Southampton

Southampton and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, 26, is being tracked by Newcastle. (Sun, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Southampton are expecting to receive cut-price bids this month for 27-year-old English full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, whose contract expires this summer. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Ray Hunt
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It was supposed to be a fresh start under the tutelage of Ivan Juric.

A clean slate and a chance to clear out some fringe players to hopefully kickstart our survival bid.

All that has been achieved is a continuation of the Russell Martin era. The latest debacle was another 5-0 drubbing at St. Mary's to London opposition once again as Brentford matched the feat of Chelsea and Tottenham earlier this season.

The Bees came into this fixture with only two points on their travels this season. The worst away record in the league besides… you guessed it. Enter Southampton at St Mary's to turn their fortune. They sensed an opportunity and bagged five, which could - and should - have been many more. And with their injuries piling up.

The fingers continue to be pointed at Sport Republic, who purchased their 80% share back in January 2022, and in the three years since, have a huge list of bad decisions, poor appointments, and millions invested in the transfer market on a string of players that have not stepped up at this level.

Unfortunately, the damage has been done this season for whoever is selecting the line-up and trying to stamp their own style on proceedings.

The blame is not with Juric, who has inherited this bloated squad. So far this season, we have seen 35 different players (all competitions) with seven different captains. He simply does not have the time or players to put things right.

With Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United next on the agenda, it is difficult to see where any points are coming from - or even goals. If we are going to continue to lose in this manner, then we may as well have stuck with Russell Martin.

This is a new low. A soul-destroying campaign that we will all be feeling the ripples from for years to come.

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast, external

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With their 5-0 humbling at home to Brentford on Saturday, Southampton are the worst-ever side at this stage of a Premier League season

Saints have the same points as Sunderland did 19 years ago, but a much worse goal difference of -32 compared to -23.

Ivan Juric's side currently have one point fewer than that famous Derby side that finished on just 11 points in 2007-08.

There is still a way to go, but it is looking a remarkably similar story for the three promoted sides this season as it was last season.

Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton have taken just 35 points from 59 games between them – the exact same amount of points Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United had on this day last year who ended up being the worst promoted trio in PL history.

Southampton being the worst-side ever at this stage does not help, but it is uncanny how similar not just points total is, but also how similar their goal differences are to last year's trio.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Southampton and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Peter: Totally disgusted. The players put no effort in at all. They should be ashamed to take any wages. The supporters pay good money to see a team give 100%. We brought in a manager who is definitely not up for the job. We should drop the whole team and bring in the boys from the academy - at least they would play with pride. I have been a supporter for over 50 years and this is by far the worst team I have seen. Shameful.

Lee: Our performances when we got relegated two seasons ago were embarrassing, but this season we have reached humiliating!

Anthony: How do you get a divorce from a football team? I no longer recognise this club. It has lost its soul and the players have deserted us. It has been going downhill since players started leaving for free at the end of their contracts. It hurts to watch.

• Not a Southampton fan? Find and follow your club here

Clive: Ghastly, but no surprise. Saints have recruited poorly for a long time. The only decent signings before this season were Aaron Ramsdale and Adam Lallana. When did we last have a decent goalscorer at this level? Joking aside, if Saints want to return to the Premier League they should start planning now for a return in 2026, with long-term planning of players and coaching staff who are up to scratch at this level.

Francesca: Dire. Sport Republic seem incapable of making a good decision. Two years ago they appointed a manager with no Premier League experience and they have not learned from that mistake. What identity is Ivan Juric trying to build? What is his remit: survival, long-term or a stop-gap? A lack of a shared strategy at the top permeates through the club and team.

Andy: What is there to say? This is probably the lowest point of my 50 years supporting the Saints. It is easy to point fingers at Sport Republic but the players need to take responsibility as well. A lot of them looked disinterested and resigned to relegation, along with the fans. It is so disappointing after last season. Let's at least not be bottom at the end of the season!

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Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy and former Manchester City defender Micah Richards have branded Southampton's performance in their 5-0 thrashing by Brentford "shambolic" on Match of the Day.

The Saints, who are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table on six points, recorded just one shot on target all game.

"You can't say anything other than what you see," Murphy said. "It is horrendous attitude, discipline and application from the players - pulling out of tackles and taking poor touches - and it just continued.

"You could argue that the manager's appointment isn't ideal, for many reasons, but it was some of the mistakes that the players made.

"There were centre-backs trying to bring the ball down in their own half when there were players around them. There were just so many things to pick out, all to do with the basics of football.

"You have to have some self worth and some pride."

Richards added: "It was mistake after mistake. There was three against one at one point, in the middle of the midfield, and yet no tackle was made. Everything was just too easy for Brentford.

