Sorry AP but you got it all wrong.

Now we all know that patience is required as Saints try to rebuild, but that doesnt mean to say that when things go wrong we shouldnt acknowledge that fact and Tuesday at Swindon was one of those days..

Alan Pardew swapped things around a bit but the changes did not work and when they failed to do so, he did not react for a long time.

At the back we were appalling, Thomas is not good enough and neither is Lancashire, so once again we had the sight of a side who puts balls into our box putting us under pressure, all the goals conceded so far have been from dead ball situations (Ok i know classifying it as a dead ball situation is a bit harsh but the penalty at Huddersfield still was ) and this was the case last night as another free header from a corner was punished.

But it wasnt just the back where we had problems it was all over the pitch, the midfield has no balance nor width, in truth it lacks someone who can put their foot on the ball, just why Simon Gillett hasnt started a game is baffling as is why Mellis did, in our situation an 18 year old kid with no first team experience is not the answer.

On Saturday Alan Pardew made the wrong substitutions and made them early straight aafter we had equalised and that upset the balance of the side, at Swindon he didnt make any at all until the 80th minute and by then it was too little too late and bringing on Rasiak with 2 minutes of injury time to go did nothing except help Swindon run down the clock.

Its clear for all to see that Central defenders need to be signed urgently, we know all about the Jaidi situation, but that was a fortnight ago and there is still no sign of a new centre back, it  should have been a priority, to be blunt we need two so there is no excuse why at least one hasnt been signed.

One thing that couldnt be faulted though was the Saints support, they stuck solidly behind the team, although it was clear their patience was being tried as they called for a substitution as the game wore on, with virtually a third of the 11,673 crowd being away fans it created a decent atmosphere, sadly after the game some idiots from the home support through stones from a park behind the ground and shattered a couple of coach windows.

The verdict on this game is that Saints were found wanting in all departments, on and off the pitch, the travelling Saints supporters deserved much much more.             

Photo: Action Images

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