When the team was announced before kick off there were many who thought that Mauricio Pellegrino had lost the plot, perhaps his selections appeared strange, but Saints nearly nicked a point.

The two real talking points about this game where the team selections and Fraser Forster's part in Chelsea's goal, but lets start at the beginning.

Mauricio Pellegrino made it all change again for the trip to Chelsea, the most surprising decision being that Virgil Van Dijk was dropped to the bench and we appeared to be starting with a back three, none of whom have appeared to have been the managers first choice at some stage over the past few months.

This is the worry about Pellegrino, good managers are consistent, they know what their best teams are for any given game and who their best players are, when you get wild changes week in week out, both in the starting line up and substitutions, there is something wrong.

Most puzzling is that Pellegrino has tinkered with what had been a side that looked like it was coming back to something approaching decent form, there was no need for too many changes.

Wild changes it was on Saturday at Chelsea and you have to surmise when a manager is suddenly starting to play players he has virtually ignored for several months that something is not quite as it should be.

Like the Arsenal game it was a game where Saints were soon pressed back and forced to spend a lot of time beehind the ball and this perhaps suited the side they had put out at the back.

There was a setback early on though when Cedric Soares was smashed into the advertising hoardings and unable to continue, but perhaps that was not the disaster it could have been, with a shuffle bringing on Lemina whose tackling ability helped , although he did not look like the driven player of a month or so ago.

The goal in the 2nd minute of first half injury time was another lapse of concentration, firstly a silly free kick was given away 30 yards out, it was needless and it would cost us dearly.

Many will blame Fraser Forster for the goal, but most will blame him for the wrong reason, the keeper was not slow in getting down, indeed he got quite near a ball that was shaving the bottom of the post, perhaps the most difficult save to make, but the real mistake was in setting up the wall.

Forster had assumed that Willian would hit the free kick and set up the wall appropriately, but it was Alonso who hit the ball, probably because Chelsea had noticed that the Saints wall was too far over to the left, meaning that there was the opportunity to bend the ball into our right hand corner.

So yes Forster was at fault, but his blame lie in not setting up the wall properly to cover that angle meaning that he had to try and scramble across in vain from a starting position that was all about William striking the ball to the left of the goal, if the wall had been set up as it should have been the ball would not have got through.

Ironically if Forster had saved the shot or the wall blaocked it then he would have unquestionably have been Saints man of the match making half a dozen decent saves and dealing with just about everything else compently, but that is what a keeper is all about, a striker can miss several sitters and have an awful game, but if he scores one and wins the game then he is a hero, in reverse like Forster on Saturday, a near perfect performance is ruined by one lapse in concentration.
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Our tactics seemed to be to hang on, get to the last 15 minutes and then try and have a go, we were scared to leave our own half for long periods and it was only after Charlie Austin came on that we offered any sort of attacking threat.

Overall this game was one that ponders a lot of questions off th pitch rather than on it, Saints put in a good display on it, although it was all about sitting back and defending rather than matching Chelsea in all areas.

But Pellegrino cannot say this was a tactical team selection, if it is then why have our best players been on the bench in the past three games, that is not tactical it is about issues in the dressing room and that is worrying.

I would guess that Pellegrino has issues with Van Dijk, Hoedt and Lemina, undoubtably these are his best players, but given the change in attitude on the pitch yesterday, certainly it was miles better than on Wednesday, it seems that the manager is in a quandry, the likes of Yoshida, Stephens and Ward Prowse will give 100% and a good attitude, but that still does not make them a better player than either of the aforementioned trio.

Van Dijk is better than either Stephens and Yoshida even at 75% effort, but that lack of effort is seemingly damaging the team in other areas.

So the manager appears to have a dilemma, does he try to play his best team and get a result, or does he go for one that will play for him and give 100% but ultimately is not going to be able to compete in the same way.

Something has to change and that is the worry for Pellegrino, it is easier to change one man than replace several players, if he isn't getting the results then his position will become untenable.

This was a result that most Saints fans would have taken before kick off, especially when they saw the team, but that is the problem at the moment, we are lowering our standards, we are accepting second best and that has to change.

