The words "Deja Vu" are fast becoming the story of this season as once again Saints put in a decent performance but ruined it with two lapses that cost them the game and a decent FA Cup run.

Virtually every game in this appalling run has followed the same pattern, Saints have dominated the game for long periods and have had their chances, but then all the good work has been undone by lapses in concentration and individual error.

After half and hour of this game Saints looked comfortable and had a few promising efforts and then from nowhere Yoshida passed to Steven Davis who under pressure played it back only for Yoshida to mis read the direction and within seconds Palace had broke and Saints were a goal down.

Yoshida should perhaps bear the brunt of this, but in fairness to him the return from Davis was a foot or so to his right, but the fact is he was playing a ball into a player with no other option than a return ball and under pressure, it was not the right ball to be playing.

In the second half Saints got back on terms within 6 minutes of the break through the excellent Oriol Romeu and from then on it looked like there would be only one winner, that is until Saints shot themselves in the foot again.

Firstly a Palace player chased down a ball that the Saints defence thought was going for a goal kick, by the time they realised it wasn't the ball was with Jason Puncheon, he dropped his shoulder and went past Tadic too easily, his shot was good, but not that good and Stekelenburg did not deal with it, rather than tipping it over the bar or round the post, he tried to punch it clear but succeeded in only diverting it into the path of Wilfrid Zaha who fired home with the keeper stood watching when a despairing dive might have kept it out.

Saints got up a head of steam especially in the final stages when the Palace goal led a charmed life, but once again Saints had snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory.

Something has to change, the old saying in football is that if you do the same things you get the same results and to be blunt it is the same suspects making the same mistakes, football is a team game and I have often said we need to win and lose as a team rather than pointing the finger at individuals, but reasonable performances are being undone by individual error and lapses in concentration and Im sorry but it seems to be certain individuals who are continually making the same mistakes.

With regard to the first goal, it is good to see that Saints are not afraid to play the ball around under pressure and are not panicking, but once again Yoshida attempted to be too clever with pressure mounting and played the wrong ball in the circumstances.

Something has to change our luck and for that matter our concentration, the return of Fraser Forster could be part of that and so could the return of Jay Rodriguez, but what it really needs is perhaps a new signing, even on loan to freshen up the squad.

The plus point of the day was the form of Jordy Clasie and Oriol Romeu in the centre of midfield who showed their could be life after Wanyama, also Matt Targett put in a great display and not only made several crucial tackles but showed that he can play a through ball and put in dangerous crosses.

Targett's performance showed that he has learned from his games in the early part of the season and used that experience to make him a better player, it also shows that the academy is still producing youngsters who can play in the Premier League

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 11:24 - Jan 10 Not sure I agree on the Targett crosses. Yoshida on the team sheet has become the Danny Fox on the team sheet moment. We are paying the price of complacency. We sold very good players and didn't adequately replace them while our rivals strengthened...
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mikesaint added 12:02 - Jan 10 How many games has Yoshida cost us now? It must be time to get rid of him now hes bloody useless. Why did we start with 5 defenders when we were at home? When are we going to buy a striker on the last day of the transfer window. Hopefully Pelle will start on Wednesday unless we sign a new striker by then.
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SaintBrock added 12:03 - Jan 10 Why blame Maya he played as well as anybody and the error was Clasie's not his with a hopelessly poor pass that gave Yoshi no chance at all. Any manager when chasing a game who brings on Ward Prowse for Steven Davis is either clueless, a lunatic or just accepting defeat. Had I been in a more generous mood today I'd have accepted SD needed to be rested for the more important PL games coming top this week and/or that RK was making a political point to Reed & Co about the lack of quality on our bench. Has anybody ever seen JWP win a tackle? A midfielder who can't tackle, did you hear the groan go up when he came on yesterday. Time for him to move on maybe.

