Southampton V Bournemouth The Verdict
Friday, 28th Apr 2023 09:59 This was going to be the day that Saints hauled themselves back into the fight to avoid relegation, but it turned out to be a leaderless performance that saw the home fans streaming towards the exits even before the latest VAR shambles.
Ruben Selles tweaked the side before the game, out went Gavin Bazunu and in came Alex McCarthy and in came Caleta Car for Armando Bella Kotchap, only God knows why these changes were made, with the former presumably to add experience to a shambolic defence and the latter an injury.
The hope was that the team would continue the spirited display at Arsenal and for a short period they did, the only two shots on target during the first half were from Saints and they also saw the bar rattled, but the truth was that we had no urgency and no leadership, we were a rudderless ship and no one seemed to know what anyone else was supposed to be doing.
The visitors took a grip on the game, although they created little that troubled Alex McCarthy.
But after that initial burst we had barely troubled the Bournemouth goal either and the team was booed off at half time.
The second half saw the surprise news that James Ward Prowse would miss his first Premier League minutes of the season, but his replacement was not a midfielder but a defender in Lyanco with Ainsley Maitland- Niles moving into midfield.
It made little difference and Bournemouth were ahead within 5 minutes of the restart, it was another poorly defended goal, Tavernier picking up the ball on the corner of the 6 yard box, going away from goal and then with no one challenging him, hitting a weak shot which took a slight deflection and nestled in the corner.
For a while it looked like the visitors would double the lead, but they had plenty of bluster but rarely looked like getting anything on target.
Even the arrival of Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong initially failed to start a fightback of any sorts and the game looked to be petering out as it approached the final 5 minutes, a fair proportion of Saints fans heading for the exits with 10 minutes left.
But then came the drama, with only a few minutes remaining of normal time Stuart Armstrong suddenly produced the sort of run that used to be his trademark and Che Adams fired home from close range.
The fans still there erupted, surely now we could find some fight, but no despite the fact that Bournemouth players themselves saw no hint of offside, someone was going to draw some lines in a room far from the ground, after two minutes he had managed to find Che Adams toe was offside and the goal was offside.
This was potentially a game changing moment, but it had gone.
Perhaps it would spur Saints on, this week has seen games with 8-10 minutes of injury time after the referee's were instructed to cut down on time wasting, but referee Darren England had not got that memo, despite 2 minutes for the VAR & 4 separate substitutions that should have added up to 4 minutes alone, plus much timewasting from Bournemouth, Mr England could only find 5 minutes of injury time.
Even the most optimistic Saints supporter can now feel that we can get out of this, relegation wasn't about tonight it was about a plethora of events across the season.
Not buying a proven striker in the summer, sacking Ralph Hasenhuttl, appointing Nathan Jones, a poor January transfer window, appointing a manager in Ruben Selles who had never actually managed a side and then instead of giving him an experienced head to assist him gave him the B team coach.
The time for saying whose fault it is will come later, but last night saw all the chickens come home to roost, if we had won we would have been only three points off safety with a fighting chance.
I still maintain this squad is not as bad as some would have you believe, it just lacks two key players and leadership.
Last word to an unknown Saints fan who i briefly sat next to, as I moved near an exit to watch the final minutes, "why are they all leaving in the last 5 minutes when there is still a chance, don't they care ? If they were watching a game on TV at home they wouldn't leave the house with 5 minutes to go "
He was right they would have switched off the TV, but he had a point, I can empathise with people's frustrations and see why they would leave, but this was last chance saloon, football sometimes throws up unlikely moments that change a season, it almost did last night when Che Adams fired home, literally thousands of Saints fans missed that moment and may have missed a pivotal moment in the season.
Perhaps the reason they didn't is the reason why football is dying !
Photo: Action Images
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mattlegod added 13:56 - Apr 28
Like some others, I do not blame all the players, in fact I feel sorry for the likes of Stuart Armstrong amongst others. The team have been let down by the owners and management which in turn meant some bizarre selections and formations and just like last night, players not seemingly knowing where they should be playing.
Selles seems a nice guy and I am sure his heart is in the right place but I think he is seriously out of his depth. His selection of Adam Armstrong who was invisible during the Arsenal game was questionable to say the least when you have the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Djenepo on the bench. The fact he played JWP knowing he was ill... terrible management. Experienced strikers on the bench but not up front. Another questionable formation decision. All of these at a time when you have to throw the everything including the kitchen sink at staying up.
