This was not a great result not a great performance, but it was not the sign that Saints are heading towards freefall either.

All football teams have poor results, indeed Manchester City after beating Barcelona could not despatch Middlesbrough on Saturday and it would be a similar case for Saints at Hull City.

But this was not a bad Saints performance overall it was a case of a few minutes of madness where Hull City turned a game around that they seemed to have no chance of winning and made Saints pay dearly.

Up to that moment Saints had looked comfortable and that was perhaps the problem, we had plenty of chances, in fairness most had been taken well but the Hull keeper did his job, but perhaps complacency crept in.

The warning sign was there with a shot flashed across goal and the Saints defence seemed to lack concentration, Hull then scored with literally there first effort on goal and then 125 seconds later made it two.

They would not look like scoring again but now the damage was done and although Saints would have well over half an hour to turn the game around, inspired form by Marshall in the Hull goal as well as more than a little luck kept the score at 2-1.

Indeed with virtually the last kick of the game Hull had to hack of their own line Jay Rodriguez was rushing in, the ball hit him, there was nothing else he could do but try and block, it could have gone anywhere but it went over the bar.

That perhaps summed up Saints day.

But it was one where lessons were learn't by both Claude Puel and his team.

The manager disappointed me a little bu his substitutions, given the possession we were enjoying and the little trouble that Hull were causing after they scored , we went like for like which was a little disappointing, on 66 minutes Boufal for Tadic was a like for like, but at that stage we could have sacrificed Jordy Clasie and gone for the jugular.

The double substitution with 13 minutes remaining was again one that lacked a little bit of daring, Ward Prowse for Clasie made sense, but at that stage Hull were penned back, I would have taken Yoshida off at this stage and gone three at the back, Yoshida did not have a bad game, but he had plenty of room on the right, but he is not an attacking player, so he did not exploit this room either by beating his man not putting in meaningful crosses, not the Japanese defenders fault, he is a defender not an attacking one at that.

If we had gone for it in the final 15 minutes by keeping on Redmond and employing him in the space Yoshida had we might have created more than we did.

But this is an observation rather than a moan at Puel, he is new to the Premier League he will make mistakes.

That is the thing to be taken from this game, teams lose games they really should have won, indeed we had a run like that last season in December and early January, but it did not stop us finishing in sixth.

We have had a lot of transition this season and we are also having to play so many more games, that is the price of success, we will have results like this from time to time, we have to take them on the chin for what they are, temporary setbacks and not fatal blows.

Saints will bounce back, we win as a team and we lose as a team, this defeat was not about a lack of strikers nor just about the defence switching off for a awful three minute spell, it was about not doing the job as a team.

Photo: Action Images

vanmans added 10:02 - Nov 7 Nick how can you say this was not a bad Saints performance. It was a totally inept performance by a team that lack striking options. Hull are the worst team I have seen in the prem and Middlesbrough are a far better team. This is not the first game that the lack of strikers has cost us this season and it will not be the last. Try to gloss over it how you like but with the strikers we have come January we will be nearer the bottom than the top.

8

Jesus_02 added 10:05 - Nov 7 Its frustrating that the margins that we work within have become finer still than previous years. We are not as good as were with the exception of our defense. I do think that Redmond will eventually make it as a striker but that will probably be next season when out defense has been broken up! We always seem to be 1 or 2 players away from being outstanding and actually challenging for something. Irony is that Mane would have fitted this system like a glove

10

davepid added 10:17 - Nov 7 With all this talk about Virgil and Jose being head hunted for January, what professional incentive is there for them to stay and play in a team that is not consistently able to make the final ball into the box or whose main striker isn't clinical enough ( despite the stats) in front of goal. Yesterday a more clinical striker would have given Austin a hat trick
10

LordDZLucan added 10:22 - Nov 7 Vanmans is spot on. We desperately need someone who can put the ball in the net. Charlie Austin is not that man and there's no evidence yet that JayRod can return to his previous level. Let's hope Shane Long has his scoring boots on when he comes back. More worrying are these Virgil van Dijk £30m release clause rumours. If that is true then the person that negotiated that over the summer needs to be shot. Based on the John Stones transfer fee that is at least £20m short of what he's worth.

