Some have been saying of late my verdicts have been like a broken record, that is because defensively it has been like watching Groundhog Day.

Saints did not play badly at Chelsea, but they were undone by poor defending, if Claude Puel is happy with his central defensive pairing, as has been suggested in various press conferences, then i am afraid that his standards are far below mine, I am not happy and another four goals shipped in this game added to three on Saturday should be telling Puel something.

But if Puel picked the wrong team was his first mistake, then failing to change it was his second, at 3-1 down shortly after half time the manager sat on his hands for 15 minutes, surely if he was ever going to give Martin Caceres a run out it was now with Chelsea now rampant and pulling us all over the place, but it did not seem to be even in his thoughts.

I do not know whether Caceres is the answer, but I do know that 18 goals in 10 Premier League games is not acceptable and certainly not the answer either, that is 1.8 goals per game, that is a ratio that over 38 games would just about make us the worst defence in the football league.

The big question is why is Puel happy with this and why is he not trying something different, even if Caceres is not the answer and to be blunt the reason he is not playing cannot be football related given our defensive frailties, why has Puel not tried something different Flori Gardos perhaps or even moving Ryan Bertrand into a central role.

Sorry is some do not like me saying it, sorry if they think it is like a broken record, but if we were tight defensively and not continually leaking soft goals then I would not be able to say these things, but 1.8 goals per game is an embarrassment to the manager and even more embarrasing is his apparent acceptance of it and failure to deal with it.

How frustrating must it be for the players out there who ran their socks off for 90 minutes, they had worked hard to get back into the game after we had conceded a goal so early and deserved to go into the break at half time level before we let Chelsea have two free headers to take the lead on the stroke of half time.

If we had gone in level then we stood a chance in the second half, but when Chelsea again had the freedom of our penalty box just after the break and we were 3-1 down there was going to be no way back for Saints.

But amzingly Puel did nothing for 15 minutes as it suddenly looked like Chelsea would swamp us, there were no changes from the bench for a full 15 minutes and when it happened it was Redmond on for Boufal, in itself it was baffling why Redmond hadn't started the game in the first place, Boufal did not play badly but he does not have the work rate of Redmond and that in itself caused us problems.

With 8 minutes left it was Long on for Ward Prowse, was this brave or foolish from Puel, did we stand a chance of getting back into the game ? the balance of the side was now very much upset, 3 minutes later and Gabbiadini was off for Rodriguez and you sensed that the manager didn't know what he was doing and it was no surprise when Costa made it four a few minutes later, most of the travelling Saints support missed Ryan Bertrand's late consolation.

At 3-1 down to the Champions elect and 35 minutes still to go and a defence in disarray most managers would look to shore things up, get back into the game slowly and hope to get possession and find a way back, Puel's idea is to try and outscore the opposition, baffling.

I'm sorry f you have read this before, I'm sorry i have seen it all before if it is any consolation.

I have nothing against any Saints player, I have to personal reason to want any of them dropped apart from my issues with their performance levels and week in week out I see the opposition being gifted easy chances, in some games like Bournemouth, Palace and West Brom the failure of those teams to score from free chances at close range meant we got more points than perhaps we should have got, but Manchester City and Chelsea are a little bit more clinical in front of goal.

If anyone disagrees with me that is fine, football is about opinions, but I will say this, given the quality of central defenders e have had in the past four seasons, if either of these two are first choice next season would anyone actually be happy with this ?

The answer is no, that being the case the excuses I hear about giving them game time etc and bringing them on are not relevant, in fact if Jack Stephens is going to have a shot at a future at Saints then playing him alongside Yoshida is counter productive, as a duo they are not good enough and never will be, at least not to the standard of the pairings we have had in previous years.

Sorry Claude Puel, your team went out and did it's best it matched Chelsea for workrate and battled hard, but it was let down again by shoddy marking and defending at crucial moments, that is not the fault of Yoshida or Stephens they are doing their best, their best is not good enough, again they cannot be lambasted for that they give 100% but the team is being let down by it's manager who is failing to lead it and show that he is tactically aware of his side's failings and indeed strengths.

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LordDZLucan added 12:05 - Apr 26 Last night is not a night for highlighting the inadequacies of certain individuals; it demonstrates what Saints are good at which is keeping the ball and playing the game in the right way but it also shows what Saints lack collectively and that is ability in the air and physicality. I can’t think of any great headers of the ball in that team last night and only Oriol Romeu and Cedric Soares could be described as players that like to get their foot in. That is not Puel’s fault; it is the card he has been dealt by the board exacerbated by Virgil van Dijk's injury. Caceres might make a difference but he is only one man. In the close season we must sign new players that have the aforementioned attributes in abundance as well as keeping Virgil van Dijk. Otherwise we’ll continue to get rolled over by the top sides and I for one am getting fed up seeing it happen time and time again.

