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Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace: Saints denied by late goalpublished at 23:04 BST 2 April
23:04 BST 2 April
Alex Brotherton BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Given how Southampton's season has gone, the end to Wednesday's draw with Crystal Palace was fittingly cruel.
The Saints were looking for just a third win of the campaign, one that wouldn't save them from relegation but would stop them from making an unwated piece of history.
Southampton started the night on nine points, two fewer than the record low Premier League points tally of 11 set by Derby County in 2007-08.
Paul Onuachu's first-half header looked to be enough to take Saints to 12 points, and in truth they would have deserved it.
But in one man's pain can be found another's joy - in this case Matheus Franca.
The Palace substitute rose highest to head home an equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time, his first goal for the club after an injury-wrecked 20 months at the club.
Southampton were unfortunate not to win, but if they replicate this performance at least once in their remaining eight games, they should move above the dreaded 12-point mark.
Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace: Did you know?published at 23:03 BST 2 April
23:03 BST 2 April
Image source, Reuters
Southampton have dropped 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season – the most of any side. In fact, the Saints have failed to win eight games after scoring the opening goal in the top-flight this term (D2 L6).
'I knew when I was coming it was going to be tough'published at 16:55 BST 2 April
16:55 BST 2 April
Image source, Getty Images
Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has spoken to BBC Radio Solent about his season so far: "I knew when I was coming it was going to be tough. I signed for a number of reasons - the old manager, the area, and the main important one - to play football in the Premier League and get back into the England squad.
"This season was all about playing. There wasn't a plethora of clubs at the time to have my pick from, my main goal was to play week in, week out here. I haven't been able to do that because of injuries for the first time in my career.
"I have learned things this season - I know how to help people and help myself. I think when people see you start young and you get to some heights, everyone expects you to stay there - but things move on.
"I might find that one club where I stay for 10-12 years, I might have to dot around again, or I might have to knuckle down and go abroad.
"I'm 26 and I've played nearly 200 Premier League games. I'm really proud of myself but there's not where I want to end up."
Asked about his record of being relegated with teams - having suffered the experience already with Bournemouth in 2019-20 and the following season with Sheffield United - Ramsdale said: ""This relegation thing which gets thrown at me I'm more than happy with,
"The first two - the Covid season and the second-season syndrome at Sheffield United - that doesn't affect me."
'Lowest Premier League points total never leaves you'published at 12:39 BST 2 April
12:39 BST 2 April
Image source, Getty Images
Aaron Ramsdale has said Southampton's aim is not to break the record for the lowest points tally in a Premier League season, and that they also want to end the season with a "respectable points total".
Derby hold the record for the lowest total - 11 in the 2007-08 season - and Saints keeper Ramsdale told BBC Radio Solent: "The manager and the team have mentioned it - we've had a few meetings.
"We got everyone in and made people aware that no-one will forget about it and that you've played a part of it.
"We all know the situation - it's definitely in our minds, but at the minute it's not weighing us down too much because we've got time on our hands.
"You don't just get away with it, it never leaves you. You still hear about the Derby team and never about the other teams with a few points more. We know what we have to do."
"The aim is to finish the season with a respectable points total - not just to get three points, but to get them as soon as possible and finish respectably with 19 or20 points."
Ramsdale joined the Saints in the summer from Arsenal and has started 21 Premier League games this season.
"It's not been easy," he added. "The good thing about this team is the willingness to learn and improve.
"A lot of the lads are new to the Premier League and they want to stay here and feel what was felt in the Championship last year.
"We come in and see how hard everyone works. There's plenty of days when you're trying to pick people up or getting picked up yourself - but you're living it. We know more than anybody about how tough it's been.
"We're letting a lot of people down and it's a lonely place when you're out on the grass. The fans, with what they've been through, have been excellent."
Southampton Q&A: Your favourite player and game?published at 11:25 BST 2 April
11:25 BST 2 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
In the final part of our special Q&A with BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore, he chats about his favourite current and former Southampton players and his favourite Saints moments throughout the years.
Chris asked: Have you got a favourite Saints player? Not necessarily the best - just someone you think sums up all that is good about the club?
Adam answered: My favourite players of the current squad are Adam Lallana and Will Smallbone; Adam, because we have known each other so long and I love his attitude to the game and how he made the best of every bit of ability he has had, and Will because he is also homegrown and is a misunderstood player with a lot of ability. He is also a really good guy who has come through a lot in life and his career.
