A night after which the supporters are starting to criticise certain aspects about the way the team is being run both with regard to the composition of the squad and selections made.

Last season it was hard to even suggest that certain areas of the team were not quite right, those that did where shouted down, this season however its starting to become a different story and some of those that six months ago would hear no wrong about the Club are starting to turn very quickly and results like this do not help matters.

It would take a very optimistic person who would try to argue the point that in the summer we made some astute signings, in fact most would now concur that we made the wrong signings to play the formation that someone in the club is determined to play and didnt strengthen in the right areas.

A poor start to the season underlined that, however in the main support for Nigel Adkins has remained strong, however it weakened considerably after his team selections last night and whilst many would take the point that the priority is the next game at West Brom, with six days to go before that, the counter argument that getting a win under our belt and getting back that winning spirit would in my book overird ethe need to wrap players up in cotton wool.

Saints had a great chance to reach the last eight but Im sorry to put out a total reserve side including the likes of Tadanari Lee who has been injured for the entire season bar one apprearance in an earlier round six weeks ago, was cheating the supporters who spent a lot of time and effort following their team to Leeds, yes Nigel Adkins has to do what he feels is best for Southampton Football Club, buit if he puts out a side like that they have to justify his selections and to be blunt they didnt do that, it was a team playing without spirit or fight.

It really shouldnt have been though, seven players played a significant part in our promotions over the last two years, two are supposedly promising youngsters and two are major signings for the club this season, so although its right to criticisise the manager for putting out a complete second string, in many respects he had a right to expect better from his players.

Of course two late goals made the scoreline look worse than it perhaps should have been, but the statistics make sad reading.

But the real question asked last night is in regard to the spirit within the squad, something has changed from last season in that respect, in fact something has changed from the earlier rounds in this competition, players need to know that if they play well they get a chance etc, perhaps the feeling in the squad is that isnt the case any more, that the manager is not in total command of the situation, if it isnt that then the manager is making some basic errors, players are not silly, although in the main they just get on and play, they know whats going on and when a manager has lost it or not, we supporters can only make guesses on what a situation is, the players know and again to be blunt, the performances they have put in over the past couple of months have not been acceptable, so who is to blame.

The reality is that its not just one thing, its a combination of several, poor signings, not making key signings in key areas, trying to play a formation we dont have the personel to play, poor selections and i havent even mentioned more sinister elements that may or may not be in play here with regard to who makes the signings and who has to be in the tea, all allegations that have been doing the rounds for a while.

But at the end of the day the fact still remains that this was another heavy defeat and another dent to our campaign, whatever the situation that is going on, its time for Nigel Adkins to stand up and be counted, if he is genuinely making mistakes due to his inexperience then Im sure a lot of fans would back him and continue to back him, but if he is not in charge of his own destiny then he needs to stand up and take control back in his own hands, its his reputation on the line. Indeed if our problems are entirely down to Nigel then some supporters might want to see him go, but he would still retain their respect, indeed the respect of us all, indeed we would back him to get us out of it. But if its found that he has bowed down and accepted being influenced from elsewhere then the fans would lose that respect and if thats the case then the players would probably feel the same.  

Supporters back results, last season showed that, but when things go badly then they will look to where the blame lies, if Saints are to survive then it needs to be everyone pulling togather, but it needs more than that, it needs a manager at the head of the first team who is in charge of team matters.        

Photo: Action Images

ericofarabia added 09:40 - Oct 31 Quote .... Of course two late goals made the scoreline look worse than it perhaps should have been, but the statistics make sad reading. From what I heard Leeds could have been 4 up by Half Time - so maybe we got off lightly. The lack of Big Guns on the bench as a Plan B back up was criminal. Expecting a whole team to come in and gel was foolhardy. We were playing Leeds not some struggling team from the bottom of L1 or 2 FFS. If you want to give youngsters a chance to shine blend them in with players who are on form and full of confidence, not players knowing the hangman's noose is hovering over and everyone of them. 70 mins before we had a shot, pretty much the same as our game v Spurs. Simply not good enough.

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Pecky3 added 09:56 - Oct 31 I feel very sorry for those who travelled to Leeds. This is in no way good enough and in my opinion shows that Nigel Adkins appears to be losing the plot. If you are going to rest players surely not the whole eleven and if so at least have some back-up on the bench. I am beginning to think there is something wrong behind the scenes!! Also Nick I agree that the signing made in the summer do not look like the answer to strengthening the team! how long can this go on before a change is made. I suggest that if things are not done to halt the slide Saints could almost be relegated before the January transfer window opens! I feel depressed and see no light at the end of the long tunnel!

