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The eerie sterilised noise of a stadium without fans does reveal certain things that have long stayed behind the curtain.
Monday night’s feeble defeat to West Brom underlined and uncovered the same-old fragility that cloaks this current Saints vintage.
While the way the side fell apart without so much of a whimper is nothing new, it did expose the potential causes to these regular acts of recrimination and fallout. This has been a theme since the Claude Puel days. It gathered pace during the Mauricio Pellegrino reign and reached its zenith under Mark Hughes.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has always had it lurking in the background too. The loitering vulnerability casting an ominous shadow every time the team put in a performance that was fraught with the same baffling contradictions.
What makes this Southampton team such an odd bunch to evaluate is that you are never quite sure what to expect. At their best, performing at their physical and psychological optimal, they can resemble a pack of raging pitbulls, aggressive and cohesive in their methods.
At their worst, they offer an implosion that is far greater than any other team in the Premier League. The two 9-0’s prove it. Day-to-day, week-to-week, Saints have the ability to flitter between the two, almost effortlessly.
Two of the big takeaways from having the fortune of watching #SaintsFC over the 10 months:
1: Players have a huge (over) reliance on Hasenhuttl from the sideline
2: Players aren’t always capable of solving problems themselves, then communicating the issue to team-mates
— Jacob Tanswell (@J_Tanswell) April 12, 2021
At St Mary’s, the self-destruction button is bigger and more dangerous than most. Compared to other clubs, Southampton’s button comes coloured in some form of darkened red, admonished with giant, white lettering saying ‘DO NOT TOUCH’. And yet, despite the multiple periods of trauma over the years, it still remains never that far away from being pressed. It is what makes this side so enthralling and conversely, so frustrating.
Those inside the club are aware of this. They’ve been aware of the self-implosion puzzle for years. Despite the myriad of coaches and players who have attempted to arrest the decline, the issue is such a deep-seated one that its become tightly entrenched into the foundations. It has reached the stage where under this group and culture of players, it seems virtually impossible to remove.
When the Saints walls begin to creak, they quickly cave in. Against West Brom, played again to the tune of silence, you got to hear near-on every scream, cry or shout.
But Southampton offered very little of any of the above. When Matheus Pereira put the hosts ahead just after the half-hour mark, Saints went from providing a quiet simmering of positivity to concrete silence.
Off the pitch, Ralph Hasenhuttl would continue to provide some sort of encouraging soundtrack for his players, incessantly barking orders to press high and implement the nuances of his high-functioning, coordinated pressing game.
In a system that requires various automatisms and thereby various players, to work at its optimal, it necessitates a coherent unit working in flawless harmony. The usual modus operandi to carry out such a thing is to talk. To communicate with team-mates. To ensure everyone understands their role.
Therefore, it should serve as very little surprise that when the team’s dialogue dries up, so too does their overall game.
It is fair to opine the theory that modern day teams do not need a leader akin to Roy Keane to elicit success, or someone to scream and shout just for the sake of it. What a successful modern day team do need, however, is a distinct spirit. Often that spirit is fostered by palpable leaders.
Aside from James Ward-Prowse, who prefers to lead through his actions and not his words, Southampton do not have one regular starter they count upon to guide their team through moments of suffering.
Jack Stephens is an audible presence when he does play, but doesn’t have the finality in his own actions to enable his vocality to permeate through the team. He has also not been a regular mainstay of the defence since September, either.
Perhaps the lack of quasi-leader is a factor in the team’s appetite for heavy defeats. They seem unable, or maybe simply reluctant, to batten down the hatches and ride out periods of stormy weather. At some sporadic points of the season they can – take the victory at home to Liverpool as a case in point. But, again, it is worth bearing in mind that win came via an early goal from Danny Ings.
When Southampton start a game well, acts of stoicism can tend to follow. But when forced immediately onto the back foot, they stay on the ropes and proceed to take a beating. Not having any natural inclinations to communicate with team-mates in an effective, beneficial manner means players are not always capable of solving the problems themselves.
This, in turn, places a heavier burden on Hasenhuttl ensuring he gets every tactical decision correct, before and during a match. As history shows, not every game can a manager’s instructions be served as prophetic directions. Every manager has bad days or comes unstuck – that’s when he needs his team to figure out the posed questions.
If one decision is found to be flawed, however slight, Southampton’s recent form and confidence causes the tactical mistake to be even more jarring and accentuated.
Although Hasenhuttl may be liable to take some portion of the blame, a wealth of evidence shows these patterns of self-implosion is rife. In truth, its been rife for four seasons. Plainly, this is an issue more emblematic of a manager not being able to set his team up properly.
On Sunday, an FA Cup semi-final awaits. Arguably the most momentous game in the Ralph Hasenhuttl era. Some supporters are able to return, ensuring Wembley will have fans and more signficantly, an atmosphere. Southampton are 90 minutes away from a final of England’s and possibly Europe’s, most fabled domestic competition.
One of their former 9-0’s assailants are in-waiting. Temperature is at gas mark seven and the world is watching. The pressure is well and truly on. If Southampton and Ralph Hasenhuttl ever needed a leader, the time would be now.
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