Voting was locked for this match at midnight on Thursday 29th February but you may still add your mini match reports. Note that members and non-members alike were able to vote.

Your Liverpool v Southampton Match Reports

saintmark1976 added 22:08 - Feb 28 Embarrassing unnecessary defeat against Liverpool school boys. Wrong initial team selection, lots of possession, no end product, baffling substitutions, rinse and repeat the now customary Russell Martin way. Big call out to the 5000 fans who made the journey, you deserved better.
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Bawdrip added 22:12 - Feb 28 Did well but failure to take good chances cost us dearly. Had we played a slightly stronger side we could have seen a different outcome but I guess we have to focus on the league. Saturday at Birmingham will be tough.
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codge added 22:17 - Feb 28 We are the architect of our own downfall when we keep insisting to think we’re good enough to play out the back the way we do.What does Smallbone give us really,gave the ball away the first three times he passed it culminating in one of there goals.There first goal came from a mistake from Bree we are a disaster just waiting to happen. Overall we played some good stuff but unable to find the net again.Give a shout out to Aribo thought he was our best player along with Edozie who never stopped playing.Anyway the league is the main priority. COYR.

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Cjay80 added 22:19 - Feb 28 Wrong substitutions ruined it, we were in the game for the first hour and dare I say it, the more dominant side. Thought Shea Charles was excellent, Edozie too.
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mascott514 added 22:24 - Feb 28 Bloody hell doom mongers! We were really good! We just went to Liverpool,and gave them a really good game. The scoreline doesn't reflect the work rate and efforts. On another day (like the 25 other games we managed to) we score and its a very different game Sure, there was a lot of teenagers on the pitch, but they were superb too. I though Aribo was everywhere, and so strong, and Che Charles has made a case for Saturday. Not sure what the anti Martin brigade were watching last year- but they weren't watching Saints, thats for sure. Ihope we take heart from this performance , much more direct through the wings, much more pace, and take on Brummie's in the same way. COYR!

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Bawdrip added 22:35 - Feb 28 Funny how we see things so differently. I thought Charles was the only one (Smallbone aside) who was really poor.
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dirk_doone added 22:39 - Feb 28 A good performance from our starting eleven. Our starting midfield was outstanding, put Liverpool under constant pressure and created lots of chances. We could easily have been 2 or 3 goals ahead with better finishing. THEN, our substitutes came on and we collapsed. The arrival of the hapless of Smallbone ruined our midfield. He stroleld around, looking lost, making little effort to win the ball and when he did get it, he kicked it towards our goal, not Liverpool's. He didn't even manage to kick the ball sideways, let alone forwards. We'd have been better off with ten men.

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harrapuk added 22:52 - Feb 28 If playing out from the back is such an important of the possession game then how come Liverpool ended up having more possession than us without playing ridiculous triangles in their own 18 yard box. There were half a dozen times that we were caught in possession in our box with no easy pass on for our defender. Sometimes you just need to hoof it upfield, it's just incredibly naive to think playing triangles in defence is not going to lead to disaster. Hope KWP injury not too serious as I don't think our strength in depth is as strong as we once thought it was.

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SaintPaulVW added 05:38 - Feb 29 Played really well in the first half but just couldn't score. Nasty deflection for the first goal. Second half the errors crept in, again had a few good chances. Concerns for me are KWP going off and Arma looks really out of form. Thought that Aribo, Edozie and Bree were all excellent. COYR
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Boris1977 added 09:33 - Feb 29 Last night demonstrated the gulf which has opened up between the premiership and the championship and that with squad and RM in charge we'd be patronised by the big clubs for our playing style but with the same self defeating outcome. I was foolishly hoping that RM would have put out a first team last night but of course the self appointed genius knows best. At least Leeds and Blackburn represented the championship with more fight and goals. Not sure what message the players will get from last night but let's see what little pep does against Birmingham - a team we squeaked past when they were struggling under Rooney. COYRs Back to the league