I would have much preferred to see us going all out to win and end up losing than going down to with the pathetic whimper like we are. I still cannot fathom out how we play so well against the so called big teams but when we play those around us we always look second best.
Now is the time to get in a new manager, one with experience not an experiment, who can start to assess his squad as this damp fart of a season peters out and hopefully then he will know who to retain, who to get rid of and start next season with a bang. |  | |
StRipper added 13:57 - Apr 28
*Walcott, not Orsic retiring | | |
landsdownsaint added 14:06 - Apr 28
Give Fonte a call if Potter doesn’t want it & play Djenepo | | |
saintmark1976 added 14:41 - Apr 28
Firstly, congratulations to Bournemouth who’s squad of players is not better than ours but simply better managed and coached. Yesterday they were superior to us in all departments and aspects of the game and deserve credit accordingly.
Where do we go from here is now the question for the club’s owner given that our Board of Directors have this season taken their own ineptitude to a totally new level throughout an utterly miserable season.
It’s quite clear to me that the current Board are never ever going to be able to successfully run S F C irrespective of us being in The Championship, or for that matter any other league. Put simply, in my opinion they are not fit for purpose and are guilty of stealing a living. They need to be gone at the very earliest opportunity.
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davidargyll added 16:11 - Apr 28
Sorry st Ripper, but you saying your list is full of good players is, in my view, debatable at best.
And you’ll say they’ll be gone? Well maybe? but to teams in the PL? Seriously? I think you’re forgetting that managers and scouts, because of the flood of potential talent, mediocre or otherwise, around tend not to take risks on proven failures. Ok one or two on your list may be diamonds in the rough, but the likes of Che, Bazuno, Salisu…? If they are, then you and me have been watching different teams…! | | |
StRipper added 16:33 - Apr 28
This is definitely an interesting one, Davidargyll
And one that we will find our for sure soon enough. One man's rubbish is another man's treasure, as they say.
I think our buying strategy has been part to blame but, I would agree with what Nick said. Our team is just a few key players short of being a decent side. Sadly, without those key players, it makes everyone else in the team look bad. And our manager's decisions have made them look really bad.
As we saw last night, when we were trying to attack, the weird tactics of Selles meant that there was no one to pass it to and we kept running into dead ends, so passed it backwards to keep possession. I didn't see a real lack of effort. Just players confused by what they were supposed to be doing or where they should be playing.
As I would understand things, Salisu is already pretty much gone to Newcastle. Thats probably why he is actually "injured". And I am sure there will be no shortage of suitors for Che, sadly.
Will all come out in the wash and in some ways, I hope it is you that is right. Because it will be far easier to get promoted with players like Che, KWP and Salisu in our ranks | | |
Staycalm added 16:37 - Apr 28
This has been an utterly shambolic Season. If we are honest we have been struggling for a few years at this level. You would have thought thar the Board and management team would have looked back at what kept us up! Mainly Ings goals and cool influence on the team a couple of seasons back and Broja's determination to showcase himself last year! If they had got in that quality striker that we all knew they needed, things would have been so different. Ralf wkuld have still been manager and the nightmare of the last two clowns would have just been a bad dream!!!
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AmericanSaint added 16:50 - Apr 28
Well that was one of the most pathetic displays in the last several weeks. A must win game, and they played at the Sunday league level. At least it is over, we all know we are relegated and there is no more illusion of the great escape. Time to sit all the dead wood and play the youngsters. As many of pointed out all the issues were laid to bare and it was just a culmination of all the mistakes SR made from starting last summer. This relegation lays solely at the boards feet, plain and simple.
My issues are that the players don't last confidence, they are just apathetic. With these performances, they are amateurs at best, not professionals. Selles started ok with a 2-2-2 record, but the last 5 games, shows he doesnt not have a tactical clue. In a must win game, he starts Che on the bench? He plays Moi every game yet, there is no quality product from Moi and Stu sits. Everyone know Bournemouth sit back and play a counter-attack style, so why didnt Tall Paul start for AA? Also Bournemouth have the second worst record of conceding goals form corners (behind use) and we play the first 4 corners short? This is all on Selles and he failed miserably.
