What formation was Ivan Juric playing against Wolves ? once again we went down to defeat and once again, our manager seemed to have no clue on what selections to be made and how to set out his side, the fans didn't know and seemingly nor did the players.

Mateus Fernandes has perhaps been our best player this season, Ok there is not much competition, but he has been one of the shining lights in midfield, so why was he seemingly being used as a centre forward.

No one was quite sure how we were lining up, was it 4-4-2, was it 3-4-3 or was it 3-2-2-3, no one seemed to be completely sure and that has been one of the problems.

The popular view in the press was that we were playing Mateus Fernandes as a centre forward flanked by Sulemana & Tyler Dibling, but who knows.

The truth though was that despite this we started quite well, we looked good going forward, although with 3 up front with two wing backs behind them, that is not surprising, Kamaldeen Sulemana should have given us the lead but missed his kick from close range, but the visitors weathered the initial bluster and then caught us quickly with a cross and header that saw Strand Larsen head home , although in fairness Ramsdale should have done better, but he is entitled to the odd mistake given his form this season, just a shame in happened in this game.

This gave Wolves momentum and confidence, although we still had the majority of the possession.

Half time saw a strange change, off went Mateus Fernandes, most assumed through injury, but Ivan Juric later confirmed that the midfielder was fit and that it was tactical.

Just what those tactics were is another matter, on came Tall Paul Onuachu, who ran around a lot but did little up to his goal.

But if Juric though that switch was going to change the game, he was half right, withing 2 minutes of the restart Wolves had doubled their lead and now it was an uphill battle..

In fairness Saints stuck to their task, we were all over the place, but the core of the side still at least battled if for their own pride rather than for the manager.

But the manager changed nothing else, Sulemana was trying, very trying, continually making runs and having the ball taken off him like sweets from a baby, yet he stayed on when the first change was made on 70 mins, Sugawara coming off for Cameron Archer, a reasonable change, a striker on the field, but without Fernandes no play maker, so how were we going to get the ball into him.

On 75 minutes we got a slice of luck, the ball came back of the post and Tall Paul scrambled it in, now we had a chance of getting something out of the game, you could see the spirits rise, especially in Tyler Dibling who looked lacking in swagger.

Now we looked a bit better, on 83 minutes a double substitution, Gronbaek for Sulemana and Downes for Big Les, but although we blustered, we still lacked that player who could put his foot on the ball and create something.

With one substitution still to be made, surely the obvious choice was Adam Lallana, but no, Juric waited until the 92nd minute of the 8 in injury time and then brought on Jack Stephens as a makeshift centre forward.

If ever the final nail should be hammered in Juric's managerial coffin at St Mary's, this should have been the moment, it was almost of Juric was sticking two fingers up at the crowd and taunting us that he was getting paid to ensure that not only would we be relegated, but go down in history as the worst ever Premier League team.

Surely Johannes Spors can see this, nothing can save us going down, but let us go down with our pride intact, or at least as intact as it can be, the fans have been magnificent this season, but they do not deserve this manager and his team selections, substitutions and these tactics, it is clear that Juric is out of his depth.

You can see that in the players and you feel that they are as baffled by Juric as the supporters are, they are professionals, but deep down they know that Juric has and is making things worse not better.

There is no point in keeping him on, Southampton FC need to do the right thing and do that now !