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Sanguin added 12:20 - Apr 26 Considering that we never expected to win this game, I thought we played well and the score flattered Chelsea. If our defensive marking were a little better we could’ve taken a point. I understand your arguments Nick, I think that Stephens’ inability to spot and mark Hazard was the reason we conceded the first goal. But I disagree that arguments about giving Stephens and Yoshida experience are irrelevant. VVD will be first choice and I expect us to sign another centre back, or even sign Caceres on a long term deal. But, both Yoshida and Stephens have improved from this run in the team and I see them as capable deputies for next season who are benefiting from this experience and trust shown in them. Clearly, Puel now has an eye on preparing the squad for next season. Boufal’s confidence isn’t great after his injury and some poor form, with a run of games and a full pre-season he may well come good next season. I feel that Hojberg is in the same position and I expect to see more of him as the end of season fixture congestion intensifies. I’ll get downvoted but I don’t have a problem with this, I’d rather have a better shot at a European place next season and a stronger squad than finish a place or two higher this season.

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SanMarco added 12:21 - Apr 26 Some broken records need to be heard - the soft goal through the centre of our defence just before halftime was a sickener. Just like the first Man City goal it was a soft goal at a vital time. To be fair I am sure Puel is not really 'happy' to gave gone from, arguably, the best CB pair in the league to the worst in the space of a few months. He clearly thinks Cacares is not the answer. Could he be showing the transfer committee the dire consequences of not strengthening at the back in the summer? God help us if he thinks these two are the answer for next season. The stats that Nick quotes are true and they cost us a cup final as well as quite a few league points. JWP's lack of defensive abilities doesn't help either. All that said, I thought we looked very good in other areas. Add two good CBs (or one + VVD if he miraculously stays) and a strong midfielder who can defend (to take some of the load off Romeu) and I think we could be alright next season. On the other hand if we sell all our decent players....

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redandwhitedee added 12:27 - Apr 26 Just remember where we have come from - and that the squad is still developing - in a very short space of time. If we had the same money to spend that Chelsea have spent, then i suspect we could have maybe managed another 2 goals and made it 4-4 against the champions elect. We simply do not have the resources as Chelsea do. This is why they are top of the league, so losing by 2 goals, away from home, when they are fighting like hell for the title is no great disgrace as your "verdict" seems to imply. There is simply no point in playing Caceres when Stephens & Yoshida are both fit. Just because he is a name you have heard of, doesn't mean he is the right man to play. We have to look to the future, and if you are right that Yoshida and Stephens are not capable Premier Lge players (i disagree), then these games are vitally important for Puel and the mgt team to be able to make that decision before the summer.

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abingdonsaint added 12:33 - Apr 26 As Lucan says, our main problem at the moment is a lack of physicality. Costa's first goal was a prime example. He simply outmuscled Bertrand. All the top teams are powerful as well as skilful, whereas we have mostly skill. Under Poch, we had Wanyama and Schneiderlin, and did well against the big teams as we could not only match them, but overpower them in midfield. VVD is a huge loss, hopefully only temporary, as was Vic at the start of the season. Bottom line is, I don't think there is a lot we can do now for the rest of this season, but I happen to trust our club knows what it's doing, and we have been linked again to Carvalho, who is just the sort of presence we need for next year. Add a Fonte replacement, and most importantly, keep VVD for at least another season, and we can do a lot better....fingers crossed!

