Saints were within a minute of a vital win when were undone by a cheat and a totally inept referee, but thats what happens when you are struggling.

It is usually not good to blame a disappointing result on one bad decision, but that is very much the case after the draw at Watford when Saints had a vital three points snatched from their grasp by a cheating Doucoure and a referee who capped a game where he had continually given dubious decisions mainly against Saints by making one massive blunder.

The game had started so well for Saints who dominated the first half and were well worth their 2 goal lead at the break, Shane Long had been superb having a hand in both goals and Dusan Tadic had also played his part.

But the performance was based on a stronger base at the back with the returning Hoedt and Soares from injury and a strong cental midfield trio.

After the break you new Watford would come out with a bluster and they did, but Saints appeared to have weathered the storm when suddenly they were architects of their own downfall, the usually reliable Steven Davis losing possession cheaply and then although McCarthy fingertipped the ball onto the bar it fell kindly for the home side who headed home.

It looked bad for Saints from this point, if you had to put money on a result you would probably have gone for a Watford win, but Saints drew the Hornets sting and looked to be about to take three points when fate literally took a hand.

The truth was the referee was not having a good game, he continually seemed to penalise Saints, Hojbjerg was booked early on for literally his first tackle and referee Roger East was quick to get his book out against Saints also booking Alex McCarthy for the crime of choosing to take a goal kick from the other side of the goal which within the laws of the game he was quite entitled to do, Saints had five yellow cards, Watford did not even have one, that probably tells a story.

So it was not a surprise to find out in the pub after the game that when Saints protested so much they actually had a very valid point and questions have to be asked as to how the referee and indeed his linesman who must have had a very clear view did not spot it, the fact that the referee did not even speak to the linesman showed that he had no interest in making sure justice was served, throughout the game both linesman did little other than point the direction of a throw in, usually after the referee had made the decision for them.

But the truth was that although their were plus points that should not be overlooked, including the spirit that Saints put in, this was again a case of a manager who did little to influence the game from the bench, bringing Lemina on for Davis was a no brainer even for Pellegrino, but it was reactive, in truth I dont blame hi for not making the change earlier, Saints were comfortable, but I wonder if he would have made it if they had not scored.

What was baffling though was that no other substitution was made till deep into injury time, Tadic had had a decent game but in the last 20 minutes although he was working hard it wasn't working for him, he needed to come off, but he was made to carry on by a manager who seems unable to make the right substitutions unless it is forced on him.

The two substitutions when they were made where farcical, the first Boufal on for Tadic was right but as said should have been made at least 10-15 minutes earlier, the second was laughable when Josh Sims was suddenly stopped from replacing Ward Prowse by Pellegrino so JWP could take the corner we had, what was the point of that.

But why was Sims brought on at such a crucial point, Sims hasn't played all season through injury and suddenly is asked to step into a very crucial 3 minutes, why did we not put on a more experienced more defensive player ?

This felt like a defeat, it felt like a bad defeat and I have not spoken to a Saints fan who was up at the game who has any faith left in Mauricio Pellegrino to keep Saints up, let alone take us to mid table safety, this is one of those moments in a season when the direction is very clearly taken, the question is is Abdoulaye Doucoure the man who has steered Saints towards relegation or has he had a hand in the departure of Mauricio Pellegrino and a change in Saints fortunes ?

Photo: Action Images

the_saint added 18:16 - Jan 14 O’Neil and Keane would sort it out, O’Neil for his intellect and Keane as he would scare the crap out of them.
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JimmyMeliaPhD added 19:17 - Jan 14 Whilst the handball was crucial, let's face it, we were asking for it. The usual reckless gambling with a lead--i.e. sitting back and expecting a sub-PL defence to soak it all up--is what really did us in. I mean, if the goal hadn't been illegal, would anyone have been surprised that we gave one up? This is why we fail, essentially, and it really goes beyond MP's inability to get his subs right--it's about essential strategy. The chances of this squad not conceding in any given game are pretty slim. I know Saint Nick and others will disagree with me, but Hoedt isn't the second coming...he's dead average. His display yesterday was appalling from the very start of the game, and his clutching and grabbing put Chris Smalling to shame (and could easily have led to a penalty against). Stephens and he might one day develop into PL defenders, but they're not there yet...which makes it all the more of a reckless gamble to sit back. And as any gambler knows, the more there is at stake, the more likely you are to have an astonishingly bad break, like that handball. Beyond all that, it's hard ro see what's going though fans' heads when they turn their noses up at the prospect of a Walcott or a Carillo. We haven't got anything like those talents in our front players. I'm sure MP could find ways of blunting them if they were in his team...like, never pass the ball to them...but on the face of it they're light years ahead of what we've got.

