Nathan Jones has two 100% records so far in his tenure as Saints manager, he maintained his 100 % record of defeats in the Premier League on Wednesday night, but at Selhurst Park on Saturday thankfully he maintained the other one, his 100 win win ratio in Cup ties.

It is a strange feeling this Sunday morning, one that I haven't felt since Sunday 21st August, almost 5 months ago, it the satisfaction of Saints winning on the day before, indeed we haven't even had so much as a draw in a game played on a Saturday since August, when in game 2 & 3 of the season we firstly drew with Leeds on Saturday 13th August and followed that up on the 20th with a victory over Leicester.

But at the start of the game up at Crystal Palace there were few Saints fans in Selhurst Park who had much hope of their team getting anything out of this game.

The opening half hour or so gave them little hope of that happening, it was a poor start capped by a goal for the home side on 14 minutes and it should have been two shortly after with Saints being cut home and the ball being stabbed against the bar from close range when it really should have gone in.

At this point we were in disarray, it was hard to make out even what formation we were playing, at time it seemed to be a back three and at other times a back four, Romain Perraud didn't seem to know just where he should be in the grand scheme of things.

The fans were not slow in letting their feelings known, a massive chant of "Nathan Jones Your Football Is SH*T" rang out from the away section and this wasn't a minority, very much the majority.

But games and indeed seasons need turning points, ours in this game came after 35 minutes, Saints had a free kick way out of the penalty area near the left touchline, there was only one option here, JWP curling the ball into the box, hitting it into the area by the far post.

His effort seemed to sail over his own teammates heads, but it was also left by Palace who seemed to think it was going harmlessly out for a goal kick, but Ward Prowse had put a bit of curl into his effort and the ball kept curling and into the net.

Some say this was luck, but players like Ward Prowse put balls like this into danger areas and know that sometimes if no one gets to the ball it goes into the net, this was the perfect free kick.

But whatever it was it was a goal and Saints were level and the game and hopefully perhaps the season might just be changing.

It truth the formation looked no better, but suddenly the players playing it did so with an urgency that has been missing since before Jones arrival.

I can't say that Jones tactics won this game, more that the players rolled their sleeves up and won it themselves in spite of the tactics not because of them.

That was emphasised in the 68th minute, when the ball was rolled causally back to the Palace keeper, there looked to be nothing on, he seemed to have all the time in the World, but he didn't bank on the pace and aggression of Adam Armstrong who was approaching at speed, at the keeper went to kick the ball there was Armstrong to block the ball and leave the keeper stranded, all that was now needed was the Saints striker to take a few strides forward and fire the ball into the empty net.

This was a goal very much in the vein of Shane Long and it showed that Adam Armstrong like Long last season is playing a roll for this squad that gets him few plaudits, but he offers the team something that is more than most give him credit for and should not just be judged by goals.

This gave Saints even more impetus and although Palace tried to rally and get back in the game, the visitors were now in no mood to let things slip, they battled for every ball and made sure the game was seen out without any drama.

The fans did their bit too, they got behind the team and backed it all the way.

At the final whistle you could see the delight and commitment of the players, but there was an elephant in the room and that was Nathan Jones, would he come over with his players to celebrate with the 4,000 Saints fans and if he did so how would those fans respond, barely an hour earlier they had been chanting against the manager, would they turn on him now ?

The answer was no Jones came and applauded the travelling supporters and they applauded him back, in truth this was not an exaltation of the man, merely an acknowledgement that he had won the game, but it showed that the Saints support although still doubtful of his ability to be successful at the club, are at least willing to give him a chance.

That is quite right, I am one who feels that way, I am seeing little to give me encouragement that he is the man for the job so far, but I did see a chink of light on Saturday at Palace, especially in the mood of the players.

I asked myself the question of what I wanted most, to see Nathan Jones win games as manager of Southampton Football Club and get us out of relegation, or to see him fail and be sacked.

The answer is of course the former, I want him to get us out of relegation trouble and go on to be the best Saints manager in recent history, that should be the desire of every Saints fan, if as the supporters did on Saturday in South London the fans stay with the team then we can do so.

