This was perhaps the worst performance of the season as in terms of what was at stake it was more disastrous than the Leicester City debacle.

This was a game that Saints needed to be up for, but it turned out it was West Ham who turned up ready for a battle on the pitch and in the first half Saints had no organisation, no leadership and no appetite for a fight.

At the back we were a shambles the only surprise was it took the Hammers so long to take the lead, time after time they might have had only two men in our box against our four, but we failed to mark them.

The goal on 37 minutes was classic Saints conceding, a man allowed to get a cross in and our defenders stood five yards off the scorer, in this case Haller who athough totally unmarked scuffed his shot into the corner.

The second half was a little better for Saints although like the first half we needed VAR to chalk off a goal for the visitors, we made chances, Danny Ings shot off the bar being the best of them, but we huffed and puffed with little real domination and chances created.

I said in the preview that the substitutions would be crucial and to be blunt ours were awful, bring in on Romeu for Redmond at half time was a negative step, on one hand we needed Romeu to try and bring some fight to the midfield, but on the other although Redmond is not in the best form, he still had the pace and ability to attack West Ham and create chances.

This was a change that highlighted how poor our defence is, time after time we had four men in our box marking fresh air whilst their two players in the vicinity were allowed to get shots in unchallenged.

But I found it incredible that we did not make another change till the final six minutes, in the later stages we had got a little bit of possession and creating chances, why did we not bring on another striker and throw the kitchen sink at them, Stuart Armstrong was not the man required on 84 minutes when taking off Shane Long effectively meaning at a time we were chasing an equaliser we only had one striker on the pitch, and when another striker was brought on in Che Adams on 87 minutes it was too little too late.

Ralph Hasenhuttl did not go for it with around 15 minutes to go as he should have, when Haller was removed from the game on 79 minutes we should have taken a defender off and gone with three up front and brought on Adams.

We were just too conservative and we did not have the fight needed whereas West Ham did.

We should not be too shocked, after all we all know how bad our defence is and it didn't disappoint again in letting us down at a crucial moment, Haller's goal being unmarked 12 yards out was criminal with so many defender marking fresh air.

The sad fact is that West Ham are a poor team, but they were organised, had defenders who could defend and rarely gave us the chances we gave them.

But we have to lick our wounds and pick ourselves up and go to Aston Villa next week, that is now even more important now.

Photo: Action Images

Colburn added 18:51 - Dec 15 I have to agree Nick that our defence was all over the place but this is also partly the fault of the midfield who give nothing to protect the back 4/5. Again we started without a natural holding midfield player and again, Hojbjerg is trying to do the job of 2 or 3 men. I have to finally agree Nick that the centre backs at the club will not bring forth an effective partnership or trio. We have no cover for a knackered and disillusioned Bertrand. Cedric wants to go in 6 months and is not up to the Prem anyway and Valery is a forward thinking player who could probably do a good job on the right of midfield but JWP will never be dropped eventhough he lacks the pave strength and ability on the ball at this level. His dead ball specialism has been left wanting 90% of the time so we carry him most games. We are now carrying Redmond too but Sky Sports love them and as we all have to be woke and follow anything Sky say these days, they seem to be exempt from criticism. Adams has looked a different class apart from scoring. He had one bad game then gets given 3 minutes when we're losing at home in a relegation battle.. I think Ralph has to go or we will finish bottom of the league. He keeps doing the same things, expecting a different outcome, while playing the same weak links. If some players are exempt from a meritocracy, it can only upset the others and the team look very 'untogether'. Our blueprint is out of date and we are not developing the young players like other teams have so we are stale, spineless and lost. I thought the fixtures were harsh and we had to wait until the halfway mark before making a judgement but it is all too clear to see where we are heading. Im disappointed we have missed out on Pearson but I still believe we can survive if we say farewell to Ralph now and get in Gary Monk or another who understands the English game top to bottom and can motivate, connect and develop our young players and those who are possible January targets. There's no option but to change the manager now, he's lost the plot.

9

terry65 added 19:27 - Dec 15 We have several players - Stephens, Cedric, Hojbjerg, Redmond are examples who have skills but make almost weekly mistakes I think it is a lack of mental ability to make decisions about the big picture in the game or the individual moments they have to deal with. They have had months or years to sort this out and aren't doing so. They must be dropped whilst we still have time to avoid the drop. We have Valery, Danso and Obafemi who have played the odd game. We have Smallbone, Vokins, Slattery, Ramsay, N'Lundulu, MacQueen and Sims , along with a host of loan players in the Uk or abroad, some of whom could be recalled maybe. Yet we persevere with the same failures week on week. Surely RH who claimed last year he would play youngsters, must do what he promised to and try some of these players he has ignored this year. They have only got 9-0 to beat and will at least throw themselves into it, try their hardest, do their best, all of which is lacking in most but not all of our regulars?

