Q2) Things have looked great under Hasenhuttl so far and he has put his faith in youngsters. Do you feel the current squad has enough about it to stay up?
Alastair Case
Yes. There should be no excuse for failing to stay up with this squad. My fear is that a lot of damage was done during the first half of the season under Hughes. Points were thrown away against poor teams which could be costly later on in the season. Furthermore, the mental fragility of the team is still evident as seen in the recent matches against Derby and West Ham.
However, Hasenhuttl has been a revelation since his arrival in December and he has visibly improved the mental strength of the players, demonstrated in the gritty victories against Leicester and Everton. With a couple of quality additions and an injury free run in, this squad should be finishing mid table.
Joe McIndoe
In many ways the arrival of Ralph Hasenhuttl has been a revelation. Under the Austrian’s leadership the side attacks quickly, looks to press their opponents into hurried mistakes, and appear more able to fight and compete over 90 minutes.
That’s a far cry from a squad, that struggle to put the ball in the back of the net, failed to impose themselves at the back, and shot themselves in the foot with unfocused mistakes. The backslide began under Claude Puel, reached a new low under an out of his depth Mauricio Pellegrino and then plagued an unfortunate Mark Hughes. Hasenhuttl has not only enabled his charges the ability to pick up crucial results, but to do it in an exciting, thrilling and rewarding fashion.
As things currently stand the squad is just about good enough to stay up, but with just one injury that could change very quickly. The likes of Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings and Jan Bednarek have made their mark in their respective positions. The Polish international has looked cool, calm, and collected at the back, Redmond drives at opponents with positive intent, while Ings picks up the crucial goals.
These guys are certainly not the only personnel in the team, but their long-term loss would be disastrous.
The defence still looks fragile even with Bednarek’s top class efforts, without Ings the goalscoring duties fall to Shane Long, (need I say more) and without Redmond the attacking fire is significantly diminished. While it is true an emerging youngster like Michael Obafemi could find his scoring boots and Kayne Ramsay could make the big plays at the back, that’s a big assumption, not to mention massive pressure on inexperience shoulders.
With senior team members Cédric Soares and Charlie Austin either through the exit door or standing in the metaphorical lobby, Southampton are set to lose key depth and experience. The graduation and reintroduction of youth products to the side has been a pleasure to watch, but none has proven the complete Premier League package.
Take for example the case of the young Frenchman Yan Valery. The now regular Right Back has look good in some games and hopelessly out of his depth in others. Valery Was pulled off at half time against Cardiff and sent off before half time against Leicester.
If the league campaign takes another twist for the worst, error-prone seniors and unproven young talent is not a good combination for top-flight survival. Before the season got underway, I highlighted the team’s depth as a compensating factor for top-quality. With each exit we are losing key cover in already bear positions. Southampton’s commitment to the youth system is commendable but they risk falling victim to overconfidence and complacency. If things do go pear-shaped Saints may regret shipping out tried and tested pros.
Ryan Borowski
100% we will stay up. The club has talent and finally a manager to get the most out of that talent. The reemergence of several players (JWP, Romeu, Bednarek) have almost acted like new signings themselves. They were nowhere to be found when Hughes was in charge and now they are scoring goals and clearing balls off the line and playing with new life.
The development of the youngsters is also exciting. Valery is now the man going forward on the right side and he has shown enough for me to believe he will perform and perform well for the rest of the season.
Not only do we stay up but I think we flirt with a top half finish but that could just be me being very optimistic.
Harry Tizard
Looking at the current squad, we have got more than enough to stay up. After the way we played until Hughes and Pellegrino, the fans expectations of the players in the squad has dropped astronomically due to the fact that the football they were forced to play was uninspiring at the best of times. Going through our squad, it is littered with international players and former Champions League players, all they needed was a spark to boost moral to kick them back into action – which is exactly what Hasenhuttl has done.
Looking at the faith that the Austrian has put on the young players, it is encouraging to see that there is still lots of quality in the youth set up, with the likes of Vallery and Obafemi being vital members of the squad when they are available. There is a slight bit of worry that Vallery is now our first choice right back, with no experienced player a natural in that role, however, if Hasenhuttl is confident enough to let Cedric go to let the Frenchman fill his shoes, Southampton fans should feel confident as well.
Marc Walker
Under Mark Hughes, the squad looked like it was was really lacking all over the pitch. However, an injection of enthusiasm, a set style and the resulting performances of some players have turned it all around under Hasenhuttl.
Nathan Redmond looks a superb attacking talent with goals and assists now added to his game, James Ward-Prowse has had the long-awaited kick up the backside that he needed and Jan Bednarek is now colossal at the back. The faith being put in young players is also fantastic as seeing them given a good chance is one of the key components that makes Southampton football club for the fans.
I get the feeling that under previous managers, the specific instructions that the players needed to be able to perform to optimum level just weren’t there. Now, the high-pressing game we are currently seeing has the side well-drilled, solid and, more importantly, looking dangerous in attack.
Four wins have come under Hasenhuttl so there’s now reason why we can’t be surviving comfortably by May.