Russell Martin has been sacked by Southampton following their heavy 5-0 defeat to Spurs at St Mary’s on Sunday. It is a move that feels long overdue for some fans, with The Saints winning just one of their first 16 league games under Martin’s management, and came on the same day as Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was also dismissed by his club.
James Maddison opened the scoring after just 36 seconds, and it already began to feel like the writing was on the wall for Martin. After Dejan Kulusevski scored the third for Tottenham on the 14th minute, the game was over before it had really begun. Southampton’s fans despair was compounded after seeing Martin head down the tunnel for half time a couple of minutes early, only to miss Maddison’s second of the game to make it 5-0 before the whistle went. The result left Saints rock bottom of the table, and left Martin’s position simply untenable in the eyes of the board.
In a statement on the same night, Southampton FC said: “We can confirm that we have taken the difficult decision to part ways with our Men’s First Team Manager, Russell Martin.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Russell and his staff for all the hard work and dedication they have given the club on and off the pitch over the last 18 months. Everyone connected with Southampton FC will always have fantastic memories of last season, especially the Play-Off Final win in May.”
Under-21s manager Simon Rusk has been put in caretaker charge of the first team while a replacement is sought out.
So where did it go wrong for Martin?
His style of play and refusal to adapt would be a suitable place to start. Before his move to Southampton, the former Norwich man had built up a reputation during his time at MK Dons and later Swansea, of playing an attractive, possesion heavy brand of football. In the Championship, where Southampton undoubtedly had one of the most valuable and most talented squads in the division, this set-up was effective, and guided them to a date with Leeds at Wembley, in which they secured their promotion. All is well so far, but the Premier League is a different beast.
As ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce preached, “possession without progression means nothing.” Put simply, Martin’s team were not scoring enough goals to match the possession they had in games. Just 11 goals in 16 games in a season where their average possession is over 53%, and they are 4th in the league for accurate passes per match, was becoming frustrating for fans, and shows that Martin could not get his front line to click.
Additionally, there are many stats to suggest that the manager could not find a solution to his side’s defensive deficiencies. Just 1 clean sheet all season is a league low, and his possession-based tactics encourage his defenders to play out from the back relentlessly. Again, this would be effective in the lower divisions, however individual mistakes are punished by Premier League players. When looking at possession turnovers resulting in a shot on goal, Southampton are by far the worst offenders in the division, suggesting that mistakes when giving away possession are too often resulting in a goal-scoring chance for their opponents.
Fans and critics of Russell Martin were stunned by his refusal to adapt his playstyle to suit his new surroundings in the Premier League, and ultimately it was this that cost him his job. The new question for Southampton fans to ponder is: Who comes next? The favourites with the bookies, as of writing, are ex-Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand, Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl, and West Bromwich Albion’s Carlos Corberan.
It is yet to be seen if any of those candidates will have what it takes to steer this Saints team away from a relegation that is feeling more inevitable by the game.