This was the weekend when Saints fans realised the wheels have come off the bus and something needs to happen and fast !
Exactly a month ago Saints travelled to Arsenal top of the current form table and knowing that victory by a two goal margin would take them to the top of the Premier League, six games later we have taken only 2 points from a possible 18 and are bottom of the current form list and if we continue on this slide we will soon be dropping out of the top ten in the league proper.
So where has it gone wrong ? in the last six games I could write a book on that, but on Sunday against Spurs for me it came down to a lack of leadership and direction both on and off the field.
Firstly the team selected was disjointed of course there were reasons for that in terms of injuries, but it wasn't just that, I have often been an advocate of giving Jay Rodriguez a run up front as the central striker and we did just that against Spurs, but the fact of the matter is that Rickie Lambert is either your central man or he shouldn't play, as a centre forward he is excellent, he has some great attributes, but he doesnt have what is needed to play as the wide man in an attacking front three, I dont have a gripe against Rickie here, he as always gave 100%, but he is a certain type of player and I wouldnt play him out of position anymore than i would have played Adam Lallana as a centre half.
But the problem was as it was in all of the last six games, a case of lapses of concentration at key moments, the first goal caught us napping, it would be easy to blame Gazzaniga for not coming for the cross, yes perhaps Boruc might have, but it was a difficult one for any keeper, Gazzaniga made a decision to stay on his line and put bluntly Hooiveld and to a lesser extent Fox should really have dealt with it.
The second goal for Spurs was just as bad, Hooiveld putting it in his own net, it wasnt the first time he has done this sort of thing, maybe im being harsh but if Hooiveld is in his own six yard box more often than not the ball ends up in our net, he just has a knack of getting in the way.
The third was more of a team effort though, several of our defenders switched off to let in Adebayor for his second and what would be the winner, basically we were a victim of our own substitution, whilst we brought on Ward Prowse Spurs struck decisively, it could be said Spurs throw in was a long way from goal so the danger didnt look imminent, but the golden rule with subs is you dont make them when the opposition has the ball.
Our answer to going behind again with still 26 minutes to play was somewhat baffling, off had gone Cork and Davis followed him soon after at a time when Spurs where threatening to run riot, Ramirez and JWP were more attacking options, but put bluntly our own substitution cost us the game, by the end of the game we had three central strikers on the pitch and a Spurs keeper who was flapping, yet we didnt put him under any pressure.
Mauricio Pochettino is now under the spotlight, a month ago he was telling people that he did things his way and that he got teams playing exactly how he wanted them to do with a high pressing game, the question back then was how long we could keep it up and we now have the answer, we should not be too surprised, in many respects the start of last season has mirrored the end of last after Pochettino took over, then we started badly under him, enjoyed a purple patch and then failed to win any of our last six games, we have repeated that again.
So the key to what happens next is Mauricio Pochettino, last season he had the summer to get things right, now he has three tough games ahead with little respite, the problems with the side are all about leadership and tactics, we look a side who know that we are fragile at the back, gone are the confidence, the discipline and the swagger we had a month ago, this is when you need a manager, you need someone to lead and show who is the boss and instill those attributes back in the side.
This is probably the worst run of results that we have had as a club since Nicola Cortese arrived, Alan Pardew and Nigel Adkins were sacked for far less, the next month or so is crucial, its times like this that make or break a manager in the Premier League and its times like this when a good Chairman will keep faith with a manager and see the bigger picture, we will find out the answers to these questions and more.
Saints arent playing badly in the last six games but they are fragile as i have said, as much as Saints were never good enough to be a top six side, they arent bad enough to be a bottom six side either, as the saying goes we need to keep calm and carry on, but make no bones about it the leadership needs to come from the front, when a team goes from the position we were in prior to the Arsenal game to getting only 2 points from six games, there is something wrong that is for sure.