Ivan Juric has got most things wrong when it comes to team selections, substitutions and tactics since he has been at Southampton, he did so again against Bournemouth, but he did get one thing right !
As we approach the two month anniversary of Ivan Juric's arrival at St Mary's, his first report card will not make pleasant reading, it will read .
1. Team Selection - Inconsistent, strange, puzzling,- Verdict Poor.
2. Substitutions - Inconsistent, strange, puzzling - Verdict Poor
3. Leadership - Frantic, uncontrolled, invisible, manic - Verdict Poor
3. Team Building- Dictatorial, inconsistent, uncontrolled, dismantling - Verdict Poor
Indeed it is very hard to think of one positive contribution that the Croatian has made overall to the team since he took over.
However he did get one thing right after Saturday's debacle against Bournemouth, when he criticised the Saints supporters for their treatment of Will Smallbone when he was substituted in the 56th minute.
It is fair to say that the Saints fans were perplexed when Smallbone who has spent a large chunk of this season injured, starting just 3 games this season, the last of which was in August at Brentford, was put into the starting line up in place of Big les Ugochukwu, who despite being one of the successes of the second half of the season, does not seem to be a favourite of Juric, who rarely seems to play him for a full game, whether dropping him as he did on Saturday or starting him when he is usually subbed.
The Southampton supporters could see that the centre of midfield was now very lightweight and would struggle, but when Juric did change it, they were wrong to sarcastically cheer when his number went up and Juric was right to pull them up on it.
When asked about the jeering as Smallbone left the pitch he said:
"I expected more, it's obvious, but I'm really sorry for him because he doesn't deserve it. He's a good guy."
Juric is right here, no one is saying that Smallbone had a good game, but I often see the phrases bandied about on social media such as "One of our own" or "Once a Saint always a Saint" and a lot of Saints supporters forgot about that on Saturday.
Whilst I understand the supporters frustrations, to vent it against the player in such a manner and let's be blunt it was a large section of the crowd who joined in the booing.
Smallbone's poor performance was not exactly the only poor one out there and no one took into account that part of the reason was that he was in a team that was in disarray and without leadership.
This is not a new phenomenon at Southampton FC, when I started watching Saints in the 1970's I soon became aware that Hugh Fisher got more stick from the fans than his team mates, yet he is now considered an icon until after he had left the club and retired, since then there has been a long list of players, many supposedly "One of our own" such as Francis Benali, who have not been truly appreciated until after they have stopped playing.
On Saturday we seemed to find it easy to watch Tall Paul run around without actually troubling the Bournemouth defence much, without feeling the need to boo him, but Smallbone does the same and it is cue the boo's when he leaves the pitch.
This is a crisis time in the history of Southampton Football Club, it does not need division in the fanbase, it needs unity, yes it has all gone to S***, but it will not help with the fans on the back of the players.
We need to stand up and try and get the team over the 11 point mark, not push them nearer the abyss by destroying their spirit and confidence.
There will be some who are saying, there he goes again having a go at the fans again and yes they are probably right, but I make no apologies on this occasion, it is not Will Smallbone's fault that our recruitment has been awful this season, it is not Smallbone's fault that he finds himself in the team because Ivan Juric seemingly hasn't a clue on any part of being the manager, it isn't Smallbone's fault that we are bottom of the league, after all he hasn't started a game since the 3rd game of the season and played only 1 sub appearance totalling 22 minutes, between August & January, that being in October.
If there is one person who can probably say that this season isn't his fault, it is probably Will Smallbone, he has watched most of it injured in the stands.
Ivan Juric is right, the fans should not have got on Smallbone's back for a poor performance, he didn't deserve it, they should have got on the manager's back for dropping Ugochukwu and picking Smallbone.