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highfield49 added 13:06 - Apr 26 Can't disagree with most of the analysis, out skilled at times, out muscled quite frequently but not out played for much of the game. Investment required in the summer if progress is going be made. It's getting tougher and tougher to compete at this level so some astute buys are critical.
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saintwizzler added 13:18 - Apr 26 Caceres is an experienced international, won titles at Juventus and Barcelona plus he is a Champions League winner. To see Stephens ahead of him is an absolute joke, now is the time to see Caceres on the pitch and if all is good get him signed up for next season. Stephens will have his time, he has a lot to learn. We can't keep leaking goals like this!!
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TeamCortese added 13:23 - Apr 26 Nick we lost to the Champions elect away. If you're seriously going to pin the blame solely on Yoshida and Stephens you're clearly delusional. Firstly the first goal conceded was ineptitude by the whole team to pick up markers and stay alert with runners. While Hazard's finish was excellent Romeu really should have prevented him getting the shot away. Furthermore Cedric played Costa onside and this was even highlighted by the commentators. The second goal was Dusan Tadic not putting enough pressure on Kante. This subsequently lead to Cahill's goal at a very pivotal point of the match. Considering how tall Chelsea's players are compared to ours we were always going to play second fiddle in aerial battles. Furthermore, Forster could have been more proactive with his positional play and also commanded the box a bit better. I'm really getting fed up with the preferential treatment you've given him over Yoshida and Stephens. He's been terrible all season and you've been completely silent about him. The third goal highlighted LordDZLucan's point with Costa clearly a mismatch for Bertrand. Again like all of Chelsea's chances as long as the finish is reasonable it was more or less a guaranteed goal against Forster. The stats prove it. Nearly every chance that they had was a goal. The fourth goal was definitely our defence not doing their job properly coupled with Forster's lack positioning and general lack of proactiveness. All that said we gave a decent account of ourselves but we're fundamentally beaten by a better team. Without VVD and a decent keeper we're not the same team. Lastly, I find it fascinating that you've bought up the stat about our defence conceding 1.8 goals per game. Did you know that Chelsea haven't kept a clean sheet this year. This is the same Chelsea that has world class defenders and are contention to win the league. http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/26/chelsea-make-it-11-games-without-a-clean-sheet-aft Nick please provide a more balanced view in future. I definitely do not want Yoshida and Stephens to be our centre back pairing next season but I'm not going to single them out as the sole reason for losses.

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schatfield added 13:28 - Apr 26 i was at the game last night (sat in the chelsea end sadly). I thought Saints actually played very well. The first half we were great and it was unfortunate to concede right on half time, but Chelsea are another level with some very good players, so lets not be too down. At 3-1 our heads dropped which is understandable and struggled to get back into it a bit. Forster even made some decent saves!

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SanMarco added 13:49 - Apr 26 " If you're seriously going to pin the blame solely on Yoshida and Stephens you're clearly delusional" He is not doing that Cortese. Redandwhitedee implies that Yoshi and Stephens are 'capable PL players'. If you agree with that statement and also think that they are good enough for a top 8 PL side then you disagree with Nick and myself, and quite a few others. Sad to say you can usually tell whether our boys are top eighters by the interest in them from the top seven. If we get a £20m bid for Yoshi or Stephens over the summer I would be astonished. Surely the point is that with two better CBs last night we would have conceded less than four. We don't usually concede four - even against the eventual champions...

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BoondockSaint added 13:50 - Apr 26 "I'm sorry if you have read this before, I'm sorry i have seen it all before if it is any consolation."????? Sorry Nick, I for one don't remember you saying this. Maybe my aged memory is selective, but it seems to me you have been saying all year Puel knows what he is doing, he and the board have the team they want. That we have plenty of attacking options, our defense is fine so Fonte can get on his bike and JWP is the second coming of David Beckham! Truth is, Chelsea's money was on the field (and bench) man for man they were bigger, stronger and faster. Yes we played well for most of the first half, but that was them not taking us seriously. Once they woke up and stepped on the gas, it was game over. Until the board has a change of attitude, next year will be more of the same.

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vanmans added 13:54 - Apr 26 Well said Nick we all knew saints make do defence would let us down against Chelsea and they were torn apart by top players. Even Dave Merrington on Radio Solent said that Yoshida and Stephens were not good enough against top teams. I thought Boufal had his best game. Why does Puel keep playing JWP he gave nothing last night and was at fault for their second goal he is to light weight . Clasie would have been a better option he had a good game and scored a goal then gets dropped for then next two games. What has happened to Forster he had another nightmare.

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SaintNick added 14:03 - Apr 26 I dont buy we lost to the Champions elect etc, this has been happening since we lost VVW, last night was just the worst night on top of 9 previous games of poor defending. Boondock, I said earlier in the season that Puel should have a chance to show he is the man for the job, that he should be given time to get it right, I took into account the injuries we had and the issues with Fonte etc, but this is now different, we have the leakiest defence in the league since Van Dijk got injured and the manager seems happy just to play the same two players and get the same results. I could live with that if there were no other options, but there are several including Caceres who he refuses to even try, Bertrand in a different type of back four, Gardos who is surely worth a go, he wasnt all bad when he played under koeman and even Martina who can play in the centre of defence. I feel sorry for Forster he is consistently exposed by the defenders in front of him who fail to pick up their men

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allsaint54 added 14:09 - Apr 26 CP's team selection & especially his substitutions are baffling to say the least. Tactically he appears to be out of his depth in the PL. Am amazed there isn't more criticism of Forster. He's been poor for the majority of the season with any effort on target more or less guaranteed to be a goal. CP seems reluctant to address this. Too many lightweight i.e. JWP, Tadic, Boufal & Davis out of position. No wonder CB' are struggling. CP & Black must go before next season before we slide into Championship.

