da poker： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
da realsbet： After an encouraging spell of form, in which they managed to take seven points from Brighton, Manchester United and Sheffield United, Southampton have entered somewhat of a rut.
A disappointing sequence of results has seen the Saints lose their last three Premier League games on the spin, and in miserable fashion.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men went out with a whimper against south coast rivals Bournemouth, before losing to a Tottenham side who had ten men for over half of the game after Serge Aurier’s 31st minute red card.
Most recently, Southampton lost 4-1 to Chelsea at St Mary’s – it’s time for a few players to step up.
James Ward-Prowse
Just what has happened to Southampton’s academy graduate?
James Ward-Prowse enjoyed an excellent second half of the 2018/19 campaign under Hasenhuttl, scoring six goals in nine games around the festive period as he looked to have gone up a gear.
Sadly, he seems to have regressed – the 2-cap England international has scored just once this term, and even that was courtesy of a penalty.
We recently outlined why the 24-year-old could be a casualty of Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 system due to his ineffectiveness out on the right, but whatever the reason for his poor form, he is one who needs to step up.
Angus Gunn
The former Manchester City and Norwich goalkeeper needs to take a step back, and return to the basics.
Angus Gunn has made a notable error in each of the Saints’ last three league defeats, and he must cut them out quickly.
A complete and utter moment of madness saw him race out of his goal to challenge Jan Bednarek for a ball against Bournemouth, allowing Callum Wilson to nip in and slot into an empty net.
Against Spurs, Gunn allowed Tanguy Ndombele’s shot to go straight through him, before he needlessly came off his line against Chelsea and allowed Tammy Abraham to lob him.
Gunn simply must step up and sort his form out.