Photo: Action Images

helpineedsomebody added 11:08 - Dec 17 the managers system dugout football
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InsideOut added 11:10 - Dec 17 Sorry, I don't normally have much problem with what you write but this is such a load of rubbish. Get a grip. We put in a good defensive performance and didn't get much luck going forward. Those who let us down midweek were punished and others came in. Ward Prowse can cover for Cédric while he's injured on that performance, then we can benefit from his dead ball skills without weakening the midfield. Yoshida and Hoedt were good together. Bertrand was too. Charlie should be on form for the next game. Lemina is back up to speed after his injury. This isn't so different from the Man City game, got nothing but some reasons to be cheerful are there if you want to see them rather than just moaning and stirring things up.

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SaintNick added 11:22 - Dec 17 Inside out, I watched both the Man City and Chelsea games, both could easily have been 4 or 5 goal defeats, we fought rear guard actions chasing the ball and needed the keeper to make half a dozen good saves and a bit of luck in the box with the post saving us etc. There were some good things to come out of it, but sitting back on our own penalty area with one man on his own up front is not a good defensive performance its backs to the wall desperation

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kingolaf added 11:32 - Dec 17 We could have got a point because Chelsea only took 1 of their 24 chances. It wasn't a tactical masterclass from MP that nearly worked. You have to look at the manager. If the dressing room has been lost it isn't down to the odd player or two. The experienced pros have sussed MP out and have no confidence in him, the same as 90%+ of the fanbase. He has to go. The sooner the better.

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wibbersda added 11:36 - Dec 17 Get ready with your down votes. This teams front line needs a complete overhaul. I'm sick of Redmond's cutting back and losing the team momentum. Equally Bufoel too. When Redmond is on it stops Bertrand getting forward and doing his magic. Why were players high fiving Yoshida for making an unnecessary foul which gave Chelsea a perfect free kick position. And the goal...the wall may have been placed badly but why don't we ever put a tall centre back on the opposite side goal line, especially against the top teams who are free kick masters? We need a completely new set of attacking midfielders and a big fast centre forward in Jan. As for a top 10 finish, forget it.

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SanMarco added 11:36 - Dec 17 I think the trouble for a lot of fans is that under Koeman we would have been picking off Chelski for a win yesterday. Going into games like that looking to avoid heavy defeat and hoping to nick a draw is a bottom six mentality. Chelski weren't that great yesterday and didn't need to be. January will be our most important 'window' in years. If the transfer committee get it wrong again then that creeping feeling that this could be a relegation season will gain momentum.

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mgprobert added 11:36 - Dec 17 Well we don't know what is going on behind the scenes but I think you're probably right in saying that his best players can't be bothered so he is in the dilemma of using those half hearted players who might then start to drag the others down, or pick a sub-best team that really wants to give 100%. I suspect MP has tried using his best and the Leicester game was the result, so can't blame him using those who want to play for the club - all this is conjecture of course and has to be put together with injuries, squad rotation and any other outside influences. I'd get rid of VVD though - his behaviour is on a par with others who just go through the motions waiting for a win - the annoying thing is they can, and will be richly rewarded! c'est la vie

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highfield49 added 11:40 - Dec 17 I want to be optimistic but another game gone and no more points collected is worrying. Ok, I accept that it wasn't a horrible defeat like midweek but something has to change quickly because so many of the apparently doomed teams below us are now picking up points that they wouldn't have collected a few weeks back. For all the contempt lots of us harbour for Allardyce, Hodgson and Moyes they have all taken struggling teams and turned them into contenders. Not contenders for trophies or European football maybe but certainly contenders for vital league points. I think that there have to be serious off field issues of which the players are aware but we, as ever, are in the dark about. There has been zero input from the owners and board about any direction or backing for the manager in the transfer window and this smacks of complacency. So far we still have the likes of Swansea, Newcastle, Stoke and Bournemouth who equally can find little form but that cannot be relied upon to save us from a relegation fight. I suppose we could hit an unlikely run of results, like the season end that RK managed to put together, but until the root of the problem is found and remedied it seems highly unlikely. Once again a vital game coming up and it's going to take a strong, cohesive performance with everyone pulling together to get the three points.

