| Oldham Athletic 1 v 0 Yeovil Town Saturday, 21st September 2024 Kick-off 15:00 |  |
Southampton V Ipswich Town The Preview Friday, 20th Sep 2024 08:20 This is the fifth game of the season, it is the one that Russell Martin has to get right, after four straight defeats, all of which could be seen to have been lost due to selection and tactical issues, Russell Martin is at a crossroads. I am not as big a critic of the possession football game that some Southampton supporters are, what I am critical of though is Russell Martin's insistence so far this season to play it to a degree that the players he has to hand are not capable of. All teams play this type of game these days, but unless you are Manchester City, you have to adapt it to suit the players that you have to hand. This has not happened this season, at the end of last season Martin did change the way we played to accommodate the fact that in Alex McCarthy he had a keeper who could not use his feet, but this season he has made no such allowances.
But it is not just the style of play that is the issue, but team selection, for the first three games he stuck rigidly to the starting out field 10 and it had got to the stage were Saints fans were resigned to the fact that Jack Stephens was going to play somewhere in that line up whatever. Against Manchester United he changed things, but ultimately the team lacks leadership and direction and it's confidence was fragile and after a good start we collapsed. But for this game Russell Martin has no excuses, he has new signings ready to play, he is not short of numbers and he can't play Captain Jack who is suspended. He has to change things and now we will find out if his harshest critics are right or whether like last season, he has learned lessons along the way and is wise enough to use the experience to change things. The truth is that firstly he has to give his players the freedom to not always have to keep passing the ball, they have to know they can clear it if they are under pressure rather than have to look to keep playing it along the back.
They also have to move it forward a bit quicker, that should be easy to do, they have the option of either Mateus Fernandes or Adam Lallana, both of who can use the ball going forward. This should be simple, pass the ball forward more often, find Fernandes or Lallana, whichever is on the pitch and they will find the forwards, create more chances and in doing so score more goals. It sounds ever so simple and that is because in essence it is ! Saints have to win this game and they have the players that can do it, they just have to be used to greater effect than they have been. As I have previously said, last season the loss of Gavin Bazunu forced Russell Martin into a situation where he had to make a change that he might not have made otherwise and although this was not instant, it did win us promotion.
Now he has had another season changing moment, he cannot play his pet favourite player, the team again need to show that they can play, no squad likes a manager who plays favourites who are not in the team on merit, the fans could see that and so could the players, but this weekend it cannot happen, or defence and for that matter midfield, have to now play out of their skin and show they are undroppable. Defeat in this game is unthinkable, back in 2012 upon our return to the Premier League we too lost our opening 4 games, we won the 5th, but after 10 games we were still on 4 points, so that shows that season's are not won or lost this early. But we have to get points on the board, otherwise it becomes a noose around our neck, beat Ipswich and we go above them, we could find ourselves as high as 15th , but if we lose we could be rock bottom and starting to lose ground. That means we have to win and we have to win well. The selections should not be hard for Russell Martin. I would veer towards a back 3 on this one Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Taylor. Two wing backs Sugawara & KWP. A midfield trio of Downes & Big Les with Fernandes in front of them Up front Brereton Diaz or Archer & Dibling If we opt for a back four I would still keep the same starting XI, but play Taylor at left back and employ KWP as an attacking winger. Get the ball quickly to Tyler Dibling and he will run at players and create chances for himself and others.
We have the players, especially when you think we would still have on the bench, Lallana, Arrmstrong, Cornet, Aribo, Fraser, Smallbone & Ross Stewart, plus defenders like Nathan Wood or Amel Bella-Kotchap and even Tall Paul Onauchu. The bench can be very strong and still have room for a wild card. So this a day that everyone needs to be up for it, the players and the fans, it is no use spending 90 minutes before the game singing in the Northam Fanzone, you have to sing during the game, I was a sceptic about creating this mythical home end, in truth so far I have been proved right and that gives me no pleasure. Everyone who signed up for it did so for good reason, they wanted to stand up and sing, against Ipswich is now the time to show all the sceptics that they were wrong, we need the Northam End to lead by example and create an atmosphere in St Mary's for this game that drives us to victory and then we need to do it again each week. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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