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TreeHugger added 10:38 - Oct 31 You keep going on about signings not made. Its fair to say that adkins probably had targets that fell through. He also thought that the back four would probably hold its own in the bottom half of the table and was prepared to back these players in a worst case scenario. The need to keep going on about signings is just annoying. It was a mistake and now we have to deal with the situation. He cant do anything till January. Also, he can hardly openly admit they are not stepping up and criticize publically every time we let a goal in. Confidence is key at the back so he has to keep up whatever confidence is left, even if they are playing sh*t. Secondly, people keep talking about other players being brought in to the first team…chappers, mayuka, reeves, shaw, etc. ME INCLUDED. I have been screaming for chappers to get a run out, and reeves. However, last night neither did anything to help their cause, and only cemented why Adkins is sticking to certain players. Im really disappointed with the performance last night and feel the players have to take the blame.. Making a case to play first team football is enough motivation on its own regardless of what else is going on. The team last night could have been a top 4 championship side so to get rolled over shows that they either had an off day or are not as good as we thought. At the end of the day we are out of the cup. Plus point means we can concentrate on the league. We are gonna have to grit our teeth and ride the next few months till January. They are gonna be tough and most probably ugly. However, we need to show our support no matter what, that is the only way we can get through this. If we turn, the whole thing will crumble. If the players aren’t good enough then all we can ask is that they try. We have to keep on the bus till January. Even if that means running out of petrol…we have to get out and push it so we are still moving….inch by inch. We are not like other fans. We have endured some of the worst football you can imagine over the years. we have cheered on some of the worst players to ever play in the premier league……regardless of results. Southampton players are our players . You can keep your divers and shampoo models…..we are a real club with real fans. Call it blind faith, call it stupidity…whatever you want. It’s the Southampton way and we will stay up. We have been in worse positions with worse managers and worse players. Cant wait for saturday! Ricky, lallana and adkins will see us get 3 points!

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 11:40 - Oct 31 Firstly, Adkins picks the team and formation, no-one else forces him to play certain players or play a specific formation. Adkins said in his interview after the game last night that the team on paper looked good. He said 'You've got JWP holding in midfield, with Guly and Chaplow pushing forward in midfield and pace on the wings and upfront. We thought we could cause them problems’. How wrong could he be? Did he expect us to control the game with those players against a team well up for taking another Premiership scalp in front of their home crowd. Lee was played out of position on the left wing. He is a striker not a winger!!! Mayuka is not a target man, he can’t really be asked to hold the ball up on his own, he needs someone up there to feed off. He's best playing off of the last defender trying to get in behind defences. So why he was played up front alone I don't know! Why didn't we just play 4-4-2 with Lee and Mayuka up front with Guly on the left and De Ridder on the right. Chaplow getting forward from midfield and JWP holding. If Adkins wants to play 4-1-2-2-1 or 4-2-3-1 (4-3-3 or 4-5-1), like Chelsea do, then he needs to make sure we have the players to do it and not play people out of position. We have a shed load of strikers, which forces him to play them out of position on the wing sometimes because we don’t have enough decent wingers. It all comes down to a completely unbalanced squad. As for playing Seaborne and Hooiveld last night? This partnership would’ve struggled against most Championship sides. Seaborne is a decent League 1 centre back at best and Hooiveld is a long long way off being Premiership quality. Surely Adkins would’ve been better off playing Fonte and Yoshida to help them build on their partnership. Imagine what a clean sheet would’ve done for them. The fact that there were no senior players on the bench indicates that Adkins put way too much faith in his second string, as there was no plan B if things started to go wrong. The players were supposed to be out there to prove they're worth a shot in the first team but instead they were all out of form, lacking match sharpness, short of confidence and low on morale. Yet Adkins thought they would be able to perform and get the win. What was an opportunity for Saints to get a win and build some confidence has turned into an embarrassment and further disillusioned the supporters in what has been a horrendous season so far. Adkins has really got his work cut out to turn this around.