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Sanguin added 11:47 - Dec 17 Yoshida was MOTM for me this game. I thought we had out tactics spot on and could've nicked a point. Issues between the manager and players are pure conjecture. I don't think Lemina, Hoedt and Boufal are significantly better than other players in the squad so they should expect to be rotated. I completely disagree that (as fans) lowering our standards is a problem. A 1-0 loss away to Chelsea where we remained competitive until the end is a good result. Especially in the context of the miserable performance against Leicester. Part of our problem is that we expect to beat all sides outside of the top six both at home and away and are upset when we're not dominating everybody. We're good, but not that good. These high standards leads to a lot of fans throwing abuse and booing the players on the pitch which isn't helpful.

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helpineedsomebody added 12:05 - Dec 17 another mistake from yoshida same at city all he does is smile did we get out of our own half yesterday
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InsideOut added 12:29 - Dec 17 Nick, re: backs to the wall desperation. Ok, against Man City contenders for best ever premier league team we were desperate towards the end but still in the game. Against Chelsea, the current champions who count several world class players in their team, including Hazard and Kanté, possibly the most influential player in the world to have in any team for any match. Having been thrashed at home midweek and with a days less rest we still had 46% possession and only conceded from a free kick deep into first half injury time, where the defender in the wall could have done better. Chelsea were relieved to hear the final whistle and bag the 3 points. It wasn't by any means perfect but we gave them a game and could have snatched a draw. If that's desperate then I guess you're lucky you don't support most other teams in England.

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the_saint added 12:59 - Dec 17 Huddersfield has now become a massive game for us. I do feel a bit sorry for mp as it seems the big time Charlie’s (players) have the power and not the managers and it’s always the manager that loses out. But we all need to pull together and try to get out of this rut we are in. COYR
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grumpy added 13:02 - Dec 17 But we didn't snatch a draw, we lost as did against City and Leicester. We will be relegated under MP. A nightmare scenario would be if we let MP spend the money from the sale of VVD and we still went down. Would our owners still be interested then.
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saintmark1976 added 13:09 - Dec 17 The table tells no lies.We have eighteen points from the same number of games which however way you try and cut it is relegation form. Unless there is an improvement in this form then we will be relegated or very close to it particularly given that on average we currently score less than one goal per game. The only good thing to have come out of the last week is hopefully a belated realisation of our predicament.The question now becomes one of what are the owner, board prepared to do about it?

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law101 added 13:20 - Dec 17 I want to see us have a go at teams like we did under MP and RK. Sadly we can't do that anymore as we are a team of 6 out of 10s. It's sad to see but getting men behind the ball and trying to nick a goal is the tactic both Puel and Pellegrino believe best fits the players we have. The feel good factor followed us because we would take the game to the big teams and played good attaching football. Now we are just another West Brom, Burnley, Stoke and no longer the best of the rest. I don't know what to suggest, does anyone believe a new manager will solve the problem? And who would we get?

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helpineedsomebody added 13:28 - Dec 17 L V G knows what he is doing WOULD HE COME every body has a price
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saintpp added 13:59 - Dec 17 Some good posts and decent article so not much to add. One poster said he was sick of redmond cutting back well he has to as mp plays him on the left so he cant go down the wings so that should be aimed at the manager. Id agree with back to walls desperation is that a sign of good manager or one who has no ideas or ambition to attack hoping to scrape draws. As someone posted the pros have sussed him as have the other managers and most of the fans. The only fans who cant see it are mostly ones who wanted Puel out and now blame the players or les reed as that would amount to admitting getting rid of Puel for this guy was step backwards. The players are good enough they have proved it in the past and sometimes this season. Its all down the manager not getting the best out of ,playing silly systems that dont work dropping players who had good games and lack of action from Mp. Like versus Arsenal. Finally i saw tweet from Lemina who admitted his ankle wasnt right,then why are they playing him then but it does explain why he isnt starting or look as good.

