Saints fans arrived in hope and left in disgust after seeing their team once again gift the opposition goals through suicidal passing around their own penalty area, the question is when is this madness going to end.

Whilst there can be some excuse for those out on the pitch given the absence of 4 of our best players through suspension & injury, there can be absolutely no excuse for Russell Martin once again employing a possession football tactic that verges on the suicidal in and around our own penalty area.

The game started well for Saints and they should have opened the scoring when Joe Aribo saw his effort saved, but within minutes Chelsea took the lead when we failed to deal with a corned to our near post and Disasi had a free header from close range.

But we came back inside 4 minutes when a great run by Kyle Walker Peters saw him pull the ball back for Joe Aribo to fire home an equaliser.

That gave the Saints fans hope that perhaps this game was one that we could get something out of, but that feeling did not last long when yet another atrocious piece of passing in our own penalty area once again saw the ball turned over to the opposition who had a simple task of tapping the ball into an empty net, this time the culprit was Joe Lumley.

Again we battled gamely, but to be frank we were piling forward and Chelsea were counterattacking at will, so it was no surprise when they made it 3-1 on 34 minutes.

Then came perhaps the moment that finished us off when on 39 minutes Jack Stephens inexplicably tugged on the hair of Marc Cucurella.

Now I know playing against that hair flying around all over the place must be distracting and very annoying, indeed It surprises me that he is allowed to have it so free flowing when playing, but this was a lack of professionalism from our Captain at a time when we needed leadership on the pitch.

You could have understood if he had given it a strong pull, but he barely pulled it, if he had done it to his shirt it would not even have been a foul, but you can't touch opponents heads, whether it is touching foreheads gently or a playful tug of the hair.

I do have some sympathy here for Jack Stephens, but not much, I think this was frustration that although he is getting game time as Captain and is clearly Russell Martin's favourite, that he clearly isn't happy with the tactics either, it is turning him into a villain amongst the fans by association to the manager and at some point that will have a negative effect on his career and he has gone from respected loyal club servant to being seen as Russell Martin's pet, although that may unfair.

However there is absolutely no excuse for letting your team mates and the supporters down in such a petulant fashion.

So we went in at half time 3-1 down and also down to 10 men, not much hope there then.

The second half started with no changes to the side and in fairness we dug in and didn't collapse, a minor miracle given the circumstances, but to the chagrin of the crowd, we did not abandon the possession football game and the suicidal playing along our own back line.

The hour mark saw tiring legs replaced, perhaps Russell Martin felt that if the next goal was ours, then we had a chance of a comeback, on came Sulemana for what would become perhaps his worst game for the club, why not throw in Sam Amo-Ameyaw, a player who would have at least shown some appetite for the fight.

Likewise Ben Brereton as he now seems to be known for Adam Armstrong, although at least you could not accuse Brereton of not trying.

On 76 minutes Nkunku score the 4th and the start of disgruntled fans leaving the ground.

Russell Martin also seemed to have given up hope, he through on Ronnie Edwards to replace James Bree, like Nathan Wood making his League debut for the club and indeed Premier League debut, he was joined by Charlie Taylor, a player completely ignored by Martin in recent months, so our managers answer to seeing out the game was a Goalkeeper playing only his 2nd Premier League game with a defence that included two Premier League debutants in the centre, Ryan Manning with just 7 Premier League games to his bow and only Kyle Walker Peters with any real experience.

In front of them was a collection of bit part players who have yet to truly impress, Joe Aribo being the best of the bunch.

So the biggest surprise was that Chelsea only scored once more making it 5 with 3 minutes of normal time left.

So my big question is when is the manager going to be made accountable for the teams performances, in fairness his team have not deserted him, in the main they still put in a shift, but they see their own good work thrown away due to having to play in a certain way.

Surely by now Russell Martin has realised he does not have the squad to play the type of game he wants in the Premier League, better late than never they say, after all most Saints fans realised that in the opening game at Newcastle.

So where do we go from here, well Aston Villa is the obvious answer and the good news is that Jack Stephens will be banned for this game and 4 more after and we will have Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood- Bellis & Flynn Downes back from suspension and hopefully a player or two back from injury.

That means that we can chalk the Chelsea game off as a bad day at the office and put out a team that will have at least four changes for the better and all key players.

But Russell Martin has a lot of thinking to do if he is to save his job and that is assuming that he has saved it, Thursday may well have seen the board making some decisions and perhaps even making enquiries elsewhere as we speak.

One thing has been once again highlighted in this debacle and that is the folly of trying to employ a tactic that is clearly not working, how much longer can Russell Martin keep making the same tactical errors that see points thrown away, before something gives, will that be his own ego or the patience of the Southampton board.

All Photos Via Reuters

dellboysaint added 20:45 - Dec 5 There is something seriously wrong with SR. They appoint mid Championship managers and invest in mid Championship players. They also presumably expect to stay in the Premiership. Or do they? Is it really their intention to be a yo yo club? Every, and I mean every, premiership club would have sacked Martin by know but there is an arrogance about SR…….a ‘we know better’ arrogance. Have they thought of the fans who have to watch the Sunday league mistakes gifting the opposition goals. I can’t remember anything like it in the history of the Premiership.

