Saints fans didn’t take too kindly to remarks made by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, in the wake of the club’s humiliating defeat to Leicester City on Friday night.
The Danish playmaker put out a statement on behalf of the players addressing the sub-par performance, but many of the clubs fans weren’t in the mood for such sentiments.
The 24-year-old stated that the fans “deserve better”, while also claiming that they have every right to be angry. However, in light of Friday’s Premier League record defeat, not many fans were keen to hear from Hojbjerg, or any players at all, as some suggested that radio silence would be the preferred response:
? “We need to show that they deserve better.” pic.twitter.com/FrQ4RaV2th
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 26, 2019
Honestly just don’t tweet anything until the next game. Absolutely no point.
— Saint Anon (@saint_anon) October 26, 2019
#saintsfc pic.twitter.com/A6wCiwyU8a
— Glenn Jones (@MrGlennJones) October 26, 2019
Other supporters were even more scathing, suggesting that the player’s wages should be donated to charity, something the club has since agreed to do in part:
Should be ashamed how you can collect a wage at the end of the week, should be donated to local charities
— cam (@camsfc) October 26, 2019
Put a shift in and give up a months wages
— 3JoeMo (@3JoeMo1) October 26, 2019
Stop apologising. It means nothing to us now. Week in week out weve asked for improvement on the pitch. Still nothing. If your so heartfelt for us. Refund every single last fan for the ticket they bought. Unfair on us as a community to sit and watch that last night. #SaintsFC
— Michael Wyatt (@ApExMichael02) October 26, 2019
What we think
With Southampton in the midst of a crisis, tempers are clearly flared on all sides, with raw emotions now coming to the surface. It has to be said that Hojbjerg’s intentions were well-intended and were meant to offer some kind of consolation, but on occasions, time is the greatest healer of all. Southampton’s gesture of donating a days wage to charity is the kind of action that many fans will be pleased to see, but beyond that, it may take quite a while for the fan-player relationship to be fully healed.