Another display blighted by lapses in concentration, errors and just plain bad luck, something needs to be done.

Yet another game where we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory or at least a draw, yet again it was a tale of poor defending through lapses in concentration and poor marking.

I was disappointed when I saw the line up to see Shane Long dropped, I have defended Puel's rotation policy at times and the truth about it is that for most of the games he has rotated he has needed to, but what he cannot seem to do is realise that for some games you have to keep in the players who are in form.

That is the case with Shane Long, he scored at Swansea and looked our best player, yet he was back on the bench for this one, with Jay Rodriguez back in, this was wrong and sends out the wrong message to players.

But it all started so well with Manolo Gabbiadini striding on to a great through ball from Jay Rodriguez to rifle in a shot that neither the keeper or most of the crowd saw fly into the goal.

But then came the bad, once again at a moment when we should be looking to concentrate and keep things calm just after scoring a goal we handed the Hammers a lifeline, it was a nice little through ball to look for Carroll but it should have been cut out by Yoshida and wasn't and you could feel the mood change.

The second goal once again came at a time when we should be looking to close out the game, but where was the organisation at the back, where was the leadership, we dealt with a West Ham corner well but Obiang was on his own 40 yards out with no one covering the edge of the area, he had time to stride forward 5 yards and with still no Saints player anywhere near him let fly from distance and put the visitors ahead.

This was yet another lapse in concentration, we should not have every player back in the box, a team needs someone on the edge of the box to close down and press when the ball is cleared, we were defending like schoolboys.

Some blamed Foster and it cannot be denied he was a little slow in getting down, but given the sheer number of players right in front of him I would say he didn't see the ball till very late.

The real problem though was the lack of discipline.

Saints started the second half well and were nearly level when Ward Prowse almost squeezed in a free kick at the near post, but when things are going against you they go against you and within minutes we were further behind.

This time though it was all about the luck not going with us, firstly it was never a free kick when the referee decided that one of their players had been fouled when it was clear to everyone else in the ground that he had slipped, but it got worse, Noble's free kick was not that brilliant but it was right in the danger zone although it looked like it was going straight to Forster, Steven Davis had to go for the ball though and his toe gave the keeper no chance with the deflection.

That perhaps should have been that but in fairness Saints did keep going and should have got back in the game with Gabbiadini missing a sitter that would have turned the tide, but despite decent pressure and attempts on goal the bitter truth is that once again we shot ourselves in the foot with poor defending and lapses in concentration.

How many times have I used that phrase ? too many this season and it has to stop.

But what is the answer ?

The stark truth is that it is hard to see one, the reality is that we do not have any quality in the centre of defence without Virgil Van Dijk, with him we could just about get away with playing Yoshida and probably Jack Stephens or Gardos alongside him, but without Van Dijk, any other combination for various reasons is a recipe for disaster.

It's pains me to be so blunt, I don't spend the games screaming abuse at Yoshida or Stephens, I'm sure they are not doing it deliberately but they are not good enough and we should not have been in this position.

The popular view is to sack the manager at present, but that is a simple solution and one that although many seem to want it, few have any idea who would take his place.

The fact is that the next month will be crucial to Puel, he needs to win games, f he doesn't then you feel that there will be no way back for him now, but it is amazing how much winning the League Cup and then a good run in the league will change the opinions.

But although my support of Puel is still there even I know that there is something not right, not all of it is down to Puel, he has had injuries to key players at the wrong time, it is easy to blame Puel but he did not injure Charlie Austin or Virgil Van Dijk or indeed any of the players on a long injury list.

I am sure that he would rather have seen a central defender brought in last month, but he wasn't doing the negotiating.

So there are mitigating circumstances as to why we are struggling and not all of them are down to the manager, he has been dogged by bad luck and injury all season.

When we play well there is enough there to suggest that not everything is as bad as it seems, but the manager just seems to be plain unlucky.

That is not to say that he hasn't made mistakes, but they have not been as numerous as some would have you believe.

A couple of months ago we were winning games and people were complaining that they were not being entertained, now we are losing games but no one can moan about the entertainment !
Me I would rather have watched a dour game where Manolo Gabbiadini's goal was the only thing to get excited about in the entire 90 minutes.