"You called it right, Danny - it was shambolic."

Catch up on Match of the Day on BBC iPlayer

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Former Southampton player Jo Tessem believes the players "need to take a lot of responsibility" for their recent performances, after the Saints suffered another heavy defeat and handed Brentford their first away win of the season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent's Goin' Home With Adam And Jo podcast, Tessem spoke about where he believes the fault should lie.

"It should go on to the players, in my eyes. I think the players need to take a lot of responsibility," he said.

"In terms of the tactics and what the manager is trying to make them do, we haven't seen it working.

"Brentford were stronger, quicker and better in their tactical display. You already have everything against you and then they fell apart from the beginning.

"After the first half, it could have been 4-0. That shows that these players need to be held responsible for their own actions on the pitch.

"We have got to admit that the squad we have is not good enough. It hurts watching them. It is painful watching it.

"It shows how tough Premier League football is because Brentford absolutely murdered us. They were better in every department. You cannot get away from it."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

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Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been speaking to BBC Radio Solent following the 5-0 defeat against Brentford: "It was out of the blue really. We trained really well this week and the manager has brought a lot of positivity in. We can see the things that we are working on in training.

"If we come out and we are not as aggressive as we are in training or not as intense, then that's what happens in the Premier League.

"All the new manager is about is being aggressive and intense, so when we don't execute that in whatever way that is then we can get punished against teams like that, who want to run in behind. If you don't stick with your people, they are going to score.

"The manager said at half-time that the last 15 minutes of the first half was better. If we are aggressive and win those second balls, you give yourselves the best chance of winning the game, but we started on the back foot straight away. I'm sure the manager will address that.

"He won't be too easy on us because of these things, and he is going to be right."

On Ivan Juric's impact since coming in: "I think he is having an impact. We feel it. It's that sort of Italian mentality of being horrible to play against and defending hard, so conceding five goals is not on his agenda. That cannot happen in the way we play.

"It is on us - the characters in there - if we don't come out next week or the week after and show more of ourselves as players.

"It hurts my pride losing like that."

Listen to the full post-match interview on BBC Sounds

The latest episode of the Goin' Home with Adam and Jo podcast has landed.

BBC Radio Solent sports editor Adam Blackmore is joined by former Southampton player Jo Tessem to mull over another heavy defeat, after falling to a 5-0 loss against Brentford at St Mary's Stadium.

They also discuss Sport Republic's first three years in charge of the club, with the Saints losing 51 of their 77 Premier League fixtures during this period.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea

• Brighton 1-1 Arsenal

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Every team can lose a match but it's how you lose.

Southampton were woeful against a rampant Brentford side and deserved to suffer a heavy defeat.

It is the third time in a month that the Saints have conceded five goals in a league match and changing their manager has not improved their fortunes.

Ivan Juric has become the seventh Southampton boss to lose his opening three league games in charge.

The Saints have fewer points at this stage than Derby did in 2007-08 when they went on to set a Premier League record low for a season of 11 points.

Their only real chance was a header from Paul Onuachu which was easily saved by Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Southampton have failed to score in 10 of their 20 games, only Everton (11) have failed to score more often in the Premier League this season.

It is hard to find any redeeming qualities about a side that seem destined for relegation.

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton have won just six points from their opening 20 Premier League matches this season (W1 D3 L16), equalling the worst points tally by any side at this stage of a campaign in the competition (Sunderland in 2005-06).

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton manager Ivan Juric has been speaking to Match of the Day following the heavy defeat: "A very bad day. We didn't start well. We were very bad in the first 30 minutes but in the last 15 minutes much better. The second half was like a disaster."

On what went so wrong for Southampton: "There were only 15 minutes where we played well - we pressed high, stole the ball, tried to create chances but, in every situation, they were better than us. Everything.

"Nothing to say, really bad. We conceded really stupid goals. Psychologically, we are really down and I think in this moment we have to be all together.

"It is our fault, my fault as the manager, and we have to understand the situation but stay together and try to do better next time."

On whether the team is worse than he thought before he took charge: "We can compete with the others. We played such a good game against West Ham. After today, there was such a difference between us and them."

On the fans being annoyed that he took Kamaldeen Sulemana off: "Sulemana hasn't played for a long time. He did 55 minutes and he was not bad."

On spending money in the January transfer window: "In this moment, I don't feel that I want to speak about other things. We will see next week, with the club, everything that we can do."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Saints fans - what did you make of the match?

Brentford supporters - let us know your thoughts

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Tottenham v Newcastle (12:30)

• Aston Villa v Leicester

• Bournemouth v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Chelsea - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Man City v West Ham

• Southampton v Brentford

• Brighton v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 20, he takes on The Zutons frontman Dave McCabe, who supports Liverpool.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

This is a tough one to call because while Southampton are adrift at the bottom and absolutely desperate for points, Brentford are not in great form either.