2

ottersaint added 19:36 - Dec 15 TV Camera shy too boot!!!!
-1

simmo400 added 20:19 - Dec 15 We can’t complete in this league. There are not 3 teams worse than us this year. I feel we are doomed to the championship for next season. Who knows maybe lower when we have cleared out the wage bill. The same poor team produce the same results. Only INGS has shown any fight the rest have given up. They can’t string four passes together.
7

kristianJ added 22:11 - Dec 15 Whilst the defence is undoubtedly poor, there was no midfield protection in the 1st half. West Ham were there for the taking and in the first 45 mins we barely laid a glove on them. I disagree with substituting Redmond, he was terrible and was rightly hauled off for Romeu who provided balance, played well and this led to an improved showing in the 2nd half. I do agree that Armstrong and Adams should have come on earlier, although whether that would have made much difference to the outcome is debatable. We can slag off Ralph but the quality in the squad just isn’t there whoever the manager is. Ings played well, and in JWP we have someone who can put in a quality set piece, but he doesn’t have a target man to hit. We are in trouble and I just hope we can beat Villa who are probably on a similar level to us...

1

Ali_Diarea added 22:22 - Dec 15 God help us if Danny Ings gets injured...
7

Saint_Chunk added 22:59 - Dec 15 I will say this again . We maybe rubbish and have a league 1 defence. But I have had enough of the crowd at At Mary's the sit on your hands attitude and even worse booing. You people sicken me! There is even a post on here demanding the lib repay his Now TV pass. You sad excuses for humanity are what's wrong with this club. Rotten to the core like it's pathetic jeering support who enjoy the self-flagellation. Sod off the lot off you.

-2

ancientbriton added 23:20 - Dec 15 I agree wholeheartedly with much of the comments and the sheer level of them speaks volumes for how fed up Saints supporters are with the shambles of a club that we now follow. Maybe it was the manager's sidekick who departed last season who was the true strategist behind the throne. Ralf was supposed to be the guy bringing high tempo, pushing football and bringing through academy players. Here's a thought - play the under 23 team against Aston since apart from Ings and Romeo nobody else in the first XI seemed to have any interest in fighting. As for the goalie, sure he saved a couple of good ones but he also slowed the game down dreadfully - maybe that's what the manager's been telling them: slow it down, keep possession and funnel everything back through PEH?

1

saintlee added 07:15 - Dec 16 I'm not one for screaming for managers to be sacked unless its mark Hughes but the players just aren't motivated. With a game of such magnitude, there was no intensity and no fight. And for that Ralph needs some scrutiny. PEH was shocking. It was his fault for West Hams goal. Letting the ball run under your foot in centre midfield and giving a free kick away is criminal. He was awful the whole game. I just cant see a way out for us. Maybe our away from will save us but I fear I'm just clutching at straws. And Nick, we really are not a good side at all.

6

wibbersda added 08:53 - Dec 16 Who let the team get so unfit. Long with a beer belly and Bertrand looks like he's put on a fat suit.
5

underweststand added 09:10 - Dec 16 so many things one can criticise, but it seems that (at home at least) we are not up for it . We rely on Danny Ings for goals, and whatever good we say about Long and Boufal..they still can't score. Ralph repatriated Redmond last season by putting him on left wing and he wrought havoc with defenders and scored some good goals. The idea of using him in midfield is totally inexplicable, he just can't play the no.10 role. We lack muscle and creativity in midfield, and we have too many undersized, lightweight players in the team who can't do the job of ball-winning. As others have mentioned above..at least Jack Stephens showed some interest and aggression going forward. If my stats are correct ..we will lose PEH for next game as he's clocked up 5 yellows cards so expect Armstrong to get a game instead. Redmond must be rested and give Adams a few starts before the New Year. Expect Cedric to go in January and surely we must also get some left-sided cover as Bertrand really has "peaked" , although probably still worth his place as he's no worse than a few others. Whoever we do eventually sign in the window cannot be expected to come in and DAJFU straight away and may well be "below par" required for the tough Prem. games ahead, and there isn't time to give them a " pre-season" as ever week begins to look like a Cup Final that we are never going to win. I hate to write this, but as a fan of 60 years standing, this is one of the most miserable -looking squads I can recall, and if the goals tally FOR isn't bad enough, there seems to be no fight in the side who must realise the obvious consequences as much as we do - if they don't - then we are in real trouble.

