da betsson： Southampton decided to part ways with head coach Will Still after the former Lens boss only won two of his 13 matches in charge of the club in the Championship.
da fazobetai： Interim manager Tonda Eckert has won both of his league games in the dugout so far, including a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday last time out, but it remains to be seen what the future holds for him.
Irrespective of what happens now, Eckert has delivered back-to-back wins that were much-needed after a dismal start to the campaign, which led to Still’s dismissal.
Why Will Still was unfortunate to be sacked by Southampton
The Belgian-born tactician won two of his 13 league matches and averaged 0.92 points per game, per Transfermarkt, which is why it was not a surprise to see him lose his job.
However, per FotMob, Southampton rank sixth in the table for xPTS and are currently 11 places lower in the division than they would be if every game was decided by who created the higher-quality chances.
Of course, football is not played on paper and it is, ultimately, a results-based business, but these statistics suggest that performances from individuals let him down, as the Saints have underperformed their xG and conceded more than their xGA suggests that they should have.
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Whilst it is hard to know what goes on behind the scenes, perhaps Still was unable to motivate a team to win consistently, as he finished between 11th and 8th in his three seasons as a manager in France, which means that he is not used to competing at the very top of a league.
This is why Southampton could find a major upgrade on the former Lens boss by hiring reported target Brendan Rodgers as their new manager during the break.
Why Southampton should hire Brendan Rodgers
The Northern Irish manager resigned from the Celtic job last month and he could be the dream appointment for the Saints if they can convince him to drop down to the Championship.
Rodgers, who was once dubbed “world-class” by Gabriel Agbonlahor, may have the perfect track record for the situation that Southampton find themselves in, because he has experience in the Championship, the Premier League, and the Premiership.
The 52-year-old coach won promotion via the play-offs with Swansea in the 2010/11 campaign, which is relevant for where the club is now, and helped them to stay up with an 11th-placed finish in the Premier League the following season, which should be Southampton’s long-term goal.
Premier League
312
1.56
Premiership
173
2.43
Premiership top six split
15
2.20
Championship
94
1.49
Championship play-offs
3
2.33
As you can see in the table above, Rodgers is a proven Premier League manager who has excelled at Swansea, Liverpool, and Leicester City in the top-flight, which is why he would be the perfect appointment for now and in the future.
On top of that, the Northern Irishman is also a proven winner. Per Transfermarkt, he won four Scottish Premiership titles, four Scottish League Cups, and four SFA Cups with Celtic, along with an FA Cup and a Community Shield with Leicester.
This means that Rodgers has won a whopping 13 trophies in his career as a manager, whilst Southampton have not won a major trophy since the FA Cup success in 1976.
Overall, the former Celtic manager would be a major upgrade on Still, who has only managed midtable success and has no trophies under his belt, because of his career record, his history in the Championship and the Premier League, and his proven track record of winning trophies.
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If they can convince him to take the job, Rodgers could be the ideal candidate to get the Saints out of the Championship, as well as to establish them in the Premier League.