Southampton football club have become the first team this season to fire two managers.
Nathan Jones was fired following a 1-2 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves played two-thirds of the game with 10 men following a sending off. The equalizer in the 72nd minute was an own goal.
A statement on the club website reads:
*Southampton Football Club can confirm it has parted company with Men’s First Team Manager Nathan Jones.
First Team Coaches Chris Cohen and Alan Sheehan have also left the club.
First Team Lead Coach Rubén Sellés will take charge of training and prepare the team ahead of next weekend’s game against Chelsea.*
Jones led the Saints for fourteen matches, though only seven of those were in the league. His sole victory in those league games was against Everton on January 14th
The team is bottom of the league and 4 points from 17th. While they have a -22 goal difference they are neither the worst defence in the league (Bournemouth) nor the lowest scorers (Everton, Forest, & Wolves have scored fewer).
It is known that Jones' post-match statements following the previous 3-0 loss to Brentford had cause some disquiet with the board. They may very well have added to the pressure brought by recent resulys aand the manner of this weeks defeat.
Previous coach Ralph Hasenhüttl was fired in November, just before the World Cup.
What now for the Saints? There comes a time in most seasons where it feels the die has been cast for some teams, and the rest of the season is merely a formality. That's fine if your team is sitting pretty atop the league, or securely in the Champions League positions. At the other end of the table it brings despondency and an air of weary fatalism.
For that to be happening with 40% of the season still to come highlights the difficulty the new manager will face.
And Saints aren't the only team seeking new management. Leeds are still seeking Jesse Marsch's replacement seven days after his firing.
While Leeds will stick to their plan of seeking to build for the future there has to be a thinkimg thay Saints just want someone who can keep the team up. In years past someone like Sam Allardyce would have been the go to man, possibly Alan Pardew.
It's difficult to see any manager currently in a role being willing to jump ship, and of ones available with relevant recent EPL experience, none have relegation battle pedigree.
Who will they turn to?
One rumour revolves around Jesse Marsch. He wouldn't be a knock 'em down and drag them up the league appointment which flies in the face of my suggested motivations above. Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard may be willing to give it a go, though would either want the stain of relegation on the careers they are trying to curate? Possibly not.
Whoever accepts the role needs to be confident in their ability to marshal a struggling team, lucky enough to turn losses into draws and draws into wins, and strong enough to understand that the almost certain relegation occurred before they arrived at the club.