There is the hope going forward, we now have plenty of attacking options and when we get VVW back we can finish the season strongly.

Photo: Action Images

perazi added 10:15 - Feb 6 Nick; It was Stephens who lost track of Carroll's run, but bashing Yoshida obviously satisfies your judgement of him. I actually thought both Yoshida and Stephen's had good games apart from that equalising goal. The real shortcoming was quite apparent; the absolute dominance West Ham had in CM - Ward-Prowse and even Davis left corridors of space for their counterparts, failed to close down the midfield runs and not for the first time this season left far too much work for Romeu. Doubtless, we should have had at least one CB reinforcement before the transfer window closed, but our midfield is almost as pressing a problem; if something happens to Romeu, the game is up - I think he needs Hojbjerg to help the DM side of things with someone like Davis as the more attacking mid. Gabbiadini showed he has what it takes to score goals in the Prem and he was one of the bright performances on a rather grim afternoon. Forster really needs to be dropped after another abject display. The Sunderland game is shaping as rather crucial.

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LordDZLucan added 10:19 - Feb 6 I have to agree with most of your assessment, Nick. For the life of me I can’t understand why Shane Long doesn’t start. And why did we put poor old Jack Stephens on Andy Carroll in only his 3rd start. Yoshi as the senior defender should have been picking up Carroll. Both of those were managerial decisions and both of them were wrong. Most of what is going on at the moment is not Puel’s fault but those 2 decisions were his fault and arguably lost us the game.

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Consigliere added 11:24 - Feb 6 I usually approach these post match comments by focusing on the positives and thinking about what can be learned from the negatives but Saturday's performance calls for a reversal of approach. So, putting aside a brilliant(albeit plainly offside) goal from a promising new striker, its all about the negatives. Garibaldi (for thus he shall be known) will soon be found out for his diving and simulation and the rest of the team should have been held back at the end of the game for some ritual humiliation in the form of a training session in front of the departing crowd. Apart from a brief ten minute period in the second half when they played quite well, the overwhelming impression was that they couldn't be bothered to make the effort to play as a cohesive unit and were prepared to be out-muscled and out-fought by a very determined and physical W Ham. I am not (yet) calling for the Manager's head but I suspect that the philosophical horse-shit about "possibilities" and "solutions" is just as meaningless when spoken in French and serves only to irritate the supporters. Time to call a spade a flaming shovel Mr Puel, this was just not good enough.

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saintmark1976 added 11:36 - Feb 6 Apart from the now obligatory rant about Yoshida a fair assessment Nick.Honestly you could have picked upon nearly all of the rest of the players on Saturday.Lets be honesty they were all mediocre at best. What now to do? In my opinion it is not the right time to sack Mr Puel for whom I have some sympathy given the complete mismanagement of those above him which let's face it started during the close season.

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vanmans added 11:40 - Feb 6 Winning the league cup Nick your having a laugh. Bradford lost 5-0 to Swansea and unless Van Dijk is back I can see Manu getting 6.
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SanMarco added 11:54 - Feb 6 Excellent verdict. I can't agree with Perazi that Yoshi wasn't at fault for the equalizer and I don't think Nick is bashing him. The failure to bring in at least one decent centre-back may be one of the biggest mistakes ever made by Saints. Whether we pay the ultimate penalty or not (and there will be more goals like that equalizer) the person who made that decision or messed it up should be held accountable. I agree on the Long decision - he should have started and I agree that we are also light in defensive midfield (might have been a good idea to replace Wanyama). The lack of quality in central defence puts more pressure on the midfield and, Romeu apart, they don't look up to it. Now is the time for Puel to earn his money. The calamitous transfer windows were, as far as I am aware, not his fault but he now needs to show he can adapt. At least a point next week is crucial - another poor result and performance will make the lead up to what should be a great day at Wembley a time of squabbling and recrimination. I think a change of formation to shore us up at the back with perhaps a longer ball looking for the forwards. We have got to avoid our weak central defence being exposed. With the central defence we have now we may go down and If Romeu was to be injured I would almost make us favourites. We aint going to be winning 1-0 from now on and I fully accept Nick's barb about those of us who were moaning when we beat e.g. Boro 1-0. That was a golden period for us this season - holding on for one nils. Feck the entertainment now - I just want 40 points...