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Centurion added 10:22 - Feb 29 A win needed against Birmingham to make sure we are on track to comfortably reach the play offs. Another defeat and we could eventually slip further down than 6th.
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Flamingbankers added 10:56 - Feb 29 Played well first half and should have put away our chances - Sulemana being the most culpable, however what does anyone expect when the guy hasn't played regular first team football. But I thought he was a real threat to Liverpool that's why they brought on the first teamer right centre-half, Konate, to stop him in the second half. Konate showed his Premiership class and did stop Sulemana but why didn't Martin play Sulemana in a different position on the other side or more centrally. Edozie was also a threat. At least Martin could have tried to swap them around. I thought Sulemana and Edozie had a great first half. More goal scoring prowess and we could easily have gone 3 up. The other strange thing about Martin's selection was that he selected two dangerous wingers but a poor centre forward - once again playing Mara from the start he looked out of his depth - missing a couple of sitters. Adams was the obvious choice for me. Chalk and cheese. Don't start me on the suicidal knocking the ball around our box to find a non-existent solution. OK do then. Frankly if a manager persists with this strategy he doesn't deserve to be manager - just saying we're going to stick to something 1. shows a lack of reasoning 2. an inability to adapt 3. Extreme stubbornness and arrogance. Being 'brave' enough to take risky chance is absurd and stupid when a team consistently loses matches with these conceits. It might, and does, work against weak teams that give you too much respect but it ain't going to win any trophies or promotion. Try that against Ipswich or Hull in the play-offs! Thought Bree played OK except for one or two mistakes. And thought Charles played well except for a couple of mistakes. Same for Manning , same for Smallbone. Do you see the pattern here? If you ask me Saints players are trying to play an unnatural and risky style of football that they aren't technically gifted enough to play and so it will always ultimately let them down against more prepared and/or better teams. It's failed Russ; go back to 4-4-2 and play two wingers and two forwards with proper left and right backs. I'd also be quite happy to give Lumley a run of games.

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sidsaint added 11:06 - Feb 29 Playing possession football against bottom half of Championship is one thing but against the youngsters of the likes of Liverpool is a different matter although we did pretty well until the first goal. Maybe we should have started with Armstrong and Adams as our shooting was poor. Hope some lessons learned and that we can slip back into our undefeated form asap. Play offs now look our only chance to get back to the prem. Great support from travelling fans as always.

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redwight added 13:45 - Feb 29 The jury has been out on Mara for some time. Not any more. Last night gave us all the evidence needed that he is not going to make the grade - not in the Championship and certainly not in the prem.
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SanMarco added 14:07 - Feb 29 I have given thumbs up to every comment both positive and negative. The reason is that I am totally torn between 'wasted opportunity' and 'at least we weren't embarrassed' On the one hand it was a good performance - Ally McCoist was reasonably impressed, not so much Roy Keane - and we were unlucky with the first goal and there were good performances from Aribo in particular and we didn't give a goal away with the endless tippy-tappy in our own box. But: are we in the quarter finals? Did we score a goal? Did we concede several again? Did the surreal tippy-tappy exhibition achieve anything beyond looking like a travelling circus exhibition of juggling while on a tightrope? When I saw the starting line-ups I thought two things - Liverpool look beatable and where in the hell will our goals come from? I was right on one... What did RM achieve last night? Was it a 'look I can rest players and play tippy-tappy' job advert for a 'bigger' club? Bottom line is it was 3-0 against Liverpool second team and could have been a lot better. My negative list seems a lot longer than the positive - so be it, a win against Birmingham and all will be forgotten.

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I_would added 14:14 - Feb 29 If Smallbrain had had some arrows chalked on the pitch, to signify which direction Saints were playing, he might have actually tried to move forward with the ball. Instead he did everything possible to pass back, failed, gave the ball away which killed the game at 2-0. Typical RM impact sub. We won't make the play offs without an emergency, out of contract, striker signed.

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saintmark1976 added 14:27 - Feb 29 I would, we are 15 points ahead of the seventh placed team with twelve games to play. Should we not make the playoffs from here I would suggest that the only person out of contract will be Russell Martin.
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Mattsgrandad added 14:55 - Feb 29 Positives The midfield in the first half. Sulimana and edozie looked useful but needed brooks with them. Aribo best game foe us. Negatives Passing around the box,what an earth does it achieve apart from boring the crowd to death and looking silly when we make a mistake. Smallbone and Charles so off form. Conclusion We are not ready for the premiership
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PezzaSaint added 17:36 - Feb 29 Why not try Kamaldeen down the middle, his pace would frighten central defenders
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Bettwsresident added 17:21 - Mar 1 I was marvelling at the playing out from the back, when we had sucked in 5-6 liverpool players we then passed it forward and invariable had a good position. The problem was that we missed our chances. Thankfully they also missed theirs when they caught us. The first half was really good by saints, but we couldn't bury the chances we made and the midfeild missed some runs by edozie and sulemana that would have be 1 on 1 if stu had been in the midfeild or Che at CF. Klopp had to make changes to deal with us, and they could as they are top of the Prem. that is high praise. The deflection for the first goal was cruel. I agree with other posters that the subs did not work and weakened us, but overall the scoreline flattered them and the overall gave me alot if optomism. We went toe to toe with the carabou cup winners who are at the top of the prem until the subs changed the game.

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fubsy added 12:30 - Mar 2 I didn't see too much of a problem playing out from the back. Liverpool are one of the best pressing teams and their press forced us to play out through our full backs (when playing out through the centre we looked dangerous) who are willing but limited. We created several very good chances. Our substitutions weakened us I thought. Rothwell looks very good as did Charles, Edosie, Aribo, Stephens and Bednarek. Good, enjoyable game which was played in a good spirit. PS. I would like to see us win at Anfield. COYS

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