8

SonicBoom added 10:31 - Nov 7 I would agree with Nick although this type of performance was a one off. We have dropped too many points against sides we've dominated. There must be a reason for it and we should address it. You can't just say "oh well we didn't play well and we should just expect this type of result". It happens too often for that.
0

SanMarco added 10:38 - Nov 7 I think we do have problems - the whole way we play going forward + those who are supposed to be scoring are not impressive and not even entertaining. I hope we look back on this as a blip but it is looking to me like a pattern that may well be repeated. Good defenders will not stay long if they are watching dross ahead of them. We were gifted an early goal but then instead of going for the kill we fannied around. Anyone blaming the defence should think of last year at Villa when we beat an equally poor team 4-2. If we had got the second in the first half it would have been game over. The big question for me is how tactically and with changes of the personnel he has at his disposal Puel can do anything about this. Start that same team at Burnley, Swansea, Sunderland, Middlesbrough etc and I think the same result is as likely to happen as a 3-0 win. I hope I am proved wrong. PS Where's this 30m rumour coming from Lord Lucan??

4

LordDZLucan added 10:45 - Nov 7 Van Dijk rumour is the Mirror. He was first linked to Liverpool last week and now its Man Utd. £30m is the figure that keeps getting quoted.
1

Sanguin added 10:56 - Nov 7 This was a disappointing result. We are dropping too many points against worse opposition, but this is what the Premier League is always like and it’s harder for us this season with the additional fixtures. I agree that we’re not scoring enough but is another striker really the solution to that problem? If we hadn’t signed Charlie Austin a year ago then I’m sure any Saints fan would be ecstatic to pick up a player of his calibre and finishing ability this January. We know that Shane Long and Rodriguez are capable of getting 10 goals. We also know that Mane and Pelle went long stretches without scoring. Yes, any team could improve its league position with a player of Luis Suarez’s quality, but realistically what striker can we get in January that is better than what we have now? Would that striker get enough game time to keep them and all the other strikers we have happy? Arsenal fans constantly bemoan the fact that they don’t have a striker of international quality. If it were easy to get a striker that scored more than twenty goals a season then we’d see a lot fewer clean sheets in the Premier League. I agree with Nick, at 2-1 down we should have made more positive substitutions. What we really need is players like Tadic and Ward-Prowse to start chipping in with goals this season.

2

Whiteknight added 11:20 - Nov 7 OK - it's clear that Hull are terrible and that Saints basically outplayed them. I think that we have the following issues: 1) We restrict opposing sides to few chances - but they seem to score a lot of them! It's a shame that McCarthy is injured as I would like to see more of him. 2) The defence is ok. Please stop picking on Yoshida as he is actually playing quite well. Martina is ok - it's his attacking that let's him down but he is not the number 1 choice. Against Hull, I would have tried Bertrand at RB and McQueen as LB to help stimulate the attack. 3) Our midfield is too tentative. Tadic must be knackered, why not start with Boufal and bring Tadic on when Boufal tires? Personnaly, I don't get JWP - we rarely score from dead balls (his specialty) and I wonder if Boufal has more to offer with those. I thought Clasie would be good this season and I don't really understand why he doesn't contribute more. He was captain of Feyenoord but doesn't look like a leader. I still like the look of Hjobjerg and wonder why he is not starting more. I totally agree that the midfield is not contributing enough goals (and neither is our defence from set pieces). 4) Although our attack doesn't score enough, I don't get it. Austen's stats are not bad. Redmond will have off days - he is still a young player and needs direction. J Rod is currently not good enough and I would suggest a loan swap - J Rod for Sam Gallagher. Gallagher has scored 7 of Blackburn's 16 league goals this season and J Rod could bring some leadership to a very poor Blackburn side. 5) A problem under previous managers has been no "Plan B". Overall I like the way we play under him but I am not convinced that Puel has one. I would also like to see us speed up when we have the advantage - not go backwards or sideways.

