Southampton still in danger of Premier League record nobody wants after relegation | Football

With their relegation from the Premier League confirmed on Sunday, things could still get worse for Southampton.

One record has already gone – they are now the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games of the season remaining.

Sat on 10 points, they need one more added to their tally from their remaining seven Premier League games or they will break Derby’s record for the lowest total in top-flight history.

The Saints are all but certain to crash out of the top flight rock-bottom, with seven points separating them and Leicester City. Even against a side as beleaguered and battered as Tottenham are, they were effortlessly swept aside on Sunday in north London.

Just 10 years ago – Southampton were a joy to watch – and qualified for European football via their league position for the first time since 1984.

The situation at St Mary’s is the polar opposite a decade later, which begs the question: How did things get this bad for the south coast club?

Awful transfers and a manager out of his depth

The Saints’ abysmal season was set in motion before a ball was kicked, with the club making a number of mistakes in the summer transfer window under their owners Sports Republic, who purchased the club back in 2022.

More experienced players like Duje Caleta-Car, Lyanco and Romain Perraud were sold, while Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong left on free transfers.

Southampton decided to take a gamble by largely replacing them with a group of youngsters – such as Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Cameron Archer – who simply have not gelled, despite their potential.

Even the highly-rated Tyler Dibling, who came through the academy, has recently struggled.

Other than Aaron Ramsdale and Matheus Fernandes, there is arguably not another Southampton player who would get into the starting XI of any other Premier League team with stars like Will Smallbone looking miles out of his depth.

Southampton’s problems go well beyond their squad, though. The club decided to sack their manager Russell Martin in December and replace him with Ivan Juric, a call which has proven to be an absolute disaster.

Martin was badly struggling and arguably needed to go. But at least his team had a semblance of a structure and genuine identity – unlike Juric’s Saints – who appear to have no clear style of play or game plan, with supporters already turning on the Croatian.

Juric blames recruitment – not himself

While his record since arriving on the coast has been desperate, Juric is convinced the problems at the club pre-date his appointment with the rot long set at St Mary’s.

‘Recruitment is everything in football,’ said Juric.

‘We have a lot of talented young players, but with not many games in the Premier League. What I noticed most in three or four months here is the completely different physicality between us and the other teams in the league.

‘Now is the moment to understand the mistakes the club made in the last three or four years and start to create something really good.’

The stats behind Southampton’s season of strife

Juric has won just one of his 14 Premier League matches in charge of Southampton, losing 12 of them.

Saints were nine points adrift of safety when he came in and today are 22 points behind 17th place Wolves.

Southampton’s two heaviest defeats this season have both come at home, with the club battered 5-0 by Tottenham and Brentford in December and January respectively.

Southampton have won just two of their 31 games so far this term, drawing four and suffering 25 defeats. They have a shocking -51 goal difference.

Southampton are both the lowest scorers in the league (23) and have conceded the most goals (74), highlighting problems all over the pitch.

Juric said in March: ‘I’m frustrated with the whole situation. It’s not easy. It is a really tough moment for everybody, for the players, for the club.

‘But it has to be energy for the future. All these negative moments are to accumulate energy and try to do better in the future. I think the guys gave everything they have in this moment and that’s it.’

Quizzed if he felt it was ‘unfair’ that so much pressure had been put on the shoulders of young players, Juric added: ‘No, you can think in two ways.

‘Maybe it’s too much pressure. In the other way, in the club you have players that will be great. In a few years, in two or three years they will be really good.

‘If you have power to keep them here at Southampton, you can create something. There are not many teams that have seven young players. Harwood-Bellis is young, Bella (Armel Bella-Kotchap), all these guys are young. It’s a huge thing for Southampton.’

‘The joy of winning last season’s play-off final has long evaporated’

Southampton earned promotion back to the promised land following a 1-0 win over Leeds on a sun-drenched day at Wembley back in May.

That heady day seems like an eternity ago already for Saints fans, including Rory McKeown, Metro’s assistant editor [News] and long-suffering Saints fan.

He said: ‘It’s never easy being a Southampton supporter. In my 30-odd years following Saints, we’ve been involved in a fair few relegation dog fights, dropped down to League One and were even days from going out of business.

‘But this season is particularly bleak. Russell Martin’s possession-based philosophy failed to adapt to the Premier League while drubbings are all too regular under Ivan Juric.

‘The joy of winning last season’s Championship play-off final has long evaporated and the prospect of breaking the record no one wants looms large.

‘We only need another win to ensure Derby County’s 11-point record stays intact for another year – but even the most optimistic of Saints fan will struggle to see where it will come from.’

Can Southampton earn the point they need to avoid horrific history?

Southampton have seven games left to pick up the point that would see them draw level with Derby’s record of 11 from 2007-08.

Juric may look to the game against Leicester, also looking doomed 15 points from safety, as a chance to get some final desperate points on the board.

There are also games against sides who are heading into the season run-in with very little to play for. But Juric will of course have their own problems motivating his beleaguered bunch.

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