My favourite players of my two decades watching Saints are Rickie Lambert and Morgan Schneiderlin - two people I have a lot of time for and two I would consider good professional friends. Also, for his ability and for the role he played in a great team and period for the club, Sadio Mane.
Rob asked: It has been a shocker of a season so to cheer us up - outside of Wembley and West Bromwich Albion, tell us of a couple of games across the years that you fondly remember from your seat in the commentary box (Ronald Koeman running down the touchline, perhaps?)
Adam answered: Hi Rob, I think the ones that got me euphoric in commentary have to stand out - League Cup semi-final at Liverpool, last season's Wembley play-off final and beating Inter Milan all stand out, as well as the day we all had at home to Coventry with promotion back to the Premier League achieved – all wonderful memories.
Commentating on the fastest Premier League hat-trick ever also stands out and the fastest-ever goal in the Premier League - they are lovely archive moments for me personally to have experienced and created the archive sound for.
That also applies to the 8-0 against Sunderland. It has not been quite so memorable being on mic for two 9-0 losses, though! But if we are talking about pure drama and football, then the 3-2 win against Liverpool from 2-0 down stands out as my favourite commentary, with survival at Swansea up there too.
Sutton's predictions: Southampton v Crystal Palacepublished at 11:03 BST 2 April
11:03 BST 2 April
I've been speaking about some teams like Aston Villa and Newcastle who have got a lot to play for this season, but none of that applies to Southampton.
Saints' sole aim now is to pick up three more points and avoid going down with the lowest points tally in Premier League history.
What a depressing place to be for Southampton fans - only possibly saving some face by beating Derby County's pathetic points total of 11 points from 2007-08, when Robbie Savage was captain.
Southampton took the lead when they played Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in December, although they still lost.
I don't see the Eagles having any problems this time, though. Eberechi Eze is on fire for club and country and Ismaila Sarr found the target again in Saturday's FA Cup win over Fulham.
Sarr has gone under the radar a bit but he is one of many Palace players to have hit form, and I don't see Southampton keeping them out.
Southampton v Crystal Palace: Did you know?published at 08:35 BST 2 April
08:35 BST 2 April
Image source, Getty Images
Crystal Palace have won their past four Premier League games against Southampton, as many as they had in their first 25 against them in the competition beforehand.
Southampton have lost each of their past nine Premier League home games. In English top-flight history, the only sides to endure longer home losing runs within a single season are Birmingham (10) and Watford (11).
Q&A: Building for the futurepublished at 16:32 BST 1 April
16:32 BST 1 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
In the next part of our special Southampton Q&A, BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore looks at how Saints build for the future.
Stu asked: How do you think, realistically, we build for the future in a sustainable way, so we can re-establish ourselves a solid Premier League team, envied by others for how we operate and the success we have as little old Southampton?
Adam: This is a good question because so far under Sport Republic it has been feast or famine based on too many knee-jerk decisions under pressure that have either worked out or gone horribly wrong. And that applies to decisions on managers, players and staff and the timing of those decisions.
The problem is the fans and us in the media also have a part to play because it is hard to be sustainable and consistent in style and results in the long term if you do not allow for periods when the team has to endure growing pains.
If the side goes on a bad run and the manager comes under pressure, you have to hold your nerve if you genuinely think the rough spell is part of the game, and not because of the manager out of his depth.
Support for the team or Sport Republic should not be blind, they have to be accountable, and I think we would all buy in to a style and philosophy if they communicated better and did not lurch from a manager with a certain playing style to another with a completely different philosophy.
Having said all that, I am hopeful that Dragan Solak and Johannes Spors can put a new, better identity on the club, one that is based on shrewd recruitment and having the right people doing the jobs. I really hope Spors will show why having a proper recruitment expert makes a difference, and Saints get a consistent philosophy.
Too many cooks have been involved with big decisions in the past two years. There is now a chance of consistency and growth.
Luke: Do you think there will be a fire sale of players this year? We managed to keep a decent core the last time we were relegated, but with the some of the negative chants from the fans in recent games I am not sure how many will want to stay to get the team back up again.
Adam answered: I did a recent episode of Goin' Home With Adam And Jo, which you can find on our Southampton page on Sounds, and in this I go into a lot of detail about the summer and what I think should or may happen.
In the summer I think the club could move out about a dozen players (sales, loans ending, players out of contract) and still compete at the top of the Championship by only bringing in three or four top signings, rather than eight to 10 average ones. The squad is way too big and needs a big trim!
Come back on Wednesday for part five where Adam discusses his favourite Saints player and game.
