There is no point in dressing up this game as anything else but a disaster and an unacceptable one at that, the same issues cropped up again, we have changed the formation, but not the habit of switching off and gifting the opposition goals.

As predicted Will Still didn't change too much from the draw against Portsmouth last weekend, Caspar Jander came in for Flynn Downes who was well enough for a place on the bench but not to get on the pitch it seems, up front Damion Downs came in for Cameron Archer.

The facts of the matter are that we had 71% possession, we had 14 attempts at goal compared to Hull's 11, we even had the same number on target 4 each, but the only facts that matter are the goals columns and we let in 3 and they only 1.

For long periods of the game we dominated it in terms of having the ball, but we did nothing with it. we were predictable and pedestrian and void of any spark or imagination.

Will Still is desperately trying to find the best player up front and he seems to try someone different each week, this time it was Damion Downs, who struggled to find space and make those types of runs that demand a ball played into him, I can't remember his winning a ball or a header.

But the real problem was our lack of ability to defend, once again we were disorganised and lacked discipline, to put it bluntly we once again gave them all three of the goals, through poor marking and sloppy defending.

We should never have conceded and if we had kept a clean sheet then we are in a better position to win it.

As I trudged through the wind and the rain back to the City centre listening to the Hull supporters, they were shocked at how poor we were, one hit the nail on the head when talking about Finn Azaz to his mate, he said last year for Middlesbrough he tore Hull apart, that he was the best player he saw in the Championship by a country mile, but he was a shadow of his former self.

So where did we go wrong ? on paper we had a far better squad than Hull, certain players worked hard and tried their best to find the spark, but you have to ask yourself how after signing two right backs in the final week or so of the transfer window, how did we end the game with Ryan Fraser at right back and Elias Jelert at left back.

We just seemed to lack any form of cohesion, we make multiple changes for the sake of change, Tom Fellows was one of our better players yet he was hauled off.

You can't accuse Still of not trying to win games, we ended the game with three up front and god knows what the formation was by the final 15 minutes, it was a shambles.

The only plus point from the game was that Adam Armstrong got a pretty decent goal in the final minute of injury time, that didn't change anything in this game, but it might change the season, Armstrong needed a goal and he got one, that can only give him the confidence back into his game that was knocked out of him last season.

There is going be much gnashing of teeth by Saints supporters in the coming week or so, but truthfully it won't change anything, we have to back Will Still if only for the fact that at the moment at least, he is the man in the job.

I hope he succeeds and I hope Southampton FC succeed and at the moment after this game hope is all we have.

Footnote, I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the highlights if that is what you could call them, so I am relying only on my memory of watching the game through to the final whistle, perhaps clouded by a few post match drinks at the wake.

All Photos Via Reuters

saintmark1976 added 20:39 - Sep 21 I’m not going to comment on your report Nick. As would be said in court by the prosecution “ I need only refer the honourable gentleman to the evidence of the individual opinions expressed since 17.00 yesterday in the Forum section of your excellent website “.
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bryanK added 21:09 - Sep 21 I read the Hull report which really sums up the rubbish being served up. “Their centre backs pass to each other a thousand times”. The defending particularly Harwood Bellis and the dreadful buy from Brentford is awful. Please Mr Still grow a backbone and drop the players who insist on playing the Russell Martin way. Inaffective offensive play due to the continued slow buildup is killing us.I really want us to succeed like all Saints supporters but I am extremely concerned that this group who are probably the most well paid in the Championship are just not hungry enough. Please prove me wrong Mr Harwood Bellis, Mr Stephens and Mr F Downes

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Block47M added 21:30 - Sep 21 When we beat Norwich in the Carabao Cup despite the early gaffs we looked good, some decent defensive performances with a fabulous goal from Matsuki amongst those scored. I looked forward to seeing some changes in our defence as a reward. But why do we keep Rolls Royces in the garage? Why for instance is Jay Robinson warming a bench? Although Will Still may claim that the transfers were who he wanted, this is just “company line” speak. Our transfer deals were done too late so that Will Still had no proper pre-season with them. The squad is still too bloated which leads to frustration, anger and demoralisation amongst those not playing and arrogance amongst those who do, almost inevitably leading to a toxic club culture. Will Still is on a huge learning curve and I for one hope that he survives and ultimately we prosper. All too readily in football managers are sacked when it’s the owners or senior management that are at fault

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Dobbin60 added 22:02 - Sep 21 I guess the new manager bounce is over. At least in league 1 we might win some games. The good thing about hitting rock bottom Is the Only way is up, unfortunately we’re not there yet. Are we still the pride of the south with all other south coast clubs above us? This limp lettuce leaf of a manager inspires no one. His reaction to a real man’s hand shake last week was an embarrassment, he probably wanted to kiss on both cheeks. If he didn’t know before he does now that in England football is a contact sport and player’s are allowed to tackle and get stuck in. This’s Lilly livered shower of sh1te couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

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davidargyll added 22:04 - Sep 21 I really cannot get my head around why our players always appear to muck about from the kick off - theoretically soaking up pressure, presumably with the hope that the oppo will tire and can be caught in the break - and then only get a bit more serious when they go a goal down, or worse, so they are forever having to chase the game. So is it the manager’s doing or the players? Or maybe both? I read this week about the Ryder Cup Miracle in Medina when Europe came back from 10-6 down to win. And the night before the deciding singles matches, the normally placid European captain Jose Maria Olazabal gave the players the biggest bollocking they’d ever had in their lives and told them to get off their bums and play as well as they were capable of…. and blow me, it paid off and they won!!! My belief is that, however much the Saints’ manager’s inexperience is contributing, I can’t help but think the players’ complete lack of oomph stems from a massive over-confidence, the “we are really a premier league squad and far too good for this league” attitude. And the only hope of ever changing this is by the manager giving them all a serious kick up the arse and (at least for some of them) a time on the bench or worse. Managing winning teams is easy. I think the next few weeks will show whether Will Still has any cajones…

