Southampton have completed the treble with three back to back defeats in their first season back in the Championship. After an exciting start to their campaign with a completely new style of play and refreshed tactical armoury the Saints have crumbled at an astonishing rate.
Despite picking up points in their initial 4 games, the performances from the defence had not been convincing. Many fans anticipated the eventual first loss, but noone fully expected it to come in such a dramatic fashion as it did against Sunderland. With many fans making one of the longest trips up to the Stadium of Light, the performance was not one to celebrate. A bleak 5-0 defeat enforced concerns that the defensive issues from last season were nowhere near being resolved. The attitude of the players on the pitch and their response to falling behind was equally alarming.
The stubborn system that is Southampton Football Club seemed to still be thriving good and strong – so much hope and potential at the start, far too many apathetic mistakes from thereafter.
Fans were seeking a positive response from the defeat, remaining hopeful after Russell Martin’s continued emphasis on trusting the process and acknowledgement that the squad’s attitudes had not been good enough. Unfortunately, this didn’t come, echoing a similar narrative to that of last season – a total sense of cluelessness.
Unlike the women’s team, who bounced back from their first defeat of the season (also against Sunderland) in beautiful fashion, the boys failed to remember the fundamental principles of basic defence. Facing Leicester will never be considered an easy fixture, however to conceed the first goal only 21 seconds in will never be excusable. The ethic of Martin’s side relies on a desire to be on the ball to work, however the team in red and white seemed uninterested and scared to move towards it and close off space. They welcomed threat and after making far too many mistakes, the game ended in a 4-1 defeat. This combined with the following 1-0 defeat to Ipswich leaves the South Coast Side with the worst defensive record in the Championship, conceding 17 goals so far.
The Ipswich game, as alluded to, followed a similar story line once again, however overall play was in general more positive. Unfortunately, a sloppy player error resulted in an Ipswich goal, and the saints were unable to steal it back, making it three loses back to back.
So fundamentally, what is the issue?
Conceding approximately 2.4 goals a game and only scoring 1.57, Southampton are making winning games as hard as possible. Their defence has become a liability, however this is no new issue. After last season conceding an incredible 73 goals, it is no secret that the back line needed to be restructured and given a new game plan. It is for this reason that many were unsure about the appointment of Russell Martin.
Despite a successful season at Swansea, their defensive record was equally not one to be admired, and as games progress the concern that Martin may have the approach to treating this back line wrong is ever developing. The biggest element of concern for me, is the attitude switch once we conceed – head’s drop and the aggression to win the ball flickers out. Player mentality is a huge factor of player success, and it feels there is a hurdle here that needs overcoming.
How do you do that though? How can you rewire the thought process of an athlete fighting to be at the peak of his game… Well largely, the surrounding fan base can have the greatest impact. As a Southampton fan myself, I truly feel the frustration of watching this side fumble “easy” results, however the support in St Mary’s is so volatile that you can’t deny it will have impact. There is a servere a lack of patience, and an even greater excess of expectation.
We all want this team to find it’s feet and succeed, but it has been made clear that this season will be one of steady process rather than sudden solution. When you reflect on the squad and gameplay we had last season, it will take time for that wound to heal and become what it needs to be again. So many changes have been made, and so many are yet to come – but a new approach scaffolded by new players, new coaches and new staff, is always going to have some instability to start.
The last few performances have been unacceptable, and the accountability has been and must be taken by the staff and players – however as fans some of the responsibility lies on our shoulders too.
Have faith, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Poppy Deabill (@pdeabill_football)