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simmo400 added 11:58 - Oct 31 The team NA put out last night was a joke. Some of them i didnt hear on the radio for hal an hour. Why have Davis in goal ? isnt he finished as our keeper ? whats up with Gazza ? let no one down yet left out. Na has lost the plot i feel. 500 fans at bell end road and treated to total rubbish. Why cant we field 1st teamers ? They have a week off to recover, Last year we played 3 games per fortnight easily now 1 game a week and were knackered. Somethings not right here. A game where we could have played all our first team maybe got some goals, got the confidence up, maybe progressed to a home draw and a quarter final, yet NA wasted this chance on an inept team who had no clue how to produce one effort on goal in 90 mins. NA is out of his depth big time.

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saintwiz added 12:06 - Oct 31 Listening to the game on Radio 5 Extra, co commentator, Craig Burley said Lee, Guly, De Ridder & Hooiveld were p1ss poor. He said Reeves & Isgrove looked good on the wings & Chaplow improved late on. He was there, I wasn't. I'll take his word for it.
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bstokesaint added 12:36 - Oct 31 Please, please stop referring to the summer signings, it's really tedious. We can't keep going over old ground. This is our unbalanced squad and it's not changing until the next window!! Can't we actually have a report of the game instead? It's disappointing to lose a game, it always is, but given the start we've made in the league this year surely the cup isn't a priority. It sounds to me like some of the players waiting for their opportunity didn't make the most of it and others were played out of position, so we don't seem to have learned a lot. Hopefully NA will have done. As TreeHugger says Southampton fans have endured far worse than this over the years and should be made of sterner stuff. I'd expect your Man C, Chelski and Spurs fans to suggest sacking your manager because that's how they operate. We need consistency at this club and the manager needs his time to prove himself.

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schatfield added 12:38 - Oct 31 I forgot de ridder was even one of our players at one point! Agree on the Seabourne comment, he clearly will never play a prem game, so why not use someone that will.
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moran89thmin added 13:03 - Oct 31 This game was lost before a ball was kicked as Leeds put out their first team and we put our reserves out with no players on the bench over 21. Leeds completely deserved the win - they were better organised all over the pitch and wanted the win so much more than we did. With the exception of Mayuka who was our one spark up front and also Chaplow combative as ever we didnt really have a prayer. Isgrove looked quite bright when he came on - definitely one to watch for the future, but really you wouldn't have thought this was a major competition with a Wembley Final and a tilt at Europe on the end of it. A bit of an insult really to those who made the journey - it cost me a day off work and in the region of £100 all told for me and my son to attend, and money is a bit tight for everyone these days. While I accept that we only played Spurs 48 hours ago and we have to keep the Premiership as a priority I would have thought some more of the first teamers could have been on the bench. Fitness shouldn't be an issue at this level, surely? Well, it's another dent in the campaign and another lesson learnt, hopefully. We have to keep hoping, don't we?

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SanMarco added 13:07 - Oct 31 This cup, and even the FA Cup now, is that part of football where the clubs show their contempt for the fans - 500 mile round trip, cold/wet night and what for? - those that went have my deepest sympathy and respect. I dont pretend to know exactly what is happening with Nigel - but the strongest (and it might soon be only) card in his hand is the wonderful respect and loyalty of the fans for him (AND I think that has been a marvelous thing in a game that really seems to be going to the dogs when it comes to humanity and respect). So having said that why did he shaft the fans and actually do all the things with selection/out-of-position players/formations/tactics that people are beginning to mutter about...? That mutter will start getting a lot louder if things don't pick up soon. I dont want him to go, I havent ever wanted him to go - but I really fear I will do quite soon unless we turn the corner at least in terms of defending.

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LostBoys added 13:15 - Oct 31 I do not disagree with hardly any of the comments made. I think events have already moved on and a poor performance (rather than a narrow loss) next Monday will bring things to a head.
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bstokesaint added 13:41 - Oct 31 West Brom game could well be do or die game. Let's face it NC will not come out and say anything beforehand. I still hope it's not but there's no doubt the pressure is mounting. I'm just worried that a change of manager/ management team will not improve the performances and the squad that have been together for the majority of 3 seasons will lose any remaining team spirit. With the unbalance we have it'll be a tough job for any manager/ coach to get the best out of every player.

