If there was a footballing equivalent of the Oscars, the Saints would be a shoo-in for best picture in the horror category! Last season we saw our beloved team blow a two-goal second-half lead to Chelsea, concede last-minute goals to lose to Man City both HOME and AWAY, surrender to game-deciding late goals to Arsenal in both games while also managing to throw away points at the death to Watford, Stoke and Burnley. And that wasn’t all. Who could forget that gut-wrenching injury time deflected goal conceded at Everton with our survival status seemingly on the line?
Suffered enough? Not by a (last minute) long shot! This season Southampton have managed to concede 20% of their goals in the last 10 minutes of games and we are only talking about league games (blew two goal leads vs Derby twice). This bad habit has proved costly with the Saints wasting a total of nine points through late goals… we would be level on points with Everton in 9/10th place and safe from the drop zone had we shown more composure.
So what’s the problem then? Three successive managers have overseen this calamity. Is it bad luck? Poor refereeing? A lack of fitness? A lack of composure? Time for a sports psychologist?
