Southampton FC questioned for £7m transfer - Will Still has been 'let down massively by Johannes Spors' | OneFootball

Damion Downs is yet to make a real impact for Saints following his summer arrival

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…

Southampton's inconsistent start to the season continued heading into the October international break with a 1-1 draw at Derby County on Saturday afternoon.

Saints supporters hoped that Will Still's underwhelming reign thus far had turned a corner with a midweek success at Sheffield United. However, they again came away from a Championship game with an all-too familiar feeling of immense frustration.

The 32-year-old's initial appointment back in May pointed towards a long-term project at St Mary's, particularly as Southampton were coming off the back of what was, statistically speaking, the second-worst season in Premier League history as the club accumulated a measly 12 points.

Regardless, many expected the South Coast side, much like Leicester City and Ipswich Town, to mount an immediate bid for automatic promotion or, potentially, the second tier title, when looking at the quality that remains at Still's disposal despite a major squad overhaul.

However, with nine games of the league season gone, Saints currently find themselves in 17th, with many high-profile names underperforming.

Yet, there is one summer recruit who has stood out from the rest. But, according to Football League World's Southampton fan pundit, Martin Sanders, that is for all the wrong reasons.

Brutally honest assessment of Damion Downs' Southampton performances issued

That is in reference to USMNT international striker, Damion Downs, who was acquired from newly-promoted Bundesliga outfit, FC Koln, for a reported £7m.

With Saints already boasting an extremely experienced and clinical trio of strikers for Championship level in the form of Adam Armstrong, Cameron Archer and Ross Stewart, there was an understandable sense of intrigue as to how Downs would perform in English football for the very first time.

Last season, the 21-year-old scored 10 times in 29 Bundesliga.2 appearances as Koln, largely under current Bristol City boss, Gerhard Struber, returned to the top-flight.

However, after just five league appearances under Still - with only one of those coming from the starting XI - Sanders has criticised the forward for his application, as well as 'group technical director', Johannes Spors, who oversaw the transfer deal.

"He's probably one of the poorest strikers I've seen at Saints in a very long time," he claimed. "His performance at Derby was poor, but his general play since he arrived hasn't been very good.

"He struggles to hold the ball up, struggles to be a presence. Johannes Spors said in the summer that finding a first-class centre-forward was a 'priority'," Sanders explained.

"It was a 'priority'. So why have we gone and bought a 21-year-old?," he added. "In terms of football, he's young. He's a 21-year-old out of Bundesliga.2, who had only played a small part last season, to come and be a main striker for us.

"Ross Stewart was never going to be fit enough for a long period of time; Cameron Archer's just not looked interested. So, it left us really lightweight. Adam Armsrrong can't play as a 'nine'.

"Will Still wants to play a 'target man'. I sat in a press conference the other week, and he said, 'I don't want a striker. I've got Damion, Cameron, Adam Armstrong and Ross Stewart'," Sanders said.

"I think, if you asked him that same question now, his answer would be very different. I think he's been let down massively by Johannes Spors.

"He's not good enough and he doesn't look like he's going to be good enough. A lot of Southampton fans at the weekend were saying that he's one of the worst strikers we've had in a long time.

"I'm a pretty forgiving guy. But, when I don't see someone put a shift in, I start to question it.

"He doesn't press and he doesn't put a shift in. He needs to start trying if he wants to make it work, in my opinion," our fan pundit concluded.

Damion Downs must improve if Southampton's fortunes are to turn around

Still clearly believes that Downs has the ability to address his underwhelming start, defending his own substitution when the forward was introduced in place of Leo Scienza on the hour-mark at Pride Park.

"I think it was just the profile of the game with it being very physical, a lot of second balls. Leo's done really well in the game," he said.

"But we've switched off and let a lot of crosses come down our left-hand side in that first half. It was just a way of closing that threat down.

"I think Tom's (Fellows) a good player and Damion's got that height and that physicality, which we haven't quite used to our advantage yet admittedly."

Despite only just joining the club, Downs cannot be immune from criticism which has come his way in recent times, particularly as he failed to nail down a starting berth against Hull City on September 20th.

His lethargic start to life in England has also been summed up by the passing up of two big chances as he remains in search of his first goal for the club, which he will hope then provides a springboard in terms of confidence to prove the early doubters wrong.