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3 weeks ago
11
Southampton supporters collectively breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed – just over an hour after the final whistle at St Mary’s on Sunday evening – that Russell Martin had been relieved of his duties. Martin had seen his side ship five goals for the second successive home match, with Tottenham racing into a four-goal lead inside 25 minutes. Ange Postecoglou’s side visibly took their foot off the gas in the second half, but, in truth, it could have got even uglier for the hosts.
It was the first time during Martin’s 18-month spell on the south coast that the St Mary’s faithful really made their feelings known to both the head coach and the board, arriving with banners calling for a change to be made before leaving in droves once Pape Sarr had made it 4-0 to Spurs. It got so personal at one stage that supporters in the Northam Stand, home to the most vocal matchgoers, chanted for Martin to give them a wave before meeting his response with a boo.
Pundits labelled Martin “brave” for the way in which he doggedly stuck by his principles, no matter the consequences. Some speculated that doing so would help him land a bigger, better job further down the line, perhaps following in the footsteps of Vincent Kompany after relegation with Burnley.
Truthfully, though, supporters were starting to lose faith in Martin’s possession-based style as early as September as Southampton quickly became favourites to finish bottom of the Premier League and return to the Championship only a season after promotion.
August had ended with Martin’s side struggling to lay a glove on Nottingham Forest at St Mary’s before gifting Brentford all three of their goals in a 3-1 defeat in west London. No team has committed more errors leading to an opposition goal in a single Premier League match this season than Southampton’s three that afternoon.
An impressive opening half-hour at home to Manchester United came next and, in a sliding doors moment for Southampton’s season, the summer signing Cameron Archer had a penalty saved by André Onana. United would go down the other end and take the lead five minutes later, before completing what was, in the end, a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Defeats to Bournemouth, Arsenal, Leicester, Manchester City, Wolves, Liverpool and Chelsea followed, with the story the same nearly every time, Martin’s style of play actively harming his team’s chances of picking up points. Not a game would go by without a Southampton defender or goalkeeper misplacing a pass while attempting to build from the back. Martin’s football looks good when it comes off, and often produced fluid passing moves that led to goals in the Championship last season, but the Premier League was always going to be a different beast.
In the space of 16 matches, Southampton players have committed 11 errors leading directly to an opposition goal, and a further 16 that resulted in an unconverted shot by their opponents. To put that first figure in perspective, Brentford’s 10 errors leading to goals were the most by any team in the division across the entirety of last season.
Martin was trusted with overhauling the club following relegation in 2023 and he should be given credit for the way in which he successfully restored a connection between the supporters and their team. The problem now for a hierarchy that has been insistent on employing a possession-focused game model – from the first-team right down to the under-8s – is that sacking Martin and moving away from that style effectively renders the last few months a waste of time.
If the aim is to throw everything at trying to stay up by appointing a firefighter – a coach in the mould of David Moyes, for instance – then that decision should have been taken weeks ago, before the gap to safety was allowed to reach nine points. It’s difficult to see why any coach would want to take on the task of securing survival from here.
Since their takeover of Southampton in January 2022, it is difficult to look back favourably on any of the key decisions that the ownership group Sport Republic have made. Many would argue that the decision to sack Ralph Hasenhüttl that November came too late, while choosing to appoint Nathan Jones as his successor was a baffling move.
Recruitment has also failed to live up to the impressive standards set during the 2010s, and now Sport Republic reach perhaps the most crucial juncture of their reign to date. Who they choose to replace Martin will be telling, both in style and ambition. At a time when the team appear more doomed than nearly any other in Premier League history, they at least have the opportunity to get things right and start again.
