Southampton reaction given to Dom Ballard impact at Leyton Orient - goal-shy claim made | OneFootball

FLW's Saints fan pundit isn't regretting letting Dom Ballard go, even after a great start to life at Leyton Orient

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Dom Ballard has enjoyed a great start to life at Leyton Orient, and the 20-year-old is starting to realise the potential he showed in the Southampton academy.

Despite a goalscoring record of 60 goals in 72 games at youth level at Southampton, Ballard struggled to get into the senior Saints side.

He suffered a serious knee injury in his first loan spell away at Reading, and unfortunately, wasn't able to hit the ground running in subsequent loan moves at Blackpool and Cambridge United last season.

A sale this summer to Leyton Orient, however, has seen something switch in his play. The 20-year-old has scored six in six for Richie Wellens' side, doubling his League One goal tally from last season in 29 fewer games.

A hat trick in a 4-0 win over Doncaster Rovers last Saturday has fans on notice, and given Southampton's struggles in front of goal so far in their return to the Championship, some are questioning whether letting Ballard go was a good idea.

Martin Sanders, FLW's Southampton fan pundit, isn't getting carried away with this sentiment, however, believing that there's a reason why he wasn't rated at St Mary's, and that fans should wait and see how the season pans out before drawing a conclusion.

Southampton currently have the second-highest xG in the Championship with 15.5, but their 11 goals indicate that they have an issue converting these big chances they are creating.

Seeing their former striker hit the ground running elsewhere, whilst Ross Stewart suffers yet another injury, and Damion Downs struggles to make an impact since his arrival from Koln, is frustrating, and has Saints fans believing that they made a mistake letting Ballard go.

Sanders feels that they should be patient, however, and see how the season plays out for Ballard at Brisbane Road before believing that they have made the wrong decision.

"Loads of managers have looked at him and deemed him not good enough," he said.

"He was loaned out multiple times, despite scoring for fun at youth level, and whilst I felt that he might have got a chance this pre-season, Will Still isn't the only manager not to fancy him for one reason or another.

"It's a great hat trick, congratulations to him, he's a brilliant lad, and we wish him all the best, especially after the horrific injury down at Reading, but see what he does over the season and see what our strikers do at Southampton."

Sanders believes that the notion that Southampton have made a mistake in letting him go is only fuelled by the fact that the current crop of forwards at St Mary's is underperforming, and once they start to hit the ground running, people won't be as frustrated.

"Obviously, Saints fans are looking at our strikers and seeing that Ross Stewart is injured again and Damion Downs has struggled to adapt, and they're questioning selling Ballard," he continued.

"But if Downs comes in and hits the ground running, and we were scoring goals for fun, no one would be talking about it.

"It's the fact that we've been goal-shy, that's why it's a bit of an issue."

Southampton will hope for both Dom Ballard and their own strikers to find form this season

Things unfortunately didn't seem to work out for Ballard at Southampton, but after coming through their academy, Saints fans will be happy to see him thriving at his new club.

They'll be hoping that this continues, but they'll also be wishing that they wouldn't be looking on in vain, as in an ideal world, their current strikeforce will start finding the net more frequently, too.

Adam Armstrong has three in his last four, and Stewart was looking like his former self before his recent hamstring injury. Someone will have to step up in the Scotsman's place, but all signs are starting to point to positives for Will Still at Southampton.

In an ideal world, the Saints will be able to look back on the 2025/26 campaign as one that both themselves and Ballard have excelled in, with perhaps a couple of promotions to celebrate, too.