The final game of the season saw Saints secure 8th place, but it wasn't due to their own merits but the results elsewhere, this left the fans a little peeved with the manager and his tactics.
Ultimately this season will go down in the record books as successful with 8th place secured, a Wembley final and a Europa League campaign, but for those that watched this game it typified what the season has actually been like to watch and the frustration at watching a good squad not playing to its full potential.
It should be noted that Saints did not play badly in this game, they created plenty of chances and did not have any luck in front of goal with Jack Butland being Stoke's man of the match in goal.
But they had their customary lapse in concentration and got hit with a sucker punch to lose the game and send the fans home with little to cheer about.
This was the entire season condensed into one game, it had everything that has caused our problems this season included in the ticket price, strange selections, strange substitutions , strange tactics and little sign of leadership on or off the pitch.
Saints have been like a ship without a rudder all season and it is a testament to the quality of the squad that we have come through it into 8th place, but even the most optimistic Saints fan will have to agree that their is something drastically wrong with the squad and the major question is if it has now gone too far to put right without a change of manager.
We seemed to have one tactic, that is get the ball down the flanks and cross it in, this is fine till you realise that Stoke are a team of giants and we are one of midgets, even our central defenders are not that tall, it was only going to have one outcome unless we changed tactics, we didn't and the end result was Stoke easily headed out the ball from their own penalty area and then caught us out at the back to head home via Peter Crouch.
Claude Puel had a strange bench and not enough attacking options on it, no Long through injury and no Rodriguez leaving only Manolo Gabbiadini and Sofiane Boufal as game changers.
When they did come on shortly after Stoke's goal on the hour mark, it was just like for like with Austin and Tadic off, why did Puel not try something different for one, perhaps go with both Gabbiadini and Austin.
The third change was again baffling, with four minutes to go why do you bring off a midfielder having a reasonable game and perhaps the best passer of the ball and bring on a full back to play in his place, I could have understood it if he had played Pied at the back and pushed Soares forward, but that wasn't the case, I just can't see what benefit this had, the only person pleased was Mark Hughes who had his opposite number help run down the clock for him.
So a game that Saints dominated but again could not score, yes they had a lot of bad luck as teams do at points when they struggle, but the real problem is that we are too predictable, we keep doing the same things and in the main keep getting the same result and that is not getting the ball in the back of the net enough.
Otherwise this was a comfortable game for us where we only really looked like losing it on a couple of occasions and we did.
The plus point for me was Jack Stephens, I have often criticised both him and Yoshida this last few months and I do feel I have a point given the goals we have conceded, however this was in my book Stephens best game and he carried the ball forward well, I would be unhappy if either were our first choice central defenders next season and I don't think too many would argue with that, but perhaps Stephens could have a future at the club as back up judging by this performance, he is now starting to find his feet.
All in all a poor end to a season that in terms of playing style and consistency has been poor, but on paper is arguably our 4th best ever in terms of achievement.
The big question now is Claude Puel's future, I have always said he should be judged on a full season and he has now had it, back in February after the Cup Final I said that hopefully we would see the real Puel and he would show he is the man to take us forward, sadly I have seen nothing in our final 13 games to give me any cause for optimism that he can do.