It's not football anymore ! rang out from the stands at St Mary's, as an inept referee aided by VAR whilst not exactly costing Saints the game, made it very difficult for us to get anything out of it.

The wide chasm between Premier League have and have nots was very evident at St Mary's on Saturday and whilst it is nothing new for the claim that referee's favour the big sides, if you wanted evidence that that is the case, then it was all there in glorious technicolour.

So lets take the 3 main talking points of the game first.

1. The Penalty incident, referee Sam Barrott initially waved away claims, but of course VAR got involved and eventually Barrott over turned his decision after going to the monitor, having watched it from all angles, I have to say I didn't think it was a penalty.

Yes it was a clumsy challenge from Aribo, but the ball was way past Aribo who was on the ground before Isak made contact with him, basically that contact was to connect with Aribo with his boot and then throw himself forward.

Absolutely not a penalty, but an attempt to win one by diving, was it clear and obvious, again absolutely not and Barrott should have stuck with his on field decision, why didn't he ? possibly because this is his first season on the Select list of referee's so he stuck with the unwritten code between Premier League referee's that you don't argue with the VAR decision if you are called to the monitor.

2. Next up was the uproar that followed after Newcastle taken the lead, was it a foul, I don't think it was, but I saw Barrott give free kicks to Newcastle for less.

3. The Fernandes offside, I was pretty much level with this and at the time I thought he was off and VAR showed that he was, the only gripe we can have is how long it took VAR to actually make the decision and that is the problem with VAR.

So I don't or to be more precise didn't have an issue with VAR, used properly it can be a good tool, it is there to sort out the clear and obvious decisions such as the Fernandes offside, where the official has got it obviously wrong, it is not there to spend over 3 minutes re winding the penalty incident from all angles to try and find some damning evidence.

The referee was against Saints from the start, he booked Matteus Fernandes for the first tackle he had made, bizarrely this was the only yellow card of the game, how did that happen, there were worse tackles made afterwards by Newcastle, yet nothing.

I have read on social media some Southampton supporters claiming that this was one of the most inept performances by a referee that they have ever seen at St Mary's, it is hard to think of any worse to be honest.

But ultimately it was not the referee that cost us a point or maybe even 3, yes if the penalty hadn't been given then we might have had a chance to build on our lead and get into half time ahead, but the dye had been cast.

It was not the fact that we were missing key players in Tyler Dibling & Aaron Ramsdale

The real problem lay in a lack of leadership and organisation on the pitch, as individuals Jan Bednarek & Taylor Harwood-Bellis are good players, but as a central pairing they are not a good match, neither is a leader of men, they need a cool head alongside them directing them.

Yes I have said this all season, but nothing has changed.

Ivan Juric had put out perhaps the best side he had to hand, but it lacks a Captain in the centre of defence, it lacked strength and it lacked fitness.

Manchester City build their possession football game on having 2 big players and 8 small ones who were fast and could keep the ball and pass it, as you go down the League the ratio of small to large reduces and in the mid table the sides that stay up have more like 6 big strong fit players and 2 small ones.

The legacy of Russell Martin is that he has left a squad full of mainly young, small and unfit players who can pass a ball, but get easily outmuscled and when they lose it aren't fit enough to recover, this is the reason that we concede so many late goals.

The problem is now that the likes of Bednarek & Harwood-Bellis, even Wood are going to be good enough in the Championship next season, so getting in someone to replace them now & upset them, is not worth it.

I can't blame Juric for his selections this week, I can't really blame him for his substitutions, but he is not making the best of his squad, we need someone big and fast at the back so why no Bella-Kotchap, we need experience yet Charlie Taylor was not even on the bench.

To be blunt Newcastle like most sides know how to beat us, sit back, let us come on and then go quickly on the break and we will be in disarray.

Yes we could have got something out of this game, we rode our luck and if we rebalance the decisions then we might have nicked something, but Newcastle were a different class and could have made it another 5 goals conceded .

The only good thing to come out of this was the fact that we didn't collapse, we had a fighting spirit, but that alone won't be good enough if we are to get above that 11 point mark.

All Photos Via Reuters

saintmark1976 added 10:37 - Jan 27 Nick, we didn’t lose yet another game because of the referee ( who I agree was completely out of his depth) nor did we lose it because of the corrupt V A R system, poor team selection, bad tactics or player injury. We lost it because of Sports Republic’s employees proven inability to control and properly manage a Premiership football club. According to Saturday’s Southampton Echo we have won just a single Premiership game out of the last thirty six attempts over two seasons. You do a fantastic job churning out match reports week after week ( and thanks for doing so ) but honestly, hasn’t the time come for you to start to point the finger at where our problem really is ?

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IanRC added 11:03 - Jan 27 I agree Saintmark, Sports Republic have shown themselves to be completely unsuitable for running our club. Still no sign of a good centre forward and we are almost at the end of the transfer wi Dow. In my view the PGMOL and it's officials are deeply corrupt pandering to the whims of just a few clubs. Cavanagh on VAR was an absolute disgrace, I agree with your analysis Nick, Aribo was fouled rather than the other way round. Ironically our women's team were also on the end of another dreadful officiating display with Molly Pike being pulled back when through on goal to give us an offside decision. I have to say I cannot remember less enjoying my football watching than this season. The combination of biased officiating, rotten luck, an inept manager and totally incompetent owners are sucking the joy out of the game.

