Painfully poor match only lit up by a stunning Bazunu save that gave us a rare clean sheet.

Jellert looked useful, would love to see him and Fellows on together, but manager thinks different!

Realty check - We aint going to make the play offs, not even close.

6

Bazunu MOTM again, saved us. As for the rest of the team, apart from Fellows, they looked like the mid-table Championship players they are. We must recruit a better centre forward in January.

6

FFS, please play a back four & put another body in midfield.

9

What a woeful performance in a dreadful match. Lacked pace and ideas again. Thank goodness for another brilliant Bazunu save.

7

Can someone please wake me up when the match finishes. Seems like everyone on the pitch had a late night last night.

6

Another yawnfest, just like Oxford away, just like…..rinse & repeat…

6

So … effing … boring … and … pointless. (Good thing I traveled 5,000 miles to see it in person!) Where do I start?

1. Midfield = no man's land. If you're nostalgic for Martin-esque football—where the ball travels back and forth along a U-shape curve that tops out at the midway line with the purpose of always pinging back to the keeper—Saints are your team. (Right now I wish they weren't _mine_.) No one is available to collect the ball in the middle and run at the defence because they're too busy ensuring that passing only goes to the wings or keeper and stays there.

2. Players assigned to play out of position. Downes lines up as right back and pretty much stays there. Until Fellows subs on, our most aspirant attacking player is Stephens. Harwood-Bellis seizes on the tedium to serve as a de-facto center mid. I wasn't happy that Manning lost his mark so frequently because he doesn't track back—but then I realized he must do so because he's as bored as everyone else in the stadium!

3. We can see some of our best players on the pitch—but only for a half at a time, and never playing together as an entire team. The incessant like-for-like substitutions convinced me that Eckert isn't trying to win, he's solely trying to limit injury (as a U-20 manager might do). Which is all well and good for a pre-season game. But it's January.

4. No tactics. The whole thing looked like an extended training exercise sans strikers. Only one shot on frame the entire game (and if I'm not mistaken it occurred in the 97th minute!). Fortunately Millwall seemed more than happy to play along, and it ended up being a walk in the park for them. It's obvious why we're not scoring goals: Our strikers get no service.

All of which is to echo Nick's recent reports. What we need is to:

(1) Sort out the defence, with players playing in natural position.
(2) Give the strikers something to do.
(3) Get someone who can boss the middle of the park and run at defence.
(4) let players who can run at defence run at defence.
and—something that was on my Xmas list but still hasn't arrived—
(5) Ditch the 3-5-2 (which is more like a 3-4-0 the way we play it) and restore the 4-4-2. At least everyone on and off the pitch will enjoy the game.

I still think Eckert can do it (partly, alas, because it's clear we're not going up and we're unlikely, for now, to be relegated). But ask me in a fortnight's time and my mind may have changed.

4

Stephens shocking as always. Took a throw in from inside Millwall half gave it to the away team that led to Bazunu needing to make a great save. Was out of position constantly and barely communicated with the back line. Remind me what is a captain meant to do???

Also until fellows and Jander came on we had no link between the back 7 and the front 3.

Why don't we shoot from the edge of the box? Trying to walk it in constantly

7

Very odd what's happened from last month when Eckert initially took over. Okay he had a honeymoon period when everything came off for him and teams get wise and adjust their game but with the quality of the squad (well a handful of the first 11) there should be sufficient quality to win matches like today's. It genuinely does feel like now hes got the job he wants to avoid losing rather than win games.

All roads as ever lead to sports rep though. We reflect their ambition i.e. to stay in business.

I remember when Gordon Strachan described the players in his saints teams as being brave with the ball in terms of killer passing and sharp decision making. Ours are safety first cowards.

COYRs.

4

Not a pretty game Overall I thought we were marginally the better side On the down side we are not creating the chances to miss like we were earlier this season
Their clear cut chance produced a world of a save from Baz and our clear cut chance was well blocked

Four holiday games of which 3 are away Seems a bit unfair Did some have 3 home games?

1