Maybe unpopular, but JWP has been shite this season and is generally a bang average PL player. Beat the first man at the corner for fuck sake.
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He also seems to be backsliding into passing back rather than forwards. Corners and direct free kicks have been âbang-averageâ - unfortunate as I think heâs been (is) a great player for the club.
Heâs renowned for having a philosophy of high intensity pressing with ball wins in the final third. But I donât think weâve seen that consistently in the last two years.
Iâve always liked the man but Iâm at a point where I cannot see him turning things around. We lose games that should be drawn at the very least.
Itâs a shame (and massive frustration) that we didnât get a high profile forward in the summer because if we had then either weâd be picking up more points or thereâd be no doubt at all that even with all the tools, a managerial change is still required.
At least he played some players today who we donât yet know are shit, as opposed to persisting with oneâs who have proven themselves to be. What a silver lining that is! Itâs awesome being a Saints fan.
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Not aware of one, but it pains me to say this early in the season that Iâll be surprised if we manage to stay up (Am sure someone will let me know if Iâm wrong 
)
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Itâs interesting because if you look at the teams at the bottom right now, itâs pretty hard to picture them still being in trouble by the end of the season. Forest being the possible exception. Although maybe their new side will click at some point.
I expect Bournemouth to struggle (but obviously beat us) but otherwise Iâm not seeing obvious strugglers who Iâm confident will be below us. Yikes.
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Absolutely mad to let Romeu leave.
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Unlucky with the injury to Lavia as well
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What happened to all the new squad depth we heard about? 
Non-existent in midfield,
What did we think of Maitland-Niles?
A bit of a liability - getting booked for needless challenge. Was he subbed because of poor performance 
Underwhelming.
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It was a debut.
Weve had worse.
True - Given the dosh they get paid youâd expect better wouldnât you?
You would but he wasnât the worst out there. Not many won their position
What is wrong? One week the players are mostly excellent, then they end up on the bench for weeks, and inexplicably the team plays like dogshit for several months!
Like many other, I suspect, I am hiding behind the settee next Saturday, and not coming out till Monday.
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Can anybody break the pay wall and share this article? Doesnât sound great from what I can see.
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On a bout of unusual positivity, sorry.
Peraud and Adam A were very good when they came on. OK they were replacing much less experienced players, but unlike most of the team, they were immediately positive and played the ball forwards and ran forwards into space.
Quite why most of the team turn back to our goal even before receiving a pass and instantly play it backwards to someone behind them is beyond me. Almost no one took a touch and looked around to spot other players ahead of them 
Edit: my positivity lasted one paragraphâŚ
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Agree Perraud changed the dynamic when he came on
As is often the case after a defeat for him and many other managers, Ralph Hasenhuttl did not speak to his players in the dressing room after Southamptonâs latest nadir, this time a 2-1 defeat at home to Everton.
Both he and his team have been cut too many times and bruised too often. Bravery has turned into doubt. The players know it.
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The squad congregated at Staplewood, the clubâs training ground, on Sunday after leaving St Maryâs roughly an hour after the full-time whistle on Saturday evening. Some players drove home, while others got taxis or were picked up by friends. The co-founders of Southamptonâs ownership group Sport Republic, Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft, were in the stadium to watch the game, alongside lead investor Dragan Solak and chief executive Martin Semmens.
Approaching four years on the south coast, Hasenhuttl is the clubâs longest-serving manager in more than two decades and the fourth longest currently in the Premier League. For a team of the calibre of Southampton, where the seas are inevitably tumultuous, such longevity should be considered an impressive achievement. It should not be overlooked how difficult it has been to keep a Frankenstein squad, forged upon a hand-to-mouth budget under the previous owner, in the Premier League for four seasons.
Hasenhuttlâs effervescence immediately galvanised the fanbase and team. It led to several memorable and standout victories, where the Austrian rightly received acclaim for his high-pressing bravery when overcoming teams such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Hasenhuttl has been in charge longer than The Athletic has existed in the UK (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
But after three successive defeats and just 12 points from the previous 20 Premier League matches, Hasenhuttl is under significant pressure. The club now have a decision to make. The question is when they make it.