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SaintPaulVW added 14:21 - Dec 17 Thought we played fairly well and Chelsea looked on a par with us for long periods of the match. Agree though that 'backs to the wall' defending is just terrifying to watch. My biggest concern is still with the attack. Redmond gets into great positions but just squanders the ball. Boufal is similar. Gabbi runs his socks off but no one passes to him. Instead we tippy tap it forward then back Austin just will not last the full 90 mins on a regular basis. I'm not despondent at the moment, we have the talent and often it shows, just need either Mo or his replacement to unlock it. Things are starting to look awfully tight in the bottom half of the table though.

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LondonSaint added 14:30 - Dec 17 Not much to say that isn't covered. A loss against Chelsea isn't that bad, MP should be judged on performances against clubs from 8th downwards. I am still annoyed that he's not delivered on the mission of exciting, attacking football that Reed announced with his appointment, though. Incidentally I know fans of a few other "middling" clubs who are also complaining that it seems to be more about "not losing" than winning. I'm not sure how they're going to get kids interested if it stays this way. My vote is for a European Super League so that the big 6 can bugger off and search for more money. I'd much rather play Huddersfield, Leyton Orient, Pompey every week with both teams going for it than this snoozefest...

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Ali_Diarea added 14:42 - Dec 17 I actually quite like the versatility of playing wing backs away from home against the big clubs and then four at the back when playing at home. But averaging one point a game is relegation form and I still think the squad is much better than recent results suggest. I’d bring Martin O’Neil in now and give him the VVD money in January to buy some creative midfielders.

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Saint88 added 15:25 - Dec 17 Finely balanced as to whether we end up in a relegation battle. With half the season gone (after Saturday at home to Huddersfield) we're far from safe.
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UphamSaint added 16:24 - Dec 17 Decent performance, time to stay loyal to the manager and time to let him build his team. Finally, sell players for high fees who dont want to play for us.
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DorsetIan added 18:44 - Dec 17 Hopefully someone in the club is taking serious stock a the moment. The first half of the season has been disappointing, with defensive frailties and an occasionally dodgy keeper adding to the more general 2017 problem of a lack of goalscoring. Radical plan: VVD has to go. He should have gone in the summer but the Club wanted to flex its muscles. I can accept that in terms of not letting other clubs (or him) take the p*** but he seems to continue to disrupt any possibility that MP might build a TEAM. If top clubs compete for him, we will get good £ and can spend it to... Improve the midfield. I would let both Boufel and Redmond go now. Both have had enough time to 'cut it' at this level and neither really has. Sell them both and the get someone REALLY good. Walcott would be better. Looks like Mkhitaryan might be on the move. Let's get someone who we know can play effectively at this level. Let Shane go. He is a BRILLIANT person and player but we need a striker who can score consistently. Giroud would score goals. There must be others. We have got so much talent in the squad but something is just not gelling. It is ridiculous that we should be worried about relegation, but we need to be. Merry Christmas.

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underweststand added 18:49 - Dec 17 the problem now ..is the same one we had last season... Strikers who can't score goals. The goal drought at SMS was nothing short of embarrassing, but statistically we often had more % possession and more goal chances, but no goals. Aside from Gabbiadini's whirlwind start. Redmond was the only regular scorer, but has yet to score this season. Who would expect to see Davis and Yoshida amongst our leading scorers? Whether we blame Puel or Pellegrino, the fact is that without getting even one goal, we are reduced to scrambling for a draw. One goal can win a game..(witness Chelsea on Saturday) but the fact remains that when the opposition score once, the best we can hope for - is to pray for a draw. With or without VvD... we don't have the worse defence in the Prem. but we need to get (at least) one proven striker in January, rather than wait for Long to find some form, or Boufal to score another Goal of the Season ..or Gabbiadini to recall what he did so well last season and begin to find the net again.

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underweststand added 18:56 - Dec 17 NOTE to London Saint I get your point and agree with your comments. I'd be glad to see the bacl of City, United and Co. and the thought of playing the Huddersfields, Palaces or West Hams would be preferable, but choose your words carefully...Portsmouth are in League 1 ..and (I think ) Leyton Orient were relegated last season ...Oops(!)
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