Photo: Action Images

SFC_Referee added 10:32 - Jan 8 So far under Jones we’ve had 3 appalling games (Lincoln, Brighton and Forrest) and two ok ones (yesterday and Fulham), yet we’ve only managed to get the results up until yesterday against a league 1 opponent. But hopefully yesterday is that start of the change we need and what we need to get back on track. As it was no coincidence that as soon as we went to a back 4 and started pressing a bit more in the second half (which is what the players are more used to) that we started to play a lot better, and actually started creating lots of chances for ourselves. And hopefully that difference will help Jones to realise that we need to be playing like that if we’re to get the results we need to stay up, as unfortunately his way he likes his tactics ain’t working with us, yet what he did in that second half did! As really we had chances to get more goals in that second half, it’s just that’s when the players quality showed that some just ain’t got it, whether that’s down to age or simply quality, but hopefully that’s what this transfer window can help to sort. But still a decent display yesterday and a decent game for some players who’ve had a fair bit of criticism recently like Lyanco, Prowse and Mara all of which played fairly well

2

PatfromPoole added 10:34 - Jan 8 Jones got away with: 1. Playing Lyanco ahead of Wednesday’s man of the match KWP 2. Substituting Che Adams for Mara at 1-1; couldn’t see how we would score after that….. Full marks to the team for digging in against a strong Palace team, but we conceded another poor goal and were in disarray for much of the first-half; Palace were totally on top for the first half-hour and could have been 3 or 4 ahead. Support was half-decent at times. A good day ultimately.

0

landsdownsaint added 10:38 - Jan 8 He don’t stand a chance , that 1st half hour he was taking some stick , can’t we leave our feelings on forums like this & on match days get behind NJ & the lads 100% ? I’m not his biggest fan football wise but he’s giving it a go … he’s got too .
4

SanMarco added 11:44 - Jan 8 It could be argued that along with all our other problems we have had little luck in recent times. Those two goals would have won us quite a few matches we ended up losing this season! A win is a win and as Nick says it is a weird feeling to wake up and realise we actually won yesterday. As for Jones - he quite simply needs to learn what works and what doesn't not just quickly but immediately. The owners shouldn't have put him in that position but they have and our PL safety chances depend on it.

5

davidargyll added 11:58 - Jan 8 I have always felt that LUCK plays a much larger part in ball sports that most people account for, be it a lucky bounce in golf, a top edge off a long hop in cricket and of course a mistimed tackle and a shot off the woodwork in footie. And so it was at Palace we saw a fantastic shot off saved by our crossbar and a flukey goal - which was really a cross that caught the wind - from JWP. As a result of which, rather than being two nil down, we were level at HT. And then an horrendous cockup by their goalie to gifted us our second and victory. And as others have stated we played with more belief and confidence after the break and especially when we went into the lead. In fact we looked much more like our old selves, especially when Palace started to panic when they were chasing the game. But was that because of Nathan Jones? Or despite him? I am firmly in the “despite” camp because there seemed to be very little if any change in tactics or shape or inane booting up the field, and meanwhile three (overdue?) slices of luck came to our rescue. Two things that amused/intrigued: 1. JWP’s first free kick was greeted by a chant of “We’ve had a shot” from the travelling Saints fans; and 2. I did notice at the end Che giving Jones a hug! Was this a sign of genuine support? or - very cynically - two Championship people similarly under immense pressure? So well done the team for playing like we know they can. But Jones, listen here! Don’t think for one minute you’re anywhere near not out of the woods yet! in fact you’re still well and truly stuck in the brambles, but maybe we will get some indication next Saturday whether you’ve managed to get your hands on some secateurs…

0

halftimeorange added 12:15 - Jan 8 There were flashes of fight yesterday but, you can't put a sticking plaster on an open wound and expect it to heal. Jones isn't liked by the fans. He's thought to be lightweight and we've been short-changed by the board. This mess isn't entirely his fault but, in general terms, he's shown no signs of having the nous to outwit most opposition managers in the EPL. He also doesn't have the tools to do it with. Yesterday's result was as much a fluke as a win by design (and not unusual in the cup). Full marks to Adam Armstrong to close down Guaita but, we still didn't have much thrust up front and there were too many glaring errors at the back and we were lucky that Zaha didn't run riot down the left. If we had any sort of target man it would be interesting to see if Adams and Armstrong A could feed off him. And what was wrong with Stuart Armstrong. I didn't catch that he was injured. Rumours say that he is too articulate in his criticism of Jones's lower league tactics. If so, it's hardly surprising.

