Southampton has recently received a ton of flack and criticism regarding their summer recruitment choices, and as can be seen by the disappointment from the fans, it looks as though almost no one believes that Southampton made the correct decisions.
You may think this whole situation has been blown way out of proportion. Moreover, you may even be right. It is not uncommon for fans and news agencies to dramatise the events that happen in football. However, as you are about to find out in this article, there may actually be some merit to the criticism that Southampton is receiving.
Focusing On All The Wrong Areas
One of the main criticisms that Southampton received regarding its summer recruitment is that it drastically neglected building up areas of the team that needed work. For example, their defensive line, which has historically been its weakest link, went almost completely unaddressed during the summer recruitment period.
The current Southampton line-up still has a glaring weakness in its defence, and there is no doubt that other teams are going to exploit this tenfold. In turn, this means that Southampton will have less possession, concede more goals, and score much less frequently than if they decided to make some changes to their defence.
The effects of this can already be seen in their performance this season. Not only is Southampton at the bottom of the rankings, but they have also conceded the most goals and have only scored five goals the entire season. This truly is abysmal for a world-class team.
Southampton’s defence is just as bad as it has always been, and in spite of the calls from fans for some changes to be made, this issue was not addressed.
Some Decisions Left a Little More To Be Desired
On top of doing very little to actively help the team by improving the defensive line, Southampton also made a plethora of questionable decisions all across the board.
There were many notable players that were let go this summer recruitment period, leaving fans scratching their heads wondering exactly what direction the team is going in. Players like Fraser Forster, Jan Bednarek, and Willliam Smallbone were all let go this season despite being some of the strongest players in the team, and the players they brought on to replace them left a little more to be desired.
The impacts that this has had can already be seen in online sports betting in Zambia and other popular betting circuits. For perhaps the first time ever, both fans and non-supporters alike have come together to scrutinise Southampton’s decisions during the recruitment period.
All of these decisions put together have had a monumental effect on Southampton’s performance metrics, and as we mentioned in the first section, they currently have some of the worst statistics in the entire league.
It is not looking too good for Southampton right now. While it is true that not enough time has elapsed for us to get an accurate insight into whether or not the decisions that Southampton made during the transfer window are good or bad, from what we can see currently, these decisions have not worked out in Southampton’s favour.
It’s Not All Bad
To leave things on somewhat of a positive note; not all of the decisions Southampton made during the summer transfer window were bad. Southampton spent a total of £59.8m this transfer window in order to pick up players like Juan Larios, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Samuel Edozie in an attempt to boost up their team, and most fans agree that these picks were pretty good choices.
Hopefully, these players will be able to make up for Southampton’s weaknesses and carry the team to success. We are just going to have to wait and see to find out if these changes are enough.
To sum up; while Southampton may have seemingly made a whole slew of bad choices this recruitment period, we do not yet know what kind of impact this will have on the team. Perhaps the decision-makers behind Southampton have some extra insight that we don’t and all of their choices are going to play out incredibly.
Alternatively, perhaps the choices that Southampton made truly were huge oversights and the team is going to be plunged into ruin as a direct result. We cannot know for sure what is going to happen until we have seen Southampton in action over a reasonable length of time. Whatever happens; it’s going to be interesting to watch.
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