Southampton Swiss Cheese: Why Can’t the Saints Prevent Goals?
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 15, 2023: Will Smallbone, Carlos Alcaraz, and Shea Charles of Southampton look on dejectedly as Stephy Mavididi of Leicester City nets his goal, widening the gap to 4-1, during their Sky Bet Championship face-off at Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium.
An Alarming Track Record: Southampton Defense Issues
It’s been one of the easiest bets in English football in 2023: Southampton’s opponent to score at least one goal.
The Saints have now played six competitive games as members of the Championship, and they’ve given up at least one goal in all of them. In their past two matches, they’ve taken their defense to a new level of inept, giving up five to Sunderland and four at home to Leicester City. For the season, the Saints easily have the poorest defense, conceding 16 times in six matches.
But Southampton’s issues go well beyond that. Before getting relegated from the Premier League, the Saints gave up goals in their final 12 appearances in the top division. In their friendly matches, they didn’t keep a single clean sheet. They couldn’t even handle the attack of League Two side Gillingham, giving up three goals in a defeat in the league cup.
Altogether, it’s now been 24 matches since a scoreless draw at Old Trafford on March 12, Southampton’s last clean sheet. Even that comes with an asterisk, as Manchester United picked up a red card in the first half and had to play 56 minutes a man down. The last time Southampton held a full-strength side for 90 minutes without conceding came March 4 in a 1-0 win over Leicester City.
That’s the same Leicester City that just came to St. Mary’s and dropped four goals on the Saints, with Jamie Vardy scoring within a minute. That underscores just how far the Saints have fallen in a span of six months. What’s going on with the back line? Here’s a look.
Is Russell Martin the Right Voice?
After the debacle at the Stadium of Light, Martin famously told the BBC, “We are really clear on the issues we had at Sunderland. It wasn’t us and it’s not going to be us. I don’t think it will happen again.”
File that one under “instantly proven wrong”. Not only did Southampton basically repeat its mistakes against Leicester City, but the Saints gave up a goal almost immediately. It’s even more staggering considering that Southampton had 12 days in between matches to figure out what happened, and the game plan was ripped to shreds almost instantly.
It’s still a long way from speculation about Martin’s job, but it’s fair to wonder if he really is the right man to lead Southampton back up to the Premier League. His team has picked up 10 points out of a possible 18, but there’s a possibility that it’s a soft 10. Two of the wins came against relegation candidates Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday, and the other came against newly promoted Plymouth Argyle.
There’s another reason to be skeptical: defense isn’t really Martin’s forte. He plays an exciting brand of football, but it comes at a cost of giving up a lot of chances. Neither of his Swansea City teams scored more goals than they conceded, and his final Milton Keynes Dons team only outscored its goals conceded total by two. That’s tough to sustain if you’re making a promotion challenge.
Inexperience on Defense: Youth At the Back
Take a look at the Southampton center backs, and you notice one thing right away: they’re incredibly young. Taylor Harwood-Bellis is just 21 years old, and he’s the elder of the two, as Shea Charles is just 19. Mistakes are going to happen with younger players, especially in a demanding system like what Martin runs.
Martin might not be a defensive coach, but he does demand a lot of his defenders. The difference is, his defenders must be experts with their passing. Make a mistake with a pass at the back, and you can quickly find yourself out of position in his system. That requires experienced defenders you can trust, not younger players who are learning what works and what doesn’t.
That’s another reason why Martin might not be the best voice for Southampton: his style of play doesn’t seem to mesh with the current roster and the side’s immediate goals. Southampton really doesn’t want to spend a second season in the Championship, but the roster is set up more for the long-term gain than a quick return.
The long-term view is the right one, but ownership will have to be patient with the current roster. Charles and Harwood-Bellis are talented players who can make a big impact at Southampton, but they’re going to go through some struggles as they learn how to become everyday contributors. Defensive lapses like the past two matches are going to occur.
Is Gavin Bazunu To Blame?
This idea’s been gaining steam after the Sunderland disaster, as Bazunu had a couple of goals that he really would have liked to have back. Like his center backs, Bazunu is also very young at just 21 years old. Unlike his center backs, he’s going to get criticized simply for being the last man at the back.
Most of the 16 goals Southampton has conceded have been because of defensive mistakes, not because of anything Bazunu did wrong. His game against Sunderland was a wreck, but it was a wreck for the whole team.
Southampton’s reality is that these scorelines are going to happen from time to time. The Saints play a formation that does not encourage great defense and have a younger roster that’s designed to ensure the long-term health of the team. That’s going to help eventually, but it’s also going to mean some growing pains. Most likely, Southampton’s just going to have to accept it will probably take two years or more to get out of the Football League.
