Given Southampton’s extensive roster, the Saints have a sufficient number of talented players. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be incorrect to anticipate healthy rivalry among the team members for playing, let alone starting Southampton games.
Not to mention that poor performances must lead to benching, right? I hope that was the situation at St. Mary’s, but things aren’t looking great right now.
Let’s start by reviewing a major theme from Russell Martin’s time there. The Scottish strategist was undoubtedly a poor manager, but occasionally his rigid starting lineup was too much to bear.
Especially when the team has plenty of options available, changing players isn’t a bad idea to try to get good results. In this regard, Russell’s replacement Ivan Juric has done comparatively better but even the latter has become more rigid, recently.
Club legend proven right as Southampton’s rigidness cost them the Derby
Francis Benali was reviewing Southampton’s best center-back lineups a few days ago. The fullback made an interesting remark regarding Jan Bednarek’s possible defensive pairings in the process.
Writing for the Daily Echo, Benali said: “If you’re on the left-hand side, then being naturally left-footed does help your chances. You have a little more flexibility to play. This explains why we haven’t seen Armel Bella-Kotchap yet (Juric doesn’t like him on the left) and why James Bree is still on the right.
To be honest, Benali’s justification makes sense, but Bella-Kotchap’s extended absence needs to end immediately. James Bree, his competitor, isn’t doing any better and frequently leaves gaps inside the box.
Bree gave the Cherries numerous long-range attempts during the 3-1 loss to Bournemouth, which also led to goals. Bella-Kotchap, on the other side, has a strong tackling skill and might have stopped one or both goals.
Bella-Kotchap must therefore be taken into consideration by Juric for the next games.
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