A huge wake up call for everyone connected with Southampton Football Club after this big bih home defeat not just in scoreline but in the manner it happened.

The first thing to say about this game is that one bad result doesnt make it the end of the world, but what this comprehensive defeat showed was that Saints are probably in the right position in terms of the squad that they have now and that is somewhere between 13th-16th rather than the fringe of the Champions League places as some would have you believe.

Before we start to make such proclamations we should really seek first to emulate the feats of West Bromwich Albion who have cemented two straight top ten placings and have put togather a squad that can compete, however lately there has been a clamour to proclaim Saints as the next big thing in English football before we have put the foundations in.

However as i said one bad game doesnt make a bad team, however we havent read the warning signs, the 2-0 win at Reading glossed over the fact that we could have gifted the opposition three goals before we even got out of the starting blocks and the result didnt reflect the fact that yes once we took the lead we took control, but before that we were dodgy.

Since then we have played three times and worryingly scored only one goal whilst conceding four, this game highlighted the fact that we are two one dimensional, Rickie Lambert was out of sorts and therefore we didnt have a sniff of goal apart from a couple of speculative efforts.

Im sure the crowd would love to blame Danny Fox for this one, now Im not suggesting that he is the messiah, but Fox took a lot of stick for this one from the crowd and he was far from the worst defender and we need to look at our central defence who were carved open too easily and too often, did anyone scream abuse at our central defenders? or at Ramirex for that matter when he needlessly elbowed Long who had snapped at his heels but had done nothing worse than actually trying to get close to his man and get a tackle in, something half our team should have been taking notes on, Fox himself was dismissed but at least he went down fighting and trying to make a tackle, on the day he was as bad as anyone else, but he showed more heart than most and heart is one of the things we lacked on Saturday.

So what we need to take from this is exactly what we were saying 8 months ago at the start of the season, we do not have good enough central defenders, we do not have any true wide players and we are too one dimensional with little other real options past the first 16 in the squad, thats why we so rarely turn a game round, the victory over Aston Villa back in September remains the only game this season that we have come from behind to win, this for me highlights are one dimensional play, it either works or it doesnt and if it doesnt we havent any other options.

People sometimes call me negative in what I say about Saints, Im not negative i try to be realistic, try to point out other things than how great everything is, thats because i truly want to see us challenge for the Champions League, but over 40 years of supporting Saints have shown me that its easy to make proclamations of ambition, its not so easy to carry them out, Lawrie McMenemy was the most successful Saints manager in our history, one of his strengths was to be quietly confident, you never heard him make bold predictions about what he thought we could do, he under promised and over delivered, if we are not careful by not managing the fans expectations we could do the exact opposite and that can put you on a nasty downward slope when you dont deliver.

This game highlighted that three good wins dont make a season and that having the same squad since the end of August means that you get the same results, Saints can have a good season next year, but a good season will be wrestling with West brom for the top eight and it will mean getting in the right players in the right positions to do that, a late Spurs equaliser will probably mean that Saints wont endure too traumatic end of the season, if that hadnt have gone in we would be looking nervously over our shoulder this morning.

Photo: Action Images

Krisyp79 added 09:14 - Apr 29 Hi Nick, This is my first time posting here. I just wanted to say that this is always a very well thought out site. whilst I don't always agree I do find it a very interesting insight. I'd just like to say I was at the game on Saturday and we were abject all over the park with very little passion and almost completely devoid of ideas which is a big concern. On the points you have made I have to agree that Danny Fox looked low on confidence but at least he tried and was better in the air than Hooiveld. He was truly terrible. He couldn't win in the air against Long let alone Lukaku and was at fault for all three goals and secveral of the other chances as he was about 3 yards slower than all of the other players. I can't remember seeing us play this badly for a long time, especially at home.

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SaintJez added 09:45 - Apr 29 You have to say well played to West Brom. They efficiently and ruthlessly exposed Saints' weak under belly in a manner than many other times haven't this year. In short, they gave Saints the midfield, defended properly and dilligently at the back and made us craft a goal rather than get anything easy, and then played 3 up front who they got the ball to quickly and tried to expose us one on one. Sadly.. one on one, only Clyne can really hold his own, Yoshida is average and Hooiveld and Fox will always be exposed at this level. Can't complain about either of the sendings off. Ramirez another sign of his petulant worst (will he ever knuckle down and try to get the most out of his talent?) and Fox's tackle was as bad as anything I've seen all year. Disgraceful, really. This match reminded me of Muhammed Ali's famous rope-a-dope. Drawing Southampton in with their ponderous optimism before cutting us down again. We could do with Sunderland taking the points off Villa tonight so that both Villa and Wigan don't both sneak past us on the final day of the season. We now have a very small squad to choose from and Tottenham away this weekend looks an almost impossible task... Hopefully we can limp to the end of the season in relative safety and then focus minds on strengthening the back 4 over the summer.