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LongDongSilva added 12:03 - Jan 10 Koeman's become disgruntled due to the lack of backing from the board but at the end of the day he seems to be struggling to get his message across to the players and ultimately its him that's now facing the brunt of it and needs to take some of the flack after 9 defeats in 11. But its about the bigger picture, Les Reed gains a substantial cut in every transfer and we're among the lowest 3 wage payers in the league, so we will never be able to keep players under this type of management. But also when you factor in these details , it makes it very convenient for the club to instigate that the players are unsettled and want to leave, they are simply pulling a smokescreen in front of our eyes. This was emphasised during the summer when they were reluctant to spend more money than they brought in. In addition, it is near on impossible to consistently run a Premier League football team in profit (otherwise other teams would do it) and I feel the board are almost playing on the fans fear of a recurrence of the Aministration in 2009 in order to justify their penny pinching philosophy. I would like to think the board prove me wrong during January and bring in some adequate signings, not just cheap gambles, although Im not so naive to think that will completely fix the issues; as after watching Jason McCarthy perform brilliantly in the fa cup (against premier league opposition) in terms of his solidity in defending and pace and power going forward, I feel we're very much missing that blend of academy products that we have had over the years and therefore should also attempt to put more emphasis and trust into them instead of budget buys like Martina that simply aren't up to it.

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SaintCompo added 12:28 - Jan 10 A fundamental problem week in week out is Saints' failure to turn defence into attack quickly. We (like Man Utd under LvG) need many, many passes (mostly short ones) to get the ball up into the last third, by which time the opposition's defence has got itself well organised and Saints find themselves having to breach a fortress wall. We are stuck in the idea that we should try to play a multi-pass, possession game like Barcelona. That's OK if you've got an attack with Messi, Niemi and Suarez's ability to score goals in tight situations. Saints don't! The successful 'smaller' clubs this season (Leicester, West Ham, Stoke, Palace and Watford) are moving the ball quickly forward and catching defences on the hop. This is smash-and-grab football, scoring on the break out of solid defence. It's not 'long-ball football'. I think it accounts for so many unexpected results in the Premier League this season. Apart from Mane and Long we have little pace in our team. Yesterday, by the time they were given the ball, the Palace defence was all set up ready for their runs and easily snuffed them out. Tadic is not a pacey winger; he uses footwork and trickery, shifting the ball between his left and right feet and doing step-overs to open up a line for a cross. That all takes time and the oppo's defence has plenty of it to prepare for the cross when eventually it comes. The tactics need to change. Less of the slow, multi-passing game and more speed from defence to attack. The opposition's defence will then be more open and our forwards will have more space to exploit. RonKo must surely see that, otherwise he's not up to the job. Unless, of course, the players aren't playing to plan (LvG's excuse, it seems).

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SaintBrock added 12:31 - Jan 10 Why do players on £50k per week need motivation to perform because they are depressed about their inability to win, Ron? Most of us would play out of our skins until we collapsed through exhaustion for £50k per year!
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SalisburySaint added 12:56 - Jan 10 It appears Claise is best up to be next boo boy On the replies above and also In the ground yesterday he was getting stick when it wasn't him at all As Nick said It was Davis's poor pass to Yoshida for Palaces first goal, and on four occasions early in the first half Romeu kept giving the ball away but the idiots around me were blaming Claise In the last few games for me Claise has been one of the few positives apart from getting nutmegged too easily at Norwich last, so I hope he can continue to produce these improved performances

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mattthelegend added 13:13 - Jan 10 Don't know what game saint brock was watching, but Davis gave the ball away, not Claise! JWP came on for Claise not Davis who was substituted at half time! To be fair to Prowse he actually delivered for once with his dead ball crosses, 2 superb corners and a quality free kick. As Nick says a good overall performance by the team, silly errors and dodgy refereeing especially on the second goal not a free kick for me in the build up. I for one went home happy with the performance second half when we changed formation. Sort out the mistakes and we will be okay.

