Southampton V West Ham United The FA Cup Preview Wednesday, 2nd Mar 2022 09:29 All eyes will be on the team news at 7.30 tonight, will Ralph Hasenhuttl put out a weakened side or take the game seriously, it is quite clear how Saints supporters feel about the matter, this is a chance for glory. Sometimes in football and especially Southampton FC there are moments where a manager needs to do the right thing in the fans eyes or he loses popularity, five years ago Claude Puel took the team to 8th in the League and a League Cup Final and in doing so had probably around the 6th best season in the club's history since joining the Football League. But that was not the perception the supporters had, they never quite forgave him for playing weakened sides away against both Inter Milan and Sparta Prague, they saw these games as a chance of glory and progression in the Europa League and never forgave him.
Of course sometimes it doesn't matter, Mauricio Pochettino is looked back as a success at St Mary's and time has eroded the memory of how he played a weakened side in the 5th round of the Cup at Sunderland. Saints were flying high at the time and Sunderland struggling, we could see the quarter finals and glory looming, he took a bit of stick at the time but it is now largely forgotten. Now the question is being asked of Ralph Hasenhuttl, what side will he put out ? In the last round he made 10 changes to his starting line up, but it could be said the situation was a little different then, we were still looking over our shoulders, we had two games in the next 7 days coming up against Spurs and Manchester United, with safety not assured he had to prioritise.
Now the situation is a little different, we are on a good run and on 35 points and in terms of the spectre of relegation we have one foot over the finishing line and are looking up the table. That being the case we should be looking at the game against West Ham as one that if we win we will be in the quarter finals of the cup and only one game from a Wembley semi final. But on the other hand there is also the League and the opportunity of a top 10 finish, if we go purely on the chances of probability then we have a better chance of a 9th place finish than we have of winning the cup and with League positions meaning over £2 million a place, the difference between finishing 9th or 13th is about £9 million and that is a big chunk of transfer budget in the summer. Like it or not in the current financial situation, that is an issue for most Premier league clubs these days.
For Ralph it is potentially a no win situation, he puts out his best team and loses and then loses again at Aston Villa on Saturday and he is will be vilified by some for not utilising his squad. But if he makes wholesale changes and loses the game that vilification will pale into significance. My view is that we have to trust him to get the balance right, I would be surprised if he makes major changes, historically last season he put out strong sides in the FA Cup, but the background was that we barely had more than a starting XI in terms of experienced pros, so he didn't have a lot of choice. In the season prior to that when we were knocked out by Tottenham, he replaced Alex McCarthy with Angus Gunn, but otherwise the changes were minimal, Kevin Danso being just about the only player who was not an experienced and potential starter that season.
So the chances are that Ralph will take this seriously tonight, in goal there is the potential to play Willy Caballero again, but as he was injured and unable to be on the bench for the Norwich game there is a doubt whether Ralph would risk him in this game. So I think we have to trust Ralph to get this right, we don't know whether any of our players have injury issues that we are unaware of or indeed if there are any Covid cases this week ,, there is no use speculating what he will do until he does it and then we have to trust there is a very good reason for any changes made. As I have said elsewhere i think there is the potential for a couple of changes aside from in goal, I think Stuart Armstrong could be rested, he has played 5 straight games in the premier League after barely playing all season, he looks fit and back to his best, but there is still the chance that he might over stretch himself if he plays too much. I think that Will Smallbone could come into the side to replace him if that change is made.
Resting Tino Livramento could also be an option, he has had time out and the club are managing his knee injury, they might prefer to rest him for this one rather than play him twice in 4 days, this should not be a problem with KWP reverting to right back and Romain Perraud coming in on the left. Likewise Ibrahima Diallo could get a game in place of Oriol Romeu, the French midfielder needs game time and is a more than adequate replacement if that is what we do, up front there could be a change Armando Broja too has had injury issues and youngsters cannot be overplayed , he has just turned 20 and like Tino is still developing they have to be carefully managed fitness wise.
If he is out Shane Long could do a job, but I think Adam Armstrong might come into the side. So if we make these changes i would not be surprised and not castigating Ralph Hasenhuttl, indeed I would be questioning him if he played the same team week in week out, in modern football it is a squad game, you have to use that squad at the right time, we will get injuries and suspensions,, when we do we need players who have been kept sharp with game time, not rusty on the bench.
No one will be more disappointed than I should we make 10 changes again, however I don't think we will, Ralph Hasenhuttl knows the importance of the game and what is on it, he will do the right thing for Saints. West Ham are still fighting the season on three fronts, they have vital games coming up not just in the League, but in the Europa League over the next couple of weeks, David Moyes will be well aware that he has to do exactly the same as Ralph Hasenhuttl, protect some players who are nursing injuries, give game time to those who are themselves short of match practice and all in all get the balance right.
This will be a tight game, we have drawn with them at St Mary's this season when we were not yet up and running, we have beaten them at their own ground when we were on run of 6 games in the League without a win, we go into this one full of confidence, all we can hope as fans is that nothing is left on the pitch at the final whistle and we are in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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