Following the 2-1 loss to Everton, The Athletic can reveal:
- It is unlikely Hasenhuttl will be sacked imminently though many within the club believe he is on borrowed time
- Players voiced their concerns to the board over the manager at the start of the season
- Hasenhuttlâs lack of communication with the squad
- Emotional touchline demeanour irritated players
- Southampton have looked at other managers and continue to maintain those relationships
In a recent interview with The Athletic , Yan Valery, who left Southampton this summer, admitted players âcanât expect to talkâ to Hasenhuttl or âthink he will speak to you and make you more confident.â
It is understood Valeryâs sentiments are shared by other players currently in the dressing room and who have voiced similar concerns. In the lead-up to this pre-season, The Athletic was told by those with close ties to players that while Hasenhuttl had not lost the support of his squad entirely, there was a feeling it was the beginning of the end.
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They explained Hasenhuttlâs man-management and communication skills had long been a problem but would tend to exacerbate and become even more insular when form nosedived. Just like now.
At this point, the mood in the dressing room had turned to scepticism, with Hasenhuttl described by sources, who have asked to remain anonymous to protect their jobs, as having âno relationshipâ with his players. Some members of the squad had hoped he would leave at the end of last season and viewed a potential departure as having a deciding influence on their own futures. They shared those concerns with Southamptonâs board.
Like all clubs who are struggling, Southampton have sounded out replacements for Hasenhuttl and are continuing to maintain those relationships. At the end of last season, the board took the decision to re-energise Hasenhuttlâs support network, sacking Kelvin Davis, Dave Watson and Craig Fleming â three members of his backroom team. It was accepted the first-team environment had grown stale and to arrest the decline, new impetus was needed.
Three successive defeats have done little to suggest Southampton have changed direction, despite there being no indication that Hasenhuttlâs sacking is imminent. While club sources accept the current situation is not perfect, they do point to how young the squad is. Such inconsistency, therefore, is par for the course and will take time to smooth over.
Hasenhuttl echoed those thoughts to The Athletic after the loss to Everton.
âThey (the team) need time. They will be one time a very good team, but as we said, we know about Premier League football. Young and talented is nice to have but the rest is about learning and developing quickly.â
Summer signings Armel Bella-Kotchap, who received a call up to the Germany squad for the first time, and Romeo Lavia have seen their value increase since joining the club. Hasenhuttl has played a key role in their respective development, providing game time and a platform to flourish. Both are thankful to Hasenhuttl for being given the opportunity to perform in the Premier League. Additionally, the conditions he works in â Southamptonâs youthful recruitment policy is rewarding but risky â would be complex for any manager.
Hasenhuttl in tears after the famous win over Liverpool (Photo: Adam Davy â Pool/Getty Images)
Some close to the first team feel the obvious time to sack Hasenhuttl would have either been after the defeat away to Aston Villa before the international break, or in the wake of the 4-1 defeat to Leicester City at the end of last season, when morale was on the floor. Those same sources do, however, agree that the loyalty shown by the club towards the 55-year-old is admirable and has been warranted in the past.
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In the final 20 minutes against Everton, Hasenhuttl appeared a withdrawn and unengaged figure. He had the guise of a man far removed from his former self on the touchline. The Austrian was dressed in black, rather aptly, with his hands glued to his hips and that previous fervour seeping out of every limb with each passing minute. He was no longer the one-man band or the conductor of a dysfunctional choir.
Amid the murmurs and angry silence in the crowd, one fan in a box at the back of the Itchen Stand could be heard shouting âRalph, do something!â twice over. It was a rallying call. Boos greeted the final whistle and further demonstrated that the credit in the bank of Hasenhuttl is rapidly diminishing with supporters.
Even when Southampton pushed for an equaliser, Hasenhuttl remained dejected. His stance changed only slightly, but each evoked the same forlornness. A world away from the manager who cried on the touchline after beating Liverpool in January 2021. They have won 25 per cent of Premier League matches since.
Indeed, the 1-0 victory 18 months ago remains one of Hasenhuttlâs best wins and can be characterised by his celebration. Collapsing to his knees in tears, the moment was seen to encapsulate the best and worst of his management style; showing fervent passion but also, mentioned to The Athletic as the primary example, of getting too emotional. His demeanour on the touchline increasingly rankled players, who believe it led to spur-of-the-moment tactical decisions.
Nowadays, the only emotion seems to be one of permanent pain etched across his face.
Hasenhuttl has had several stays of execution â he is a manager with two 9-0 defeats on his record. One source close to a player, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his relationship with the club, described the result against Everton as the âtipping point,â with an insistence, like many others close to the situation, that the writing may soon be on the wall for Hasenhuttl.
When the same problems persist and seem to be worsening, it can only end one way. Hasenhuttl is fighting for his future.
(Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
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