Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is still hobbling around on crutches after an Achilles operation. His team is limping just as badly in the Premier League.
The South Coast club has earned just a point from its first two games of the new season, with Saturday's 3-0 home drubbing by Everton highlighting the same defensive fragility exposed by Newcastle in last week's 2-2 draw at St. James' Park.
The departures of right back Nathaniel Clyne and defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in the summer appears to have unsettled a defence that conceded just 33 goals in the league last season — second best only to champion Chelsea (32).