Chez

Bednarek's yellow card was deserved to be honest. Carrol went up for the header. Bednarek, coming from behind him, just jumped straight into him shoulder first with no attempt to get the ball. Not seen such a poorly disguised shoulder charge like that for a while. Old school centre half play.

the amount of yards Romeu and Lemina had to cover throughout the night to try and retrieve the ball after we had given it away cost us in the end. Just prior to their first goal, Romeu was like a dog chasing three rabbits down the right hand side, when the ball was worked forward by West Ham he got goal side, but he was too tired to race out to close Anderson on the edge of the box. He was the closest man and with time Anderson could pick his spot. You might say the same about the second. Yet again we are caught form our own corner, but 5 on 1 suggests at least one of our centre midfielders wasn't doing enough to chase back, probably because they were tired. The second goal ranks right up there with amongst the worst goals we have ever conceded. How on earth do you end up five on one? Can't fault the effort by the way. Not sure five at the back did us any favours in the end. Boy do we have a lack of flair to bring off the bench. A dogged runner in Long and a goal hanger in Austin doesn't exactly represent a change of pace. Need to invest in another dribbler that can help ease the burden on Redmond.

Decent play in front of the back four, including some terrific defending right from the front by Ings has papered over the cracks of a very weak defence. Playing five seems essential, as there aren't a pair of centre backs good enough to keep opponents at bay. We also don't have strong enough players at fullback. Bertrand walks into the team and I can just about live with Targett as a reserve until we can find better. On the right hand side Stephens has looked our most assured player. Valery has a lot to learn and needs a season in the championship. Without centre backs that dominate in the air, Cedric becomes a bit of a liability. Don't underestimate what his pace gives us in terms of covering our slow centre backs, but if any deep cross ends up with us conceding then it might need to be sacrificed. The simple fact is we need to upgrade in every position if possible. Vestagaard is not good enough for this level. Far far too slow of thought and foot. Hoedt is a better option...I know, that is how bad our options have got. Bednarek can be hidden in a five, but is slow and not great in the air. What a terrible combination. Yoshida looks assured in a back five and sweeps well, but he simply does not bully centre forwards enough or win enough headers. We need to shuffle the pack if at all possible until we find what is required. Its a very difficult position to find talent, until then our forwards and midfielders are going to have to protect them better.

goading fans, becomes abusing fans, becomes abusing the disabled. Considering you saw nothing, perhaps it's best you stopped posting your opinion on this subject in such certain terms. I am not a big fan of Austin as a player, and would have no hesitation in condemning any Saints player if his actions were to fall below the standards I would set myself, but I find the wording being used to describe his supposed actions, with no evidence to support it, disgraceful.

he doesn't look a natural finisher to me. Did he score goals for fun in the academy? Love seeing youngsters get their chance, but these guys haven't improved us yet. Given time they may well do.

Just back from Yorkshire. Still got the warm glow of the away win. Thought we dominated from start to finish, barring a five minute spell after their lucky goal. Prior to that we had complete control of the game. The only time we looked under any threat was set pieces. Huddersfield have some big lads and they won the first and often second header which on anther day might have seen them score a goal or two. Our failure to dominate in the air has not been resolved by Vestegaard. Bednerek also fails to inspire me. He doesn't win headers and he is pretty slow. Check the MOTD hihhlights and just how slow he was on the turn for Huddersfield only chance (just before half time). He doesn't get nearly close enough but luckily the shot flew high. Playing three at the back is not just a good idea its a necessity IMO. I thought Yoshida had a terrific game covering the back. Despite our two wins we have not sorted the defence out. By pressing teams we have hidden the weakness better. Perhaps that is what all decent sides do - hide an cover the back four. I don't want to be too negative, but focusing on issues when you win is as important as when you lose. With that let me say that neither full back is good enough. Targett is too slow...far too slow. His lack of pace didn't cost us this time, but against better opponents it we need Bertrand back, One thing I will say is he won a few headers from their long balls. On the other side Valery is not quite ready. The more games he gets the better, but he struggled again. We looked more solid when Stephens replaced him. Enough negative, in front of them it was brilliant. Hoj and Romeu ran the game. Hoj was pretty much faultless in my eyes. In front of them Armstrong had his best game for Saints I think. He was a great out ball and his off the ball running relived the pressure and gave an option time after time. Redmond had another very good game. He continues to offer us our best attacking outlet and he linked very well with Ings. Talking of Ings, his return tp the side is perhaps as important as getting a new manager. The efforts is infectious, the quality on the ball brilliant too. He is a class act. A big congratulations to Obafemi on his goal. He took it well. He actually fluffed his lines a couple of times prior to that and looked far from a composed finisher and a couple of through balls we very average when we looked well placed, but he looks confident and will only get better. Ive been quite negative, I know, but this was a great team display against a terrible team (with injuries to key midfielders) that will go down. We are so much better when we press teams. I simply do not understand why we ever stopped doing it.

what absolute utter joy that was. Love winning football games.

I was also going to say Paul Masters. Shearer was the school year above, but in his age group Paul was the outstanding talent despite it including Paul Tisdale, Ncky Banger and Geoff Kenna. Lee McCrmack was another talent in that same youth team having attended Lilleshall. In the year below I always thought Abdul Kamara would make it. I wonder what he's up to the days?

I'd like to add a certain D. Powell to this list please. The least technically capable professional footballer ever seen at any level, ever.

