I’ll be shocked if Saints stay up
Poor Southampton, they can’t catch a break, can they? The South Coast club didn’t exactly play badly during Monday night’s 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion and effectively came undone by a deflected Peter Odemwingie strike and a sweeping counter attack by the Baggies.
It is yet another defeat for Saints, who now find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premiership after 10 games, having won just once and conceded an astonishing 30 goals. Manager Nigel Adkins appears bewildered in England’s top tier and has already utilised three different goalkeepers this year, each to similar effect.
The Saints boss cannot work out a system that suits his side, either at home or on the road, and it is this reluctance to really make things work in defence that will ultimately cost the club. Going forward, the South Coast side possess an abundance of talent in Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, coupled with summer acquisitions Jay Rodriguez and Gaston Ramirez.
It is the failings in the back line that will ensure Saints are relegated back to the Championship this season. A team doesn’t ship 30 goals after 10 games, an average of three a game, by being unlucky. Serious work needs to be put in if they are to remain in the Premiership.
However, some believe that no matter how hard Adkins works the team on the training pitch, it simply won’t be enough to keep them up, primarily because they players at his disposal aren’t good enough.
Judging from last night’s display, regardless of the performance of the attacking players, Saints simply don’t have enough about them to force their way out of the bottom three and many are of the opinion that that is where they’ll remain until they begin their Championship campaign next season.
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