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SanMarco added 11:55 - Feb 6 Hey vanmans - Bobby Charlton said that last time !!!
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vanmans added 12:04 - Feb 6 But SanMarco the difference is then we had a good team and a good manager.
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halftimeorange added 12:09 - Feb 6 The bells are definitely ringing and they ain't for me and my gal. They are alarm bells and the fact that the combination of Stephens and Yoshida isn't good enough is obvious to everyone. Other than the outstanding Romeu the midfield were hapless and hopeless and I agree that Hojbjerg should have played. He might be haphazard with his passing but he does give everything, as does Davis - although he had a bad game. The wall was laughable for the third goal. Two men only leaving a third of the goal showing. I was looking right down the barrel and all around me knew a straight hard shot would almost certainly go in. The bookies now have Saints at 33-1 to go down from 500-1 in November. I'm afraid I see the Championship beckoning unless we start converting all those chances we have consistently created.

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highfield49 added 12:31 - Feb 6 For the first goal I've seen better defending in local leagues, Carroll must have thought all his birthdays had come at once it was so easy to beat the central defence. He virtually pointed to where he wanted the ball delivered on his left before turning away from his marker, absolute basics I'm sorry to say. The second goal could have been avoided quite simply as well and the third was just inviting disaster. Apparently Saints are negotiating to bring in Caceres so I presume that he can still be signed as a free agent? Lots not going for him in terms of fitness, attitude, game time etc but what he can bring is experience and physical presence which is hugely lacking at present. He's not the long term answer but I'm hoping fervently he puts pen to paper very soon just to lift our expectations. Almost as though beggars can't be choosers right now.

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highfield49 added 12:46 - Feb 6 I'm also going to put my head above the parapet now and admit that although I've been hugely supportive of Puel I believe that he and Black are now out of their depth, Black always has been but we all knew that, and don't know how to turn things around. So, who would I try to get in to replace him? Assuming he's willing and still available I'd vote for Roberto Mancini who has the talent, charisma and winning mentality to get us back up the league.

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JDawg added 12:58 - Feb 6 There were countless reasons why we lost the game - constantly giving the ball away, not winning any 2nd balls, not putting pressure on them until they got near our 18 yard box, not buying an experienced CD, not taking our chances etc etc The not taking chances is a theme of the season. We had 21 shots, 7 on target. We should be getting more than 1 goal for that effort! The not taking chances is now even more of an issue now our defence is questionable. Although Stevens looked (understandably) nervous at times, I don't blame him for the defeat. I don't blame Puel (I'm still not 100% convinced either way by him) either. I blame the entire team and management team - it was an abject display all round. The BBC review of the game started talking about relegation fights when it described our defensive performance. Something has to be done, and I've just seen Caceres is having a medical. How long since he last played? Can't help but think some straws are being clutched here! Why was Fonte allowed to leave without a replacement? What happened to that German in Moscow? Why was Sakho not pursued? The club needs to explain how this shambles was allowed to happen.

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BoondockSaint added 13:54 - Feb 6 Agree in general that it's not all Puel, it's the tight-fisted bunglers above him. However, he doesn't seem to care, get mad, anything-this may well be that the attitude in the locker room is now "I'm just here for 6 months until a bigger team comes calling" Since , as the old sports adage goes, you can't sack the whole team, so you sack the manager. Who would we get? Who would dare risk their reputation with the transfer policy we have?

