Southampton: Should Ralph move Saints away from his 4-2-2-2?

Southampton are yet to make Ralph Hasenhuttl’s formation their own, only picking up one win using the system against Championship side Fulham in the League Cup.

The result, an unflattering 1-0 was a complimentary scoreline to the south-coast club, who were actually out performed in the first-half of the cup fixture; and were lucky to come away from Craven Cottage with the win, or not having to go to extra time.

Since then, heavy defeats to Bournemouth and Chelsea at home using the high-press system have left Saints in quite a predicament; due to the fact that performances have been very underwhelming when trying to play on the front-foot. Fans a-like wanting to see an attacking brand of football.

However in doing so; Southampton have conceded eight goals in the four appearances they have implemented the 4-2-2-2 which averages out at two conceded pg (per game). Everything considered, two of those games were against the mentioned Fulham, and a rather poor Manchester United side.

In terms of defensive prowess, it is currently non-existent; as Saints concede on average 12.9 shots pg in the Premier League to which many would agree is far too high. When sprinkled in with individual errors as well; it makes the ‘Red and White’ extremely vulnerable at the back.

The reason in which Hasenhuttl’s men have underperformed defensively in the system is down to possession; in playing two holding midfielders, it means that Southampton have had to give up on retaining the ball and therefore haven’t been able to nullify opposition teams from causing them problems and in particular getting caught on the counter-attack is a major weakness.

Attacking wise, the Saints have scored a low return of four goals in the same stretch of games; Michael Obafemi, Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard with a header; and James Ward-Prowse with a penalty-kick making up the numbers.

When in possession, both holding midfielders Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oriol Romeu lack the ability to take the ball forward or find a defence-splitting pass; both players average 0.8 key passes pg, as well as 0.7 dribbles pg between both themselves. Denmark international Hojbjerg offers slightly more attacking threat with 1.5 shots pg compared to his Spanish counterpart’s 0.5 pg however.

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These stats are pretty underwhelming, and therefore the majority of Saints’ attacks come through the flanks and in particular the left side of midfield, to which Sofiane Boufal has mainly been utilised this season; the Moroccan stats read much prettier offensively, in particular his 1.1 key passes and 2.9 dribbles pg, as well as his two assists.

The only implication that this has thought, is that with most plays going through the left flank and not through central areas of the pitch, is that it makes Southampton extremely one dimensional; and thus makes Hasenhuttl’s team look toothless during large periods of games. In particular the 3-1 defeat to the hands of Bournemouth at St. Mary’s.

Transitioning into a formation that could suit the current squad, and in particular players such as Danny Ings and Yan Valery as mentioned in previous weeks; the 4-3-3 and 5-2-3 have offered up better performances and results for Hasenhuttl during his tenure on the south-coast.

The best and most recent example of this would be Southampton’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane; a difficult stadium to get a result at, the 5-2-3 was implemented and provided players such as Sofiane Boufal and Moussa Djenepo the platform to influence the game. The latter scoring a great individualist goal to seal the win.

With this, the result was the last time in which the south-coast club kept a clean sheet in England’s top flight of football; an aspect of their game that will need to be prioritised going forward if the club is to have any hope of climbing the table by picking up points.

Despite both formations being similar in shape; the 5-2-3 should be the formation of choice over the 4-3-3 for a few reasons. Firstly the extra body at the back, that could aid in keeping clean sheets as mentioned; but as well, eliminating weaknesses in Yan Valery’s defensive game, as the young right-back is likely to start against Wolves due to Cedric Soares’ injury.

This provides the Frenchmen a platform to thrive going forward, having set-up Danny Ings for his goal against Chelsea out of nothing; Valery has showcased his effectiveness as an attacking full-back on numerous occasions.

In terms of being outnumbered in midfield with just the two central midfielders, there are a couple of quick fixes that can be implemented to resolve the issue. Switching to a 5-3-2 that was heavily utilised during Hasenhuttl’s time last campaign would ensure that Saints could retain possession somewhat-effectively; whilst playing Danny Ings as a false-nine in the 5-2-3 would help clog up central areas of the pitch.