It was a game of two halves as Saints went to the dogs in the second and were lucky to come away unscathed.

I have said in the last few weeks that Claude Puel needed to show in the final games of the season that he has what it takes to take the club forward, initially he showed that he might have what it takes, but I'm afraid that in this game he got it badly wrong.

Firstly he again kept faith with Yoshida and Stephens and although some would point to a clean sheet as evidence that this was the correct decision, the reality is that only some poor Bournemouth finishing kept our goal intact and the two central defenders although at times solid were caught on the hop due to a lack of concentration on too many occasions.

Why did we bother signing Caceres if we are not at least goi to try him.

The second strange decision was to play Jay Rodriguez up front instead of Shane Long, the only justification for this seems to be that J Rod scored against Bournemouth four months ago and whilst I am not a critic of Rodriguez, I have to say that he is not ahead of Shane Long in the pecking order.

Players like to know that playing well gets you in the side, they know when they have been overlooked wrongly and the Irish striker must be feeling pretty miffed, he deserved the opportunity to start this game and show the form we know he is capable of.

But all of this being said we dominated the first half, but sadly there was too few actual chances on target, Tusan Tadic clipped a post but should have done better and Jay Rodriguez himself had a great chance, he did everything right but Artur Boruc made a decent save.

But if Saints dominated the first half then the Cherries carried the second, they played without fear and the truth of the matter was that it was only their poor finishing that kept our goal intact.

It is at times like this that you look towards the manager to do somethng to change things, just after the hour Puel made his first change and it put us into more disarray, most expected Boufal to come of for Tadic, but it was if the manager was almost challenging Tadic to show why he should be kept on, he didn't deserve to on his second half showing but his recent outburst must have made Puel leave him on to prove a point either way. Shane Long came on in a double substitution.

The upshot was that we lost our shape completely without James Ward Prowse and Bournemouth poured through the centre on too many occasions.

You have to commend the manager for an attack minded change, but the truth was that we had no cohesion and we were getting overun in the centre of the park.

As the game entered it's final phase you thought that Puel's last change might be to close down that hole, Clasie or Hojbjerg would have done that job, but strangely it was Sam McQueen a wide player who came on for Tadic.

It left us still with that imbalance, we needed a strong central trio but what we were left with was just Davis and Romeu and no one quite sure who should have been in the centre with them.

So this was a game that we almost threw away because of our own failings, even with Bournemouth's domination in the final half hour the fact that we still had overall 61% possession tells you of our first half dominance and what Bournemouth's tactics were in the second, we did not deal with their breaks and we showed little in terms of creation especially after the break.

If we had won then the League table would look much rosier today, we would be in 9th and pulling clear of the traffic jam in the mid table, yes we moved up to 10th, but it is very crowded and we really do need to beat Crystal Palace now or face dropping down a few places.

This was not a good day at the office for Saints, I have constantly mooted that we need to give Claude uel the full season to judge him, but games like this do not help his cause.

Photo: Action Images

ThereIn76 added 10:41 - Apr 3 The substitutions didn't make sense. Puel was clearly afraid to take Tadic off when he brought Boufal on even though Tadic had long since gone missing. J Rod was one of the better players and should have stayed on. And as for blaming the draw on players being fatigued after the international break - he chose Yoshida who'd travelled thousands of miles over Caceres who must be itching to get a game. You're right about the team losing its shape when JWP went off. He's an important member of the team.

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LordDZLucan added 10:48 - Apr 3 I don’t think you can blame anyone in defence for what happened in the 2nd half on Saturday. The problem, as you infer in the latter part of your article, was the gaps in midfield that opened up the moment Boufal came on. Now Boufal has a locker full of tricks that can open up any defence but he has to play upfront otherwise he is a liability. His introduction in a midfield role has cost us too many times this season because he doesn’t have the discipline to play there and it almost cost us again on Saturday.

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perazi added 11:07 - Apr 3 It is strange that Carceres is not being given game time even if the current pairing are doing quite well - Yoshida especially. JWP was subbed because he was having a pretty ordinary afternoon - I'm yet to be convinced that playing him in an attacking wide right position helps the team much; he's not helping Soares out defensively; he doesn't take on a defender as a true winger would do and the shift of midfield formation has left Romeu incredibly exposed at DM with only Davis to help out. If JWP has to be in the team, how about trying him in the spot Davis is occupying - or better still, bring back Hojbjerg or even Clasie to shore things up in the mid-field. This is where we are being carved up, repeatedly since the formation change. Whether Long up front would have fared any better than J-Rod is a moot point - neither of them are really good enough to play the striker role alone; the loss of Gabbiadini has clearly hurt our attacking threat. The other comment I'd make is that Boufal needs to be given a consistent run in the side. He would be a better selection wide right than JWP, but I would like to see him given a consistent run out in the 10 role with Tadic and Redmond wide and Gabbiadini up front. That could be balanced out with Hojbjerg or Clasie helping Romeu out.

