For some reason Saints fans have to have a scapegoat, for the past couple of seasons,Nathan Redmond has felt the brunt of the fans ire, but this season he is showing that he might just become a hero!
Saints supporters always seem to need to have a pantomime villain, it was a bit before my time but I'm told in the 1960's it was Jimmy Melia, I then remember Lew Chatterley coming in for a lot of stick in the mid 70's although that was nothing considering the abuse his manager Lawrie McMenemy was getting from the Dell crowd.
Even Alan Ball was not immune, in his final games for the club a section of the crowd were on his back and so it continued over the years, David Armstrong initially struggled to settle after his arrival and it took time for him to win over the crowd.
Tim Flowers, Francis Benali had their moments with the crowd on their back as did Iain Dowie and a host of others, Kelvin Davis when he joined the club took 3 years before he won the supporters over and Pelle was given stick on his home debut and ironically cheered every time he won a header, Sadio Mane was touted as the worst ever signing Saints had made by some only weeks before exploding into life and propelling Saints into 6th place and himself into a big money move to Liverpool.
Nathan Redmond arrived at Saints as a 22 year old with promise, he had scored 6 times for Norwich in their relegation season from the Premier League and was tipped for the top.
His problem at St Mary's though was on his arrival Saints lacked a centre forward or at least one that was fit and so firstly Redmond was not played in his best position as a wide man who could cross a ball with accuracy, but as an out and out striker which did not really suit his game, to add to his problems Claude Puel touted his as the next Thierry Henri and in some fans eyes that aligned his as the pet of a manager who would soon become a scapegoat himself.
All things being even Redmond had a reasonable first season in difficult circumstances, he scored 7 times and also an ability to create big chances, but even when you add the winner against Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi final this was not good enough in some peoples eyes and the mention of his name would usually provoke negative comments, many from people who had never seen him play.
Last season was not a great one for him, that cannot be argued, but in his defence it was not a great one for anyone else either, but his contributions although not great in number were usually vital, 3 assists for the season was a reasonable tally and only Ryan Bertrand had more for Saints, Bertrand's single goal for the season scored at Everton was again vital in keeping us up.
But his game was not just about the statistics that show, at Burnley our last minute equaliser is remembered mostly for Josh Sims cross and Manolo Gabbiadini's goal, few remember that it was Redmond who picked up the ball in the centre of midfield and ran at Burnley opening up space for Sims on the right, in truth Sims overhit his cross and it took a big effort for Guido Carrillo to keep it in play and knock it back for Gabbiadini to take the plaudits , with no one mentioning Redmond's contribution.
Similarly against Bournemouth Redmond won the ball on the edge of our area and laid a nice ball for Lemina that caught Bournemouth on the break for our opening goal, Redmond might not have always shone but he has a knack more than most for being involved when it counts.
This season something has changed for Redmond, he seems to have lost the fear that he had last season, when he seemed scared to take on players and all too often checked back and laid the ball short, this term he is going at players and looking better for it, he is getting a lot more balls into the box, last season in 31 games he only got in 69 crosses, barely two a game, this season in 8 games he has got in 30, almost double the amount per game from last season.
Saints aren't firing on all cylinders that is for sure, but Redmond is starting to look like the player he could become, he is still lacking someone to aim for in the centre although with Danny Ings he has a goal scorer to try to hit.
If Saints are to start to pick up, then it needs players like Nathan Redmond to play to their potential, it needs the supporters to get off his and indeed several other players in the teams backs and encourage them to play football not make them frightened to do so.
Footballers play best when they play without fear, that is not the atmosphere at present, Nathan Redmond is still young and is showing he has matured, if some of his team mates can show the same then we can start to move in the right direction again.
Social Media means everyone is a critic, the aura surrounding St Mary's at the moment is one of negativity, we all need to focus on what we want from Saints, personally I want us to pull through this awful spell and come out stronger on the other side, things will not change over night, we need a little bit of luck, a little bit of effort and to all kick in the same direction.
Nathan Redmond has been a model professional at Saints on the field in the way he has conducted himself, he may just prove his critics wrong and like some of his illustrious predecessors as scapegoats like Pelle, Mane, Hojbjerg and McCarthy turn the fans round and help Saints get back on track.