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SanMarco added 13:31 - Jan 10 mattthelegend: "Sort out the mistakes and we will be okay". Yes, but isn't that iakin to saying "score more and concede less and we will okay" Aren't these mistakes and the inability to attack quickly that SaintCompo highlights part of a deeper problem with the quality of our players? Everyone makes mistakes but we have a pattern of them over time that indicates lack of quality and/or certain players who "make too many mistakes". There is no point providing a "good overall performance" week in week out if we always lose. On JWP we need a rule like in American football where you have a kicker who just comes on to kick. We could then bring him on for corners and attacking free kicks that don't require a shot and whisk him off again.

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abingdonsaint added 13:41 - Jan 10 I know I'm the eternal optimist, but I don't happen to think we are a million miles away. Most of the games we have lost recently have been by the odd goal, and we have certainly not been outplayed. Results hinge on small details, and on another day, some of those could easily have gone in our favour. My main point though is there appears to be a lot of negativity towards the board, and Les Reed in particular. Much of this is simplistic, and I'm not convinced that this 'selling club' reputation is entirely deserved. At the recent fans forum, Les alluded to the FFP regulations which were a source of irritation. I had a look into this online, and it seems we are a victim of 'Short Term Cost Control' (STCC). This is part of the PL FFP rules, and basically limits the amount each club can increase its total wage bill each year, as a proportion of how much has been paid in previous years. We are at an additional disadvantage due to our rapid rise from League One as our wage bill then was way below PL levels. In a nutshell, because our academy and recruitment has been so good, we have a lot of players in demand, and we are literally unable to pay them what they can get elsewhere, even if we wanted to! If you go back to the majority of our sales, we were clearly reluctant, but if a player refuses to sign a new contract because he knows ( probably because he has been tapped up!) that he can get three or four times the salary elsewhere, we are them left with taking £25m or letting them go on a free. What do you expect the club to do in that situation!? I'm sure RK is fully aware of all this, and if I understand the rules correctly, things may change at the end of this season. Let's wait and see.....

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Alehouse added 13:45 - Jan 10 Koeman has to take some responsibility for this defeat because of the decision to set up with 5 at the back. Palace had one up front for most of the first half, leaving us outnumbered in midfield and unable to put Palace under any pressure or respond to their goal. I thought Stekelenberg should have come off his line to clear the ball when Puncheon pushed the ball too far ahead before the first goal. We may have won had we started with the second half line-up. How Romeu's performance could be described as excellent beats me. He had a shocking first half, at one point giving the ball away 2 or 3 times within minutes. He was also slow to move the ball and turned into trouble in dangerous positions on a number of occasions. I thought he was disappointing.

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saintsnutcase added 13:49 - Jan 10 People who are criticising Classie were watching a different game from me. He played ok and is adjusting to the pace needed for the Prem. The first goal was 80 percent Yoshis fault as usual, and 20 percent Davis' fault. But Steklenberg could have saved them both. He is absolutely awful - I have no idea why Gazza didn't keep his place.
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spenny added 14:24 - Jan 10 Just need a couple of decent new signings to freshen up the team plus the return of Forster will be a major boost. I know we all have different opinions but can't understand fans moaning about clasie. The lad is an excellent footballer and getting better with every game I feel. Romeu had a bad first half but knuckled down and came out stronger 2nd half. We are short of attacking options. We will bounce back as I don't think we have been playing bad just getting punished by other teams for silly mistakes

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FrankSaint added 15:22 - Jan 10 Ronko! Les! Katarina! Bring back Barry Gale...He only costs "£1000 and somewhere to live"
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Whatsforpud added 17:22 - Jan 10 Must say that after a week that he has had, Mane put in a good shift yesterday. Full of running and trickery. We need one or two more to take people on, rather than passing the buck. I agree with comments elsewhere about Stekelenberg. you would be hard pressed to compile a video of his greatest saves. Doesn't seem to get his knees dirty. Contrast him to Hennessy who saved the day for Palace twice at the end of the match.