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SanMarco added 11:56 - Apr 3 Yes - very good article. Without Gabby we were toothless. Puel's substitutions left us playing 4-2-4 with the 4 up front only having a dozen or so goals between them all season and getting no service because the 2 were being over-run in midfield. A better side (dare I say one with Zaha and Benteke in) would have put us to the sword. I do not understand why Cacares isn't being played - are both Yoshi and Stephens better than him? I know 'preparing for next season' arguments are being made but let's get to 40 points before we do that eh?

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bstokesaint added 12:28 - Apr 3 This was back to the pre-Gabbiadini days with lots of dominance and no end product. I felt sorry for Jay because you can tell he’s trying hard, but he’s still not back to best. He’s been out for so long, so I’m still positive he will get there. I do agree Shane probably deserved to start. I can only presume Caceres hasn’t had an introduction yet due to his lack of match fitness. If anyone doubts this is a factor just re-read my first paragraph. Okay the latter didn’t have the injury that Jay had, but Jay’s been back a while now and still looks off the pace. A year out of competitive football is a long time. Rather than blame anyone specifically I think it was just “one of those days” when the absence of our two best players through injury was fairly apparent. You tell me one team in the Premiership who can cope easily with losing their most two influential players. On a final note it was interesting to see the penalty spot explode again. It’s never been the same since Inter came to town and gave it a good turfing up!

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SonicBoom added 12:42 - Apr 3 There are problems in the team that the cup final and arrival of Gabbiadini glossed over for a while.
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pete_boggs added 12:47 - Apr 3 Oh how far we must have fallen for people to think we lost our shape when JWP was subbed. He was so non-existent the first half I thought maybe he wasn't playing (just hopeful I guess). The subs should have been on in the first place and were probably feeling miffed by the time they were included, hence the lackadaisical performances. Davis was a puffed-out passenger and didn't even try and keep up with his defensive duties and was too tired to go forward hence no AM's in the box when needed. They really need to step up with our only potential scorer out. Clasie and Hodge should be first choice, JWP and Davis dropped, end of. Puel needs to throw Les's team lists away and pick players on merit like Long instead of the, low in confidence, Jay. If he doesn't start playing the best team regularly soon, instead of keeping Les happy, he will have a mass exodus at the end of the season and I wouldn't blame the players who are scratching their heads at team selections and sub choices.

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pete_boggs added 12:59 - Apr 3 I see we have another Les attempt at JWP branding with his picture at the top of the article even though he was a passenger in the game until he was correctly subbed, albeit an hour too late. Has Les been meeting with Erdogan's press officer?
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ItchenNorth added 13:19 - Apr 3 I think this review is a fair reflection of the match on Saturday. For me Tadic should have come off for Boufal: a straight swap if you like. If you are going to take JWP off in a game like this (I though he had a good game), bring on Clasie or Hojbjerg so that we maintain the balance in midfield. In the second half we were over ran and left exposed far too many times. On the whole though, for a nil – nil this was a good game with plenty of chances, woodwork hit and both keepers making good saves. The atmosphere inside the stadium was really good (well in the Itchen Stand at least, as I couldn’t hear the Northam due to the away end !). The one thing missing from both sides was: clinical finishing. So in the end a fair result on the balance of play.

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SaintBrock added 13:51 - Apr 3 A poor starting team selection following the rigours of the international beak and hopeless substitutions cannot be blamed on any of the players can it? Wonder who was pushing for starting with six English players? The least said about this shambolic headless chicken parade the better.
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redandwhitedee added 14:28 - Apr 3 the numpty pete Boggs who says Davis should be dropped is a numpty. That is all.
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BoondockSaint added 15:04 - Apr 3 After all our talk about them not being our rivals........they shut us up No Gabby: Lower league team. Don't agree with Tadic coming off-I don't care if he is tired physically or mentally, he still he still has more creative ability than any three others of our players put together. Boufal looks like he thought he was going to come to Southampton, show off his skills and have some big team buy him at the first window. Now we have to worry about Crystal Palace: they are on a run, players look like they want to win, and if they beat us, they leap frog us in the standings!

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vanmans added 15:49 - Apr 3 Another load of total Rubbish by saints. JWP never got into the game and should have been taken off at half time. What has happened to Clasie just as he was starting to look good he doesnt get in the team. Why does he keep taking Tadic off without him we don't create anything. Must be time to start Caceres and drop Stephens.
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vanmans added 15:49 - Apr 3 Another load of total Rubbish by saints. JWP never got into the game and should have been taken off at half time. What has happened to Clasie just as he was starting to look good he doesnt get in the team. Why does he keep taking Tadic off without him we don't create anything. Must be time to start Caceres and drop Stephens.
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Jesus_02 added 15:53 - Apr 3 Playing 1 up front against B’mouth and nearly losing must be counted as some sort of low point IMO. I am constantly surprised how we manage to play with a loan striker and still have no midfield AND I disagree with the idea that Yoshida and Stephens where poor. Our midfield seems to drop deeper and deeper as it becomes less confident and Romeu seems to be the only one that actually challenges for the ball. Overall, there was no cohesion and no confidence, and both of those issues are about the manager.

