It was the 27th of May 2014- a day that upset Southampton fans as Mauricio Pochettino left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur on a multiyear contract. Pochettino’s high pressing style and his desire to recruit local youngsters into the first team had won the Saints faithful over despite some backlash over the circumstances surrounding his appointment. However a few weeks after this date they appointed Ronald Koeman of Feyenoord and since then fans have not looked back. Koeman has brought a positive style to the club and relaxed the atmosphere as he does not rely on intense pressing to win games. The Dutchman has continued to use youngsters with the likes of Jake Hesketh and Matt Targett making their debuts under him. Some turned their nose up at the appointment of Koeman due to the fact he had only had widespread success in the Dutch League, but his success has proved that the Dutch League is both prestigious and a real testing ground for managers. The former Centre back was tactically flexible, brilliant with the media and a terrific motivator of his players who performed above all odds for most of the season.
Koeman didn’t recruit exclusively from the Eredivisie, but the key players in the squad were signed from that league. Dusan Tadic became the key playmaker in the final third after his move from FC Twente, he created 68 chances which was far and away the most in the Saints team. He allowed Southampton to start attacks due to his brilliant dribbling ability in transition and his ability to make killer passes. He was intelligent positionally which created space for the deeper saints players to play the ball into. The Serb was signed for around £11 million from Twente, it seems expensive but he was half of what Lallana cost Liverpool and arguably a better player. Such recruitment continued and the next signing was Graziano Pelle, a tall powerful striker with great technical ability who had worked with Koeman at Feyenoord, he was an instant hit and though he faded in the latter part of the season he still played every game. His sheer power gave Southampton a building platform for attacks in the final third. Both of these together cost less than Adam Lallana and they were just as valuable in the long run.
This suggests to the rest of the Premier League that the Dutch League still has value, if a player from that country is linked the old ‘well, he’s only done it in Holland’ line comes out from fans across the country. But this cliché is now completely outdated because a lot of the imports from the Netherlands are having a lot of success in the league.
Southampton continued their recruitment from Holland by replacing Morgan Schneiderlin with Jordy Clasie, who is near enough a like for like replacement but one with better passing. Clasie anchored Ronald Koeman’s midfield at Feyenoord but he also made key passers which earned him the nickname of ‘xavi’ amongst Dutch football fans. The comparison isn’t far off, Clasie is an energetic midfielder who has a terrific range of passing and can fit in multiple formations which suits Southampton who often rotate their formations. At £8 million the fee immediately seems like a bargain, he is a classy midfield player who can adapt to the so called ‘physical nature’ of the Premier League.
Clasie coupled with the signing of Utility man Cuco Martina from Twente signals the fact that Southampton’s recruitment policy will still aim primarily at leagues that don’t charge a premium fee for players, notably anywhere but the Premier League at this point in time. The Dutch connection is fantastic to see, they are the nation that brought us Total football and the nation that has produced classy strikers such as Dennis Bergkamp and Marco Van Basten in the past. A Quality nation that does things the right way, England as a country could learn a lot from the way the Dutch game is run.
The Saints ‘dutch connection’ continued throughout last year as they signed pacey winger Eljero Elia on loan, he didn’t set the world alight, but he was a good squad player who offered pace when Sadio Mane was out of the squad and in games where the opposition had slower center halves.
More teams really should look to this country to sign players, Southampton are living proof that the Netherlands is a terrific place to spot talent, they have got players on cut price deals and developed them into top performers with good coaching whilst maintaining an expansive game plan. Koeman is a great coach who knows the quality embedded within that league, he will not be one of the people criticising Manchester United splashing out nearly £30 million on PSV forward Memphis Depay.