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schatfield added 20:20 - Jan 10 First off, this was my sons first ever live Saints game (get them hooked early!), and he had a lovely time, mostly as he had a face full of popcorn. Sadly his old man didn't, I was so frustrated with the game. Same old saints, pass pass back pass, lose posessions, invite pressure, dont shoot, they score, we look glum, maybe get 1 back, pass, pass, back pass and so on....Only 1 player looked like he had some passion, Romeo (and not because he scored)....I honestly am unsure why we are looking like this now, it doesnt make sense. I do think we need a signing or 2 to freshen up the squad perhaps. And badly need Forster back in goal! As a side note, it is embarrassing to be out sung at home by terrific Palace fans who never stopped cheering on their team

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IWOZTHERE added 23:40 - Jan 10 Glad to hear others are agreeing with my opinion about Romeu. Let VW go. My general frustration has been vented by others so I won't add to it, but there's a lot of talk about the lack of support. I think support is there but it's a two way thing... people need to be given something to shout about to start with. Additionally, there's talk about the seating arrangement at SMS favouring the away supporters as appeared to be the case against Palace.

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BoondockSaint added 03:10 - Jan 11 It's simple geography: the opposition can't put it your net if the ball is at the other end of the pitch. And a ball booted into their half has a 50/50 chance of being recovered by one of our players, if it is not, then quite often their defenders have to turn towards their own goal to deal with it making them vulnerable. I don't care who is in goal, I go out of my mind every time we play the ball back instead of forward. Next up, another team who plays like they want it. Oh, great. For those of you keeping score at home, Chelsea trips a man in the penalty box, no call. Ball randomly hits player in hand, Spurs get a penalty. If Fair Play rules don't keep the upstarts in their place, the refs will have to do it themselves!!

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SaintBrock added 08:36 - Jan 11 Dyer deliberately moved his hand towards the ball and flicked it out of the path of the Spurs player (watch it in slo-mo). Ref got it spot on, penalty all day long. We all hate Spurs but fact is at the moment they are a damned good team.
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SaintBrock added 08:41 - Jan 11 Just to respond to mattthelegend, I was level with the incident in the Itchen and many of us there at the time immediately blamed Clasie for the poor pass back to Yoshida, In fact as was reported later even Radio Solent said at the time it was Clasie! Replays show it was Davis. Not sure they even look alike and yet many were fooled on this occasion.
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JGH added 09:35 - Jan 11 SalisburySaint absolutely right, I thought Clasie was excellent throughout. Romeu impressed in the second half but was uncharacteristically dodgy in the first. For those complaining about the club making profit for the past two summers (when we got best players we could), do you not remember the several consecutive years of overspending getting us to the Premiership and then keeping us there?

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SaintJez added 11:59 - Jan 11 I don't have any bad feeling for the owners or board of the club. I'm firmly behind all of them as everyone should be. We have lost some key players but, on the whole, these are guys who wanted to leave and there's not a huge amount you can do about that. If you don't want to play for Southampton and someone is willing to give us good money for you, then I'm afraid you have to go. What does irritate me is having a half decent squad but consistently fielding lineups that are frankly hopeless. What is the excuse for a back 5 consisting of 3 clearly sub standard defenders at this level and zero players who can deliver a ball from a set piece? We lost that game from the time we handed in the team sheets. Outside of a mistake, I don't think anyone really expected us to score and we were always going to make some with those players at the back. This has to stop. In Koeman we trust? I'm not sure..

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BoondockSaint added 13:58 - Jan 11 Gotta disagree SaintBrock- saw it live and watched the replay in slo-mo a few times, his hand is moving as he runs, he's not doing a Maradona or Suarez. That ref was desperate to find anything to call. Look at the tackles in extra time Leicester get yellow card and give up free kick for the same tackle as Spurs moments earlier and nothing called. If it was Spurs with the hand ball it's not getting called just like the Chelsea trip.

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