All Photos Via Reuters

davidargyll added 09:22 - Mar 17 Well ten out of ten, Russell Martin! You are responsible for sapping the life out of our football club! Because the ultra dull, sterile and lifeless style that you started has now blossomed fully under Ivan the Absolutely Terrible as, with a couple of honourable exceptions, on Saturday we witnessed A SQUAD TOTALLY DEVOID OF ANY DESIRE AND BOTTLE. Those exceptions were Fernandes, Sulemana and Sugawara (amazingly), who ran forward with the ball as much as they were able. But for the rest of them, what a bunch of disinterested, gutless individuals who were just taking the p*ss! And embarrassingly, this lack of desire now looks completely ingrained: 9 points is it. It does puzzle me, though, that they do not seem to care that, 1. For all time, these individual players will forever be associated with being part of the lowest points-winning team of all time. 2. Even if they don’t give two figs about SFC, surely it is in their best interests to put in a performance, or else future clubs will only bid down - if at all - for some of these gutless performers (which will hit their own pockets). And as for potential superstar Tyler Dribling(!), trotting around with his socks around his ankles thinking he is God’s gift, what an utter waste of space he is! How on earth he wasn’t substituted I do not know. (Unless, that is, the manager is playing a very clever game to stop him from leaving - by showing the world what a grumpy teenager he is, and therefore not worth all the plaudits paid to him, including, unbelievably, according to the Daily Telegraph, one of the five PL players to watch in the second half of the season!!!). But whatever the attitude of the players appears be, above all else they have a duty to ENTERTAIN. And I can honestly say that this season I have been more BORED more often than I thought it was humanly possible to be. The fact is that there is no reason on earth why I should drive 30 miles ever again to watch this borefest.

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JoeEgg added 10:11 - Mar 17 Would Sportsq Republic care to comment on the total mess that they have created and perhaps own up to who was the idiot that identified Ivan the Terrible as Russell Martin's successor? This sad pathetic creature inspires no one at St Marys so why is he here in the first place? It really is pointless comenting on any match as the script could be written before a ball is kicked. Team selections an substitutionsq are those of a clown or more exactly a madman. Not only are we a distance behind Bournemouth football club, but soon Pompey will be in a higher league position than us. Its embarrassing and humiliating. Sports Republic clearly have no perception of how to build a successful Premier League football team and does anybosy want to witness the sight of Juric on the St Marys touchline ever again? Make the change now and maybe restore a little pride before the end of the worst season in living memory!

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SanMarco added 10:22 - Mar 17 I'm sure Nick is right. Juric seems to be messing around and the players want the season to end just as much as we do. Ultimate responsibility for managerial appointments and player recruitment/transfer market lies with SR. RM told everyone what he intended to do this season and competent/responsible ownership would have said to him during the summer: adapt or you will be replaced. Instead they let him p1ss away the small chance we did have. As for the Juric appointment, who knows? Given the whole season, or the vast majority he might have done something but the squad was always going to be too weak and uneven. Now he is just marking time, and, I think, cynically showing his potential future employers that it is the players who are no good, not him. I agree that Juric needs to go now but we know SR will wait too long, they always do - and who trusts them to make the correct appointment? I don't. We need a manager who maximise our chances next season but that person needs to be able to make the best possible fist of keeping us up if we were (small chance I fear) to get promoted. I would like to see the club put up for sale - we need, at least, competent ownership. NOW. As for the match - we can all just repeat until late May.

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Jesus_02 added 10:54 - Mar 17 Yes its deffinitly Russel Martins fault....people call HIM stubborn !
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HythePeer added 11:39 - Mar 17 The only comment I have about Saints is that Wolves weren't very good.
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Farlow added 12:06 - Mar 17 To sub Fernandes at half time was ludicrous.This jerk has to go now. We need to rid the apathy surrounding the club and start building for nexr season now, not wait till the summer.Give a new manager time not just the close season to prepare,else we will struggle next year as well.
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Saint_in_Hove added 12:14 - Mar 17 Bit harsh on Tall Paul, whose pass sent Dibling to go and hit post, allowing him to score. Get rid of Juric now please!!!
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Block8 added 12:20 - Mar 17 So we play a back four at Liverpool and put in a reasonable performance, not great but most of the game it looked like we had an idea of what we were doing. One week later we're back to the 1-5-5 formation or whatever it was supposed to be??? We were playing the fourth worst team in the league, who were missing their top goal scorer and we start without a striker? I know we had a false nine at Liverpool but that was Gronbaek, who was probably our best player on the day. While also disproving the stupid theory that he and Fernandes couldn't play together. But no he (Ivan) had to fiddle and change both personnel and tactics, difficult to try to fathom how this fella's mind works but the chants of Get a striker on the pitch showed how we all felt! Get him gone now!

