Southampton FC mid-season awards: Who has impressed and who hasn't?

The first 15 games have come with highs but that second-bottom position in the table means it's been far more lows. Saints have won just three games and lost nine. That dismal run of form eventually saw Ralph Hasehuttl sacked after nearly four years in charge at St Mary’s. Former Luton Town manager Nathan Jones swiftly replaced him.

The break has come at a good time for Jones’ beleaguered team, with the new boss now having nearly six weeks to work with his squad and regroup ahead of the crucial post-World Cup run.

But even if you might want to - we can’t just forget the football that has already been played. So both the good and the bad, here are our mid-season Saints awards. 

From best player to best moments and quotes, here is an alternative assessment of the season thus far…

Player of the Season: Mohammed Salisu

A couple of the players already discussed in these awards - namely Lavia and Bella-Kotchap - were considered for this top gong but ultimately injuries limited their total minutes, leaving one obvious choice standing: Mohammed Salisu.

The Ghanaian centre-back enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season but struggled alongside his entire team in the final third en-route to a disappointing 15th place finish. But he’s returned to his best or near his best form this time around. 

James Ward-Prowse is the only outfield player to make more starts for Saints this season and play more minutes than Salisu thus far. Salisu's standout personal campaign looks even more impressive when considering the carousel of centre-back partners he's played with and systems he's played in.

Primarily, Salisu has been partnered by Bella-Kotchao but he's also spent time alongside Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Lyanco, and more recently, Duje Caleta-Car. He has played in back fours and back fives and excelled throughout, outside of shakey team performances against Spurs and Crystal Palace.

If SaInts are to climb out of the hole they find themselves in, then they will need Salisu to continue his strong form rather than fall off like he did a year ago.

Surprise Player: Armel Bella-Kotchap

In truth, this season and this group of Saints players has been full of more disappointment than success, but within the relative failure of 15 games that has left them in the relegation zone but there have still been a few surprises - positive ones.

Saints fans are probably no longer surprised considering his impressive form ever since his arrival in the summer but the way in which Armel Bella-Kotchap has taken the football world by storm wins him this award.

It wouldn’t be fair to call Bella-Kotchap a nobody prior to his Saints arrival considering he had already racked up 22 Bundesliga appearances at the age of 20 but most would have struggled to predict just how quickly he would adapt to English football. 

While he didn’t start on the opening day at Tottenham Hotspur, Bella-Kotchap has been an essential part of this team virtually since day one and his impressive form was rewarded with a place in the Germany World Cup squad despite only recovering from a shoulder dislocation two weeks before the tournament. Saints need Bella-Kotchap to continue growing if they are to turn around this difficult campaign.

Player Needed to Step Up: Gavin Bazunu

This is probably a harsh choice considering Gavin Bazunu’s age and lack of experience: inconsistency has to be expected of a goalkeeper playing at the top level for the first time in their career regardless of pedigree or potential. But Saints don’t really have any time to wait.

Bazunu hasn’t been disastrous by any means but Saints need a goalkeeper who can bail them out of tough moments and thus far, the Irish international has failed to step up when his side is under heavy pressure.

One clean sheet all season is hardly his fault but there have been a number of goals that left those watching with the belief that he could have and should have done better - Firmino’s looping header at Anfield the latest.

Armed with impressive traits including his reflex shot-stopping - something that was also seen at Anfield - Bazunu is still a work in progress but Saints need him to be much closer to the finished article when the Premier League returns on Boxing Day. 

Game of the Season: Saints 2-1 Chelsea, August 30 2022

In many ways, this season is a proof of concept for the new Saints ownership Sport Republic. They are attempting to build in the Premier League in a completely new and innovative fashion. In a league governed by ideas of experience and ‘know-how’, Sport Republic have tossed all those ingrained ideas out the window.

