Wesley Hoedt has been talking to the Spanish press about why he had to leave St Mary's in the January transfer window. "It was complicated" according to the Dutch defender.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is a manager who knows what he wants and how he wants to do things, he stated when he arrived that everyone would have a chance to show what they could do and either get on or off the bus, but it seems that Wesley Hoedt did not have that choice according to an interview given this week in Spain.

Hoedt has given an interview to Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia explaining why he had to leave Saints.

The defender was asked as to why was it difficult for him at St Mary's after Hasenhüttl took charge.

“I really don’t know."

“I was playing every game, but there was a change of coach and the new one made it very clear to me that he didn’t like me, that he didn’t want me.”

“It was complicated for me, but I couldn’t do anything about it, so I’m lucky I could find a solution by coming to a club like this (Celta Vigo).”

Certainly Hoedt does have a point, Hasenhuttl declared it was a clean start for everyone when he arrived and showed that by not only giving all those in the first team squad the chance to show what they could do for the cause, but also players in the Academy squad that had previously not been that close to a first team call up.

But Hoedt did not get his chance to show what he could do, with not even a minute's game time under Hasenhuttl, suggesting that the Austrian had been briefed against him by those already at St Mary's before the new managers arrival. Certainly Hasenhuttl did not give the Dutchman the fair crack of the whip that others got.

So the question that we will perhaps never know is whether Hoedt could have improved under Ralph as several other members of the squad have, yes the Dutchman had become the latest whipping boy on social media, but not all of that criticism was entirely fair and after he was dropped the defence did not improve and indeed still continues to make errors week in week out.

Some will disagree but they have short memories, Hoedt was certainly a centre pin of the last few weeks of last season and he has had several games this season where he has been man of the match including Bournemouth and Palace away where we kept clean sheets, something we have done only once in the 13 Premier League games since he was dropped after the defeat at Fulham.

In those games we have conceded 20 goals a ratio of 1.54 per game, slightly better than the 13 that Hoedt had played in, but in fairness those games included 9 goals in two games away at Liverpool & Manchester City and trips to those two will distort any defences stats, take those two out and it's 15 in 11 games .

Hoedt was part of a defence in total disarray under a manager who seemed unable to coach it or give it any real tactics and who Hoedt apart seemed to chop and change the members of it both centrally and at full back.

No one is claiming that Hoedt has played brilliantly this season, he has been patchy, but when Hasenhuttl arrived he looked to be the defender who could benefit most, he had more raw talent than any of those who have remained, yes he was a part of the problem, but he was also definitely the best chance we had of being part of the solution.

Certainly where two injury time errors in the last two games have cost us 3 points and with those 3 points we would now be level with Palace in 13th with 27 points and four points above the drop zone with a two team buffer between us, there is a fine line between failure and success.

That is why I'm surprised that Hoedt was allowed to go without a replacement being signed.

There are many who seem to have taken a personal dislike to Hoedt, but since he has been dropped the individual errors have continued from those who were their before Hoedt and now remain after him, the question is why they still remain, Hoedt who supposedly is so bad had no problem finding a club in the top flight of another League in Europe, yet others have never been in demand even when they were nowhere near the first XI or even the bench.

I am a big fan of Ralph Hasenhuttl, I believe in what he was doing and trust his judgement, however even the best managers make bad judgement calls from time to time and I just have that feeling that letting Wesley Hoedt go is a mistake, that feeling has worsened after the goals conceded in the last two games.

I still think that we will stay up, I have confidence that we can pull clear, but the central defence is suspect, Bednarek is young and raw, Vestergaard looks to have enough but is still finding his feet in the Premier League and Yoshida and Stephens have been the mainstay of the worst central defence I have seen in the top flight.

Hoedt was the best of a bad bunch, but that would perhaps mean he had the potential to be the best of a better bunch !

Photo: Action Images

ThermosNBlanket added 10:06 - Feb 15 Still banging the Hoedt drum...just because you keep posting the same over and over doesnt it right. If Hoedt was so good why did Hughes who constantly picked him despite mistakes in nearly every game drop him for the last 2? How many points did we get with him in the side and how many since he has been dropped loaned out? How many games did he play under Ralph who you say you support but maybe his decision to let him go just wasn't based on ability alone. Its been widely reported his ego and caused issues maybe the other players felt they couldnt get the player harmony Ralph wants in the squad with Hoedt? Blackmore has reported this in past along with mistakes Hoedt made and the fact he never learnt. Fulham away he was terrible. I find it quite amazing you attack fans for their views on Hoedt when you have done exactly the same on Yoshida a player that has made great improvements in his game, puts his heart and soul on the line every time he wears the shirt - can you honestly say Hoedt does that or is better than Yoshida a Japanese international player? Stephens has gifted 3 points in the last 2 games, at least you couldnt blame Yosh for that, the crime is not letting Hoedt go out on loan replacing the utter sh1te defence we have had in the last few years since Fonte went is.