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WestSussexSaint added 12:46 - Mar 17 Bear in mind Ivan was on the list to replace Ralph two years ago and SR decided Nathan Jones was the better option 🫣
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underweststand added 13:10 - Mar 17 How often have we seen the best chances go begging in the first 20 minutes ? Two goal Larsen was like the Invisible Man and was given the freedom of SMS, but as usuul we waited until the last quarter to put in any attacks and press their defence. It was left for Dibling to show some aggression up front and finally his shot hit the post and rebounded in off Onuachu's leg. I forgot it was Wolves until they all started to keel over with " injuries " , one after the other, in the last 10 minutes and break up consistency when we had spells of possession.

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codge added 14:04 - Mar 17 Stephens playing at centre forward say’s it all enough said 😢
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dowater added 14:11 - Mar 17 Just like to thank you nick for all your reports and the time you put into this site and delivering these incredibly hard to read reviews of a team that has no clue or desire to change or do the right thing..... I'M OFF makes no sense to watch Saints any more. the manager is mad, the board are inept and the playing squad.... well had you asked me at the start of the season what our chances were, i would have said we have a reasonable squad... but now... they are just as bad as the rest of the club (in general), they are not working as a team or playing with any pride or conviction. most are looking for a way out and quickly. the rest are just taking over inflated wage bills and buying their time for retirement or end of their contract and walking anyway. i am that disappointed in all that i have seen this year, from the managers and their tactics, to the board and their choice to save money and get Ivan in and not Rhol, the players and their inability to fight and stand together as a team. lets face it. if at work we all saw something that was wrong and going to be bad for the company, we would all tell the management and get together as a union or a group of people and do something about it. no not our guys, they just go out to get embarrassed each week and think nothing of it. we are going down as the out right worst side in Premier League history, lowest points, goals both for and against, longest loosing run etc. etc. etc. I'm off to watch Sholing, at least they try

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Bowlercow added 16:49 - Mar 17 A lot of people wanted rid of Martin and his possession game but I for one would rather have stuck with him than suffer this clown To me it was obvious that he was out of his depth from the start We must have had the first manager change without a bounce Was Kraft responsible for hiring him and that's why he resigned? Somebody please get us 3 points from the remaining games

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Colburn added 17:08 - Mar 17 I have to agree with the majority of this article, except to say that I thought tall Paul did ok considering the situation. People moan about him not jumping for their second goal but it looked clear to me that the defender used Paul’s shoulders as a step ladder and you can’t jump when someone is riding you. He made the first decent lay off at pace in the whole game which finally gave Tyler some space, he hit the post and Paul’s reactions were brilliant and showed why he or Archer should have started the game. Wolves without Cunha are the worst team in the league for me. They are good at cheating which helps them get results, so there was no excuse for Juric to not start a striker and after the better success of 4 at the back at Anfield, there was no way we should have reverted back to a back 4.5.. I’ve given Juric as much of a chance as possible but Saturday did it for me. How is our best player Fernandes supposed to play his game when every time he drove forward, there was no outlet for him to work with. He should go and Rusk and Lallana should see out the season. The time is now, with a 17 day break. I thought aside from the first goal, ABK was very good again considering his lack of games the last 2 years. Final comment is about the pitch. A lot of our mistakes with playing from the back have been assisted by slippery surfaces. There is this obsession with constantly watering the pitch, which may help surface longevity but the pitch for me often looks like it’s hard to keep balance and they look scared of slipping. I just don’t understand it, really don’t think it’s helped us, particularly in the early part of the season.

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Colburn added 17:10 - Mar 17 Bowlercow, given that our owner and manager are the same nationality, Juric may have been a Dragan choice but I don’t know. I hope you’re right.
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Fumar2 added 17:27 - Mar 17 We’re terrible fans!! Singing to the players they don’t deserve to wear the shirt and booing THB at the end! At least he came over to the Northam End! We called for Nathan Jones and Martin to leave but now we’re targeting the players directly. It should have been Juric out! Get him on Gardening leave and just let Rusk see out the season. I will say, for the players…. I know it’s not anyway to measure a game but in a match like that it should be an absolute war…… we had no bookings!! for God sake someone at least stick the boot in if nothing else, the crowd would respond to that!!

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