da dobrowin： It has not been a fantastic season for Southampton so far, to say the least.
da esport bet： After an optimistic-looking summer in which £15m striker Che Adams arrived at St Mary’s, having just hit 22 goals in the Championship, as well as exciting Malian forward Moussa Djenepo signing for the same fee, all appeared to be well.
It was also Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first chance to organise a proper pre-season for his players, as he was appointed in December 2018 midway through the previous campaign and looked promising throughout.
So, what could go wrong? Well, by the looks of things right now, a lot.
The Saints find themselves languishing in 17th place in the Premier League, having conceded the third-most goals in the division with 16 in nine games.
Additionally, they have only scored nine – finding the back of the net once a game on average.
So, is the former RB Leipzig boss to blame for the south coast side’s shortcomings, or are his players just not good enough?
Football FanCast’s writers have their say…
Billy Meyers
“I don’t think you can blame Hasenhuttl for Southampton’s poor form. In truth, the majority of players at the club now were around when Mark Hughes was failing. They were also there when Mauricio Pellegrino flopped as manager – the Saints can only chop and change the man at the helm so many times until accusing glances eventually turn around to the playing staff.
“Angus Gunn and James Ward-Prowse have performed below par. Adams, despite his £15m price tag, still hasn’t scored for his new club, while the defence in general is statistically one of the worst in the top-flight having conceded the third-most goals – I think, right, now, it would be quite harsh to blame Hasenhuttl.”
Charles Jones
“I really don’t see how any Southampton fan in their right mind could possibly blame Hasenhuttl for what’s going on at the club right now. The Austrian manager has done it at the highest level with RB Leipzig, and you don’t just become a bad manager overnight.
“For me, the players just aren’t good enough. The xG (expected goals) league table shows that Southampton aren’t finishing their chances and they’re getting unlucky at the back, whether that’s down to defenders allowing too much space or the goalkeeper not making routine saves.
“The manager can’t put the ball in the net for them, and the xG table shows that they’re getting in the right positions, so the blame has to go onto the men whose job it is to score the goals.”
Vijievan Jeevathayalan
“The man affectionately known as the ‘Alpine Klopp’, Hasenhuttl has endured a difficult start with Southampton this season. The Premier League fixture list didn’t do them any favours, and already, the Saints have faced Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea.
“After reviving the club’s fortunes last season following the sacking of Mark Hughes, Hasenhuttl may have hoped, or even expected, for some significant outlay in the transfer market. Instead, they spent just £52.7m, and £20m of that went on making Danny Ings’ loan move permanent. Hasenhuttl’s pedigree is unrivalled, having led RB Leipzig to 2nd place in the Bundesliga in the club’s debut campaign. The Austrian simply needs to be backed in January and next summer, and also be given the chance to shake things up at Southampton.”
Kealan Hughes
“It is probably a bit of both. Hasenhuttl provided the squad with a great lift when he came in last year, winning two his first three games, but it may have been a case of breathing fresh life into a squad that had to put up with Hughes.
“Whilst the recruitment has been poor with only three new faces added to the squad – ignoring Ings – the Austrian has failed to establish an identity in his team, and on paper, he still has better players at his disposal than teams like Sheffield United, Brighton and perhaps Aston Villa too, so they are underachieving in comparison to those teams.
“Despite that, the club need to stick by Hasenhuttl and back him in January by signing a creative player. Southampton lack goals with only nine scored in nine league games, but he has done well to get the best out of Ings despite the lack of service from midfield.”