Southampton began life back in the Championship positively, posting victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and Queens Park Rangers but in their last two matches, have suffered a pasting at the hands of fellow promotion hopefuls Sunderland and Leicester City.
Russell Martin wanted a response from his team after being thrashed 5-0 by the Black Cats, but having conceded to Jamie Vardy inside 21 seconds, it became apparent he wasn’t going to get one.
With a difficult fixture to come against Ipswich Town this evening, Martin has a tough job on his hands to galvanise a confidence shot squad and has several decisions to make regarding tonight’s team selection.
One particular standout from their defeat against the Foxes was Will Smallbone, who caught the eye for all the wrong reasons after failing to become the combative, energetic and press-resistant midfielder that the Saints were crying out for to drive them up the field.
How did Smallbone perform against Leicester City?
While Smallbone has risen to prominence in recent times, his performance on Friday was one to forget, posting a rather underwhelming 6.9 Sofascore rating, underplaying just how poor the 23-year-old was.
Mustering 81 touches across ninety minutes in a Southampton side renowned for being possession-heavy under Martin, Smallbone was restricted to space in midfield by Leicester’s devastatingly dynamic trio of Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Although four tackles and one interception, via Sofascore, has marked the standard for the Irishman since becoming a revelation at Stoke last season, his performance in Southampton’s midfield underwhelmed in most departments.
The £17k per-week earner was dribbled past a whopping five times, which was more than any other player for Martin’s side, highlighting how lightweight he was in the middle of the park.
Smallbone, who lost 62% of his ground duels, was also non-existent in his attempts to retain the ball for his team, pinpointing Southampton’s struggles in their 4-4-2 system that was overwhelmed by the quality and incisiveness of Leicester’s passing.
Following this horrendous display, Martin could choose to drop one of his villains from Friday evening, Smallbone, and revert to their tried and tested 4-3-3 formation.
Who should replace Will Smallbone?
When Southampton were at their best, Shea Charles was anchoring their midfield, acting as a screen in front of the Saints backline while Stuart Armstrong and Carlos Alcaraz were flanking the Northern Irishman.
Lauded as “magnificent” by Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill following his performances for the national side, Charles has shown glimpses of why he’s worth the £15m price tag after joining from Manchester City this summer.
Despite starting in their last two defeats at centre-back, the teenage prodigy has to return to his more natural role at the base of midfield, sweeping up possession and impressing with his exquisite passing range.
The two above attributes are emphasised by the fact he’s averaged 4.6 ball recoveries per game, 1.8 interceptions and a pass completion average of 92%, via Sofascore, and considering he attempts a lot of long balls, that stat is impressively high. Pivotally, he is also dribbled past just once per game, compared to Smallbone’s 2.3.
If Southampton are to rediscover their groove and mount a challenge for promotion, utilising the 19-year-old at the base of midfield is a crucial cog that can get their machine working again.