The Premier League table does not make for pretty reading for Southampton.
Bottom by four points — and five from safety — after 12 of the 38 games is a worrying enough statistic, but the glaring mistakes that occur with regularity and with consequences during their play should be of more concern to manager Russell Martin and his squad.
Southampton have conceded 20 shots due to errors this season, higher than their fellow strugglers Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town combined (18). Eight of those have resulted in goals, three more than next-worst offenders Ipswich and Brighton & Hove Albion. Add in two penalties, and that accounts for more than 40 per cent of the 24 goals they’ve conceded.
Fans and analysts alike have attributed these errors to Martin’s insistence on a possession-based system that requires his players to build out from the back whatever the opposition. It worked in the Championship last season as they earned promotion via the play-offs in his first year in charge but is now failing in the top tier.
Martin is unlikely to change, so The Athletic has laid bare the problems below.
Southampton and Manchester City share the dubious record of allowing the largest percentage of shots via errors this season, at a little over nine per cent. This has contributed to Martin’s team averaging 17.8 shots conceded per game (second highest in the league, behind Brentford’s 19.2).
|
Team
|
Errors leading to shots and goals
|
Share of total shots conceded via errors
|
|---|---|---|
 Southampton |
20
|
9.4%
|
 Man City |
9
|
9.4%
|
 Arsenal |
11
|
7.0%
|
 Chelsea |
10
|
6.8%
|
 Aston Villa |
9
|
6.6%
|
 Newcastle |
11
|
6.3%
|
 Fulham |
9
|
6.2%
|
 Tottenham |
8
|
6.2%
|
 Man Utd |
8
|
6.0%
|
 Ipswich |
10
|
5.4%
|
 Brighton |
8
|
5.2%
|
 Wolves |
9
|
5.0%
|
 Crystal Palace |
8
|
4.8%
|
 Everton |
6
|
3.8%
|
 West Ham |
7
|
3.5%
|
 Liverpool |
4
|
3.4%
|
 Leicester |
7
|
3.3%
|
 Nottingham Forest |
5
|
3.0%
|
 Brentford |
7
|
3.0%
|
 Bournemouth |
4
|
2.7%
|
On the surface, Southampton’s attempting to play out from the back has been a factor. As the graph below illustrates, they have averaged 7.2 possessions lost in their defensive third per game, with 1.7 of those ending in shots.
Exploring these further suggests that the larger issues are in the players’ on-the-pitch structure, game management and individual errors.
Four of the errors leading to goals that Southampton have recorded this season have come against Liverpool and Arsenal, two teams known for their ability to press high. They were entirely avoidable mistakes, too.
The first goal against Liverpool on Sunday is a standout example. A few seconds after collecting Conor Bradley’s deflected shot, goalkeeper Alex McCarthy tried to set Southampton off in transition by passing to Mateus Fernandes. However, with five Liverpool players in the vicinity, this spelt danger.
Fernandes did well to get past two players to pass back to Flynn Downes, but the midfielder’s hacked clearance went straight to Dominik Szoboszlai on the edge of the area and he powered a shot home.
This commitment to a quick transition — which could partly be due to McCarthy, filling in for the injured Aaron Ramsdale, and his discomfort with the ball at his feet — flies in the face of Martin’s quest for control. Southampton made similar mistakes with first-choice Ramsdale in goal against Brentford in August to concede twice.
In the 42nd minute that day, Ramsdale pounced on a deflected cross from Mikkel Damsgaard and quickly passed out to his defence, which was still getting into an ideal shape. Taylor Harwood-Bellis was pressured by Damsgaard, who poked it forward to Kevin Schade. Schade’s effort hit the post, but with Southampton all over the place, Bryan Mbeumo was unmarked to score.
Then in the 65th minute, Ramsdale passed to Downes, who found Jack Stephens with four Brentford players in close quarters. Southampton’s structure was confused at best as Stephens then passed to Kyle Walker-Peters. A lack of communication saw Stephens and Jan Bednarek both then attempt to meet Walker-Peters’ risky infield pass, and Brentford won it back to set up Mbeumo again.
The way to avoid these issues is simply for the goalkeeper to either hold onto the ball a little longer before release, to allow his team-mates to reorganise, or opt to go long.
While the goals above speak to issues with game management, those conceded against Arsenal in October suggest Martin has work to do with Southampton’s defensive shape when not dealing with transitions.