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LennyJam added 09:53 - Apr 29 Jez villa and wigan BOTH wont sneak past us last day of the season, they play each other wigan have got 1 point from the last 9..? why are they now going to get 9 points from the next 12?
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sidsaint added 10:07 - Apr 29 Well said Nick. This was the reality check that we needed. There's been too much chat about champions league built on flimsy foundations. This is a tough league and the teams that are below the top 6 are well managed and organised. To emulate West Brom would be an achievement over the next couple of seasons. Lukaku was as good a forward as I've seen at St Mary's all season. Our deficiencies were there for all to see as they have been all season. Having said that I think we have a good future ahead of us with a smart manager, a professional set up and some good players. We need to spend wisely in the summer and bring some more youngsters through. We have 3 matches to show our fighting spirit and demonstrate that we will be a force in the future. Lets end on a high. Spurs will be tough but we ought to get something from the other 2 teams which have recently rallied, one under a new inspirational manager and one on a tough experienced campaigner who will not lie down. It's time to show character.

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thegeneral added 10:09 - Apr 29 No one could disagree that it was a poor performance by the team and its easy to lay the blame at the door of a poor defence, i have always maintained that Hooiveld is to slow for this division and Fox isn't premiership class. However what did the manager do? WB played three up front leaving a narrow midfield which to exploit we should have attacked down the wings, Clyne did and had the best couple of chances but most other attacks resulted in a poor ball in, easily dealt with by the WB defence. Puncheon surely would have been a better option (perhaps he's injured) as would Shaw have been, but again perhaps he's injured (i havn't had much time this week to see what's what), but it showed a lack of flexibility to change our game either through lack of personnel or tactics by MP. Either way when we are being beaten in all areas of the pitch its time for the manager to earn his corn by making the right changes. I do feel MP is a little one dimensional, to some degree he has one hand tied behind his back in the fact that he doesn't have a lot of options from the bench and certain areas of the park the best we have arn't good enough. We have been very lucky Spiderman and Cork have stayed fit for the majority of the season because our lack of depth in the squad means 2 or 3 long term injuries could have completely sunk us this season.

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SaintJez added 10:17 - Apr 29 LennyJam - I know Villa play Wigan on the final day but, unless they both have 38 points or less, then they might both end up past us on the final day of the season - hence I'd like Villa to drop a few points tonight.
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Sanguin added 10:18 - Apr 29 I’m disappointed in Fox, he had a really bad game. He isn’t the same player that got 15 assists last season, his crossing was atrocious and his decision making all over the park was even worse. Remember that shot he took? You could see him squaring up and before he even hit the ball you could tell it was the wrong decision. I think he is bereft of confidence. My main problem is with Hooiveld though, I know he says he is the whipping boy but I think that reputation is deserved. As has already been mentioned he had a role to play in all three of the goals and too often he let their strikers just stroll past him. He was shaky in the Championship and he’s not good enough for the Premier League. Finally, Ramirez. I haven’t been impressed with him since he arrived. I know they say it takes time for South American players to adapt to the Premier League but all the flamboyant tricks he does that lead to nothing, running into dead ends, going to ground easily and throwing an elbow like yesterday. What game does he think he’s playing?!

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Jesus_02 added 10:19 - Apr 29 I agree with most that you say here. However from my position in the Kingsland I would go as far as saying that Fox appeared to be one of our better players on the day. He really got Jos out of jail a couple of times. OK he is never likely to be world class but he has good basic attributes. He is still young and a good manager would be able to make something of him. Over all I though that it was a pretty mad game. It didn’t seem dirty at all but in the replays the ref seems to have got the three reds right. We will be safe… I know it’s not mathematical, but even with 3 loses it would be highly probable. This season has gone well IMO. A couple of good results and safety was always what I would have been happy with. Key players didn’t play well (Lambert and Lallana spring to mind, but they weren’t the only ones) but it’s been a long season. Also MP didn’t seem to be able to make an impact, which perhaps is more worrying. What Saturday highlighted to me was the incredible fine line that is drawn between success and failure.

