Mo Elyounoussi has spoken of how he is determined to be a success at St Mary's and it won't be for lack of trying if he doesn't succeed.

So far Mo Elyounoussi has not been value for money after his £20 million pound move last summer and it is clear he has struggled to meet the demands of the Premier League, however he is not going to give up his chance at St Mary's without a fight.

When asked about his St Mary's career so far and whether he will be leaving in the summer as a failure he said:

“It’s not a topic for me at all. I’ll stand here, I’ll show what I can do, I’ll turn this around,”

“I choose to look at this as a challenge. At some point I had to get a drop. I’ve never been injured earlier in my career, in Southampton I have experienced several injuries,”

“They see that I have skills and am important player for the club. But I need more time to develop and take the physical level required in the Premier League.”

“But I have to try to find positive things every day, thinking that I can grow on the adversity, and fight my way back into the team. I’m quite honest when I say it’s like that.”

Most fans might be scathing in their criticism of the player at the moment, but it is good to see he is not giving up and is hopeful that he might yet play a part in this season.

So far perhaps his season could be compared to Manolo Gabbiadini's last term, the Italian was finding it difficult to get in the team at Saints for most of the season due not only to the physical demands of the Premier League but the style the team was playing.

That resulted in him only scoring twice in the final 2/3's of the season, but those two goals were vital.

There is no doubt that Elyounoussi has talent and can make thngs happen, you can see that in his play, but so far he has not sparkled, part of that is as he has admitted due to adapting to the physical side of the Premier League, but there is also the fact that for much of his time here he is not playing with a forward who can get on to his crosses and through balls and convert them into goals.

Some are quick to criticise the likes of Shane Long and Charlie Austin, but don't allow Elyounoussi any leeway for their failure to score on a more regular basis.

I hope that Elyounoussi succeeds as that means that he will have contributed to this season, like Gabbiadini if he can put in a couple of performances that win us points and keep us out of the relegation zone then he will have gone some way to repaying his fee.

I want him to succeed I take no pleasure in his failing, nor see it as a chance for a cheap shot, I will support him on the pitch as that is the only way he can prosper, if he does then it will help our cause.

Perhaps he will not achieve his goals at St Mary's but it won't be for lack of trying, for that he deserves the backing of the fans, if he does succeed he won't be the first to redeem himself at this club after a poor start, I daresay he won't be the last.

Photo: Action Images

LeTissIwish added 11:21 - Mar 21 Not a chance of making it in EPL, he won't ever get enough time on the ball. He has bags of skill but no balls to the wall commitment, a lightweight who will always be pushed around in English football. I'll be happy if we get half our fee back for him.
-4

1970 added 12:41 - Mar 21 we all want him to succeed because we need him,we need flair in the side like tadic I hope he comes good coyr
5

underweststand added 12:53 - Mar 21 Elyounoussi isn't the first foreign import to have difficulty in finding his feet in the Prem. The list is endless - and not just with Saints. A recent article showed that almost every Prem. club had bought players (some at VERY high fees) who haven't made the grade yet. Players are always saying that the Prem. is the best /toughest/ most prestigious league and when they get here they find the competition is tough even in their new club. Many "successful" players in other countries find they are asked to fill roles /positions that differ greatly from their old team, and which they prospered in before. We are all a bit disappointed that some weren't as good as we thought but the likes of Hojbjerg, Bednarek and Vestergaard all flounderd a bit at the start, but it takes a good coach (like Haselhuttl) to get the best out of a player. I recall seeing M.E. destroying Man City almost single-handedly in the CL last season, but our set-up isnt the same as Basel's. (Charlie Austin did well at other clubs because of his reliance on wingers capable of putting centres into the box for him to comvert...a rare occurance in Saints' play then. IMHO - it's still early days as in a short time we have gone from a club struggling to stay out of the drop zone, to one showing more bite and enthusiasm - and getting results. Everyone looks better in a side that's playing well, and in time I expect to see Elyounoussi get a run of games soon and show the sort of form we expected when buying him. The real question has to be ..what is his best role in our set-up. He has to have a more time on the ball and get goal chances instead of just wandering around in midfield.

6

skiptonsaint added 12:58 - Mar 21 If we can string a few results together and get safe then play him in a few games at the end of the season. If he gets a goal and a bit of confidence maybe but we have Boufal and i would rather him with Ralph for a season and send moi out on loan
1

SaintBrock added 18:12 - Mar 21 From a player's point of view the game is becoming far more polarised between systems and players. If you are lucky as a player you get to play the way you like to play in a side that plays in much the same way. If you are unlucky the style of play is alien to all you know and can do. Austin is a perfect example. Neither he nor Moi came here to play for Ralph Hasenhüttl and Austin in particular with a limited set of skills just isn't able to adapt to what Ralph wants, he isn't fast enough nor has the guile to to make telling runs. In Moi's case he is undoubtedly a skill player but right now needs to up his pyysical game in terms of speed and robustness. In fairness he hasn't really had a decent bite of it yet, cameo's as a sub won't allow him the time and experience to work out just what he has to do differently. He is a good footballer and he didn't suddenly become a bad one upon joining Saints.

5

underweststand added 10:06 - Mar 23 RIGHT Saints Brock. Many players make their mark in a good side and then move onto a "better / higher " level and don't make it, primarily because their "new club " plays in a different manner. Bale was a laughing stock at Spurs in his first season and it took a change of coach to bring the best out of him, likewise Shaw was completely out of his depth after his move th MU because - young as he was - Saints' sides played to his strengths and the more experienced players around him covered for him and encouraged him - not so at MU where he was expectd to come in and DAJF them from day 1. "Star players" do well at one club and flop after a move. Good examples are Andy Carroll at Newcastle whose move to Liverpool was a huge mistake and Fernando Torres who (like Salah now) was "scoring for fun" at Liverpool but was a £50 million disaster on wheels after he moved to Chelsea. Those of us who were sad but pragmatic about Gabbiadini's move back to Italy will have noted his name of the scoresheet a lot more than when he was with Saints. I've watched a few Sampdoria games online, and it's clear he is more relaxed, and suited to the pace of the game and the formation they use.. (you win some - you lose some) Players can "fall out of favour" with a change of manager, as we saw with Hojbjerg and Bednarek. Fonte got on the wrong side of Puel, as did Boufal with Hughes. Carrillo wasn't a "bad player" before arriving, but with an overpriced £20 mill. fee he didn't turn out to be the "saviour" everyone expected and came into a side that was poor in almost every department and we'll never know how he might have reacted had he been here when Haselhuttl arrived because Hughes had already "farmed him out" on loan. Elyounoussi grew up in another culture, moved club from Norway to Switzerland, and then moved to the Premier League . How much of a different background can you have, and the settling-in period can take time, when you consider English players like Redmond (who comes from Birmingham), or JWP who lived just the other end of the M27. NO - I believe Moi needs time - as well as game time - before we start making long- lasting statements about his ability / or lack thereof.

0

ThereIn76 added 15:06 - Mar 25 I wish him well, but I'd rather have Sims in the team. We did better when we gave our home-grown players chances to develop than splashing huge sums to bring in players who do little more than block the route to the first team for our own products.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Burnley Polls