Juric on Smallbone injury, avoiding 'the worst team' title and Palace's attack published at 15:09 BST 1 April
15:09 BST 1 April
Millie Sian BBC Sport journalist
Southampton boss Ivan Juric has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Crystal Palace at St Mary's (kick-off 19:45 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Will Smallbone is unavailable but he hopes the central midfielder will be back in contention "next week or in the final part of this week".
Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are both fit despite picking up slight knocks on international duty. James Bree is also in contention.
He had a squad of 10 players to work with during the international break, who have been working "really hard and with enthusiasm" during the two-and-a-half-week period. He added: "In the past two or three days, we have all come back together and been working."
The goal for the remaining nine games of the season is to "take it game by game", "do their best" and "not be the worst team in the history of the Premier League".
On Oliver Glasner's Palace team: "They have really great players. They play in the 3-4-3 - it is always the same. Normally he repeats his first XI continuously. They are great players, with great ability, and they are technically fast." He said it was a "tough game" in the reverse fixture but added that it "wasn't easy" for the Eagles to get their win.
They have "a good opportunity" to get a result because the squad is in "good shape", but he is aware that they will have to stop Crystal Palace's attack: "They are really good. They only need a really small space to score a goal or create chances. They are technically fast and physically strong."
When asked if he regrets anything from the last few games, such as the Wolves defeat, Iraola replied: "There have been some games where it hasn't been easy to compete for us. I was angry against Wolves because my feeling was that we just weren't focused enough in some moments."
On whether he puts tactical formation before the players he has available, he responded: "You have to be able to change a little bit. You have to do your best to make sure the players feel good on the pitch. But, if you want to create something, then you have to have someone with a strong idea and who knows what they want. Only then can you start to create something, and sometimes you have to try to do it best with the players you have."
Q&A: What will Spors bring to the club?published at 14:37 BST 1 April
14:37 BST 1 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
Throughout Tuesday, we are publishing a special Q&A with BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore. In part three, we look at boardroom changes at St Mary's.
Simon asked: What do you think Johannes Spors will bring to the club in the short and medium term? Do you get the sense he will want to bring in his own manager or do you think Ivan Juric has a chance of being at the helm for the Championship campaign next season?
Adam: Potentially, Spors could make a huge difference to the club.
There has been an unclear recruitment policy under Sport Republic so far, with, for example, Russell Martin, Darren Mowbray, Rasmus Ankersen, Phil Parsons and Henrik Kraft all involved last summer.
That cannot be right - it is just too woolly and people are not going to agree on everything.
Spors should be allowed to use his knowledge and experience to run the recruitment policy in an aligned way with clear parameters, in conjunction with a new manager.
He should be the one to choose the new manager because they have to be aligned in their philosophy and united in where they want to take the club.
Come back later for part four, where Adam will explore how Southampton look to build for the future.
Q&A: Any positives to cling to?published at 11:45 BST 1 April
11:45 BST 1 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
On Tuesday, we are publishing a special Q&A with BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore. In part two, we look at the positives Southampton can cling to from this season.
Noah asked: What do you think about our positives this season? Not many people are talking about them, but I think we have quite a bit of talent behind our players, only they can't display it.
Adam: It is hard to sell the positives during such a difficult season. But I think it is a good thing to do, and you are right to try to be positive.
We felt similarly forlorn after the 2023 relegation, which statistically was Saints' worst Premier League season. Twelve months later, the fans were all at Wembley having the best day out! Equally, this season could turn into something entirely more positive in the next 12 months.
Having said all that, how many positives can really be taken? Which players have improved over the course of this season? The two that stand out are of course Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes. I also think Aaron Ramsdale has been worth every penny. But do we expect any of those three to be at the club come September? All talented yes, but also the most saleable players, unfortunately.
The only other positive, I think, is the supporters, to be honest. Their resilience and fortitude shows the owners of the club they should do everything in their power to get the club on an upward trajectory for the long term because those fans deserve it. Away from home in hopeless situations, they have been magnificent.
Q&A: Do Saints need to start from scratch?published at 11:45 BST 1 April
11:45 BST 1 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
Here is another question posed to BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore during our special Southampton Q&A.
Ethan asked: Russell Martin possibly started this season with a naive attitude and the players were always on edge with the dangerous style of football. Ivan Juric's football and man-management style seems too much of a shift in the opposite direction. Except from a clinical nine, I believe most of the players are of enough Premier League quality.
What do you think - have the players been mismanaged or are we simply lacking threat? Now do we need a complete club culture shift and to start from scratch or otherwise?