So as some of you pointed out about our future in the Championship - Of the 30 players on the squad (not loaned out), I think we will try to sell/offload, non renew contracts and players requesting a transfer, a total of 23. Mind you we could keep some with the $50M+ parachute payment (like Burnley) but SR will want to cash in. Once these players are gone, don't be surprised if SR tries to sell the club. With this mass exodus of players, we will not bounce right back and will play in the Championship for a few years before having a chance to get back.
Well, the last 5 years has really been a slow, downhill spiral of death for us and at some point you have to pay the bill that has come due. Whoever is the last person out, don't forget to turn off the lights and lock the door. | | |
Rossm2006 added 17:05 - Apr 28
You could probably write a book on this season and label it the strategy and approach that wont work. Yes, we do have some talented players but they don't want to be there and clearly only viewed this as a brief stepping stone, thats why weve only turned up on tv or vs bigger sides.
sadly this is a team game so it doesnt make any difference how good the squad individually is. You can see all season its basically 11 people turning up to play together, no leaders and barely even any talk on the pitch.
We seem to just have run of the mill whiteboard coaching badge 'tactics' at the moment, no identity and no plan let alone plan B.
Put simply, if these basics arent sorted out then the same ' talented' squad will struggle in the championship in my opinion. We have many similarities with watford if you look closely. We need some experience and know how and passion, sorry but they may mean not just signing players on for a profit. Great business plan but sadly not a great way to build a team, team spirit and bond and intensity.
The one positive is the way football is these days many clubs will come looking to buy and stock pile these young players so we wont be in the position of our last relegation where money was an issue. Also thanks to the premier leagues parachute payments which basically give us two years to get back up before we comply with EFL FFP payments. I really cant see us coming straight back in one season so time to plan ahead and come back like bournemouth and sheff united in season two.
Take way is whilst data certainly is a big bonus in some areas, you also need some common sense and experience to run a football club and create a team with a bond and spirit. I'd have said anyone with a bit of knowledge on football would have warned against such a young inexperienced team, having so many languages and a total lack of english football in the team. Let's not forget even lavia had not played a professional game before this season. No surprise such a squad would see its confidence drain away, that is when you need the personalities and characters and experience that dragged us out of this in the past.
Same will ring true next season, we need a few with championship know-how and experienced and older heads in the team and squad or forget it. We have said many times we can't defend crosses and corners...thats how most goals are scored lower down. | | |
DellBoyWally added 17:22 - Apr 28
Make Lyanco team captain next season!! He scares me, even when watching tv replays!! | | |
Saint_O_Patience added 18:00 - Apr 28
It's all a simple case of inexperienced owners, hiring an inexperienced board recruiting inexperienced players and then appointing an inexperienced manager followed by appointing an even more inexperienced manager. A perfect storm leading to no obvious strategic plan so all key staff throughout the club can pull in the same direction and no obvious playing style/game plan so that all players can pull in the same direction. The epitome of this was when RS got Theo to instruct the players to change things around, side-lining and undermining JWP whose job it should have been as captain. | | |
FrankSaint added 18:26 - Apr 28
I remember from the start of this season, numerous references on here to us having 'a better squad than last season'. Now we know that the squad was even worse than last season. This is quite a feat given how much was spent. Perhaps only Forest did worse with their spending. The wretched state of our squad and also the feeder teams that produced zero players for at least five years running, is only disguised by how poor the neighbouring teams are. We have an appallingly low number of points. The occasional flash in a pan during the season does not disguise the inadequacy of the playing and coaching squad. Football is about winning or at least not losing. Maybe partly what has got us here is the idea that somehow Saints are special. That somehow we are always just one or two jigsaw pieces away from being in the top ten. And that we took our 'eye off the ball' which is literally the next match and the next team that has to be played. The truth is we are only special to Southampton fans. We may in the past have been pioneers but other clubs have copied what we did and some have over taken us. Look at Brighton which is actually owned by a fan who is a world class professional gamber. When I read that we are only two players off being a good team, I am only reminded that love is blind. Here's to an injection of some experience and common sense into our poor club. Cheers | | |
AmericanSaint added 18:30 - Apr 28
Dellboy Wally - you comment made me think of classic type captain's who are full of fire, passion etc., i.e. John Terry. I think that is one of the ingredients that we are missing this year. I dont know how JWP is view as a captain by his teammates, but from the outside looking in, I am not sure he has that charism to lead when the times are tough. He did show some during the Spurs game, but where was it last night or all the other mediocre games we have played? Just a thought. | | |
Block8 added 18:32 - Apr 28
When the team was announced I said to my mate, lose the team and play the bench. It's already been said many times that we don't seem to know what we are doing and where we are playing? Looking more like a Sunday morning team that just turns up and plays where ever than fancy. Two midfield players and four (so called) forwards continually running away when we were crying for someone to drop short and link up play. The only triangles we played were defence to midfield then back to defence and launch to their centre backs!