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rjh added 14:14 - Oct 31 Absolute disgrace and an insult to anyone who made the trip. Massive respect to those who did. Are we Man Utd? Suddenly too big for the league cup, no way. We should have played a decent side and fought for a place in a cup final. It was a real chance. How could eleven players who were just thrown in together ever be expected to perform? We are in a total mess. Adkins is out of his depth.

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SingaporeSaint added 14:41 - Oct 31 Agree with these comments. Another embarrassment and again very poor preparation, spirit, selection, formation and tactics. Different players but the same story week in week out. Saints fans are an incredibly hardy and loyal bunch to have put up with it to date. I think leaving the mgt structure as it is for the W Brom game means we unduly risk a hammering, they are a decent side. We have one person at the club who knows the premier league, knows defending, is a leader and motivator, he knows the club inside out and he manages the only performing side we have - he is Jason Dodd.. I'd make Doddy assistant manager and defensive coach immediately. Dodd may also get the manager job at least on a caretaker basis for a while. If I was NC I'd also pick up the phone to Glen Hoddle - we should have hired him in 2005, I'm tired of us making the same mistakes..

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BlackRod added 18:07 - Oct 31 I was there. We do learn a few things from this. First , the author of these columns has suggested in recent weeks that Ben Reeves is the answer to our defensive problems. This is questionnable. Second, he regularly complains that the same players are being picked each week so why shouldn't Nigel let past and future stalwarts of the team have a run out? Third, he detects a change in attitude in the team. Rather than putting this down to some dark conspiracy theory could it be that the players have had their confidence knocked by the current sequence of results? Conspiracy theories have been presented here before - I remember the bold headline from a few years back 'There is something seriously wrong at this football club.' I think this was because Nigel kept picking Rickie every week when he was out of form. If we pick up nine points from our next three games all this will be forgotten and Nigel will be a hero. Stay calm. Stick with the team and the manager. Show your support. We are Southampton.

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slynch added 18:20 - Oct 31 As everybody is so depressed about the football I thought I'd think of a game for you to play. Remember "Spot the Ball" and "Where's Wally?" well this is "Where's Foxy?" Njoy! eg and and As that was so much fun after the next game we'll play "Where's Spiderman?" Here's a taster
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sidsaint added 18:22 - Oct 31 After the first half on Sunday I thought the team were not playing for the manager, and watching the subs at half time their body language was anything but determined but after the second half performance I was proved wrong. After last night's debacle maybe I was right after all. Another dismal performance on Monday in front of the cameras for everyone to see and maybe NA will be at the end of the line.

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Whatsforpud added 18:25 - Oct 31 Nowadays, it seems cup games are a chance to give everyone in the squad a game. It wasn't so long ago that you always played your 1st eleven in all '1st team games'. Can't imagine that Paine, Channon, Ball, Case etc, etc, accepting being left out of the road to Wembley. Listening to the neutral commentary on 5 Live Extra, they mentioned that Tadanari Lee never put himself about to look for the ball. That was disappointing to hear, as he looked quick, bright and eagar last season.

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Fordy added 22:42 - Oct 31 I can understand Adkins for not picking his first team for the game as he likes to rest players two games after a match. But he could at least have put a couple of players on the bench. With 30 mins to go, who do we bring on? Isgrove and Shaw - must have terrified Leeds! We could have had Rodriguez on the bench. He hasn't played a huge amount this season and after a goal on Sunday would have probably loved to have come on. If we'd thrown on Lambert, JRod and Lallana with 20 mins to go it could have changed the game. It would hardly have killed them either. Adkins seems to be getting all the decisions wrong at the moment. His substitutions seems to be subs for the sake of subs. Why take off forwards and bring on defenders when you are trailing? I really hope he turns things around but the signs aren't great.

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Fordy added 22:42 - Oct 31 I can understand Adkins for not picking his first team for the game as he likes to rest players two games after a match. But he could at least have put a couple of players on the bench. With 30 mins to go, who do we bring on? Isgrove and Shaw - must have terrified Leeds! We could have had Rodriguez on the bench. He hasn't played a huge amount this season and after a goal on Sunday would have probably loved to have come on. If we'd thrown on Lambert, JRod and Lallana with 20 mins to go it could have changed the game. It would hardly have killed them either. Adkins seems to be getting all the decisions wrong at the moment. His substitutions seems to be subs for the sake of subs. Why take off forwards and bring on defenders when you are trailing? I really hope he turns things around but the signs aren't great.

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