Southampton

A new episode of Saints and Sinners is now available to listen to and download on BBC Sounds.

BBC Radio Solent's Jono Holmes sits in for Tom Deacon and is joined by British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight champion Lewie 'The Saint' Edmondson to chat about his new title and his love for Southampton.

Plus, Adam Blackmore returns to discuss Russell Martin's future after a dispiriting late comeback defeat at home to Leicester.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Crystal Palace's 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest on Monday meant that for the first time in the English top-flight's 126-year history, four clubs have failed to win any of their first eight matches of a league season.

Palace, Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves are all yet to be victorious in the Premier League this campaign.

According to Opta,, external 10 clubs in the Premier League era (since 1992-93) have failed to win any of their first eight games and yet have gone on to avoid relegation.

The most recent of those came last season when Bournemouth, who did not win until their 10th league fixture of 2023-24, recovered to finish 12th.

Before Saints and Wolves did so this season, there had only been six occasions when a team had taken one point or fewer from their opening eight matches of a Premier League season.

Two of those sides ended up surviving - Southampton in 1998-99 and Sunderland in 2013-14.

Football is full of highs.

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And lows.

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Controversy takes hold.

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Moments of madness do too.

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Players become unexpected heroes.

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Some never change.

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There's pain.

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Joy too.

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And, given this ebb and flow of emotion, every so often, even the coolest heads boil over.

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Ray Hunt
Fan writer

The main question on the lips of supporters is how long does Russell Martin have?

This is following yet another Premier League collapse, this time, at home to relegation rivals Leicester City.

The questions were rife pre-international break after consecutive losses to Manchester United, Bournemouth and throwing away a lead at Arsenal. The latest collapse leaves Saints without a Premier League win on a run that dates back to March 2023. That's a total of 21 games and a club record without a win in the top-flight. After eight games, we remain winless, with one point, a concession of 18 goals, and the prospect of defending champions Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium next.

It’s an all-too familiar pattern under the tutelage of Martin - throwing away leads against Arsenal, Ipswich, and a 2-0 half time advantage against Leicester. Much like the Ipswich result in the previous home outing, Saints let points slip deep into injury time with the last kick of the game from a corner, leaving the goalscorer unmarked on both occasions.

Martin was quizzed on his future following the Leicester defeat and showed no concerns regarding his departure. There was a scheduled meeting on Friday with the board and Dragan Šolak. Replying about whether he feared for his future, Martin said: “I had a brilliant chat with Dragan and the boys, so, no.”

Maybe it’s a question of timing. The ideal time to replace him would have been the recent international break, not after one game back. The next international break is between 11-19 November after the crucial games against Everton and Wolves. If we end that stretch with still the solitary point, then it may be too much for a new manager to salvage.

It seems the players aren’t good enough to play the certain style that Martin demands at this level. If they are to pull the trigger, the incoming manager will need the know-how of Premier League survival. The board have a big decision to make in the coming weeks.

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

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

Here are some of your comments:

Southampton fans

Nick: Saints lost because of another tactical mistake by the manager. At 2-0 up his decision to bring a forward on when forced into a substitution for an injured defender changed the defensive balance completely, compounded by moving Walker-Peters, and further exposing the left side.

Jim: Russell Martin needs to go asap, he is embarrassingly out of his depth. Today’s loss was on his poor substitutions, namely Ryan Fraser who was at fault for the first two goals. Russell needs to be shown the exit door before the next game.

Joanna: Abysmal refereeing, but one point all season speaks for itself. I'm tired of the automatic calling for a manager's head, but something has to change. All the optimism from promotion has drained. I'm drained.

Leicester fans

Mike: This was a season defining game. I’m now very confident we will stay up. Steve Cooper needs to pick Fatawu for the Forest match on Friday. Another win then and the Foxes will be comfortable in mid table. Brilliant performance.

James: Talk about leaving it late! A huge win in what will undeniably be a rollercoaster season for the Foxes, but it also masks a catalogue of concerns. Steve Cooper still doesn't know his best starting XI, with Fatawu's constant omission baffling near enough everyone in football, and Leicester are still second best out of the starting blocks. Strewth.

Brad: What a Jekyll and Hyde performance! This is sort of why you love football. From dead and buried to on cloud nine! Cooper is a genius!

Laura Kenyon
Final Score reporter

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What next for Southampton?

A question posed in the context of one of the most confusing games I have probably ever watched; predominantly due to the contrast of epic proportions between Southampton’s first half performance, versus their second.

It clicked, finally, after seven games – two goals to the good, possession translating into chances, and the atmosphere around a packed St Mary’s was optimistic – almost buoyant.

It clicked… until it didn’t.

How much credit do you bank for a brilliant 45 minutes when the outcome is ultimately the same result: winless in eight.

Focus naturally turns to the manager. Russell Martin looked despondent upon full time. Pressure surely grows on him with this arguably a season-defining moment against a relegation rival.

But presumably with that comes more frustration, more torment. The pressure piling up comes off the back of a game where Southampton did so many things right, showed vast attacking improvement and, crucially, it arrives while they are in the thick of a pivotal run of games.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

After defeats over the weekend, Southampton and Ipswich have become the 30th and 31st teams in Premier League history to be winless after the first eight games.

But it is not all doom and gloom for the two newly promoted sides.

Of the previous 29 teams to not taste victory in their opening eight fixtures, a third have still gone on to avoid relegation.

Newcastle in 2021-22 did not get their first win until their 15th game – a 1-0 win against Burnley in December – and ended the season in 11th!

Saints have even been in this position before in 1998-99. They had just one point and a worse goal difference of -18 after eight games and stayed up on the final day of the season.

