Southampton V Wolverhampton Wanderers The Preview Friday, 10th Feb 2023 09:32 Wolves arrive in Southampton hoping to make it four straight Premier League wins at St Mary's, Saints really cannot afford to let them achieve that, but will the events of this week fire them up or drag them down. Saints take on a Wolves team who really have become their bogey team in the Premier League, although we beat them in the FA Cup 2 years ago, our league form against them has been appalling. In the 9 games we have played them in the since their return to the Premier League in 2018/19 season, we have won just once and that was in the 2nd of that run of games, a 3-1 win at St Mary's back in April 2019 when Nathan Redmond scored twice followed by Shane Long securing the win in the 2nd half. Although that win was only four years ago only 3 of the 18 players on duty are still at the club, James Ward Prowse, Jan Bednarek & Stuart Armstrong. Out of the 9 games played, that was our only win, in the other 8 Wolves have won 5 with just two draws, both at Molyneaux. So things are not looking promising going into the game, we are playing a side we have beaten only once in that 9 game run, but it goes back further than that, you have to add another 5 League games in the Championship to go back to our last win before 2019 against the side from the Black Country, that was a 6-0 win at Molyneaux in 2007. Add to that the current dire League performances and last but not least the issues with Nathan Jones and it would be a brave man who would put much money on a Saints win on Saturday afternoon. But the one ray of hope is that following Southampton Football Club often throws up the best results in the worst circumstances, just when you think that there can possibly be no hope comes a big win. Perhaps this is clutching at straws, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment. So what team will Nathan Jones select ? That is anyone's guess, he tells us that we have not seen the real Nathan Jones, that he has compromised his beliefs and that now we will see the real man. But what is that real man, so far the evidence is that the compromise is that he has had signings forced on him, Mislav Orsic was banished to the B team, whilst his own man James Bree seems now to be a first choice. Likewise the likes of Lyanco & Caleta-Car being dropped, the latter joining Orsic in the B team. It seems to me that Jones is a man who does not like the squad he has inherited and is perhaps at odds with the way that Sports Republic want to do things. Certainly there seems to be friction between Jones & members of his squad and that will only end one way. Perhaps there is being more made in the media than there is actually on the training ground, certainly we seemed to have turned a corner recently at Everton with the spirit the team showed, but then that was torn apart and some of those who played a part in that now find themselves out. The upshot is that I want Saints to win this game, I want Nathan Jones to succeed as Southampton manager, perhaps we have derided him for wearing his heart on his sleeve a little too much, I really don't know the answer to this, I can only judge him on what I see and last weeks rant from him was not good. But in the meantime we are stuck with him and as a fan we all have choices to make, do we sever the team from the manager and back the players to the hilt on Saturday afternoon or do we just wait till we get the chance to turn on Jones. I am not sermonising here, just trying to give people my own viewpoint, I want Saints to win this game, I want them to win more and i want them to avoid relegation, every point is vital, we cannot afford to lose tomorrow just because it may see Jones sacked. So what team will we see on Saturday, will it be one firing on all cylinders and comfortable in it's formation and with the spirit it showed at Everton or will it be one where the players are not happy in the way they are being asked to play, with certain players ostracised and one with a spirit that will be dashed at the first setback ? I honestly do not know the answer to that one. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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