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Bowlercow added 11:03 - Jan 27 The most puzzling thing for me is those supporters who think that Juric has improved us The RM system would not work in the PL with the squad he had But at least he had a plan You could see (if you watched the game any not just the ball)what they were trying to do.With Juric we just look like 11 guys who have got together for a kick about Great goal by Bednarek but what was he doing in the opposition penalty area in open play? His first priority is to defend but the Godfather encourages his back 3 to go forward leaving us open to the two counter attacks that gave them the second and third goals Nobody was going to come in and save us after about 12 games so I have some sympathy with Juric. We now look disorganised and devoid of a game plan To get the squad right we need a good director of football now to prepare for the summer window

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felly1 added 11:09 - Jan 27 If only we could find the mythical leader at the back . Ever since Fonte went we have a list of contenders that have all generally failed one way or another. Think old Captain SuperJack better brush of his cape and come and save the day! Agree with St Mark , this calamity is down to Sports Republic and their terrible decisions. You really should be highlighting this rather than the horrors of VAR .

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underweststand added 11:39 - Jan 27 SR - Experience and Planning went out of the door when Jason Wilcox moved up North and whatever we might have /ought to have/ learned in the short term accompanied him. We are stuck with a squad where almost everyone is less than a required Prem. standard. There is no defence for the majority of the goals conceded and whilst our defenders may produce good individual displays they aren't a coordinated unit at the back and we are still playing six-a-side in our own box with a fairly predictable outcome. ( Oh.. for a Fonte or VvD who knew how to organise things). We have suffered much at the hand of VAR, and although I still support the system, I really think there is a level of incompetence with the officials handling it. We were all screaming at the TV in the Isak penalty incident, as the slow-mo sequence the ref. watched was from behind the goal and very unclear, whereas several other camera angles showed a totally different situation that even suggests that Isak dived over Aribo's feet. Most of the country has already condemned us to the Drop, perhaps the officials see it as "pointless" to give Saints even a dubious decision when three points are " worth more " to Newcastle. Whilst successive managers agree that our displays are a real surprise and far better than our league position suggests they still manage to walk away with the spoils.

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onetowatch added 11:51 - Jan 27 I think we can all agree we , Saints, can feel a tad aggrieved with Saturdays' officiating, but, please, let's be honest: - VAR is an excellent tool, it's how it's used that needs changing. - VAR is not the reason we lost on Saturday - It's how we've been run as a Football Club that has landed us where we are. I'm fed up hearing Saints fan say that there is a bias against smaller clubs, and often adding they'd rather we were in the Championship...which we will be in May. Ask, Fulham fans, Brighton/Notts Forest, B'mouth and even Palace fans what they think of the Prem. They're loving see their teams compete in the PL - we've been there, been in that enviable position, and will be again, but not under this regime. So, let's stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and as mentioned in an earlier post, focus our frustration on what can be done to remove the current administration....

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JoeEgg added 12:12 - Jan 27 In full agreement with everything Nick and Saintmark writes. There were key positions that needed filling last summer. As you say there is no leader, and as I have pointed out many times Bednarek and Harwood drift into the opponents penalty area looking to score goals, leaving the great gaps behind them and the opportunity for the opposition to break quickly and effectively. Its hard to blame these guys - because nobody else is going to score! Presumably Ross Stewart was Sports Republic's offering as our much needed centre forward - it was a gamble we were not entitled to take and it has failed us miserably.. Russell Martin ignored Sulemana because he wouldn't play the possession football required. That leaves us with the likes of Adam Armstrong, who some may feel sorry for, but he will never be Premier League class. Dibling was bound to get injured at some stage, so thats the forwards gone! Sports Republic were all smiles as we achieved our promotion from the Championship. However our squad needed leadership, experience, a couple of goal scorers on the end of good crosses and more quality all-round. The new boss may not be the answer - how many times at the start of the season did I shout Graham Potter!!! And as for Russell Martin who 'loved' the likes of Armstrong, Stephens and Smallbone for goodness sake, we were always doomed from the start! The transfer break is nearly at an end and nobody at SR has even identified our areas of weakness. Looking at our bench against Newcastle how could any manager look at the players there and think that they can save us? Yes the players often 'stick at it' but sadly the results and League table say it all - they are just not good enough.

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Bowlercow added 13:42 - Jan 27 And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse Solak confirms that Juric will be our coach next season regardless
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Bowlercow added 13:42 - Jan 27 And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse Solak confirms that Juric will be our coach next season regardless
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wibbersda added 14:29 - Jan 27 Not that ot would have mattered because heads were down, but they did not tackle on the var times to the 90mins. Robbed again!
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AmericanSaint added 00:11 - Jan 28 I think we can all see now that SR do things on the cheap. The PL is different than any other league and thinking that a manager who has never coached in the PL is going to save us this season, then SR show their true naivety. Managers like Potter or Moyes, understand what it takes to survive in the league and by not appointing one them, SR showed they gave up on the season and couldnt care less. So many management decisions that SR have done over this last 6 months has been so detrimental to the club that is like being in a fight with one-hand tied behind your back. Ever since old man Leihberr passed, our club has been run by fools and charlatans and look where it has gotten us.

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