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On the latest episode of Goin Home with Adam and Jo, Adam Blackmore and Jo Tessem discuss Adam Lallana's lack of recent game time.

Jo Tessem said: "I think Adam Lallana should have come on [against Leicester].

"After the Ipswich game, we haven't really seen much of him which is weird because he was so dominant in that game in the way he ran the midfield.

"In the mental part of the game, it is what we're lacking. We need someone who can demand things and tell people what to do and he does that when he's on the pitch."

Adam Blackmore added: "When you're 2-0 up, you bring someone like him on with his experience to boss the other players around to keep them focused.

"That's the one mystery for me that we aren't seeing more of him. We know he is probably the best player in the squad at managing games."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis speaking to BBC Radio Solent after defeat to Leicester: "I don't really know what to say. Conceding three goals in the second half, it just can't happen.

"I don't think we dealt with Abdul Fatawu well enough, he caused too many problems. That was the story of the second half.

"I don't think it was a problem when we had the ball, it was when they had it. The organisation on the set piece wasn't right and we got punished.

"The next few days will be tough and we'll be hurting, but we've got to prepare for the next game. It doesn't get harder than Manchester City away. We've got to roll our sleeves up because there's loads of points that we have to pick up."

Listen to more from Harwood-Bellis, as well as Russell Martin on BBC Sounds

The latest episode of the Goin' Home With Adam And Jo podcast has landed.

BBC Radio Solent Sport Editor Adam Blackmore and former Southampton player Jo Tessem dissect the Saints' collapse against Leicester, and how Russell Martin's side can recover from the defeat.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker brings 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:

• Man Utd 2-1 Brentford

• Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal

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Russell Martin spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Southampton's defeat against Leicester: "I think the sending off changes the game. We started the game so well, the second half so well, their goal came out of nothing. Then Ryan gets sent off and the game becomes really difficult.

"I thought we were better in the start of the second half then the end of the first half. We didn't take our chances to get the third goal. Then someone gets sent off and it changes the whole context.

"I think with VAR I can't have any complaints, it is what it is."

On goal coming after end of added time: "It's the referee's prerogative to add the time on he feels has been added on in injury time. He told our players it was the final action, so we have to defend it properly."

On the message to the players: "To understand what's hurt us, to understand what has put us into a 2-0 lead in a really brilliant performance. But right now there is no message I can give that is helpful because of the emotion everyone is feeling. Give everyone to digest that and the process will continue."

On his message to the fans: "The fans have been brilliant since I've been here. I'm not sure the boos were directed at their team because the team were giving everything. My message is to be really supportive, they've been great."

On the message to fans questioning his future: "I've nothing to say apart from that I need to keep working and we need to win a game of football. I hope they will always turn up and support their team, they've been amazing."

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton have now gone 21 games without a win in the Premier League (five draws, 16 losses), their outright longest winless streak in top-flight history.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Southampton's performance, external

What did you make of Leicester’s display?, external

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

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

For week eight, he takes on legendary boxing manager Kellie Maloney.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

A win would be massive for both teams, given they are both in the bottom six, but especially for Southampton boss Russell Martin.

So much has been made of his brand of football that, despite him doing so well to get them promoted, their fans will eventually start to turn against him unless he gets some points on the board - at the moment they only have one.

Leicester, meanwhile, did get their first victory of the campaign last time out. It was a good win over Bournemouth, but I wonder if that will count for as much because all their players jetted off afterwards. The Foxes probably did not want the international break.

Leicester won 9-0 here in October 2019, but this time it is going to be a lot tighter. A draw is not much good to Foxes manager Steve Cooper either, but that is what I am going with.

Kellie's prediction: Southampton need a win but I think Leicester will take this one. 0-1

Read the rest of their predictions, and have your own say here

There are seven matches that make up Saturday's Premier League action:

• Tottenham v West Ham - 12:30

• Fulham v Aston Villa

• Ipswich v Everton

• Manchester United v Brentford (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

• Newcastle v Brighton

• Southampton v Leicester

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

Kick-off 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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The Premier League returns this weekend, with each club having played seven matches.

BBC Sport has looked at eight players that have performed better than fans may have expected this season.

Southampton are yet to record a Premier League victory after winning promotion from the Championship last season.

But one of the main plusses for Russell Martin's side has been the form of 18-year-old creative midfielder Tyler Dibling.

He had only made one substitute appearance in the league before this season, but instantly has looked at home in the top flight. He scored his first Saints goal last month when he linked up with 36-year-old Adam Lallana and netted in the 1-1 draw with Ipswich, and won a penalty against Manchester United.

Did you know? No teenager has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Dibling (seven).

See the other players BBC Sport picked here

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Southampton boss Russell Martin says his critics are welcome to sit down with him to discuss his style of play rather than making an "uneducated guess" about it.

With Saints picking up just one point from their opening seven games, Martin has come under fire from some fans and pundits for his possession-based playing style, which he has not altered since promotion.

"I always find it fascinating that someone can watch six minutes of highlights and have a really credible opinion of your team, [and about] you as a person as well, about being stubborn or whatever," Martin said.

"I would always invite those people to come and sit down and have a chat about it and why we would do things if they want to have a really educated opinion rather than an educated guess - or an uneducated guess sometimes.

"I don't know how we're perceived. My perception of our team is that they're brave and they're doing some really brave things. Eventually, that courage will pay off.

"And if it doesn't, then I'll know that we stayed ourselves and stayed true to ourselves, which I knew would be the biggest challenge at the start of this season with the amount of questions and scrutiny we would get - because of the way we play, because I'm an English coach and because I'm young.

"The rest will just be what it will be.

"I'm proud of the journey they're on, but no-one cares about any of that if you don't win. So we have to win and this game is as good as any to get that first win and really kick us off."