Mark Hughes has been brought in to save Southampton from relegation, with just eight games in which to do so.
If the Saints do drop into the Championship, it will be due to a lack of goals. Claude Puel was dismissed in the summer and one of the complaints was the boring style of football but the same problems persisted under Mauricio Pellegrino.
Southampton’s attack has been anaemic throughout this season and one of the main problems has been a lack of invention in the side.
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There are talented players in there and they haven’t taken responsibility at vital times but there is also no doubt that Pellegrino’s unambitious style and failure to motivate the players more than played its part.
Defensively, Southampton are okay but the reason they are staring relegation in the face is their worrying inability to score goals.
With that in mind, Football FanCast have looked over the numbers to find out who has created the most chances at St Mary’s this season…
Davis is a workmanlike, diligent and technically sound footballer but he has never been known for putting hatfuls of chances on a plate for his team-mates.
It shows how lacking in invention Southampton have been this season that he makes the top five in these rankings.
The understated Northern Ireland international – valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt – has shown up some of his more expensively-recruited team-mates in this area so far this term.
Injury permitting, Bertrand should be heading off to the World Cup in Russia this summer and he will do so with ambitions on being Gareth Southgate’s first choice left-back.
He can get up and down that left flank and deliver with quality but probably shouldn’t be considered one of the most creative forces in this team.
Valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, he is one player who has maintained his standards this season, while others at St Mary’s have dropped theirs.
Ward-Prowse’s delivery from set-pieces largely contributes to his place on this list, but his energy and endeavour have often lifted a dour Saints midfield this season.
Consistency is still an issue but the fact he is laying on more chances for his team-mates than all but two others is a good sign.
Hughes will have to make him central to his plans.
Redmond was at the centre of that bizarre storm when Pep Guardiola intercepted him after the Saints had just lost 2-1 in stoppage time at the Etihad Stadium, of course.
He hasn’t been a regular fixture in the team, but his place so high up this list owes to the talent that the former Barcelona boss identified in him as the main source of frustration.
Pep felt players like Redmond should be let off the leash to attack. We’ll see if Hughes does exactly that.
Tadic dips up and down within seasons and dips and down within matches.
He is a talented playmaker and will travel to Russia with Serbia this summer as a man hoping to make an impression on the world stage.
He has the ability to do that but doesn’t show it consistently enough for the Saints. Nevertheless, he comfortably creates the most chances at the club and Hughes will hoping to be able to call on that in the final eight games.