6

Farlow added 10:05 - Dec 16 I have to agree with most of the comments,However i thought Oriel Romeu was superb when he came on and should have started.He for me hould be captain but who wants to vaptain a sinking ship.
6

Sanguin added 10:06 - Dec 16 I've never booed the team, Saturday was the first time I felt like doing it. In previous seasons I've always been able to identify three teams worse than us that should go down, I'm unable to do that this season.
4

Saint4Life247 added 11:06 - Dec 16 We are all aware that we have very little quality within the team. In fact you could count our better players on one hand and still have 2 spare fingers. This aside I have seen, as have all of us, poor sides upping their game and performances when needs must. You know, 'Backs against the wall' jobs that earn a point of more when its much needed. At Southampton we appear woefully incapable of doing this. I have backed the manager for a long time now but I now admit he just doesn't have what it takes. Nice bloke but just not nearly what is required for the Premiership melting pot... We start games cautiously, no pressure on the ball, giving the opposition all the space they want - we concede... We make changes that bemuse and baffle us all (attacking player for defending player etc). Other more positive changes occur far too late in the game. West Ham are playing poorly this season and they looked head and shoulders above us in all areas. Now, if our manager cannot motivate the team to 'Go for it' against the teams around us then something is very wrong with his abilities. We should be getting points from games like these. Some say there are not 3 worse teams than us in the Prem but I say there are not 3 worse teams than us in the Championship!! We are simply terrible. I have never been a fan of his but PEH should be nowhere near our starting 11 - Redmond needs to be dropped, as does Cedric. There is no cohesion between def, mid and up front RH is completely out his depth -- and I am so fed up I have even started thinking we should consider giving Big Sam a call... shoot me now!

6

schatfield added 13:04 - Dec 16 Saint Chunk is spot on, the crowd at St Mary is half the thing wrong with this club.....it doesnt matter how bad your team are playing, if you boo do you really think that will make them play better!!?? Idiots. No surprise we play better away then
-1

bstokesaint added 13:09 - Dec 16 I want to try and be more disappointed and angry, but then I expected us to lose before kick-off, as did the team it would seem. I feel sorry for Ings, he has to carry this bunch of underperformers and is probably one of only a handful that really cares. He should also have had his goal, if the ref wasn’t going to blow up for the genuine foul and instead blow for one that wasn’t! The truth is we deserved nothing. Like others I like Ralph and really wanted him to succeed, but his tactics and substitutions are baffling. Why did he wait so long to make an attacking substitution? What were Armstrong and Adams going to do in the time they were given? I think Ralph wants out too, although I don’t blame him. The club is falling apart at the seams and he’s the most obvious scapegoat, despite the myriad of culprits.

4

NewburySaint added 13:18 - Dec 16 We all also know how bad Redmond is and he didn't fail to disappoint either-at least the manager saw it for once and hooked him.
4

Consigliere added 20:21 - Dec 16 I have waited until Monday evening before posting but am still angry with what I saw on Saturday. As I've said before, sacking the manager is a necessary but not sufficient condition for progress up the league. The team is simply not playing well enough and probably is not good enough to survive in this league. Over the years I've watched Saints go up and I've watched them go down. This is definitely go down time and they know it. Even if by some miracle we survive this season unless there are massive structural changes over the summer it will be the same next year. At half time on Saturday my dear brother in law said "That's it, we aren't renewing the season tickets" He said the same thing last year at about the same time (and if memory serves the year before and probably several times before that) but this time I think he really means it and frankly who can blame him. The management needs to remember that we, the paying public, have to put up with this rubbish and in the end the market will decide - and we won't.

2

Burlers added 17:04 - Dec 18 Some great comments that summed up a dismal display. Real concern about quality on the pitch with Hojberg (our supposed captain / leader....lol) absolutely shocking all game, giving the ball away and Redmond like a headless chicken again with no end product! Ings was brilliant again thank god and McCarthy did ok. Message for Ralph.... It`s not rocket science mate! Please concentrate on getting the core of the team perfect (Decent GK, organised CB that can organise and lead, solid central midfielder who can win balls and distribute and a striker just like Danny Ings (or Rickie Lambert!..) who can score goals! It`s then all about putting quality around the core....Oh and finally please can we speed up and attack instead of letting our opponents reorganise? Last point.. England goalkeepers don`t become s**t overnight!

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Shrewsbury Town Polls