I would go as far to say that the slight change in formation made us worse. I can't say it cost us, we made so many basic errors at the back that were not as a result of the set up of the team, but it did make us even less effective going forward than before. We were completely toothless. Part of it was that in the first half Lemina and Redmond just didn't seem to know where they were supposed to be. Armstrong also was non existent. In the second half Redmond seemed to play wider which helped initially, but once we conceded the space dried up. The plus side was that in the first ten minutes there seemed to be some sort of press, or perhaps a better description was that when we lost the ball the nearest man ran towards the guy with the possession and closed him right down without thinking. No jockeying, no concern about which player to mark, just run. That lasted about ten minutes, tops. It didn't have an affect, but for a few minutes I thought to myself that under Ralf we are going to try something different. Hopefully something blossoms from that. I didn't see anything else. We didn't move the ball quicker, the passing and control was so average that there was never an opportunity. There was no fast breaking. There was no width except for the fullbacks, and with those well forward it left those terrible CBs exposed. Would we be better if we didn't allow them to cross the half way line? Actually there was one practiced corner routine but Austin was too slow to get in front of his man, so it didn't come off. I think what is interesting is the formation and whether he can find the right personnel to fill it. From this game alone Ralf would have seen Romeu and Lemina (sort your body language out mate) were up to the task, but Austin wasn't.

you certainly don't learn how to stop making errors, you just end up playing at a lower level where they are not punished as badly.

I suspect there is going to be a bloody long look at our liabilities for next season over the next week or so. 10 points from 18 games is not going to inspire the chairman to spend more money we dont have. A £40m parachute payment falls a long way short of the £120m we get from the Premiership this year. Adding to that wage bill further in January is not going to be something any business would want to do.

check out the **** play from Austin that led to the break away for the goal. Vestergaard ****, no doubt about it, but he was far from the only one to lose that game for us. The attack create the square route of **** all.

...but is he still better than Elyounoussi?

you are right, but watch the game again and you will see that even he doesn't actually really do anything that helps the team create a chance. I rate him, but his weight of pass was poor and when he beat a man he didn't make enough of the space he created. Much the same criticism of Redmond most weeks.

I said it the day he signed and I still say it now, Anthony Pulis is ****ing **** and not good enough for Saints. Poor signing.

so four or five years or so?

the monstrous wages we are paying (what is our annual wage bill now, £120m a year?) means we couldn't even give them away. We'd have to pay a percentage of their wages.

from what I have seen of Huddersfield this season they are better than Cardiff and Fulham. Bigger, tougher and work even harder.

A screamer from Armstrong apart, this was pretty similar to Fulham. We control the ball, do little with it, then are hit on the break and then defenders don't do their job...defend our goal. I could nto agree more. We are going down.

talk me through how that is done exactly? You use the `term clear' but I don't think we manage to offload anyone. Not one player in January IMO.

The ship has been heading towards the championship for quite a long time now. I cant be bothered to argue when exactly, lets agree on ages ago. Turning it round is incredibly difficult. I don't think anyone can do it. If we go down I don't think I can blame the manager. Yes he has ages, but with this squad the financial restrictions on him I don't think there is anything he can do. I doubt we will get another point this year...I honestly believe that.

McCarthy (7) came and missed one cross. Saved well from a low cross and came out brilliantly to deny Murphy...and that was about that. Unlike just about everyone else, he couldn't be blamed for goal. Valery (4) looked off the pace, tired or not quick enough. Those that know him better will tell you which. Deserved his booking and the manager couldn't trust him to come out for second half. Stephens (6) looked assured and much stronger when replacing him, using his strength to force Murphy up blind allies. Murphy disappeared as a result. Bednerek (4) looked slow to me. He's not huge and dominant in the air, so what facet to his game did attract our scouts to him? His mistake in the first half should have cost us a goal but he got away with it. I don't think he is better than Stephens. That is not a ringing endorsement. Vestergaard (3) also looked slow. Slow on the ball too and Cardiff sensed it and chased him harder than the rest. Premier league players smell blood. He is a weak link. He did win some headers, but the error for the goal is worse than Hoedt. Who the hell scouted this guy? Target was Target (5). I'm tired of saying what he can't do at this level. For years and years Saints struggled. We got two strong pacey fullbacks and added a centre back or two that were winners and we had the best defence around. Weak, slow full backs paired with try hard CBs equal relegation fodder again, Redmond (5). Complete non entity in the first half. I want to blame the change in shape and him being asked to play more central, but who knows if it was formation or player. In the second half he offered much more, mostly for wider positions. Was there a slight change is shape or did he move out there to find space. Still didn't do quite enough though. We lack flair and he's the only flair player. If he doesn't do anything we are ****ed. He doesn't do anything I hear you say. Well we are ****ed. Armstrong (4). Less of an entity than Redmond in the first half and thats saying something. Not a lot in the second half either. Hoj (6), Lemina (6) and Romeu (7) all seemed to get in each others way a little. Lemina looked lost in the first half. The formation did nothing for him. Do we need three holding CM against Cardiff? . Romeu was or best player in the first half, Lemina the second, but none offered the quality of forward pass required. Lemina beat a man now and then but it never led to a fast break, just a little more room for him to pass it to Target who then crossed to nothing. I thought Austin (3) was another level of uselessness today. The best thing and only thing he did all day was chase back and win a tackle. That only occurred because he had yet again lost the ball, which he did all game...all ****ing game. His link up play is terrible. We created nothing today and one of the main reasons for that is every time we got it forward to him he lost it. Every single time. You cant have one up front that cant hold the ball up. I have no issue with the fella. He tries his best, they all do, but he's simply not up to it at this level. JWP and Gabbi didn't make any difference really. How much did we spend on Elyounoussi again? We create nothing, we need a goal and yet no one is calling for him to come on. Says it all. I honestly don't see a way out of this hole. We need new players, but need to sell players to get them. Who is there left to sell?

We are terrible. This back four and this squad will take us down no matter who the manager is.

**** me, we are our own worst enemy.