10

bstokesaint added 12:48 - Nov 7 I find that what annoys me as much as bad results are the equally over-the-top bad reactions. Just imagine how that might potentially escalate over the next three fixtures; Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal! I'm as p***** off as the next Saints' fan, but some of the abuse being leveled at some individual players, the manager and the board again is not typical of a true supporter. I certainly don't think everything is perfect. We are still paying the price for not signing an in-form striker in the summer, someone who can make a run onto a ball over the top. We've put way too much faith in Jay Rod in my opinion as his recovery, if it does happen, is going to take time. We can't reverse time so we need to find a way to deal with that and fast. We can't afford too many bad days in the office like this one. Beating Inter Milan on a Thursday and losing to Hull on Sunday is certainly not the kind of consistency we strive for. In the meantime I'm certainly not going to worry about what may or may not happen with the likes of VVD as I'd rather enjoy watching him when I can. When and if he goes, it won't because we lost a one off game to Hull and it will be for far more than £30m!

1

Number_58 added 12:56 - Nov 7 Why do we never send Forster up for corners when we're a goal down in injury time? I know the likelihood of a keeper scoring is pretty remote, but surely it's worth a go when your goalie is as massive as ours, for nuisance value alone?
3

bstokesaint added 13:03 - Nov 7 Agreed Number 58, I never understand why during normal time as well we never put our fastest player on the halfway line to make the opposition think twice about pushing their centre backs up for set pieces. We didn't even do it when we had Mane, which makes no sense to me because you wouldn't necessarily expect Mane, or Redmond now, to do anything defensively.
4

SaintNick added 13:14 - Nov 7 It seems everyone is blaming the strikers rather than the defence, as I said it is a team game, the defence is letting in soft goals every game at the moment and struggles to keep a clean sheet that puts pressure on us just as much as the strikers not scoring. This time last year we had conceded 13 goals and that was with Stekelenburg in goal, this time we have let in 12

-1

schatfield added 13:36 - Nov 7 It wasnt the fact we lost this game that was painful, it was the manner. First half, Hull were terrible, but our game involved pass, pass, pass, backpass, try to walk it in the net, but rarely shoot. I agree, its not the strikers I would blame, its our midfield. As a side note, Forster has looked quite iffy in the past few games. As another side note, if we ever lose Virgil I would be seriously worried. The guy is immense.

7

SingaporeSaint added 13:42 - Nov 7 Extremely frustrating as we were so much better than them. Agree with many of the comments here but the main for me is we are too tippy Tappy and don't put enough quality ball in the box, we overplay as standard and need to work on earlier and better balls into the danger zone. Stupid goals conceded too, both goals were from stupid push in the back fouls from Long balls hoofed forward. Fonte and Bertrand at fault - we need to stop poor goals which have crept in recently. Mom for us for me was Yoshida and I don't say that too often - did nothing wrong and won our pen from a forceful run into the box, a few of our other players should take note..

6

SaintBrock added 13:58 - Nov 7 davepid & vanmans have said it all really. You can tell the back four are pissed off by the incompetence and ineptitude of our so-called strikers who literally seem to have been on strike all season. Conceding stupid goals comes from a lack of concentration which comes from losing interest or not caring too much about the outcome. At least Yoshi had the human decency to let his anger and frustration be known post match, no palliatives from him you could tell he took it very personally even 'though it was not his errors that led to the goals. I doubt the club will let the big men go mid-season in fact I'd wager a huge wedge against it but no way will they stay after the summer with no European football, no trophies and as PL also-rans. Life is too short for players to lose any sleep over loyalty.

2

law101 added 13:59 - Nov 7 Hull are by far the poorest team we will face this season. With the right application we should have won easily. Sloppy goals conceded and some very tough fixtures coming up. That's 1 point in 9....could be 1 in 12 with Liverpool coming up. Austin looks like a pub player up front and worryingly we do not have an out and out goalscorer in the squad.
2

SaintBrock added 14:12 - Nov 7 Number58, the answer to your question is simple. Forster cannot find his way out of his own 6 yard box yet so we'd have to invest in a Tom Tom for him to navigate his way to the opposition penalty area and of course we don't have any money left in the kitty for such extravagances. Don't let's get onto the subject of Redmond, who in their right minds thought him a good player to bring to the club. Probably tapped up and recommended by JWP which tells you all you need to know. Don't let's get on to the subject of JWP. I will concede he does have a pretty slick PR agent campaigning for him because no matter which commentator you listen to he is universally admired for his wonderful talent for kicking a dead ball and his brilliant eye for picking out an incisive pass. They actually seem to believe this and he is England U21 captain to boot. Wonder who his dad knows? Don't let's get on to the subject of Austin.