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ThermosNBlanket added 10:10 - Feb 15 How is Wesley doing in Spain...sent off first game lost, team won next game when suspended, next game he plays team lost....
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dirk_doone added 10:31 - Feb 15 They've lost both games he's played in, conceding 5 goals. You can guarantee they won't want him at the end of the loan spell. 24 goals have been conceded by his team in the last 9 games he's played, without a single clean sheet.
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Marcus_y added 10:48 - Feb 15 Perhaps Ralph saw enough in training. We often say we don't know what happens in training when wondering why some players are not bring picked. The same could be true of Hoedt. Maybe he was rubbish in training.
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pintsizedsaint added 11:01 - Feb 15 Let’s not over analyse or read too much into this. Hoedt didn’t have to play in order for Hass to take a view. Whilst I take the point his performances were no worse than others, they were no better either. It’s also just his take on the matter; we know Hass spoke to all the players 121. Suspect that a combination of prior intell and observation in training/121 made Hass feel that he wasn’t a team player who was worth fighting for. Let’s move on. Hoedt is part of history now, not the future.

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DorsetIan added 11:04 - Feb 15 I get the impression that the decision to let him go was not entirely football related, otherwise, at a time when we have such limited options at the back and knowing that Yoshida was going to be away, it was an odd decision. Either that or Ralph had seen enough from the videos and come to a less optimistic conclusion than you Nick. If there was some kind of personal clash or issue at the base of this we are unlikely to hear about it until one of them becomes wildly successful and gets to write an autobiography... "I knew ven I first have seen zis guy zat he vas bad news and I muss let him go away quickly now. I cannot say vat it vas but my instinct is never wrong about such zings."

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TimSaint added 12:05 - Feb 15 Ralf watched a replay of the Fulham game and decided there and then that Hoedt was surplus to requirements. To be fair though, everyone seems to be taking it in turns to make costly mistakes. This has to stop with the important games we've got coming up. Couldn't get more of a 6 pointer than Saints v Fulham in just under 2 weeks - so lets hope we are up for it for it this time, unlike the catastrophy that was the Cardiff performance.

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Rustyhelmet added 12:11 - Feb 15 Hoedt = Sh1te, thats why he had to go, simple.
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bstokesaint added 12:37 - Feb 15 He was the worst of a bad bunch. He clearly wasn’t of the standard needed. I look forward to the return of Yoshida, as for me he’s still the best centre back we’ve got.
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Kingsland34 added 12:39 - Feb 15 The worst central defence in the Premiership? That's a prejudiced viewpoint, there are 15 others just as bad.
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saintjf added 12:41 - Feb 15 I thought Hoedt going was to do with a new centre half coming in. I am not sure he was the worst of a poor central defence that is no better since he has gone.
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NewburySaint added 13:18 - Feb 15 Didn't Hughes, Hoedt's biggest fan after Nick, drop him for his last couple of games with us-even he lost patience after his display at Fulham. I can't comment on Bournemouth away because i wasn't at that game, but most others i have been at this season and i think it's stretching the truth to say that he was MOM in several games and, in fact i cannot recall 1 that i have been too this season that he was MOM. He may have found another top flight club in another top league in Europe but this is only Celta Vigo who weren't willing to buy him plus even Ralph K would be hard pushed to think Celta are a bigger club than Saints. I'll also point, as i have done previously, to his season at Lazio before he joined us in that he only played 15 games for a top flight side that was involved in 4 competitions i.e. he only usually got a game when others were tired / injured / suspended in a season where Lazio probably played 50 + games-hardly a ringing endorsement. Hoedt, other than Stephens, was / is the worst of a bad bunch of defenders we currently have on our books, not the best. Having said all that i do agree that there is more to it than just his playing ability-apparently his temperament not being the best coupled with, again apparently, having a massive ego certainly wasn't going to sit well with RH if both of those are true. And our own goal count has gone down as well-what's not too like?!