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halftimeorange added 23:13 - Sep 21 I guess that this week's question is does the Will Still system work or, more importantly, does it work in England. I think either is a little premature, I'll go with where there's a will there's a way. Our new signings haven't just come here for the pay packet, they're here to be on a winning side, at least on most weeks and either rise to the EPL with Saints or use Saints as a known stepping stone to football heaven. They didn't arrive to have their promising reputations tattered. At the moment everything that Will Still has to deal with is wrong. He's competing with the residue of the Russell Martin style, the inadequacies of our defence to play as a unit (and that's not new) and his inability thus far to find one (although it might take two) of our four centre forwards to stake a firm claim for the starting spot. It can't happen overnight, unlike our patience which can wear thin instantly. Perhaps I'm being too charitable but, it is too early to judge as any reasonable and seasoned supporter knows. This guy is also here to strengthen his CV. Hard as it is now, he really needs some breathing space. Success is more often than not built on a foundation of small steps. Total disaster is the prospect of throwing him to the lions. I think Christmas and the January window action is the time to utilise our discernment.

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saint_jon_74 added 23:16 - Sep 21 Yes I was there. One single word sums up our performance = UNACCEPTABLE.
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stmichael added 09:07 - Sep 22 I mean there are so many issues but we lack pace everywhere. Slow and pedestrian A good team will usually have quick energetic full backs. Ours are the opposite.. This guy from Brentford is horrific and Manning is well just Manning🤷‍♂️ The new signings are yet to produce anything between them. Could we do a Luton 🤔
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IanRC added 09:16 - Sep 22 Sorry but Stephens has to go. Our captain is just not good enough. For the first goal he lost his man and then was like a statue allowing him a tap in or rather a knee in unhndered. Sadly the poor management appears to be spreading to the women's team too and don't get me started on the Hampshire cricket at the moment. As others have said above completely unacceptable performance.

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dowater added 09:35 - Sep 22 If Ronny Edwards was such a hit at QPR in this league last season and THB cant seem to pick up a header (which the first 2 goals came from and him in front of the opposition player) why do we continue to play him? after watching the highlights and reading the report, the main difference was their accuracy in front of goal. why is Arma only starting as sub? and every time i see Ross Stewart on the ball, he looks decent and trying to get in and around the goal. yet we continue with the young brigade and lack of goals...

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SaintPaulVW added 09:53 - Sep 22 Really need to show some spirit against Boro. Defence was really poor across the board. How THB supposedly thought he was too good for the Championship really escapes me. Some flashes of wide sweeping passing attacks were good to see but generally our build up was way too slow and ineffectual. Clocking up time in possession counts for nothing if you can't defend against the few attacks that Hull made If Still is trying to shoehorn players into a set up that doesn't work then he's not going to last long. COYR

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wibbersda added 09:54 - Sep 22 No bottle, no flair just a group of robots on a beta version. Peole screaming for 4 at the back, only to see we actually played better with a back 5/3. Automatics are 100 % of the table now, and much more of this dross and we'll be doing a Luton.
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onetowatch added 10:08 - Sep 22 With the investment options we had during the Summer, I can't believe our FB situation, on either side, so poor. Throw JS into the back line as well and easy to see why we're struggling. I see an idiot above still has a pop at FD , and he wasn't even playing!! CM is not the problem in this side. At Championship level, SC and FD is a good combination. Unfortunately, having problems both behind and in front of CM is something we have, but should never have been allowed to happen. I'm disappointed that WS clearly has no idea of his strongest 11...

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Farlow added 12:36 - Sep 22 We need players who can win headers in both boxes.THB AND JS are not up to it. Quarshie and Wood look to be the ones capable of winning headers in our box. Stewart needs game time and not playing Jay is nothing short of criminal
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landsdownsaint added 13:43 - Sep 22 That Spors needs to go now ! That Brentford player is dreadful as is our manager who is imho the worst yet , does he really how bad Hull are ? & pompey . No escuse about players bedding in , hull would give their right testy to have what we got on offer , the smart arse board takes another gamble on a manager that’s unproven, Lampard , Dyche obviously don’t fit the board’s ambition. That Azziz is the best footballer Iv seen at this level but he may as well not be playing… sack him now & go get Ralph

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sfcsuperfan added 17:24 - Sep 22 We lack pace, flair, muscle and height. Not much going for us at all. Put in Quasie and Edwards in centre of defence and play 2 up top. Stick to a starting 11 for a few games so we can bond as a team . A couple of tough games coming up we need to see some glimmers of hope !
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Bowlercow added 19:25 - Sep 22 How can any level headed supporters want to sack Will Still This guy is a student of the game and I trust him to repair,refresh and regenerate this squad I can easily tell him what he is doing wrong.We all can We wanted a back 4 We got it We wanted to stop tippy happy He's of the same mind Many questionsed Armas place in the team now We want him in We wanted a tall No 9 We had one on Saturday The Liverpool game is a free hit Get rid of the JS/THB partnership We have a big squad so alternatives are available Nobody should be a shoe in

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Farlow added 20:12 - Sep 22 Its ok being a student of the game but a coaches job is to inspire and he doesnt seem able to.Blaming previuos mnagers is vewry lame.
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