IN FOOTBALL, like
any other walk of life,
you take your leadership
from the top. But
when there is a void,
things start to drift.
At Saints that drift is in serious
danger of becoming an avalanche of
massive proportions.
It starts at the very top of the club
and filters down to the players.
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The great Alan Ball used to say if
you give players an excuse not to
perform they will use it.
It's the way football has always
been and always will be.
At Saints right now, the players
have enough excuses not to bother
getting out of bed in the morning.
You still expect far better of them
than they are currently giving, but
we'll come on to that.
It seems now that Saints are a club
built on hope.
There is passion at the top, but
where are the plans to get them out
of the mess they are currently in?
Rhetoric about wanting to fill the
ground and lead the club back to the
top flight is all very well, but any fan
can say that with passion. How?
Instead of a clear way out, it seems
all we can do is hope.
We all know that without new
investment this club is in serious
trouble in the summer. We all know
that attracting such money is a very
tough task.
But everything seems to be on hold
until the summer. Everything is to
buy time, but for what?
The hope somebody will walk in
the door with a huge pile of cash -
it's a slim hope at best.
That's why the club is sliding at a
rate of knots.
It may not be a popular thing to
say, but John Gorman and Jason
Dodd deserve sympathy - not slating,
not barracking, but sympathy.
Every time you think things can’t get any worse at Saints, they do.The club just feels like it is falling apart completely and this performance hardly did anything to help. Let’s hope the players can at least provide a backlash to all this criticism tomorrow.
Adam Leitch
They are decent men trying to do
an honest and professional job in
difficult circumstances.
Both are clearly giving it their all,
but it just isn't working out.
The chance of the play-offs have
now gone, out of the FA Cup and getting
sucked ever nearer a relegation
battle is the current state of play.
It can be hard to predict how
things will pan out, but the club
need to act to stop this slide.
The trouble is at Saints there is
nobody there for the fans to pin their
hopes on and get behind.
The club have always had a big
character, whether it be a manager,
a player, even a chairman.
Some sort of figurehead to show a
way out of the dark times every club
has. It just isn't there at Saints and
has only accelerated since George
Burley left.
A new manager seems the only
answer to half the equation.
With Dodd and Gorman still there,
it would at least provide the players
with a focal point and a much-needed
kick into life.
Sadly, it seems that some of the
current squad don't have the desire
to go out there and motivate themselves
to play well.
At Bristol Rovers they couldn't
even get themselves up to try and get
to an FA Cup quarter final - so much
for professional pride.
And what's worse is that some of
these guys say how pleased they are
for Dodd and Gorman, and then go
out and play like that for them,
knowing they will take the flak.
There are too many journeymen
and retirement plans at Saints, players
who through bad management
in the boardroom have been handed
deals the likes of which they should
never have been given.
The fans have certainly identified
the ones who give the required
amount and the ones who don't.
The game at Rovers was abysmal.
The pitch was dreadful, but Saints
coped with it badly.
The minimum you expect, even if
you don't play well, is a bit of
heart, determination and fight.
They were all in very short supply.
Rovers picked up so many second
balls it was untrue, intercepted so
many passes. They were poor as
well. But they were too good for
Saints.
In a game of few chances, the best
first half openings fell to Craig
Disley, who came close for Rovers,
while Kelvin Davis made a good
save from Rickie Lambert.
Saints didn't threaten Rovers'
goal at all.
In the second period Jason Euell
at least forced Steve Phillips into a
save with a low volley from the
edge of the area, before Jhon
Viafara hopelessly slashed wide
and over.
Saints got a let off when Lambert
headed home from a corner on 70
minutes, but it was disallowed for a
push on Darren Powell.
Lambert again came close before
Rovers got the goal they deserved
six minutes from time.
After conceding a needless free -
kick 20 yards out, Lambert struck
low past a terrible wall and
Jermaine Wright stuck a leg out
and directed it into his own net.
It's hard to imagine how things
get any worse, but without a bit of
leadership at the club they will do.
Daily Echo Man of the Match: Andrew DaviesOne of very few Saints players
to come out of the game
with any credit. Gave it his
all throughout.
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