Inept, abject, dire, mediocre, incompetent, useless, garbage are just a few of the adjectives that describe this team but in terms of football perhaps pointless is the most apt.
Get rid of Selles today and replace him with just about any one that has the slightest idea of how football should be played & for the last five games start to form a team for next seasons championship campaign.
I've had a season ticket for many years but this is by far the worst value for money ever at this club!!
Oh and by the way Nick Perraud had a terrific game prior to his injury but you wouldn't have noticed that! | | |
RomseySaint72 added 20:29 - Apr 28
As far as I am concerned you pay for your ticket your entitled to leave whenever you want. So like the Spurs 3 v 3 result and a pathetic loss against Brentford followed. A similar scenario a 3 v 3 draw against Arsenal then another pathetic loss against Bournemouth. Pathetic season all round.
We are relegated and as far as I am concerned I want it confirmed at the earliest opportunity which could be a game or two away now, so we can start focusing on next season. I also want any player that will not be playing apart of next season removed from the squad and bring in youngsters and 2nd team players give them a taste see what they can do and show the shambles of a team what fire in their belly's they have. Gutted so many warning signs and previous history has not been learned from. | | |
Kenm added 22:01 - Apr 28
if Marcus was still around he would have KICKED our so called board into into the biggest hole on the planet !, he would have NEVER let things get to this stage ?, The Newcastle manager WANTED the Saints JOB !, Once again the so called board let us down plus we never got a striker which Saints have wanted for the last 3 seasons !. Basically the SO CALLED BOARD who are MEANT to look after the club are TOTALLY WORSE THAN USELESS !. If anybody goes at the end of the season it should be the board out the door FIRST ?. I wonder if Selles got GOOD ODDS on Saints if they went down ?. | | |
Kenm added 22:10 - Apr 28
SHOULD have played Saints B team at least they KNOW HOW TO WIN MATCHES ! | | |
JoeEgg added 07:57 - Apr 29
Well done guys with all your heart-felt comments - shows just how much the fans care even if many of our over-hyped and overpaid players dont. As for management? A really good article by Benjy Nurick says it all far better than I ever could. Worth a read and a copy distributed to every player, management team (do we have any left?) and owners! All too late sadly. | | |
IanRC added 09:58 - Apr 29
Congratulations to Sports Republic, unbelievably you have managed to find another manager as clueless as Nathan Jones. Colossal mistake sacking Ralph without giving him the chance with the striker he wanted and appointing these clowns. On the striker subject did Selles not watch the West Ham game where Bournemouth failed to cope with a tall striker. Unbelievable that he didn't even have tall Paul even on the bench. He should have started and we should have peppered their box with crosses. A teenager new to football could do a better job of team selection where the same old favourites El Yonousi etc are picked regardless of a complete lack of quality, surely Orsic cannot be worse. Absolute pathetic owners and managers - should give those who called for the departures of the Leibhurrs and Ralph to pause for thought. | | |
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Blogs 31 bloggersKnees-up Mother Brown #19 by wessex_exile February, and the U’s enter the most pivotal month of the season. Six games in just four weeks, with four of them against sides also in the bottom six. By March we should be either well clear of danger, or even deeper in the sh*t. With Danny Cowley’s U’s still unbeaten, and looking stronger game on game, I’m sure it’ll be the former, but first we have to do our bit to consign Steve ‘Sour Grapes’ Cotterill’s FGR back to non-league. After our shambolic 5-0 defeat at New Lawn, nothing would give me greater pleasure, even if it meant losing one of my closest awaydays in the process. What’s the excuse going to be today Steve – shocking pitch, faking head injuries, Mexican banditry or some other bit of sour-grapery bullsh*t? Southampton Polls |
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