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Farlow added 21:05 - Dec 5 I thought Lumley madde Macarthy look world class.No doubt some of the eassayists on this site will prove me wrong.All it does prove is that RM,s philosophy is totally nuts. Thought JO was superb and nice to see KWP in his best attacking role.The way Brentford are going this crowd could lose both their premiership sides this year.How can they sit back and watch a totally inept manager continue.Danny Rohl would be a great replacement.

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bartley41 added 21:44 - Dec 5 I keep going on my computer to " NEWS NOW - SOUTHAMPTON" to see if Martin has got the sack, but nothing so far, what is the delay ? We don't want to go into the record books as the team with the lowest points ever in the Premiership!
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HythePeer added 22:56 - Dec 5 I couldn't (luckily?) go to see the match. However, I received the following msgs 'Saints are so bad, when they go down to 10, they get better.' 'They made it through half time without letting one in!' '1-4! Saints fans are running on the pitch hoping they get banned.' 'To be fair saints have done more key passes than che, that led to goals!' If these msgs are a fair assessment then slap 'like' 🤣

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SanMarco added 23:21 - Dec 5 Nick poses the question: when is this madness going to end? I agree with the rest of what he says (expect I have zero sympathy for that the idiot Stephens) but that question is the only thing that really matters. SR and their manager RM are making us a laughing stock - the thing that every fan hates more than anything. I have seen worse players play for Saints in my many decades and I have seen worse performances but I have NEVER seen the like of what is happening this season. It really beggars belief. The other pertinent question arising from the first is: What is entertaining about the way we are playing? Is anyone leaving the ground saying alright we lost but we were great to watch...Of course they're fecken not. I age another year every time I watch the inept and suicidal messing around at the back and I am too old to lose the time. Enough is enough - let's get a proper manager and go down with some dignity. PS Why can't morons like the guy with the hair be booked for simulation when they over-react. Yes it is a red card but he deserved a yellow for cheating.

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Ripleys_revenge added 01:16 - Dec 6 There cannot surely be any debate any more at board room level, Martin has to go. He should have gone months ago - there have not ever been any signs that things are turning around, despite what we are told in press conferences, nor that if we 'keep on playing like that, then ultimately we'll be ok'. SR do seem to carry a sense of contempt for fans who are not idiots - everyone can see the lunacy unfolding on the pitch and reflected in the results. I agree with other posters about the club now becoming a laughing stock. Not only do I now sit down to watch us with zero expectation of getting anything from games, I'm also feeling less and less connected to my club that I've supported for 40 years. The soul of the club is being ripped out by SR - I thought that the Jones / Selles season was the worst I could remember as a Saints fan in the prem, but this season we have plumbed new depths. I suspect Martin himself is also questioning his own philosophy as he sees the carnage unfolding every game which is probably quite a difficult thing for him to go through. He can't be that myopic that it doesn't push him to at least question his own football principles, surely? But he's backed himself into a corner and unfortunately he's taking the club with him. The silence from the board is shocking. They have to now come out and publicly state either this is their plan (stick with him, take us down) or sack him. Leaving everyone in the dark is doing themselves no favours - if this is indeed their plan then at least have the plums to come out and say it. If not, then do something about it. I have never felt this apathetic about Saints before. I thought I had with Jones / Selles, but this is (somehow) worse. To close on an optimistic note - I do think we actually have a half decent first 11 and I don't buy the argument that the players simply aren't good enough. For sure they are not good enough to play suicide ideology-ball, but I believe if we became more pragmatic on the pitch then a manager with a bit more common sense could still get us some points.

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Block8 added 10:37 - Dec 6 Not sure how you can possibly think that Stephens is frustrated with RM's tactics, he only gets a game because of those tactics. If we played a back four he would be a long way down the starting eleven. Another self inflicted, yet predictable defeat. Its a pity because there were some good performances out there, I thought Bree & Woods, bit players played very well. Fernandes, Archer & KWP were excellent and Manning has surprised us all, and looks comfortable (if not exceptional) in recent games. Aribo works hard but is so one footed it holds him back but still put in a decent shift. It's noticeable that it is not only the crowd who's heads drop with yet another cock up leading to a goal but you can see in the players body language and dropped shoulders the same level of despair. And lets be honest if we don't shoot ourselves in the foot, VAR picks up the slack, sometimes we get the double whammy!!

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SanMarco added 11:48 - Dec 6 Hi Ripleys-revenge: " I don't buy the argument that the players simply aren't good enough" - you raise (and indeed answer) the other excellent question. We will only have a chance of knowing the answer (I am slightly less optimistic than you) when we stop the RM madness...
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landsdownsaint added 13:34 - Dec 6 The players are good enough playing to their strengths ,I will say RM has made them better playersbut now is the time for SR to appoint a new manager & they can reap what good work RM has done in certain aspects .hes done his part fir SFC & for which we all appreciate but hes going to start getting real hate & he don’t deserve that . Fir what he’s taught the players & a new manager with a knew approach & experience we a stay up comfortably. A new manage would love to have some of them players

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