I cannot remember a feeling in the crowd so dispirited as the one I witnessed at St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday evening and that includes some of the darkest moments in the club’s history, action has to be taken and now.
We’ve had some sad days at Southampton Football Club in the past, with some dismal teams and performances, but none as bad as the way we gave Chelsea an easy victory last night.
I stood behind Russell Martin when he was criticized last season, and I encouraged others to do the same in the early games of this season.
But we’ve been witnessing a team with no leadership, being forced to play a possession football game at a level it’s not capable of, and this has resulted in repeated blunders, with possession readily conceded and goals given away that should have been avoided.
On the first day, our goalkeeper gave Newcastle the only goal of the game by attempting to play what should have been a simple ball out of defence or, if he was unsure, a clearance, and here we are four months and thirteen games later, with the goalkeeper attempting to play a ball while under pressure and being forced to go against his basic instincts to play a ball that is not really on.
That is the aggravating thing; if this group had been allowed to adapt to the manager’s tactics, we would have been at least 6 points better off and had a reasonable chance of staying up, rather than 7 points behind.
Last night was perhaps the final straw; with so many players out injured or suspended, and a team missing its three best players so far this season, as well as a team with only three or four players who would be in the side if everyone was fit, you would have expected Russell Martin to adapt to what was essentially a second string side playing a team in third place in the league.
But no! From the start, it was evident that the team’s instructions were to pass the ball down the back regardless of the scenario; no one seemed to believe that they could defy the manager’s motto and clear the ball even while under pressure.
It didn’t have to be that way last night, or in most of the Premier League’s previous 13 games.
If the manager had changed his methods to fit the situation, we wouldn’t be in this problem right now.
But he has not adapted, he has pursued with his suicidal football and showed a stubborn streak that good managers do not have, one that says that there is only one way to play at all occasions.
Some argue that Russell Martin will be a good manager to have in the Championship next season; that may be true, but if he takes us up, we will be in the same situation as we are now, with a manager who is incapable of adapting.
Last night, the Southampton fans could take no more, the stuffing had been knocked out of them, they could not find the spirit to hurl abuse at the team or the manager, they showed it with their feet, with 10 minutes to go, the ground was emptying, even those that stayed had mostly had enough of it when the fifth went in on 87 minutes, and the sight of around 3/4 of the home sections empty for added time must surely have made a point to those in the club making the decision to
The message today is simple: Russell Martin must adapt or leave!
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