Southampton fans will be severely worried by their team's current standing in the Premier League, as the Saints head into the bumper fixture list coming in December rock bottom of the division.
That doesn't look like changing anytime soon either, with the South Coast side only on a meagre five points, whilst 17th placed Crystal Palace, who are just outside the bottom three, are unfortunately on a far superior 13 points.
russell martin
Not all hope will be lost on the end of Russell Martin, however, who will know a few positive results could drastically turn his depressing team's fortunes around, even if any slight rays of sunshine seem far off at this moment in time.
He will be very aware that his team will need to sort out their defensive issues if they're to stand any chance at a great escape, with far too many lackadaisical displays at the back costing the Saints dear.
Southampton's defensive issues
At the time of writing, Southampton have the second leakiest defence in the entirety of the Premier League, with an alarming 31 goals conceded only topped by Wolverhampton Wanderers' abysmal 38.
Martin's set-up of making his Saints defenders play out from the back religiously has resulted in far too many casual displays from his team since making the step-up from the Championship, leading to goals galore often being shipped like when Chelsea hit Southampton for five earlier this month, even as the Blues travelled to play at St. Mary's.
The hosts were of course not helped by Jack Stephens picking up another dismissal in the one-sided contest, with the experienced defender letting himself down time after time since promotion has been sealed, considering he was also given his marching orders versus Manchester United earlier on this season.
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Where are they now
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Alongside plenty of issues across the back four, Martin has also been unable to pick a consistent goalkeeper in-between the sticks, owing to his usual first-team choice from last season in Gavin Bazunu still being sidelined.
With summer signing Aaron Ramsdale also being plagued by injuries as of late, reserve option Joe Lumley has had to be recently thrown into the deep end, with the 29-year-old only playing League One football four years ago.
Aaron-Ramsdale-Southampton
This situation involving a revolving door of 'keepers must sting more when you consider this ex-Saints star in-between the sticks departed the club for nothing in 2022, after regularly being a reliable pair of gloves.
Forster's time at Southampton
Southampton splashed out £10m to win Fraser Forster's services in 2014, hopeful that the towering 6 foot 7 goalkeeper would go on to be an overwhelming success in England, having shone in Scotland with Celtic.
Fraser-Forster
One display whilst Forster was still situated in Glasgow even saw the constantly entertaining Lionel Messi wax lyrical, stating that the now 36-year-old was "not human" after he conceded just one goal when bravely battling against Barcelona in a famous 2-1 win way back in 2012.
"The performances of Fraser Forster against us were talked about for a long time. There was one game in Scotland where he was not human, it is the best goalkeeping performance I have seen.
He added: “When Victor Valdes said he was leaving we even talked about him playing here. I was sure he would end up at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United."
He would go on to affirm his status as a 'keeper who can come up trumps on the big occasion whilst playing in the Premier League, with Forster going on to amass 162 total appearances for the Saints across his lengthy stay on the South Coast.
Keeping 46 top-flight clean sheets along the way - which included a stunning 14 in the league during just his first season - the once firm Southampton fan's favourite very much justified the bumper £10m price tag that was above his head, with his exit on a free transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in 2022 hurting those at St. Mary's in the process.
Forster's clean sheet numbers at Southampton
Season
21/22
20/21
19/20
18/19
17/18
16/17
15/16
14/15
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Always consistently in and around the Saints' first team mix right up to this departure, it's understandable that Forster no longer being around would disorientate his former employers in terms of who they picked next to line up in goal.
The veteran could even do a job for the relegation-threatened outfit now, having been selected seven times this season by Ange Postecoglou as his main goalkeeper, amid the loss of Guglielmo Vicario to injury.
fraser-forster-tottenham-hotspur
He also faced the wrath of an explosive Chelsea last time out, but Martin and Co wouldn't say no to having their former hero back in an alternate reality, as he might well be able to sort out some leaky displays that could prove to be costly in their fight to stay up.
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