Their strategy relies on talent above everything else and as such their recruitment this summer saw them go after some of the brightest young players in England and Europe. The results have been mixed with the likes of Romeo Lavia and Bella-Kotchap appearing ready-made for the biggest stages while Sekou Mara and Juan Larios clearly need more time.

But if there was one game that seemed to define the potential success of Sport Republic’s project then it was the late-August victory against Chelsea.

It feels a world away now as the Nathan Jones’ era gets under way in earnest, but that win felt like a real statement from both the Saints hierarchy and Ralph Hasenhuttl. After an unimpressive start to the season, Saints seemed to turn something of a corner with four points against Leeds and Leicester followed by a slender defeat to Manchester United.

Chelsea presented an obvious challenge and at 1-0 down there were flashes back to April’s 6-0 defeat to the same opposition. But this young Saints team rallied and managed to poke their noses in front by half time before defending resolutely to hold out for a famous victory.

It was 90 minutes encompassed by bravery, dedication, and genuine quality - everything Sport Republic would have hoped this young group could be when they assembled the squad. 

This night was also momentous for far less positive reasons as Lavia was forced off with a hamstring injury that ended up keeping him out for two months and no doubt heavily influencing Saints’ slide into the relegation zone.

Goal of the Season: Che Adams vs Leicester

Heading to the King Power Stadium in August, Saints appeared in disarray just two games into the new campaign. A heavy defeat to Spurs was followed by a rousing yet unimpressive comeback draw against Leeds as rumours swirled around the futures of both Hasenhuttl and Che Adams himself.

Those rumblings seems to grow louder as the striker was left on the bench. But after 59 minutes and with Saints down 1-0, Hasenhuttl went to his bench and called on Adams. Less than ten minutes later he made his mark with a scrappy yet hugely crucial equaliser to set up a grandstand finish.

Saints pushed for all three points and just when it seemed that time might be running out, Adams stepped up in a major way. The ball was worked wide to Kyle Walker-Peters and when he laid it off to Ward-Prowse there was only one thing on the midfielder’s mind, his trademark first-time whipped cross into the mixer.

The ball was slightly behind Adams but as it seemed to travel past him he swivelled in the air and connected with a perfect scissor kick to earn Saints three huge points, their first win of the season.

Moment of the Season: Moi Elyounoussi's block and assist vs Arsenal

We’re going to cheat slightly here and pick a moment that was really two moments. Facing league-leaders Arsenal, Saints started sluggishly and could have no complaints when Granit Xhaka gave the Gunners a 10th minute lead.

But after a change of formation from a back four to five, Saints slowly built their way back into the contest and by the time the second half got under way, Hasenhuttl’s side were very much alive. All that could have been ended though on the hour mark when Gabriel Jesus stormed through with only Bazunu to beat.

That was until a whir of red and white somehow made up the ground, got goal-side, and put in a crucial sliding block to send the ball wide of the Saints’ goal. That blur of speed was Moi Elyounoussi and less than five minutes later, he was flying in the opposite direction, up the pitch to receive the ball from Romain Perraud and play Stuart Armstrong through to score the equaliser.

Elyounoussi has had a somewhat underwhelming season so far but that five-minute shift in momentum was dramatic and important.

Newcomer of the Season: Romeo Lavia

There’s a non-zero chance that Lavia would be heading to Qatar with Belgium had he not suffered that hamstring injury against Chelsea. 

But don’t take my word for it, here’s Belgium boss Roberto Martinez speaking about the midfielder in October:

“As with Zeno Debast, we had the feeling that [Romeo] Lavia was ready to join the Red Devils. That is now being postponed. In any case, he has an incredible future ahead of him,” the former Everton manager explained.

Such has been Lavia’s incredible introduction that it’s totally plausible he could be one of Belgium’s best midfielders not only in the future but in the present as well. Regardless, it’s no doubt beneficial for Saints that Lavia will be staying behind to work with new boss Jones.

Speaking after the 3-1 defeat at Anfield, Jones highlighted where Lavia still needs to improve.