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ItchenNorth added 14:12 - Apr 26 I thought we played well last night. Defensive frailties played a part no question, but this was away to the champions elect; against one of the most expensive teams assembled in work football and we were missing one of the best central defenders in world football. We may lose to Hull at the weekend, but equally we can out score any team outside of the top 6 with Gabbi, Tadic, Boufal and Redmond as our main attacking options. What we are watching reminds me a little bit of the old Chris Nichol days. We lined up slightly differently back then with a 424, but we’d be in most games with every opportunity to outscore the opposition with the like of Rideout, Shearer, Le Tissier and Rod Wallace in attack. Hull at the weekend might just be that same offering as last night’s game (home win though) or equally like our recent away trip to Watford. There’s no point banging on about team selection or defensive frailties each week; we’ve got this now until the end of the season ! Our style of play is good going forward, certainly not dull to watch and you have to give Puel credit: he’s certainly not a negative manager, always going out to win games and or changing personal mid game in an attempt it win them. It’s doesn’t always work: it's a tough league and he’s learning ! We have to judge Puel after his summer transfer activity and then well into next season, by which point we will know what Puel is capable of.

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codge added 14:29 - Apr 26 If Forster is the second best goal keeper for England than we have a big problem.l have know idea what has happened to him this year, plus his goalkeeper coach is Englands, what is up with that.
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SaintBrock added 14:42 - Apr 26 We had plenty of possession but still lost and it is no longer acceptable to say that Chelsea were the better team with far better players. Evidently this is only part of the story because for long periods we ran them ragged in their final third but could not put the ball in the net. It is telling that our only two decent players on the night defenders both scored our goals. Fact is we do not have many very good players and last night our central defenders in particular were appallingly bad so much so that both Cedric and Bertrand had to run every which way to cover their partners in the back line. Little wonder they looked knackered and pissed off at full time. I have always tried to cut Yoshida & Stephens some slack partly because Nick is always out to trash Yoshida and Stephens never expected to be in the position in which he has been placed. Enough is enough, it is getting beyond a joke and we are shipping goals by the bucketload. At best Stephens is orthodox, predictable and too cautious but his worst attribute is a total inability to pick up runners in the 18 yard box in set plays. Yoshida, well one of those nights when he decided to lob in a few howlers but as a partnership these guys last night were hopeless and it cost us the game. As for Forster, four shots on target, four goals to them ------ (expletive deleted)! Scoring two at Stamford Bridge should be good enough for a point but with defending like this it's just a miracle that we were not humiliated. The sad thing now is that even the most optimistic fans are taking fewer and fewer "plus" points from our performances. Something has the change and change soon 'cos right now, whatever it is we are trying to do just isn't working. Surely the power brokers upstairs cannot be happy with what they are seeing? Is this a call for Puel to resign with good grace? Probably. My season ticket has not been renewed thus far and as the deadline gets closer there is little evidence of better things ahead making renewal compelling.

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ChristchurchSaint added 14:43 - Apr 26 We conceded 4, and we scored 2 (although they were scored by midfielder/defender!) In the majority of matches, scoring 2 should get us at least a draw, if not a win. The defence is poor, whichever way you look at at, and the midfield is not breaking up enough of the opponents' attacks. If we lose Virgil in the summer, and the club thinks we can go for a whole season with Stephens and Yoshida as our central pairing, we will be in grave danger of relegation next year.

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saintmark1976 added 14:54 - Apr 26 I thought we played well last evening and were unlucky to concede on the stroke of half time. Had it stayed 1-1 then it may well have resulted in a different outcome. With respect Nick your constant attempts at blaming Yoshida and Stephens for every defeat do you no credit. It's not their fault that the midfield players can't protect them or the forwards are unable to convert simple chances, nor for that matter having a keeper behind them who has lost all semblance of form for more months than I care to remember.

