Will Fate Once Again Force Russell Martin's Hand Monday, 16th Sep 2024 11:45 Southampton's season was starting to collapse around us when Gavin Bazunu was injured in the warm up against Preston, that forced Russell Martin into changes that you felt he would not have made otherwise, Jack Stephen's sending off may be another of those moments. The injury to Gavin Bazunu back in April was a landmark moment in the season, not because of the loss of Bazunu himself, yes he had his critics, but the truth was that the keeper himself was not the issue in why we were dropping out of the automatic promotion, you do not have a 22 game unbeaten run in the league if you have a dodgy keeper. The issue was the tactics employed in front of him. Russell Martin was sticking completely to his guns and refusing to compromise even one inch, it was play possession football 100%, even when the situation demanded a clearance it seemed his team were not authorised to do that at pain of being dropped if they did, When Alex McCarthy came in, things got worse before they got better, after that Preston game we suffered 3 straight league defeats including a 5-0 drubbing at Leicester City. This forced Martin's hand, Alex McCarthy was not good enough with his feet to play the possession game to the level he was forcing on his team, the tactic had to be amended and when we went to Leeds United for the final game of the season, the travelling fans saw possession football, but they saw it to a lesser degree and it set the scene for the play offs. But would this have happened if Gavin Bazunu had not been injured ? I would say no, the manager would have stuck to his guns and if I am honest I don't think we would have got through the play offs. Individual players be they Bazunu or Jack Stephens were not the crux of the matter, it was the total 100% possession tactic. Martin's other weakness was that he appeared to see Jack Stephens as the missing link, the leader of men that all teams need, but truthfully having watched Jack play since his debut in the League against Everton in January 2017, he was never that sort of player. But Russell Martin didn't see it that way, he seemed determined to play him in whatever position he could shoehorn him in, what manager would drop arguably the best player in the team, Kyle Walker-Peters who also made the Championship team of the year, in perhaps the biggest match of the season up to that point, the trip to Ipswich, all to get Jack in the side. I feel sorry for Jack Stephens, he was always popular amongst Southampton supporters, for being a good squad player who could do a job, he did a job in the last four games of the season, but most knew that at Premier League player he wouldn't get in any other side, so why is he in ours. Jack's reputation has gone down the pan, it is not his fault, but the way Russell Martin has championed him. Now it seems that fate is once again lending a hand to Russell Martin, from the first game at Newcastle it seemed like he had reverted to his old style, we lost that game as McCarthy could not make a simple pass and at home to Forest we once again lost because Joe Aribo stuck to the instructions and tried to keep the ball under pressure from two player when he should have cleared it. The Brentford game was about doing the same things and getting the same results, getting caught in possession and lax passing and marking costing us dearly. Saturday against United started well, but ultimately we gave them two goals that should really have been defended. But late on in that game came a moment that could change the course of the season, Jack Stephens was sent off for a dangerous tackle and will now be suspended. It was a tackle born out of frustration, not just in the teams performance, but possibly his own position, I do not think he is comfortable being forced into the spotlight by Russell Martin, he is being put on a pedestal and i think he would much rather be what he has always been up to a year ago and that is one of the squad. On Saturday when the team was announced, in most positions there was little disagreement from those in the Northam fanzone, but many questioned why Jack Stephens was in the side, it was a standing joke pre match, what position will he be in today, will the manager play him at full back, in the centre of defence, in midfield, in a made up hybrid role with some actually serious that he could be up front. Now as in the Bazunu situation, the manager's hand is forced, he will not be able to play Stephens against Ipswich next Saturday. Saturday's defeat to United saw a team without leadership both on and off the field, now this is a crucial moment, a rallying cry for the fans and players, the manager has once again got his get out of jail card. The decision is forced on him, he has to pick a back four without Captain Jack, he has to appoint a Captain who can take on the responsibility and hopefully a leader will emerge, I would bet on it being Flynn Downes, I do not think Taylor Harwood-Bellis is quite ready yet, but Downes is. But a new captain can unify players on the field and that can also stir up the fans and this can change seasons. The visit of Ipswich is a critical moment in the season, we are at the crossroads, win it and we could well move up the table and start to find our confidence, lose it and it is hard to see how Russell Martin can survive. If Russell Martin is sacked I would be sad, whether I like a manager of not, I judge them only on what they do and results, our managerial history is full of managers who were initially disliked by the fans, but went on to become legends, Lawrie McMenemy & Gordon Strachan to name just two. But if he is sacked then sadly I think he will have taken Jack Stephens down with him and Jack does not deserve that, unwittingly he has become a focal point of the manager's shortcomings and as I have said, he does not deserve that for his service to Southampton FC. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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