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michaeljoycetf added 10:21 - Apr 29 We were out played on Saturday, its serves no real purpose in bemoaning our defence, who have actually been solid and consistant over the last 6 games or so. The plaudits go to WBA who had a frontline of 3 that played out of their skin especially Lukaka who was unplayable. Lets not fall into the trap of saying that we had a bad day and that is why we lost. that is what the annoying pundits say when we play well and deny us the credit we have often deserved. However we do need to pick our best players and if Fox is our best left sided defender then God help us, I take the writers point that he is gutsy and has heart but that wont cut it in this league. our opponents are no longer surprised by our forceful playing style and are finding ways to contain us. Spurs will be tough but we can get something from that game.

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LennyJam added 10:22 - Apr 29 Villa have chelsea home, Norwich away (when they both cant win) and wigan away, (again, both cant win) newcastle are on a horrific run and have arsenal, west ham away we all play each other and even if we lose the next two, the teams below us play each other. so it is impossible for them to all over take us. wigan effectively need 8 points in their last 4 games to over take us, assuming we lose the next 3 (why assume that I dont know)...8 points from 4 games..for a team that has 1 point in the last 3 and have arsenal away in that. Highly unlikely. we had 39 points before saturaday and most felt comfortable that would see us safe, if anything, our chances of survival increased due to so few games left. a villa win tonight wont change that either, its all about wigan (who are away to WBA on sat)

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IanRC added 10:27 - Apr 29 A very poor result for us, the talk before the game was could we show how far we had come but in fact we showed just how poorly we have slipped. I am far from convinced that Ponchetto knows how to play other than the top sides in the PL. Whist Rodriguez is undoubtedly a good player in the making he is far from the finished article and this freedom he has been given to shoot whenever he likes even if there were far better opportunities if he passed is proving counter productive. Look at how Rickie our leading scorer has hardly had a sniff in the last few games and you will see how badly this is back firing. That and the absence of Luke Were critical on Saturday. I am a great admirer of Adam but he does not seem to be fully fit to me. As for Fox, what did he expect the referee to do after a challenge like that, hopefully we can offload him over the summer and sign better cover for Luke. Ramirez too seems to have done little to justify his price tag, looks like we blundered badly in not trying harder to persuade Continho to come to us rather than Liverpool. We have not become a bad side overnight but the manager needs to take a long hard look at his tactics before next week.

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IanRC added 10:29 - Apr 29 PS also agree about our central defenders, why are Fonte and Herren not being given a run out at least
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slynch added 10:39 - Apr 29 I think everyone is a little over critical of the play; the bare facts are Saints had 60% possession, twice as many shots as WBA. 2 of the goals were as a result of stripping the defence and trying to win 2 - 1 and not just lose 1 - 0. And I think they hit the bar a couple of times. Mayuka seems to offer something different, he seems to want to score and not just play football. Fox and Ramirez should be suspended by the club to the end of the season, no need for behaviour like that.

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stmichael added 10:40 - Apr 29 Danny Fox was not solely responsible for Saturday but he was the worst defender on the pitch which given Hoovields performance is some acheivment. And I dont judge commitment on potentially ending another players career. That was cowardice not commitment. I said it at the time and I say it now he is not even as good as Dan Harding. Thankfully I dont think we will see him in a Saints shirt again. However I reiterate he was not the only reason we lost. We were shocking all over fom tactics to players and US. The support was awful , we are not safe yet and Tottenhams late goal may just be very significant come the end of the season. Players and fans would do well to remember that because on saturday we were ALL on holiday.

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wazzosan added 10:44 - Apr 29 Jos Hooiveld is 6'4" and was consistently out jumped by Shane long who is 5'10". We lost just about everything in the air, both at the front and the back. I agree with most of the comments that our central defenders just don't cut it. All of WBA's decent moves started with a long ball that wasn't dealt with. Every header went to one of their players. At the other end of the pitch, if we did win a header, it went nowhere. If we did put a cross into the box, they just mopped it up. As far as MoPo goes, I thought he made substitutions at the right times. They just perhaps weren't the right ones. Although, what options did he have? Our best players were on the pitch already. Maybe Puncheon should have come on for Lallana instead of Mayuka. Should he have brought Forren on? And I agree with what I heard about Lukaka...what a player he is! If Chelsea don't take him back, we should put in a bid. What's he worth? Maybe 20mil? If we are aiming for Champions League, that's the sort of player you have to attract. And so it all isn't negative, Spiderman played very well as did Boruc, if it wasn't for them, it could have been 8-0.