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TeamCortese added 15:00 - Apr 26 San Marco if that's the case why has Nick repeatedly mentioned Yoshida and Stephens in a negative light. That for me is singling them out. I would have no issue with that if he does the same to others such as Forster, JayRod and Long. All three have not delivered this season. At most clubs there would be a clear out and I can assure you those 3 would be out. Forster has had it pretty easy this season. No competition coupled with awful performances with little criticism from fans. How Nick can feel sorry for Forster is beyond me. Jordan Pickford is part of one of the worse defences in the league but despite that has done really well this season and won't be short of potential suitors after Sunderland are relegated. With regards to both being Top 8 quality I certainly agree they are not at the moment but that doesn't mean they can't be. Let's not forget when Fonte was Yoshida's age he was championship quality--not to mention Jack Stephens only turned 23 a few months ago! I am not saying Stephens and Yoshida should be our centre back pairing but they have definitely proven they are good enough to be back-ups. For me we need to keep VVD, Romeu, Gabbiadini, Bertrand and Soares at all costs for next season. If any of those players are sold then we will continue to stagnate as a club. We should give more game time to Clasie, Hojberg, Boufal, Sims and McQueen. We need to sell JayRod, Long and JWP whilst recouping the funds to sign Iheanacho from City. I reckon he'd want the game time especially as Guardiola has given him near to none this season. He is only 20 and would make a great pairing with Gabby. We also need to sign a new centre back and goalkeeper. For me Ake, Zouma or Sakho would be ideal--although I've heard good things about this Pontus Jansen fella. We should also sign Sigurdsson as Davis's long-term replacement. He offer more going forward but I'm not sure how much he offers defensively. In goal we should sign Pickford and promise him he'll be our number one for years to come.

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SaintNick added 15:05 - Apr 26 Sorry mark but the issues are their inability to pick up players in the box, not the lack of protection, too many goals come from balls humped into the penalty area and not dealt with. I spotted this weeks ago when we should have been punished and werent, certain people said I had something against them, I dont just they are not good enough, perhaps we could get away with one of them in with a quality player for a short time, but not both together, sometimes they dont get protected but 18 goals in 10 games together is more than just a lack of midfield cover. Forster hasnt been great this season, but then again his confidence wont be helped by the fact that time and time again someone is left unmarked right in front of goal

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the_saint added 16:16 - Apr 26 Totally agree with you nick the difference in managers is conte was in the technical area all game rallying his troops puel just sat down all game, I was going to judge him at the end of the season but I will judge him now HE IS CRAP
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erick added 16:49 - Apr 26 My blame solely is on claude puel, Mourinho and pochetino did 3-5-2-1 formation while they faced chelsea and in those both two games manchester and tottenham ran the show, if the coach has his tactics wrong how do you expect a team to perform. Davis partnering with romeu is hurting us because davis offers little while defending, i would like to see romeu partnering hojberg.

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BoondockSaint added 17:02 - Apr 26 Hi Nick I still feel we can't figure out if Puel is good or not because the team quality is so mediocre and he seemed to to be a cheap "down market" signing after Koeman. So while I am not happy with the way things have gone, I try to keep an open mind. I still think it is more the board than Puel who is to blame. If they had signed the quality players we needed, then we could say it is definitely him if the season had gone as it did. But I don't know what manager could do better with this lot. If the board is happy with safety and a modest profit, expect more of the same next season.

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Jesus_02 added 17:07 - Apr 26 There is pretty much one person to blame here and thats Puel. While we did play some pretty football in the first half. AGAIN we seemed happy to allow quality players eons of time on the ball in the final third without even looking like making a challenge. Nick - if you feel sorry for Forster because he is "left exposed" by the two defenders in front of him how do you feel for Yoshida and Stephens that only have Romeu in front of them that is happy to challenge the likes of Hazard, Kante and Matic. Add to that an almost ever present player in JWP who's instant reaction is to pass back to them and put them under instant pressure by the likes of Diago Costa! Under Poch and RK we put these players under pressure under Puel we seem content to challenge spome of the high quality players in the world to make defense splitting passes. It would almost be understandable if we played 3 up front but somehow our midfield still seemed to leave Gabiadini isolated so the ball just kept comming back. Yoshida and Stephens are not to blaim, the team would be to blame as a whole if it wasnt of the fact that we play like that every game sp it is clearly a philosophy of Puels. As is his rediculous habbit of dropping players when they play well. Classie and Long must be complely de-moralised. We have some VERY talented players but we play like a bunch of strangers. To steal one of Adkins favourites "Hard work beats talent when talent doesnt work hard"

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