Ten-man Southampton were beaten 9-0 by Leicester on Friday - the biggest home defeat in the Premier League
Tuesday 29 October 2019 22:43, UK
Following their 9-0 defeat to Leicester, Southampton now have two games against Manchester City this week. But how will they respond to the thrashing?
It was an evening to forget on Friday Night Football, as 10-man Saints suffered the biggest home defeat in the Premier League, meaning Ralph Hasenhuttl and his side are in uncharted territory.
They will barely have time to digest it though with two upcoming fixtures away at Man City - firstly in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.
But how did they get beaten so badly by Leicester? And how do they respond now - do they need a change in the team or is Hasenhuttl's job under threat? An array of pundits and journalists offered their view...
Soccer Saturday pundit Matt Le Tissier:
"It was a total capitulation. A lack of any courage or leaders on the football pitch. And I also have to say a little bit of a lack of organisation as well after going down to 10 men.
"It was shocking the way they gave up. They gave up, it's as simple as that. I hate saying that because I spent 16 years playing football and, in that time, I took a few hidings and it's not nice. It's a horrible feeling and it's not nice to have people point the finger at you, but sometimes if you put in a poor performance you must take the criticism that comes with it. And I have to say it was unacceptable.
"My anger really isn't with the manager if I'm being honest. If the players put in a performance like that it is very difficult to look anywhere else other than on the pitch at whose fault it was for the capitulation.
"Yes, you can question team tactics and team formations when you go down to 10 men. You can question all of that but at the end of the day you can't put the effort in for the players as a manager when you are sat on the sidelines.
"The investment side of things has not been to a level where you would've expected us to then go and improve again this season. It's not just the lack of investment but for the past couple of years the investment we have put in, the signings have not been up to standard. It's not been up to scratch over the last two or three seasons. There's been very little in the way of any uplift in what we paid for those players and what they are worth now. That's part of the problem."
Soccer Saturday pundit Paul Merson:
"The one word that Tiss missed out was embarrassing. It was embarrassing. There are training sessions where you set up the back four and the two holding midfielders to play against 11 players, and it's hard to score.
"I think the manager has got to look at himself. Looking from a distance. Leicester had so much room down the left. The best two players were Chilwell and Barnes and they kept getting in. You had to think the game was over and Southampton had to make sure it didn't get embarrassing.
"It was embarrassing. We've all been on the end of bad defeats but that was like forgetting about the game when you are 2-0 down. You've got to draw the line and make it hard for the opposition."
Soccer Saturday pundit Clinton Morrison:
"I think the manager will be under scrutiny after the two games against Manchester City. They are two massive games and then you go into an international break. After that they've got a run of games that are winnable, but does he have that much time?
"Everyone's been on the back of these hammerings. It's how you react now for the next game. You are going to need characters and leaders. You have to forget about the result and try to move on. If you can't and you are still thinking about the big defeat, you will take it into the next game.
"The next to games against Man City are huge. Hasenhuttl will be under big scrutiny and he will come under pressure, but after those two games there are some winnable ones. Will he get that time though?
"Everyone will be looking at the manager because he sets out the team but the players have to take their fair share of the blame. They have to look at themselves too."
Sunday Supplement panellist Sam Wallace:
"The Southampton board rate Hasenhuttl very highly. I think he's a good manager. Results of that scale can change the world overnight and the old cliché of the ashen-faced manager was never more true than of Hasenhuttl in those post-match interviews. It was just one long apology really.
"There's been a lot of change at Southampton over the last 12 months. Les Reid, the technical director, has gone, Ralph Krueger, the chairman, has gone and their director of football operations Ross Wilson left last month to go to Rangers. They've got a new chief executive in Martin Semmens, he's about to appoint a new director of football operations who they think will be appointed in time for the next international break.
"But they have been absolutely clear that they really rate Hasenhuttl and they believe in his style of play. I don't think they've got the players to play it yet but they believe in it and it was made very clear at Staplewood by senior board members, Semmens included, that this is the way forward and that Ralph will be here longer than you, said to players and staff, and don't think you can undermine him, we are with him, and I quite admire that really.
"The problem Southampton have got is that they have made mistakes. They were once the smart traders, the way Leicester are now, and they have four players out on loan at the moment who are about £65m worth and there have been mistakes.
"They tried to sign James Maddison and they were really close, but he decided to go to Leicester. They then wanted to sign Harry Maguire from Hull but he went to Leicester, so I feel like Leicester have replaced them as the smart traders who buy small and sell big. But they're in the relegation zone and the priority will be survival."
Soccer Saturday pundit Charlie Nicholas:
"The manager will be under scrutiny from people like ourselves but I don't think the hierarchy at Southampton are looking at it. I think they've got other problems to solve. He's not got enough players. He doesn't chop and change his team enough and it's always the same, especially with the back three.
"These players have been around a while and they keep giving goals away. The goalkeeper is always under scrutiny. He makes too many mistakes for me. And up front they just don't have a threat.
"This manager needs to get some bodies in but with this idea of a lack of funds, which is supposedly coming from the investors, it doesn't look as if it's going to come."
Watch Soccer Special from 7.30pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Main Event on Tuesday. There will also be live blog coverage on Sky Sports' digital platforms from 6.30pm with free highlights of each game available after full-time.
On Wednesday, there will be two Carabao Cup games live on Sky Sports. Liverpool host Arsenal - live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm; Kick-off 7.30pm - while Man Utd visit Chelsea - live on Sky Sports Main Event, also from 7pm; Kick-off 8.05pm.
Soccer Special will also be live from 7.30pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League, with live blog coverage across Sky Sports' digital platforms from 6.30pm. There will also be free highlights of each game available after full-time.
