Voting was locked for this match at midnight on Sunday 25th August but you may still add your mini match reports. Note that members and non-members alike were able to vote.

Your Southampton v Nottingham Forest Match Reports

codge added 18:31 - Aug 24 We never really got started right from the off we were second best,too many passes going astray,one of the main culprits Smallbone looked way off today also THB not up to his usual game.We never looked like scoring today Armstrong not really having a lot of support playing our so called goal scorers out wide never looked like we would score.COYR
11

I_would added 18:31 - Aug 24 S**t show
3

Mattsgrandad added 18:49 - Aug 24 Forward line anonymous, until Dibling, a breath of fresh air. midfield too lightweight ,we were swamped at times. Defence too sloppy. All in all too nieve tactics for this league.
11

silverspringsaint added 18:59 - Aug 24 This standard of play isn’t going to get us very far in the PL. Too lightweight and too slow through the middle. The attack needs a rethink - we had no capacity to hurt Forest today. Still it is early doors and I am still confident about improvements once the new talent is bedded in.
7

YosemiteSaint added 19:05 - Aug 24 I wonder if this is an instance where semantics comes into play. I wouldn't call the match from our perspective a sh*t show; I'd probably say instead that the show was sh*t. There is a slight difference.
5

codge added 19:37 - Aug 24 We never really got started right from the off we were second best,too many passes going astray,one of the main culprits Smallbone looked way off today also THB not up to his usual game.We never looked like scoring today Armstrong not really having a lot of support playing our so called goal scorers out wide never looked like we would score.COYR
1

Block8 added 20:00 - Aug 24 We are too lightweight in midfield with no spark or seemingly vision, Aribo continues to work hard but is so one footed and not good enough for this level. The goal could have been stopped on the edge of our box if he put his right foot through it! Why play Jack in the free roll across the back when we Edwards who is great on the ball? RM has admitted we are light up front but he's known that from the start. Diaz looks good, not sure about Archer (it's early days) & AA was pretty poor today. Bright spots McCarthy played well and Dibling & Fernandes certainly improved the team but at present we also look a bit lightweight tactically and too slow in transition!

7

SaintPaulVW added 20:25 - Aug 24 Unfortunately this was a fair result. You can see the step up that we need to make in the PL. Several players showed real quality, KWP, Sugawara, Fernandes and Dibling in brief cameos. Downes looked equal to the task. Several players didn't play well today, Arma, going back to how he was 2 years ago losing the ball every time, Smallbone and Archer also didn't turn up. Stephens despite his unstoppable status also seemed not up to the task. Not too sure about our set up either, we seemed to play with 2 wingers up front with no one in the centre. No point getting too upset yet, the squad needs to settle and we always start slow but it is now clear that collectively we need to up our game if we want to stay up. COYR

5

harrapuk added 21:21 - Aug 24 The only time we looked like scoring was when we bought on Grealish, I mean Dibling. We gave the ball away far too much.
5

halftimeorange added 21:35 - Aug 24 What the hell was RM thinking playing our two principal strikers on the wings with no centre forward. One of the worst tactical decisions I've seen in years. Add to that a shocker from Harwood Bellis and both Stephens and Smallbone presumably under instruction to turn back when receiving forward balls. I was truly disappointed with this no-show from the starting eleven after last week's narrow loss. A prompt improvement is needed and a goalscorer and playmaker both required asap or the money Sports Republic have invested in the squad and the ground will quickly disappear down the drain, along with many supporters.

9

DoctorSleep added 22:21 - Aug 24 Slowbone won't put his foot in things as he's scared of getting injured, Aribo was drifting out towards the wing where either Diaz was, he and Arma were hugging the touch lines - apparently this creates space in the middle - However there was no-one in the middle, this in turn was frustrating the fans. Things changed when Archer Fernandes and Dibling came on, the game opened up and there was a good chance that there would be goals. However the approach paly was still way too slow. Diaz looks to be a liability as he does a lot of things that could get him suspended - too many yellows - or even a red card. Has the ability but is lost hugging the touchline.

2

SanMarco added 00:19 - Aug 25 This match will certainly not quieten those who are suggesting that RM is out of his depth. Of course it is going to be a hard season but he needs to get team selection and tactics right to give us any chance. Today was a total dog's breakfast against one of the more beatable teams in the league. Has RM got what it takes to learn and adapt quickly? The jury is, to say the least, out...

3

SanMarco added 00:21 - Aug 25 On my screen Forest seem to have 11 invisible players who all got 7 out of 10 - no wonder we lost...
0

Block8 added 09:13 - Aug 25 The two strikers wide is the system RM has used throughout pre-season & it is wholly dependant on someone from midfield pushing through the middle. We are currently selling the player best adapted for that role? And also if that is the way we are going to play, then maybe we don't really need 3 CB's and wing backs, wouldn't it be prudent to play with two holding midfielders?

3

Bowlercow added 14:40 - Aug 25 At least it means we will keep KWP because no one would want him or any of our players on that performance We thought a few of our squad were PL quality but Forrest showed us they and the RM formation are a mile away at the moment RM was adament that the playing style wouldn't change but it has His insistence on keeping Stevens in the team has led to a total change in formation Please go back to a 4 3 3 line up The extra man gained in m/f isn't worth it if it's JS NF were quicker,stronger and more skillful than us all over the pitch and the only surprise was that they only scord one

5

TimSaint added 14:22 - Aug 27 At home against an opposition that we probably earmarked as a game to get points from, we play ultra-defensive, back 5, no striker, allow Forest to over-run our midfield, create fvck all, only actually attack in the last 10 mins - and relying on a youngster to do all the attacking. Mainly pathetic from everyone, but especially the manager and his negative tactics. I really don't know what they thought they had to do to win the game, but it wasn't showing on that pitch. Countless unforced errors and piss poor passing, together with a really naive approach, allowed Forest to not only dominate, but you always felt they could go up a gear or 2 if needed. (probably because we didn't stretch them at all). Hopefully the Cardiff game is different from the Gillingham game of last season and we can actually draw some positives from the game, ahead of a very difficult trip to Brentford.

0