3

HythePeer added 13:09 - Jan 8 In a match there is performance and luck. Only the performance will be carried forward to the Everton game. Grim!
1

JoeEgg added 13:25 - Jan 8 What an unpredictable and strange game football is. At last we got a large slice of luck at both ends of the pitch. However reading the quote from Nathan Jones that "I know what I'm doing" is more worrying because I still doubt if anyone else does! We will continue to leak goals and our midfield is still woefully ineffective at times, but if we get another signing or two of the quality of Orsic, then things mind just be on the mend. There are some very interesting names apparently in the Saints pipeline that could help score us some goals, and didn't we see yesterday how goals totally change energy levels and the impetus of our players?

2

davenbennett added 13:34 - Jan 8 One difference was that players like M-N, Lyanco, Aribo, and AA raised their game. Second half the team were actually winning 50/50's. Jones says wants 3 or 4 players in. I agree. This window is crucial. So is the timing. Seems Orsic won't play v Man City. Said before, we needed to get players in quickly. Use the Palace and MC games to bed them in, before Everton. We may only have Orsic ready by then, when should have been 3 or 4. Bit of luck yesterday, but team was better, esp 2nd half.

3

SaintPaulVW added 15:26 - Jan 8 I can't fault any fan for venting their feelings after that first 30 minutes. Absolutely awful, no shape and the players looked like they had never played together before. Second half was a different story and just like the Fulham game we played well for long periods. JWP's goal was a fluke really more if a Palace Error but he hit it. Arma deserves full credit for his aggressive pressing for the second. Great to see. Keeper looked vulnerable when in possession all game. Edozie looks a special player but like too many of our players needs to find that final killer ball. Nice to have some positives to talk about. COYR

2

underweststand added 16:06 - Jan 8 The cynics may say that we scored two lucky goals, but considering the conditions (wind /rain) we put on a good show after Prowsey's goal, and looked the better side after HT. Adam. A's goal - from chasing down the keeper - was just reward for a fella who has taken a lot of stick over a long period whilst also being expected to score goals when playing a mainly defensive role on the left wing, and not playing up front. The fact that Che Adams puts in a good shift every game - whilst seldom scoring - is little excuse or consolation. We must wait to see what the next round draw brings, but the prospect of a good Cup run whilst fighting relegation is not the scenario we need at the moment. Nathan Jones has had his fill of insults from "the fans" because of our poor start, but in all fairness, he doesn't know the players yet and changes are needed before we find the right formula. The squad that has played Ralph's 4-2-2-2 formation for the last 3 seasons is further hampered by key players being injured and a change of formation picked only for those who are fittest to start. Playing 3 at the back has it's advantages and gives us more bodies in midfield, but we still lack strikers who can put the ball in the net on a regular basis.

-1

DellBoyWally added 16:07 - Jan 8 A fluke in a cup game is one thing. Let's see what happens at Goodison Park next week! If we don't get the luck that we saw yesterday and anything but 3 points then things are going to get really toxic. People talk about getting 2 or 3 players in during this window. BUT! These are players we should have brought in a few windows ago. Since Ings went at least. People get excited about yesterday: fair enough, maybe a glimmer of hope but I doubt it. But do we really want possibly 2 (more likely only the 1 after Wednesday) cup runs while we become cut adrift at the bottom of the PL. With NJ in charge I see that as a real possiblity

-2

felly1 added 19:31 - Jan 8 Happy with the win, pleased for the manager and players.
3

wrathoftazz added 23:20 - Jan 8 Happy with the result, even though it was by blind luck and gifted to us. 1 cup win doesn't get us up the table, hide the cr@p management skills or show the team give a t0ss. We will get hammered against city, heads will drop further ans the board still won't admit they made a mistake... Championship looms
-3

Blogs 31 bloggers

Queens Park Rangers Polls