a ball retention style it’s how it’s implemented. At the moment watching us pass from the back is like watching a load of kittens running across a dual carriageway.

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Boris1977 added 11:48 - Dec 15 If we had a maverick genius in the team capable of winning on his own he'd be dropped and sold. One of the few positives of Lowe's legacy is 'north London yobbos ' which he used to refer to spuds when they put in a derisory bid for deano COYRs
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BESaint added 15:22 - Dec 15 You're right 'Centurion', we did alright with Branfoot, we stayed up, ugly, but we stayed up. To me it's not the Titanic analogy that I would use, I feel we are a bit like the allies before D-Day....not trying our best to wrong foot the Germans, as they did, but telling them exactly which beaches we were going to land on. Every team knows how we are going to play and waits patiently for the errors. That's why RM must go, incapable of trying anything else.

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bryanK added 16:46 - Dec 15 Now missing my 3rd game on the trot and your comments Nick really sums up how I feel. Why at 75 years of age should I travel to St Mary’s and endure the Russell Martin dross. Really feel for supporters especially our younger fans who have not seen an exciting attacking team to support lucky for me I seen some really good times. My current decision is purely based on rubbish style of football and a Manager and Owners who could not care in the slightest want we think.

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Ali_Diarea added 18:25 - Dec 15 @Colburn - so how did it sink if it wasn’t an iceberg? Genuinely interested as I love a good conspiracy theory!
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harrapuk added 18:46 - Dec 15 I think the theory goes that it wasn't even the Titanic it was a sister ship that yad already been damaged when not insured properly. They changed the name plate and assumed that once they crashed it there would be enough other ships close by to rescue everyone. The plan somehow went wrong. Titanic history a lot more interesting than watching Saints at the moment. And it definitely wasn't 1984 cos we came second in 1984 and reached FA cup semi final.

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sandywelsh added 22:47 - Dec 15 At long last after losing 5-0 to Spurs Martin has been SACKED. Better late than never!!!!
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