Saints' new boss Ivan Juric has been quite feisty since his appointment, and his side have only been narrowly beaten in both his games in charge.

It is noticeable how often Southampton like to lump it now under Juric, compared with their possession-based style of play under Russell Martin.

However, while it is also clear they will put up a fight I don't see much changing for them results-wise.

Brentford are a battle-hardened Premier League team, so a direct approach will not faze them, and they also have goals in their team.

The Bees are yet to win on the road this season and only picked up their first away point against Brighton last time out but, this time, I see them taking all three.

McCabe's prediction: 1-2

Brentford all day.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

As we enter a new calendar year and the halfway point of the season, the Opta Supercomputer has been busy making its predictions.

But who is looking most likely to be playing their football outside the top flight next season?

It is bad news for fans of the teams who made their return to the Premier League this campaign.

According to the Opta Supercomputer's simulations, Southampton - rooted to the bottom of the table on just six points - are all but guaranteed to be playing Championship football again next term with a 99.47% chance of being relegated.

The picture is also not a rosy one for Leicester City and Ipswich Town supporters, who occupy the other two relegation spots. The Supercomputer does not see too much change there - the Foxes and the Tractor Boys having a 74.61% and 70.81% chance of relegation respectively.

It is better news for Wolves under new head coach Vitor Pereira, with Wanderers now having only a 39.21% chance of a Championship return, while Everton fans will be pleased to see they have just a 12.52% chance as they hope to see Premier League football in their new stadium next season.

Crystal Palace, West Ham and Brentford can all breathe easier with Opta predicting just a 1.68%, 0.81% and 0.72% chance of relegation respectively.

And what about Manchester United after new boss Ruben Amorim declared them to be facing a relegation battle? Well, it is good news for Red Devils fans as the chance of them actually playing Championship football next campaign is just 0.11%.

Image source, Getty Images

Brazilian defender Welington has joined Southampton following the expiry of his contract with Sao Paulo.

An agreement was reached in the summer regarding the 23-year-old but he stayed at Sao Paulo until the end of their season.

Welington made 164 appearances for the Brazilian top-flight side, also being a part of winning teams in the 2023 Copa do Brasil final and the 2024 Supercopa do Brasil.

He will wear the number 34 shirt at St Mary's.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton are prepared to let striker Ben Brereton Diaz go this month.

The 25-year-old was among a list of names circulated to clubs before the transfer window, with the Saints looking to trim their squad.

A number of Championship sides have already enquired about the Chile international.

Brereton Diaz joined from Villarreal for £7m in the summer but has failed to score in four starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League.

Ronnie Edwards, who joined from Peterborough in July, has already joined QPR on loan until the end of the season, while defender Charlie Taylor may also be allowed to leave.

Southampton are also terminating Maxwel Cornet's loan from West Ham, with the forward having played just 71 minutes in the Premier League this campaign.

New boss Ivan Juric is looking to keep Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu, who struggled to play under former head coach Russell Martin.

Juric said: "The people from Chelsea are not stupid. He is a really young guy - 20 years old - and it's not always easy to work with youngsters. I think he has really good potential."

Sheffield United are considering re-signing a forward - either Southampton and Chile's Ben Brereton Diaz, 25, or Las Palmas and Scotland's Oli McBurnie, 28 - in a bid to boost their promotion hopes. (The Star, Sheffield), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Southampton boss Ivan Juric has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at home to Brentford (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielder Flynn Downes, who is yet to return to full training, will be assessed on Friday to see if he is fit enough to return to the matchday squad.

• There are no new injury concerns but Saints will be without Mateus Fernandes as he serves a one-match ban for collecting five yellow cards.

• On the players' mood: "They are really motivated and want to change this moment. They know they need to be better than before and put more energy into being more clinical to win the game."

• He said the plan for the January transfer window is to "reduce the squad" and he will meet with the owners next week to discuss his "ideas."

• In response to what changes he hopes to make at Saints going forward: "It's important that we become winners and not losers. In the last two games, we conceded from set-pieces. We haven't conceded in open play. We need to get better in attack."

• He said the best thing for Tyler Dibling would be to stay at the club and continue to develop as talks about a new deal continue.

• On Sheffield United being interested in Ben Brereton Diaz: "I prefer not to speak directly about the players."

• Meanwhile, Juric wants Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu "to stay" with the Saints because "he has lots of potential", despite only making three Premier League starts for the club: "Chelsea are not stupid and he's 20 years old."

• On Saturday's visitors: "Brentford are really good. They have had their coach for a long time and you know what they want to do. Tactically, they are really good."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news