Premier League rescue race: Southampton torments favourites but stumbles with equals

A two-week break from English football = the perfect time to recap the balanced bottom half of the Premier League. And we’ll start from the bottom. Last-placed Southampton have been drowning at the bottom since the World Cup in Qatar, yet they are only two points behind the relegation zone.

Southampton took a long time to recover from the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl. Fans defended the Austrian coach, yet the club reached for Nathan Jones, which in hindsight can be described as a very poor decision.

Giants shadowed by losses to competitors

Jones pointlessly forged ahead with a five-goal system, wasting important and cheap points with Aston Villa, Brentford and Wolves. After Wolverhampton turned the game around at St. Mary’s Stadium, despite playing more than an hour shorthanded, Jones would be sacked and the fans relieved.

Performance under newcomer to the head coach position Ruben Selles soared, with Saints beating Chelsea and Leicester plus drawing with Manchester United and Tottenham. A very successful month and a half from that perspective.

It’s just that Selles was also there for the losses to Leeds and Brentford, which hurt twice as much. While the young coach manages to motivate the team in games against big teams, against Leeds and Brentford it was a very different eleven on more than one occasion.

a (too) wide squad

Southampton have strengthened massively over the winter and have one of the widest squads in the league. But that doesn’t automatically mean an advantage, after all the first few games after the end of the transfer window have shown that.

So far, the return of the experienced Theo Walcott to the starting line-up is paying off, with young Belgian Romeo Lavia also growing in midfield under Selles. The reinforcements have not caught on significantly so far, with Kamaldeen Sulemana looking the best of the lot.

Plan for the rest of the season

Selles has managed to clean up the mess left by Jones, he has a fairly clearly defined starting line-up. It will be important for the club to get stopper Armel Bella-Kotchap, who was substituted last round due to injury, back as soon as possible.

As far as the draw is concerned, Southampton will face Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool from the big six. Two of the four straight clashes for salvation will be played at home (Crystal Palace, Bournemouth), with West Ham and Nottingham at the opponents’ ground.

Source: Premier League