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saint22 added 10:48 - Apr 29 well presuming we get 3 more pints which guarantees us the safety that many think we simply are due then at least MP knows now what a massive job he has to do in the summer to overhaul this squad, starting at the back. this was woefully neglected last summer whilst chasing down the marquee Ramirez signing, which we all know now was pointless. hopefully MP will be given funds and have the knowledge to bring in solid quality at the back plus a midfielder and a striker

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LennyJam added 10:50 - Apr 29 how was the back 4 woefully negelected Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida... 3 out of the 5 that play at the back were bought. Shaw is like a new addition as was not even part of the 1st team squad last season. that back 4 is something like the 8th worst in the league, not too bad considering the start and the fact we got promoted. that back 4 has all but got us safe with 3 games to go. Something we would have jumped at at the start of the season. evolution not revolution

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LennyJam added 10:52 - Apr 29 basically, all but jose OR hooiveld (whoever plays with yoshida) is the only player that was good enough to come 2nd in the NPC to suggest the back 4 was 'woefully neglected' is really untrue
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saint22 added 10:57 - Apr 29 if you read my comment its says "starting at the back. this was woefully neglected last summer" which is true Clyne has been great agreed & yes Yosh and Boruc have come good but that was after the start we had and if we want to compete we dont need to just replace Fox and Jos we need cover sufficient cover in all positions which we clearly do not have now hence woefully neglected

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LennyJam added 11:01 - Apr 29 we cant buy a new team though. Just look at Clint Hills comments about QPR, they were screwed the moment they did this. we have done well IMO. 4 out of the 5 that play at the back are new this season Rodriguez is new, Davis is new and ramirez (good or bad) is new. puncheon is almost like a new signing too.
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saint22 added 11:09 - Apr 29 we dont need a new team just new defenders
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SaintJez added 11:09 - Apr 29 Perhaps next year, Matt Targett will have developed enough to become understudy to the excellent Luke Shaw - who will be an England squad regular in the years to come. Buying a new left back will not be that easy as we don't want to buy someone who will expect to be first choice - and those willing to be sub are unlikely to be premiership class. A similar story at right back.. Clyne will become a class act so you need an understudy to him. We have that (to an extent) at the moment but will that change in the summer exodus? Centre half should be an easier play with respect to the transfer market. We need 2 first team players who will gel to form a formidable partnership. Ideally both big and strong and at least one with a decent turn of pace. It won't be cheap but you can go out to sign players with a guarantee of game time which makes the move more attractive. Yoshida should deputise as and when needed. Any thoughts on who we'd want at centre back??

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ericofarabia added 11:29 - Apr 29 The delivery into the box and to the forward players was pretty abysmal all afternoon, with Fox and Lallana being thw worst culprits. Our game, as with the previous week games against WHU and Swansea was screaming out for more width. Clyne got forward a few times and nearly scored each time, but an earlier intro for Punchy might have helped. The midfield support and cover of whoever plays in the FB positions against Spurs next week is going to be very important if we are to avoid an absolute mauling.

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St_Chris added 11:47 - Apr 29 Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I love the fact that one post here explaining how poor Fox was is followed by one that claims he was one of our better players. From my point of view, Fox was lacking in the basics of ball control and distribution, his crossing and set piece delivery was equally poor. The brainless and cowardly tackle resulting in his red card came about because he was the last person in the stadium to realise the ball was coming his way. Clearly the result is not down to Fox, it was a poor team performance, but, as a defensive unit, we seem to be more vulnerable when he plays. I doubt we'll see him play for Saints again.

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OldRed added 12:22 - Apr 29 Totally over-critical. We've not had a performance like this for a long time so why, all of a sudden is everybody on everyones back? Of course we need to improve, and vary our style from time to time. The time to worry is when we string 2 or 3 performances like this together. Looking back, we've had a good season. All everybody wanted at the start was to avoid going back down and we will.

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