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helpineedsomebody added 14:07 - Feb 6 Stephens was slam dunk by Carroll on Saturday Everybody in the ground saw that except illingsworth Before the game everybody new that Westham would target stepens yet Mr dof has complete confidence in this corniche pixie No dought the man u centre forward is looking forward to playing are middle two
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SaintBrock added 14:20 - Feb 6 Calling this a shambles is an understatement but what worried me most was Puel's inability to change anything when we were under the cosh. There were few if any instructions coming from the technical area but it can't be just left to players to make it up as they go along when things are going that badly. You can argue of course that tactics should be ironed out in training and that all you need on match-day is fine tuning and finessing. It is also true that the sort of manager that barks instructions at his players all afternoon achieves nothing but to confuse his charges even more. Saturday was different 'though as we were in a mess and a lack of leadership on the field or from the technical area allowed our descent into chaos.When managers go AWOL like that you just know something is amiss. Rodriguez was hopeless so did the rumours of him leaving have substance or has he been phased by the arrival of Manolo Gabbiadini which puts his selection under pressure (as it should). Further back, it was blindingly obvious that Davis was knackered and needed a rest and that JWP was so far off the pace that their left flank had the freedom of the park. Yet despite his obvious keenness to get on the pitch Hojberg was not even used? It couldn't have made matters worse that's for sure. Sadly, Jack Stephens isn't ready yet to play this level and some of the naivety in his play and positioning might suggest he never will be. Agreed he is only 23 but even so he should have learned the basics by now. Some of his jumping for headers is embarrassing for their mis--timing.

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saintsnutcase added 14:31 - Feb 6 I certainly do not find it at all entertaining to concede 8 goals in two home games. Please bring back the goalless draws,as far as I am concerned!
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Jesus_02 added 14:54 - Feb 6 I'm not going to comment on player performances as I'm pretty much in line with perazi. In some ways we were unlucky. Some poor decisions were made on the field (2 man wall!!!) but two deflected goals is quite harsh. There is one thing that I wanted to comment on and that was off the field. We conceded our second goal because we had no-one to compete with the ball once we cleared it, everyone around me was similarly complaining even before the corner was taken. It just adds an uncontrollable element in a dangerous situation. Imagine the reaction then when early in the second half Sofiane Boufal hangs back in midfield much to our relief only to have Puel lose it with him and scream for him to get in the box like everyone else. This shows me to things. Boufal was questioning his judgement (understandably) and Puel has an inherent inability to learn from (or maybe recognise) mistakes. I have never called for a managers head, and most people recognise that he hasn’t made any signings (apart from maybe Pied the loan reserve goal keeper!). But while mistakes are excusable, failing to learn and adapt is a serious concern.

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Redrum added 16:35 - Feb 6 i dont understand why Gardos wasn't used straight away.Ok he's not 100% match fit but his experience and quality is more than Stephens.
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DPeps added 16:52 - Feb 6 6 losses in 7 league games now, and it's not as if it was a difficult run of games. I'm seriously worried now. I don't know where our points are going to come from. Disjointed going forward and an inability to defend isn't a good combo. I've said it before, but the transfer dealings this season have been awful and I'm concerned that we're going to pay the price. I need one of those positive fans to say something upbeat...

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PezzaSaint added 17:45 - Feb 6 Equaliser was a joke, no pressing of the ball, midfielder had so much time and Stephens was completely mugged up by Carroll. Our strength this season is now a weakness, very worried!!
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ItchenNorth added 20:19 - Feb 6 For me Yoshida was at fault for the equiliser no question about it. Yoshida was WAY out of position, almost in the left back spot. That left Stephens completely exposed to a straight forward ball through the lines. It was like taking candy from a baby for Carol. It not always about the man marking, it's about holding a good line and formation. Yoshida was at fault as well. The point about Yoshida had been made many times; he's having his best season for Saints, but that's because he's been paired with VVD who is outstanding and will cover for errors and or keep the shape of the back. Without VVD, Yoshida is exposed. On the positive though; Gabbiadini was great. Not just the finish for the goal but his all round play. Maybe he'll be our Pahars and smash in 10+ goals in the half season to secure our status.

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ahatcher added 21:35 - Feb 6 Big few weeks coming up, I felt that the ground was flat with atmosphere which cannot help. Compared to Anfield only a week and a half ago it was a world apart. We had fans looking at us strange when trying to chant and encourage the team, even if the football is not the most entertaining the needs to be a 12th man to help dig them out of the hole, in all the years of great escapes and low points of championship season disappointments at least there was a modacum of noise. Even if we are not happy with defensive options they need the backing, it didn't hurt Stephens at Anfield to be encouraged and build his confidence. Maybe it is because I have seen Branfoot days and know what it can be like to realise it is not the end of the world and it could be worse. The magic of the game....

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