The first of what we hope will be a regular feature on the Ugly Inside as Brady100 gives us his view on yesterdays defeat to Tottenham Hotspur
This isn't a crisis...yet, the fact of the matter is any fan that saw the defence and GK that where selected prior to the match knew it would be a difficult day. I would like to hear other peoples opinion but it has now started to really anger me that Fox and Hooiveld are still at the club and selected to play big matches such as this. Yes MP's hand has been forced with injuries and we have no other option than to play Gazzaniga but we do have alternatives for the other two positions. I was not at all surprised by our defending yesterday as it happens consistently when Fox and Jos are in the team, they are simply not good enough for the premier league, and each time they take the field we are at risk of conceding playground goals. Both lack pace and mobility, this coupled with poor positioning and ability to read the game more often than not results in the same outcome.
With our formation we rely on our fullbacks to push forward and provide our width as J Rod and Lallana like to drift inside and are not classic white line wingers. While Chambers showed how it should be executed yesterday with a mature, classy performance, Fox lacked the ability and confidence to follow suit. Perhaps he is worried about not having the pace to get back but often seemed reluctant to cross the halfway line to the detriment of the team and shape.
I brought along a friend yesterday for his first Southampton match and he mentioned he had not seen a GK more out of his depth before, and this is coming from a man who watches Oxford United in league 2. I do however have some sympathy for him, he's doing the best he can but the fact remains he has less than 20 professional appearances under his belt...at any level. Unfortunately at times yesterday it looked like we had fielded a Sunday league GK.
My last point is aimed at our fans. I have no idea what people think they will achieve by singing for Jose Fonte after the o.g. What must that be like for Jos, and what will that do to his confidence and who will that effect... Similarly the ironic jeers when the ball was pumped into the air under Gazzaniga's goal. To be frank he had a torrid game, but he has taken the field wearing a saints shirt as our only goalkeeping option and we should support him. The mindless supporters trying to put him off almost wanted to see him make a mistake for another goal. Where is the sense in that? We need to leave our personal rants until after the game and support EVERYONE 100% for 90 mins.