Adam: I have answered elements of your question in my replies to Jack and David (07:48) - please have a read of them.
But to answer your question on management directly, I think the players have been mismanaged and there was a middle ground to be found in the contrasting styles of Russell and Ivan that would have helped them more on the pitch.
I also think it is not an either/or - I think the extreme styles of play that players have not been able to execute is also about the quality of the players trying to do it at the highest level.
The evidence of the season is overwhelmingly that they are, as a group, not Premier League quality, and as things have gone from bad to worse, their confidence is also shot to bits, which is a massive factor.
It will be a frustration that they have not been able to grow in the league by playing a simpler, safer style of football that they could have grown from. Saints definitely lack threat, though, and the constant failure to buy just one proven top-flight goalscorer has probably cost five managers their jobs - and counting...
As for a culture shift, that is definitely needed and should be delivered by the next manager and Johannes Spors. But starting from scratch is impossible to do player-wise, you just can't ship 30 out and 30 in, as much as agents would love it! So the club need to balance making money in the summer from sales with keeping players who want to be there and fight next season.
Then there are the players who need to go for the good of the club, and they will be the hardest ones to shift.
I did an episode of my BBC Sounds series Goin' Home With Adam And Jo this week on exactly this - the summer transfer strategy. Please feel free to have a listen.
Come back later on Tuesday for part three where Adam explores boardroom changes at St Mary's.
Q&A: Where has it gone wrong this season?published at 07:48 BST 1 April
07:48 BST 1 April
Adam Blackmore BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Image source, Getty Images
Throughout Tuesday, we're doing a special Q&A with BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore. In the first part, he assesses the wreckage of the 2024-25 season.
Jack asked: I would be interested in hearing a breakdown of your thoughts. Where do you think it has gone wrong? What should the club have done differently? Were we always doomed? What needs to change next season?
Adam: I do not think the club were always doomed. I think relegation was absolutely avoidable, and the relegation is a consequence of recruitment and managerial decisions.
There was a brain drain in recruitment following the departure of Jason Wilcox, and not replacing him quickly has been a factor. The summer recruitment was too much about buying potential at decent prices and hoping it would pay off. It did not.
And that has been the biggest flaw for Sport Republic - trying to outsmart the market and failing consistently to do so over three years. The squad needed to be smaller and of higher quality, not bloated and average.
Ultimately, whoever the manager is, when the team is not good enough you are always going to be up against it. As for the managers, it is pretty subjective whether you think Russell Martin's style of football would have worked over time, but if you think back to December, it was impossible for it to carry on.
There is frustration that he and Ivan Juric both tried to impose a style of football on players in very different ways but with very similar outcomes.
Image source, Getty Images
David asked: Why do you think our recent managers have not played to the players' strengths and decided to do it their way?
Adam: It is a big question to answer and one that I can only take an estimated guess on because only Martin and Juric could answer this question definitively.
Any manager has a preferred way of playing and that is generally what they trust because it has got them to the point they are at in their careers and any success they have had. I think when it starts to go wrong we all then wonder why they do not adapt.
For me, it is a failing of modern management that coaches 'stick to their principles', which are often based on wanting to deliver good analytics and stats. In my mind, that is ego-driven and not always for the betterment of the team or the club.
On the basis that I absolutely concur with what my football mentor and partner for many years Dave Merrington taught me - that a coach's job is to help his players - both Russell and Ivan have not done that. Even though they may say, justifiably, that they are trying to make the players better by teaching them to play 'their' way, the Premier League is not the place to practise something you cannot do, whether that is playing out from your own six-yard area, or trying to man-mark players all over the pitch.
There were lower-risk options that may well have led to Saints picking up more points, and gaining confidence along the way that could have helped them be better individually and give the team a hope of staying up.
Come back later on Tuesday for part two where Adam explores if there are any positives from this season…
'Hard to see where points are coming from in final nine games'published at 16:02 BST 31 March
16:02 BST 31 March
Ray Hunt Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
The Southampton fanbase are not really expecting too much from the run-in. If you are only searching for three more points to avoid becoming the worst team in Premier League history, then you are not really setting your sights too high.
Most of us find ourselves fixture-watching and planning from where those elusive points could possibly emanate. In truth, it is hard to see where a single point is coming from the nine games remaining. West Ham and Leicester away seem the most likely, but both came away from St Mary's with maximum points.
But then, haven't most?
