x

Defensive Headache For Southampton's Russell Martin Against Huddersfield

Russell Martin has a few selection problems for the trip to the John Smith's Stadium to take on Huddersfield Town on Saturday, but for one it appears that they may all be good ones to have.

Only a couple of months ago the headline "Defensive Headache" would have meant something quite different for Russell Martin, he had tried several variations in his back line and in his first 8 League games in charge he had seen 19 goals conceded.

But in the 8 games played since that last 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough, we have shipped just 7 goals, although the manager would perhaps have liked to have seen more clean sheets with only 2 in that run, only once have we conceded more than once and that has meant that in the space of two months we went from being being the worst defence in the Championship to being one of the best.

The truth was it wasn't as bad as some would have you believe, unbelievably half of our total 26 goals conceded for the season were in just three games, a 4-4 draw with Norwich and of course the 5-0 drubbing at Sunderland and the 4-1 defeat at home to Leicester City.

Russell Martin has worked hard at not only getting his goalkeeper and defenders comfortable with playing the possession football game, but in being confident in their own abilities.

Initially we started to get our defensive play on track with the central defensive partnership of Jan Bednarek & Taylor Harwood-Bellis forming the rock in the centre with Kyle Walker Peters and Ryan Manning as the full backs.

Manning came in for a lot of stick from some quarters but he played every minute of the first 4 games of this run, with just 3 goals conceded, he had got over his early sticky patch and was starting to look a more steady defensively when he was suspended for the trip to Preston .

This looked like being a tough game with not only Manning suspended but Taylor Harwood-Bellis injured, but in came two players much maligned in some quarters in James Bree and Mason Holgate and both played a part in what was perhaps our toughest game out of our last 8.

Suddenly Martin had options in his defence, he has stuck with Bree for the last four games and the former Luton defender played a big role in covering Kamaldeen Sulemana who although a big asset going forward is not so reliable in covering for the left back behind him.

It should be noted though that in the last two games, both won by late goals, Manning came into the fray for the last 20 minutes with the scores level, he is not finished as a first team contender by a long chalk and should perhaps be judged by what he does in the future and not what he is perceived to have done or not done in the past.

So Russell Martin has some thinking to be done ahead of the trip to Huddersfield, his first decision is his defensive pairing, Bednarek & Harwood-Bellis formed a great partnership, but Mason Holgate came in against West Brom and had a superb game, man of the match in some quarters, does he keep Holgate in the side or does he restore Bednarek & THB as the centre partnership.

On the right KWP is undroppable, but there is the question of the left side, Huddersfield are not one of the form sides in the division, they are one of the lowest scoring sides in the division, 3rd lowest, but also one of the worst defences again 3rd highest in terms of goals conceded.

Does the manager opt for the attacking Manning or go for the more defensive minded James Bree.

But it is still not that simple, Mason Holgate can also play as a full back, does he go for the Everton loanee in the back four, this time either left or perhaps right full back, to offer not only the ability to get forward and play the ball, but the defensive qualities, in truth Holgate could be the missing link, perhaps not as good as Manning going forward, but better than Bree and potentially a better defender than either of them.

Holgate has redeemed himself after a rocky start to his Southampton career and with his experience both in the Premier League and the Championship could well become a vital player this season, certainly he is an asset with his ability to play anywhere along the back line and indeed as a wing back.

So what will be Russell Martin's choice for the trip to Yorkshire on Saturday ? will he choose to make minimal changes, if any at all or mix and match to play the side best suited to the task ahead ?

We will find out on Saturday at 2pm.

So what is your view on the dilemma facing Russell Martin, what would your back line be for this game, give your opinion in the comments section below.

What to read next:

Andrew Coleman : I don’t know if the club is up for sale
A twenty five minute call to Swansea City Chairman this week has resulted in some disclosures we feel happy to report via Swansea Independent this weekend. A respected source has spoken to us as well.
Swans look to cover their small squad with age grade prospects
Swans head coach, Luke Williams is happy to report no new injuries to his squad before Sunday’s game against Bristol City. However, there could well be a few new faces around the squad over this weekend.
Swansea City : Highly rated goalkeeper from Camrose U13 to the Swans
The Evan Watts story isn’t that dissimilar to many who choose to take the professional route through a club’s academy. Like many kids in his formative years he was an all round sports person, but now he has set his sights on a long career in football.
Luke Williams really isn’t sure about his squad. Free agent update and Bristol City
It’s a very conservative head coach this Tuesday morning. Plus there’s the free agent situation, and what could be stopping a new player coming in. We also look forwards to the game against Bristol City this coming Sunday (3pm) at the Swansea.com stadium.
Vigouroux : What a superb display : Swans stats ‘The Final Word’
We welcome back Trystan Bending to the Indy. For this season he will bring his unique insight and writing initiative to the website.Covering all manner of Swansea City topics, Trystan has already displayed his ability for football writing on social media. Hence our
Swans were all over it at Coventry
It was a very decent showing at Coventry City yesterday afternoon, so much so the 2-1 victory saw the Swans leap into seventh place in the EFL Championship.
Swans sparkle in away win at Coventry, everything on the game on the Indy
Swansea City delivered another three points for the travelling Jack Army at Coventry City this afternoon. The home side believing they were nailed on favourites were shown how to force out a result, and even the weather couldn’t stop the Swans.
Coventry City 1 - 2 Swansea City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Coventry City v Swansea City : TEAM NEWS
The Swans take on the Sky Blues this afternoon (3pm) at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Coventry City fans confident of a victory today
The Swans take on Coventry City at the Coventry Building Society Arena in the City this afternoon (3pm) Sky Blues fans are very confident of getting a first win against the Swans at home in seventeen attempts.