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DPeps added 13:32 - Feb 15 Personally, I didn't rate Hoedt as a player. Also, I don't think he should be doing these candid interviews about Ralph and the club. If I was him I keep schtum and work on improving as a defender
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benalisbroom added 15:15 - Feb 15 I have a feeling that it wasn't anything about his professionalism, but that RH (who is quite obsessive about transition moments) just thought he's a little one-paced and that would always stop him becoming a top PL premier, where breaking at speed is very important. Personally, I also think that his distribution of the ball was quite poor...So I'm not sure that it was a decision based on which of the 4/5 CB's makes the most mistakes (they all do) - more about what fits into a team which attacks and defends as one unit.

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wessexman added 16:09 - Feb 15 Nick, I must be one of the few who think you have a point. Stephens can drop clanger after clanger and he seems to be forgiven because " he is one of our own"? I think RH was told to get one high earning centre half off the books and he opted for Hoedt. Before the Palace game we were all quite optimistic, now we have all come down to earth with an almighty crash. Every team we have yet to play now know how truly flaky our defence really is.

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Colburn added 16:10 - Feb 15 The fact Hoedt is making comments tells us enough.. it was clearly the right thing to remove him from the squad. Think he was the one with least potential. We are not getting exactly getting stuffed 4 nil every week so I can’t see how this is the worst defence you’ve seen in the top flight.. unless you’ve only ever watched 1 game. How about we take more chances to score so the defenders aren’t nervously hanging on for a point or 3 at the end of so many games..? Any chance we can forget all this crap about Hoedt now?

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saintjf added 22:12 - Feb 15 We have just got a grand total of 2 out of a potential of 9 points from our relegation rivals. Poor defence played a very large part in that. Hoedt has gone and our remaining defence is still not currently good enough to keep us in the premiership on the basis of the last 3 games. It does not look like Hoedt was the main problem so lets move on.
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abingdonsaint added 09:45 - Feb 16 Bottom line is that Ralph didn’t want him, and we will likely never know the reason. Fans are entitled to their opinions, but we don’t have the facts to make informed judgements. We saw Hoedt on match days, but Ralph saw him every day in training. He obviously wasn’t impressed, and that’s good enough for me. Move on...
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carolinasaint added 19:29 - Feb 16 The worst PL defense you've ever seen, Nick? You must be mad...unless...perhaps you watch only the last five minutes of every match?
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dirk_doone added 09:55 - Feb 17 If you want to see a much worse defence than ours, you ought to see Celta Vigo's defence now that Hoedt is playing for them. They lost 1-4 at home to Levante this weekend.
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SaintPaulVW added 14:42 - Feb 17 I just don't see that much difference between our central defenders. Hoedt to my eyes was no better than the others. RH seems to either think he was worse or just decided that he had too many and one had to go. The constant moaning about Yoshi but giving Hoedt a free pass when they are both fallible at times but great at others just seems laughable. Please move on, Saints have.

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SaintBrock added 20:14 - Feb 17 There are two sides to every story and as Hoedt is still under contract to Saints we are unlikely to hear the truth from either party. Saints fans are in general very black and white in their opinions of players; once they have formed an opinion of a particular player there is alas no way back for him as we have seen with Fraser Forster and now with Wesley Hoedt. In reality the player has his good points and bad but at core is a decent professional footballer who is still young and hopefully still capable of learning. We should wish him every success in his future career wherever that might be. even 'though things didn't quite work out for him here.

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underweststand added 14:55 - Feb 18 One wonders why Hoedt left Lazio in the first place. Although a player with his physical form may have looked good in a fair/good side, and Lazio made the best deal they could by selling him. Saints were desperate to buy a commanding figure at the back having lost Fonte and VvD within a year of each other, but he fell badly short of the challenge. He was typical of foreign imports in failing to adjust to the pace in the Prem. and any good play he did make was outweighed by those often fateful situations that led to key opposition (sometimes match-winning) goals. As record signing it was difficult to drop him from a backline where everyone else blundered from time to time. My own impression was of someone with "an attitude" and a surplus of confidence in his own ability and who failed to learn from even the most basíc errors he made. In time, we may see the likes of Boufal and Carrillo getting a "second chance" to try and adjust to "Ralph's strategy", I doubt if Hoedt will be given the same opportunity.

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michaelarrington added 07:52 - Dec 2 The defender's departure left a gap in a defense that has been prone to mistakes, and without https://polytrack.org/ signing a replacement, Southampton’s defensive fragility has persisted.
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