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saintmark1976 added 16:03 - Apr 3 Let's be honest Bournemouth deserved to win and we were extremely lucky to get a point. Personally I now feel that the sooner this season ends the better.Only Fourteen league goals at home ,a miss managed European campaign, injuries to key players,diabolical ref's decision at Wembley and endless speculation about ownership and close season transfers have taken their toll. For me the last game of the season against I assume Stoke can't come quick enough.

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pete_boggs added 16:56 - Apr 3 reandwhitedee. Why don't you comment on the game and the players in the game please. I care about how poor they were that's why I make comments. What did Davis do in that game to enamour you then exactly?
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A1079 added 17:42 - Apr 3 A good account overall Nick. Cannot argue with that. I worry against Palace as they seem on a roll now and are playing for their club, We shouldn't have to worry but we simply lack any cutting edge. If I take out the cup final and one or two other games and the times Gabbiadini has played, this has been a disappointing season overall, especially at home. I know we have had some bad luck with injuries etc but it is more than that. In many ways I cannot wait for the season to end. It hasn't all been bad of course, but a lot of it has been unmemorable.

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DPeps added 18:50 - Apr 3 JWP situation is a strange one. Like others, I forgot that he was playing, but then we went to pieces when he went off. I agree that Davis might need to be dropped. He's usually so consistent, but has been poor recently. To be fair, he's probably fatigued following the World Cup and the long season. It's been such an odd season for us. A mixture of great highs, terrible lows, and lots of mediocrity too!

1

halftimeorange added 19:46 - Apr 3 This game was a comedy of errors from both sides. No Manolo, no goals, no idea and the only thing missing from the farce was referee, Jonathan Moss's shorts not falling down. This is not the first time Saints have wilted after dominating the first half without scoring. The halftime team talks in this situation must be totally uninspiring or unintelligible to the players, excepting for Romeu who fought almost single-handedly to keep the Cherries out. I say almost because Yoshida played really well apart from his one usual lapse - the misjudged header - and his passing was excellent. A word for Redmond who I haven't had much faith in. For 50 minutes he looked as sharp as I've ever seen him. I also wonder why we let Boruc go? I doubt that Saints will get truly caught up in the relegation battle but it could still be a close thing. This season has been a long false dawn of success.

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TeamCortese added 22:51 - Apr 3 For me halftimeorange hit the nail on the head. Everyone’s acting like we’re out of the relegation scrap (that’s probably because of the impact of Gabbiadini). The truth is we’re not and Saturday is evidence of how poor this season’s been. We’re not able to beat Bournemouth at home…Les and the board can try and brush over the cracks as much as they want but we all know we’ve taken a step back this season because of the short-sightedness of the board (particularly from KL). I really hope these Chinese owners will start pumping money into the club in an intelligent way and enable us to keep our top players next season. It is imperative that we keep VVD, Romeu, Gabbiadini, Bertrand and Soares over the summer. If we don’t then this club isn’t serious. We need to sell JWP while his stock is high, Davis, JRod, Shane Long, Austin and Forster. None of those players (apart from Austin and Forster) would be considered for a top 10 team in the EPL. With those funds we should try and buy Sigurdsson (or Wilshere) to replace Davis, Zaha to compete with Boufal and Tadic, Pickford to replace Forster, Benteke to replace Pelle and to pair up with Gabbiadini (Gallagher should be our backup striker), Zouma (or possibly Sakho or Ake) to pair up with VVD. If we can get those players (who are very attainable, even Zaha) then we’ll be very, very strong top 6 contenders. They work out to be about £130 million but when you factor in the sales from the others we’ll probably have a net spend of £60 million. The only reason they’ll sign is if we demonstrate ambition. The owners have to back the manager and the manager has to back the players. I think Puel is a very good manager and I would like to see him next season. I think he deserves a full season when you consider the circumstances in which he arrived to. He just needs to stop tinkering with the line-up and show more conviction with his tactical decisions.

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IanRC added 23:24 - Apr 3 Agree with a fair amount of the article but I need to be a little controversial. Whilst Romeu has been a great addition to the team someone needs to have a word with him about his tendency to leap into tackles on the edge of the penalty area. Not for the first time this season, including at Wembley if I recall correctly, he conceded a free kick in a dangerous area. There we paid for it, this time we escaped. On the JayRod / Shane Long situation, I would be very surprised if there had not been a quiet word between Shane and the manager. Given Shane had led the line for his country twice in the international break I don't think it is unreasonable for JayRod to start. He badly needs game time and there are signs he can return to his best if only he can improve the timing of his runs to beat the offside trap. It was however a great shame that Shane had little opportunity to run at them when he did come on.

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bstokesaint added 23:33 - Apr 3 TeamCortese whilst I share your visions of grandeur for the club, if you take a closer look at Lander Sports they certainly don't look to be a white knight of any sorts. They really aren't that big or successful and I think if they end up as new owners if anyone else is thinking this too then they'll be bitterly disappointed. Our spends still won't be in the same league as any of the teams above us. I could easily see us being worse off. I just hope if we're going to sell it's to someone else.

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