Cameron Archer had given them a 55th-minute lead, but their hard work was undone three minutes later.
Southampton built from the back with Ramsdale passing to Bednarek, who in turn found Fernandes. He played a short pass to Downes before charging forward but Downes, rather than progressing the play upfield, went for a sideways pass towards the left wing. Bukayo Saka instinctively stuck out a leg and won the ball before feeding Kai Havertz to equalise.
There are two individual mistakes to note here: Bednarek’s choice to pass first time into a crowded midfield rather than taking a touch or going wide and Downes’ positioning left Southampton with limited options, making it simple for Arsenal to win the ball back.
The third and final Arsenal goal that day emerged from more errors. As Bednarek jumped forward to win an aerial duel, Harwood-Bellis was in a good position to win the second ball but failed to decelerate, resulting in a heavy touch. Yukinari Sugawara stayed wide and deep rather than covering for him, which gave Leandro Trossard acres of space to run into.
Trossard lost the ball but, in recovering it, Sugawara erred by attempting to dribble out of his box. Even before he could take a second touch, Saka was on to him to make it 3-1.
These positional errors are not limited to the goals alone.
Far too often, the spacing between Southampton’s defenders and midfielders presents issues. The sequence from last month’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, whose pressing levels have dropped considerably this season, is a telling example of how easy it is to hem Southampton into their defensive third to force a turnover.
Having received a pass from Ramsdale, Bednarek passed wide to Ryan Manning, but a lack of movement by Downes forced he and Bednarek to play a one-two. Backed into a corner, Manning then rushed a clearance (similar to Downes’ effort against Liverpool for Szoboszlai’s goal) and gave it straight to Matheus Nunes, who shot over.
They faced a similar issue during their 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth in August. When Bednarek received the ball, Lesley Ugochukwu was required to drop back to open a passing lane. He was too slow, but Bednarek did not consider the option anyway, passing to Charlie Taylor and sprinting forward instead.
Under pressure from Antoine Semenyo, Taylor was forced to go back to his goalkeeper but Southampton’s passing options were reduced by one due to Bednarek’s movement. Ramsdale tried to find Taylor again and Semenyo tackled him to set up a shot for Ryan Christie that Taylor blocked.
Southampton have made an alarming number of errors with the ball at their feet. Their outfield players have been culpable, but the more serious mistakes have come from ’keepers Ramsdale and McCarthy.
In the 44th minute against Liverpool, McCarthy gave the ball away to Cody Gakpo inside his own box, with the Dutchman seeing his shot blocked.
The goalkeeper’s indecision from a long ball forward then led to Salah scoring the equaliser that set up Liverpool’s 3-2 comeback victory.
McCarthy was also at fault in the 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United in August. Newcastle were down to 10 men after Fabian Schar’s 28th-minute red card, but took the lead through Joelinton after McCarthy passed straight to Alexander Isak inside the box. Southampton’s defensive positioning is notably an issue here, with Bednarek and Downes offering little support, but McCarthy’s eagerness to get rid of the ball is the bigger one.
Ramsdale, brought in from Arsenal just before the summer transfer deadline to take over the starting spot, has been culpable too. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers this month, he came out of his area but passed straight to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, whose effort from beyond the halfway line sailed wide.
He also gave the ball away against his previous team at the Emirates Stadium in October, and was lucky to go unpunished.
Southampton’s build-up shape is questionable here too, as it is far too narrow.
There have also been cases of underhit back passes from outfield players, like this Joe Aribo effort against Everton in September that was latched onto and subsequently fired over the crossbar by Orel Mangala…
… or this from Bednarek in the August game against Nottingham Forest that resulted in an Anthony Elanga interception and cutback for Chris Wood, who scuffed his shot.
Southampton’s fate this season is already sealed according to many following and analysing the Premier League, many of whom feel it is due to a lack of pragmatism from manager Martin.
His lack of pragmatism may be an issue, but a total change of approach is not the solution.
Minor tweaks to in-game positioning and player decision-making while staying true to his principles could be one way to go.
Speaking to UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph this year on sticking to his football philosophy, Martin said “you need to have a way” as a young British coach with aspirations to stay at the top level.
He is right, but his journey, and Southampton’s fate, may hinge on the realisation that the “way” rarely emerges without refinements.