2

BoondockSaint added 14:58 - Nov 7 Like many, I think, "We should beat a crap team" ( Watford, Sunderland, Hull, etc.) but I am slowly waking up to the fact that we are one of the crap teams! I can't think of one game so far this season where I felt confident going into it, or felt we were putting pressure on and were going to score soon. My worries (amongst many) are, as many of you have mentioned, Virgil says it's not worth sticking around and is off, and Tadic gets fed up with strikers that don't know where the goal is and follows. If we brought in a proper striker, I would have no worries as to others looking for playing time as they are not doing the job and don't deserve it-not happy? Hit the road! Redmond increasingly looks like what he is: a good Championship player. JWP is not the "dead ball specialist" the team and pundits keep saying he is--I never, ever expect us to score on a set piece.

3

simmo400 added 15:11 - Nov 7 I thought saints had a good start and deserved there pen. After that we took it like a training game passing the width of the pitch without creating anything. The only stat that counts is goals and this stat is very poor for us. We didn't kill off Hull and we were punished. LCFC proved you don't need to dominate teams to win but you need to score often. Redmond went missing, Austin needs more service, Tadic may make a good pass and go missing for an hour, Clasie aint good enough. Rant over.

6

SaintPaulVW added 16:02 - Nov 7 Same old same old. Dominate the match for long periods but seem to often as not seem to get hit on the break. This season's ratio for shots to goals must make sorry reading. The Prem is the sort of league where bottom can beat top on any given weekend. We don't help ourselves avoid the 'upsets' by not converting chances or keeping clean sheets. It wasn't a freak result, nor was it necessarily a sign of where we are as a team. I hope Saints reflect on what went wrong and avoid having a duff November like last year.

5

steve73 added 16:26 - Nov 7 We looked pretty one dimensional again. I'm not suggesting Hull had a genius masterplan but I got the feeling they knew they were always in it, even when we were one up and in cruise control. And for all the talk about the quality of this year's squad in comparison to last the thing that struck me yesterday was that Hull wanted it more. There's a bit of nonchalance about us which doesn't really suit the ethics we've grown used to over the past few amazing years. We need to scrap a bit harder and up the tempo a bit. And neither Fonte or VVD look like they're enjoying life much. Body language is so important.

6

IanRC added 16:55 - Nov 7 Ironic on the weekend that Mane's two goals helped lift Liverpool to the top of the league we goofed up properly and failed to win a game we should have sown up by half time. Don't understand the constant criticism of JWP as I think he is developing into a fine player. No panic stations but it is already looking like we will have another season of what might have been if we don't start to see off such weak opponents.

-2

saintmark1976 added 17:52 - Nov 7 Sorry bstokesaint but I can not agree with you in regard to criticism of the players, manager and board being unnecessary. Fans pay more than good money to see the games and at the moment as is evident from most of the comments on this site they appear to feel that they are being short changed. I gain the impression that the whole club is falling victim to believing their own spin when in fact we are simply a mid table outfit. The table does not lie and we are currently behind Burnley a side who's manager openly admitted that he could not sign quality players in the close season as they were offered better money in the championship. It was obvious to anybody who had any knowledge about football that selling Pelle and Mane and not replacing either of them was a dereliction of duty on behalf of the board and to suggest that Jay Rod was suddenly going to fill the gap was simply a money saving exercise. As was suggesting that Redmond was suddenly going to become a prolific striker given that he could not hold down a place in a team that was relegated last term. In summary I think the comments after yesterday's abject defeat against Hull have been very mild.Perhaps letting the players, manager and board know we are unhappy may at least let them understand that more effort is required from them all.

5

vanmans added 18:54 - Nov 7 Well said saintmark1976. I could not agree more. Southampton football club have ripped off the fans by selling there best players and buying on the cheap. Buy selling Pelle and Mane and not replacing either of them was recipe for disaster. With the money they have received for player sells in the past 3 years, season ticket prices should have gone down just like the standard their of football.

4

Blogs 31 bloggers

Rochdale Polls