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TeamCortese added 19:34 - Jan 14 We need to sack Pellegrino and bring in Bosz fast!!! Enough is enough. This is crazy. How incompetent do you need to be to get fired? If this was Puel last season he would have been out the door months ago. Transfer-wise we need buy Giroud (or someone of a similar ilk), Hayim Ziyech (to replace Davis as our creative player), Ryan Sessegnon (Left-back or Left midfield as Bertrand's long term replacement) and Adama Traore (to replace Redmond). We might need a speedster like Walcott or Sturridge to potentially replace Long but I think Shane Long is still good to have as an impact sub. We should keep JWP as an impact sub and set piece specialist for specific matches. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes but what I just mentioned will guarantee a top 10-12 finish--providing the manager is competent. I'm going with Bosz because he got Ajax to the Europa league final and you have to be competent as a minimum to reach that stage of the competition. We shouldn't also forget that Dortmund took a punt on him and he initially got off to a flying start before being dismissed.

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AirFlorida added 21:08 - Jan 14 Time we had a coup! A coup man ;-)
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mattthelegend added 21:10 - Jan 14 As each week and result passes, 2004/2005 season looks like being repeated again. As with that season too many games being thrown away when the points were there for the taking. Not looking good.
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SaintBrock added 21:13 - Jan 14 We should not be distracted by the nature of Watford's equaliser, fact is we should have put the game beyond reach in the first half when we were dominant. Although Long got a lot of plaudits for his performance yesterday he once again missed a sitter when it was easier for him to score than miss. It is unbelievable that JWP is now a better striker than Long. There was nothing hasty or scrambled about either of JWP's goals, both times he was in tight positions looked up and threaded his shots into the corner of the net through a ruck of defenders. No hot headed bash it anywhere type of shooting from him that Long seems to have made his speciality. Long is long past his effective best and should never be a starter. Meanwhile Les will sigh with relief as he will now claim that he has found our new striker from within our own ranks and would you believe it from our very own academy! You couldn't make this up. Don't be surprised to see JWP up front next week flanked by Boufal and Tadic! Only 17 days left to bluff it out Les and the window will be closed again. The n you loyalty bonus for not spending a cent in teh transfer window will be safe. Les gets the Yuans, whilst we get the Yawns!

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simmo400 added 21:17 - Jan 14 Only saw the second half and we were much too deep. We will nvited them to attack all the second half and when we had a chance to break we gave away the ball so cheaply. We were in the driving seat yet let they come at us for 50 mind without relieving the pressure. We are more worried about defending than scoring and putting the game to bed. Too early to say we’re down look at palace we had a seven game start and yet trail them. Perhaps we do need a good manager.

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IanRC added 21:56 - Jan 14 Good to see that at least the JWP bashers have gone into hiding. Definitely need to do something about our chance conversion rate. Would have Koeman back in a flash.
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SanMarco added 22:18 - Jan 14 Reading some comments on here I am expecting Les Reed and Gao to be spotted on the grassy knoll with rifles in their hands. We are not trying to go down - it is just that too many are believing the "not a bad squad" claptrap. Even with a poor manager a decent team would have more than 4 wins by now. We need strengthening in key areas + a new manager if a good one is available now.

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BoondockSaint added 02:51 - Jan 15 Hi IanRC- I hope I am not considered a JWP "basher" but more of a "constructive critic". I think he needs to muscle up and he should not be taking set pieces as he is not the Second Coming of David Beckham as the media paints him. However, i think he does have Lallana-ish skills and was played in the correct position on Saturday. He scores his first goal(s) since April with Long and Tadic setting them on a plate. I know that sounds snarky, but actually I mean is as a compliment-most of our strikers would have missed them (well not Gabbi, but Pellegrino doesn't play him so you can't count him). I thought that was Tadic's best game this season. Anyway, hope JWP continues his scoring ways! I now have to back into "hiding" as there is another fawning interview with Klopp coming up!

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bstokesaint added 12:42 - Jan 15 I literally could not get excited at 0-2. Like most other posters on here (based on the season so far) I knew that Watford would be a different team in the second half and as soon as they scored we would literally sit back and invite them to have another. Like I’ve said before I don’t think we have a relegation squad. Our defence is reasonably decent (low on confidence maybe), and we have a couple of decent midfielders, but attacking-wise we are woeful. And the manager is totally incapable of killing games off. With a win rate of like 17% he must have one of the worst track records of any manager we have had. I wanted to keep CP because I think he would have had a better second season. For me he had more to him than MP. I’d love the club to get down on their knee and make peace with the Koemans. I’m still convinced Everton made a mistake by firing them so hastily. I’d take them back in a second. Otherwise we can continue sleepwalking to our demise..

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saintkev added 12:50 - Jan 15 The issue isn't the handball . That's irrelevant. The issue is that we are currently the poorest side in the league with the weakest and most inept manager and a board with no clue. The answer is simple... To make a brave decision and get a new manager in to turn the team around. Kevin Keegan has been seen in Trevor Mitchell's hair salon and also at Plested's Pies in the last few days... You heard it here first.

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ItchenNorth added 13:14 - Jan 15 One thing is for sure; if the supporters don't rally round the players (forget what you think of Pellegrino), we WILL go down. You have to forget personal opinion on the manager, running of the club or merits of certain players over other; and back them 100 furring each game. Conversely I believe it is a good thing that we have more away games than home in the run in, because the pressure if lifted away from St Mary's. That can change, but only if you really want the club to survive and as supporters we / you put more effort in vocally back the team each game from here on in. Who's to say we can't beat Spurs. Stranger things in football happen but we as fans have to put them in that environment first.

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