“To come and play how he did at Anfield with that freedom, shows he's a wonderful talent. He'll get better because we have to work with him.

“In possession he is wonderful but out of possession we need to work with him and he needs to get better. Once he does that, he'll be some talent.”

The sky is quite literally the ceiling for Lavia who has displayed a unique ability to control Premier League matches at the age of 18. Many thought he’d been good when Saints splashed out the not-insignificant sum of £12m this summer to bring him to St Mary’s from Manchester City but I don’t think anyone thought he’d be this good, this quickly.

Comeback Player of the Season: Moussa Djenepo

While he hasn’t started a Premier League game for Saints since mid-September, Moussa Djenepo is the clear winner of this category. Towards the end of last season, it really seemed that Djenepo’s Saints career could be coming to a close.

The winger racked up just 25 minutes of league action after the turn of the year and 18 of those limited minutes came with the game lost on the final day of the season at Leicester. There really didn’t seem any hope for Djenepo.

But when pre-season came around, the Mali international was still at the club. Whether that was due to Saints failing to find a suitor for him or Hasenhuttl wanting to keep him, Djenepo was part of the travelling camp to Austria for pre-season and with Romain Perraud recovering from a broken foot, Djenepo was given a new lease on life in a new position.

It’s hard to imagine many predicting that the relatively unreliable and unpredictable Djenepo could end up in defence but that is exactly what happened, Hasenhuttl utilising him at left wing-back in a five before giving him even more responsibility at left back in a four.

Djenepo stepped up and gave his side the boost they needed as Perraud continued his journey back to the first team picture. That impressive attitude and malleability helped earn Djenepo a new three-year deal and the new father has proven that he could still have a real future with this team.

Quote of the Season: Ralph's goodbye and Nathan's hello

While this category is titled ‘quote’ of the season, we’ve actually chosen two: one from the recently departed Saints manager and one from the man who replaced him.

Ralph Hasenhuttl on if he can turn around Saints’ struggles:

“No. At the moment, no because I can’t say that we aren’t trying hard to change and we are putting in a lot of effort on the pitch.

"Everyone is fighting for it but at the moment we aren’t getting the reward for the efforts we are putting in. We are under the [relegation] line after the first 15 games which is not good enough for us. It is the first time since I’ve been here that we are under the line so we have to be very honest. It is simply not good enough.”

Coming just moments after Saints were swept aside by Newcastle, Hasenhuttl seemed to know the end was coming and didn’t hide from the line of questioning, honestly admitting that he didn’t know what more he could do to turn around his team’s failings. Less than 24 hours later, he was gone.

Nathan Jones on the skepticism around him as the new Saints boss:

​​"Let’s address the elephant in the room, I’m not the biggest name they could have gone for.

"I’ve never, ever made a decision based on my name. It’s my work, so if I feel I can impact and really do something then I make that choice. "I believe in the work we do and that I can transfer that to a wonderful football club and I wouldn’t have jumped for any job, I really wouldn’t have. But I felt this was the right fit. The really right fit.

"I’ve always had to work for everything and in God's will I’m here where I am now. And I like working. I like working hard.

"There’s a real good feeling when your work comes to fruition and I like that. I’ve never really been gifted anything so I can’t say there is anything in particular but the fact that a skinny, rat-faced Welsh boy is managing in the Premier League, that’s pretty much of a good story anyway."

When Hasenhuttl was sacked following the defeat to Newcastle, it didn’t take long at all for Jones to be confirmed as his successor. But as soon as the links became public, they were met with skepticism from many in the Saints fanbase.

That’s a completely understandable reaction considering Jones’ experience has only come at the lower league level and the one time he left Luton - for Stoke - it went rather disastrously. That, coupled with rivals Wolves and Aston Villa appointing Julen Lopategui and Unai Emery respectively, left many underwhelmed.

It’s not something Jones ignored, attacking the topic in his introductory press conference, a press conference that would have eased some worries.

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