Southampton's season was starting to collapse around us when Gavin Bazunu was injured in the warm up against Preston, that forced Russell Martin into changes that you felt he would not have made otherwise, Jack Stephen's sending off may be another of those moments.

The injury to Gavin Bazunu back in April was a landmark moment in the season, not because of the loss of Bazunu himself, yes he had his critics, but the truth was that the keeper himself was not the issue in why we were dropping out of the automatic promotion, you do not have a 22 game unbeaten run in the league if you have a dodgy keeper. The issue was the tactics employed in front of him.

Russell Martin was sticking completely to his guns and refusing to compromise even one inch, it was play possession football 100%, even when the situation demanded a clearance it seemed his team were not authorised to do that at pain of being dropped if they did,

When Alex McCarthy came in, things got worse before they got better, after that Preston game we suffered 3 straight league defeats including a 5-0 drubbing at Leicester City.

This forced Martin's hand, Alex McCarthy was not good enough with his feet to play the possession game to the level he was forcing on his team, the tactic had to be amended and when we went to Leeds United for the final game of the season, the travelling fans saw possession football, but they saw it to a lesser degree and it set the scene for the play offs.

But would this have happened if Gavin Bazunu had not been injured ? I would say no, the manager would have stuck to his guns and if I am honest I don't think we would have got through the play offs. Individual players be they Bazunu or Jack Stephens were not the crux of the matter, it was the total 100% possession tactic.

Martin's other weakness was that he appeared to see Jack Stephens as the missing link, the leader of men that all teams need, but truthfully having watched Jack play since his debut in the League against Everton in January 2017, he was never that sort of player.

But Russell Martin didn't see it that way, he seemed determined to play him in whatever position he could shoehorn him in, what manager would drop arguably the best player in the team, Kyle Walker-Peters who also made the Championship team of the year, in perhaps the biggest match of the season up to that point, the trip to Ipswich, all to get Jack in the side.

I feel sorry for Jack Stephens, he was always popular amongst Southampton supporters, for being a good squad player who could do a job, he did a job in the last four games of the season, but most knew that at Premier League player he wouldn't get in any other side, so why is he in ours.

Jack's reputation has gone down the pan, it is not his fault, but the way Russell Martin has championed him.

Now it seems that fate is once again lending a hand to Russell Martin, from the first game at Newcastle it seemed like he had reverted to his old style, we lost that game as McCarthy could not make a simple pass and at home to Forest we once again lost because Joe Aribo stuck to the instructions and tried to keep the ball under pressure from two player when he should have cleared it.

The Brentford game was about doing the same things and getting the same results, getting caught in possession and lax passing and marking costing us dearly.

Saturday against United started well, but ultimately we gave them two goals that should really have been defended.

But late on in that game came a moment that could change the course of the season, Jack Stephens was sent off for a dangerous tackle and will now be suspended. It was a tackle born out of frustration, not just in the teams performance, but possibly his own position, I do not think he is comfortable being forced into the spotlight by Russell Martin, he is being put on a pedestal and i think he would much rather be what he has always been up to a year ago and that is one of the squad.

On Saturday when the team was announced, in most positions there was little disagreement from those in the Northam fanzone, but many questioned why Jack Stephens was in the side, it was a standing joke pre match, what position will he be in today, will the manager play him at full back, in the centre of defence, in midfield, in a made up hybrid role with some actually serious that he could be up front.

Now as in the Bazunu situation, the manager's hand is forced, he will not be able to play Stephens against Ipswich next Saturday.

Saturday's defeat to United saw a team without leadership both on and off the field, now this is a crucial moment, a rallying cry for the fans and players, the manager has once again got his get out of jail card.

The decision is forced on him, he has to pick a back four without Captain Jack, he has to appoint a Captain who can take on the responsibility and hopefully a leader will emerge, I would bet on it being Flynn Downes, I do not think Taylor Harwood-Bellis is quite ready yet, but Downes is.

But a new captain can unify players on the field and that can also stir up the fans and this can change seasons.

The visit of Ipswich is a critical moment in the season, we are at the crossroads, win it and we could well move up the table and start to find our confidence, lose it and it is hard to see how Russell Martin can survive.

If Russell Martin is sacked I would be sad, whether I like a manager of not, I judge them only on what they do and results, our managerial history is full of managers who were initially disliked by the fans, but went on to become legends, Lawrie McMenemy & Gordon Strachan to name just two.

But if he is sacked then sadly I think he will have taken Jack Stephens down with him and Jack does not deserve that, unwittingly he has become a focal point of the manager's shortcomings and as I have said, he does not deserve that for his service to Southampton FC.

Photo: Action Images

JoeEgg added 13:13 - Sep 16 i guess Nick that you make the same points here as in the latest match review, and I can understand your total frustration with the manager. We have to hope that we win something in the next three matches or else it will be back to Jack. What I really cant understand is why Martin sees Jack as a Captain! This is a ridiculous situation and only adds to my doubts about the overall suitability of Martin as a manager. You can add to that the decision concerning the penalty taker which arguably changed the match on Saturday. We now have at least three or four Premier quality players as witnessed in the first 30 minutes on Saturday - also in Adam Lallana we have a very experienced and intelligent influence to help bring the best out of the squad. The only question that remains is - do we really have a manager who will get the best out of our squad now that we are a Premier League team?

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davidargyll added 13:59 - Sep 16 JoeEgg- agree with all that. And in answer to your last point UNEQUIVOCALLY NO WE DO NOT. The fact is he WILL be sacked, be it in a week, a month or a year. Because he simply does not have the wherewithal, the nouse and the tactical know how to be even a bog standard PL manager, let alone a successful one.
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davenbennett added 14:03 - Sep 16 Said before, we needed to buy PL quality 1st teamers. Downes, H-B played last year. Others in. Lallana not 1st team, even if quality. Ramsdale, Sugawara, Fernandes, Ogu, yes. BBD, Archer, Cornet, Wood, Taylor, Fraser, no. I would rather got 2, preferably 3, 1st team than those 6 reserves. So, it's not only Martin, it's Sports Republic. Problem is, they use data and statistics and think they are football experts. But 2/3rds signings not up to it. And not 1st time they've done this. 'TOO CLEVER BY HALF' springs to mind. Stephens never been PL. Problem is H-B is getting worse, not developing. Didn't buy a No.9, because Martin don't like them. BBD being played on the wing rather than CF don't help.

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StAnt added 14:09 - Sep 16 Clearly if a manger is regularly relying on fate to show him the way he is not much of a manager which mirrors my views on RM. Championship is his ceiling along with his coaching staff.
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Bowlercow added 17:30 - Sep 16 With any luck JS will now be banned for more games He has been charged with using foul and abusive language to the ref and fourth official when he was dismissed He knew what he had done and it was a clear red card offence His inclusion week after week is, for me,Russell Martin's biggest and mos consistent fault which hopefully will now be corrected The last time we were in the PL the three relegated teams all changed their manager Let's do it differently and keep him

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YosemiteSaint added 17:47 - Sep 16 If he's sacked, who replaces him? Whatever we do, it has to be strategic—in other words, very _unlike_ what we did when we were relegated two seasons ago.
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JoeEgg added 18:35 - Sep 16 With any luck JS will now be banned for more games - Stephens using abusive language Once again I ask is this the behaviour expected from the Club Captain? Russell Martin has a lot to answer for.
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