It is becoming ever clearer that Tyler Dibling will be getting a summer move to remain in the Premier League next season. There are reports that a number of clubs have shown interest and if you are to believe the rumours, we have slapped a £100m price tag on the teenager.
If we are to make the most and gain a fee anywhere near that figure then it is important to give Dibling as many games as possible in the run-in, in a formation that best deploys his and Mateus Fernandes' talents. Is making sure we get the most value from our current assets all we can hope for now?
I would also like to see Ivan Juric drop the back five and play a recognised striker as the focal point. Our first point of the season and first senior goal for Dibling came by playing that system, as did our early success in the Carabao Cup, albeit against lower-league opposition.
For too many weeks now, we have been asking attacking midfielders to play that lone forward role - to no avail. It seems Juric is trying everything but the obvious. Juric's man-for-man marking becomes predictable and has left huge gaps in the middle which we are not equipped to deal with.
2023-24 accounts a 'good marker for financial life in Championship'published at 17:49 GMT 28 March
17:49 GMT 28 March
Image source, Getty Images
BBC Radio Solent sports editor Adam Blackmore says Southampton's financial accounts for the year ending June 2024 are a "good marker" for what the club can expect should they immediately return to the Championship.
Saints recorded a pre-tax and interest profit of £36.4m and a post-tax profit of £5.7m, following five successive years of reporting losses.
However, this was aided by a mass exodus of players following relegation in 2023.
"They are a good marker for us to look forward to financial life in the Championship next season," said Blackmore.
"Yes, they made a net profit of £5.7m but that only happened from the fire sale of players after dropping out of the Premier League.
"That included Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Tella, Romeo Lavia for big money, Mislav Orsic and more. It was well over £100m of sales.
"The biggest problem for clubs dropping out of the Premier League is your turnover drops because of the broadcasting income. Saints' income went down over £60m from £145m to £84.8m and we can expect something similar to happen again.
"They also invested during that period in the Championship - over £4m in infrastructure including safe standing, a new fan zone, stadium wifi - and that's all in place and won't really need spending on again going forward."
'Any club paying £100m for Dibling is fanciful'published at 15:22 GMT 27 March
15:22 GMT 27 March
Image source, Getty Images
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions.
The below question comes from Thursday's gossip column, which suggested Premier League clubs were being quoted upwards of £100m to sign Southampton's Tyler Dibling.
Tim asked: Phil, Tyler Dibling, £100m? Rogers was £8m from Middlesbrough 12 months ago having achieved more. Dibling is OK at dribbling but, expecting any team to pay multiples of Rogers' fee is nuts, right?
Phil answered: I really like the look of Tyler Dibling but I think the notion of any club paying £100m for the 19-year-old (no matter how talented he is) with only one season Premier League is fanciful.
He is Southampton's player, though, and it is absolutely right that they reserve the right to hold out for the highest possible price if and when he does leave Saints.
Fernandes 'becoming the ultimate Premier League midfielder'published at 14:02 GMT 27 March
14:02 GMT 27 March
Image source, Getty Images
Midfielder Mateus Fernandes has been drawing the attention of plenty of clubs this season with his impressive displays for a Southampton side struggling at the bottom of the Premier League table.
"Mateus Fernandes is on people's radar because every week he plays his heart out, he is by far the best player on the football pitch from a Saints perspective," former midfielder Jo Tessem told this week's BBC Radio Solent Southampton podcast.
Tessem was full of praise for the Portugal Under-21 international, stating that he thinks the player is on a similar path to Romeo Lavia, who left St Mary's to join Chelsea after just one season in the summer of 2023.
"I said the same about Romeo Lavia," Tessem added.
"I didn't think he would stay for a season in the Championship and he didn't - leaving after a year - and he [Fernandes] is on a similar level, albeit a different type of player.
"He is becoming an ultimate Premier League midfielder and clubs are not going to let that go.
"He plays like a Premier League player. He passes like a Premier League player. He is quick like a Premier League player. He conducts himself so well in midfield."
"He is a young, English, talent and attractive to the bigger clubs," Tessem told BBC Radio Solent's Southampton FC podcast. "He belongs in the Premier League. He may be sold this summer and I think he will do well in the Premier League."
The club has reportedly put a £100m price tag on the 19-year-old forward, however Tessem says that it could suit his development to continue at St Mary's for a spell in the Championship next season.
He added: "In terms of his development he might need to take some steps, so maybe completing a full season in the Championship, where he can be very good, might be the right way for him.
"It might be the way that he doesn't want but it might be the right decision [for his career]."
Image source, Getty Images
