The upcoming Europa League campaign for Southampton will truly test the Saints stamina and resilience much more than last season. Assuming Southampton make it through the qualifying stages – the Thursday-Sunday matches can take a toll on a team without much depth and affect a team’s form greatly. Les Reed is confident in the squad though saying in an interview with BBC Solent Radio a few weeks ago:
Yeah I mean I think we need to talk all that down I don’t believe it – I think it’s a fantastic in built excuse for not having a good season. You know Aston Villa didn’t have a good season last year and they weren’t in the Europa League. You know anyone can have a bad season and I think its quite convenient to have something blame it on. If you look at Chelsea they operate off quite a small squad and they fight on all fronts and they are the champions.
The style of football is also equipped to succeed in Europe. Under Pochettino in the 2013-14 season Southampton played a high pressing style of football which is stressful for a fan to watch, but the results were there and he was rewarded for innovating an effective style with a team that was not expected to finish in the top half. This is a risky style and not particularly effective versus skillful sides. Now under Koeman, Southampton play a much more calm, methodical style of football that does not keep fans on the edge of their seats for 90 minutes and also produces good results.. It is not hard to find the secret to the manager’s success; look no further than the defence.
After losing Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers, and Luke Shaw to the Premier League giants last season, it was believed that Southampton would regress and the defence would be left in shambles after the exodus, while in reality the reverse was true. A Barcelona legend and former linchpin in a defence which helped raise four straight La Liga titles, Ronald Koeman expertly organized a defence, thought to decline significantly, into one of the most formidable back lines in the Premier League allowing a second best 33 goals.
Following a successful season though, the same questions still arise about a team which silenced its doubters last season. A similar summer defence crisis surrounds the team again. The expected departure of Nathaniel Clyne, a scandalous exit of Toby Alderweireld, and a devastating injury to Florin Gardos leave a highly suspect back four vulnerable to criticism again. The good news is that the Portuguese rock, Jose Fonte, is returning, which is enough reassurance for most fans, but not other skeptics. Maya Yoshida has not impressed enough to become a consistent name on the team sheet and a highly suspect Steven Caulker has entered the scene following two successive relegations and several questions about his ability after he was a highly touted prospect at Swansea.
This questioning though seems out of place. The fullback situation is arguably better then last summer. Cedric looks to be a great buy so far. In the preseason and against Vitesse last Thursday he looked strong on the ball, was involved in some good combinations, rarely left his area vulnerable to attack, and most importantly to the club – cheap. Cuco Martina also makes sense. Southampton played most of last season without a natural backup right fullback (Alderweireld played there whenever Clyne was not available) so he fulfills that need. Bertrand was a surprising bright spot last season and some Chelsea fans regret letting him so easily after Filipe Luis did not work out. Although Matt Targett is a backup he continues to develop and looks like another youth success story for the Saints on track to become a good left back after making several good appearances for the first team and the England U-21 team.
Centre Back is the man position in question, though I will argue the dubiousness is misplaced. Fonte returns to add his calming and controlling presence as the leader of the defence. Yoshida may be an underwhelming centre half, but he does his job and rarely makes a fatal error. The Japanese international is a strong distributor of the ball as well, usually providing an accurate pass a to midfielder coming back to the ball. The questioning of Caulker is justified, although I believe that if someone can help turn his career back into the promising one it was two years ago, it is Ronald Koeman. A place where defenders excel. (then go to die at a big club – sorry Liverpool) Koeman preaches a high back line and pressing full backs which is extremely effective when well organized – which it usually is. The different style and more organized approach will hopefully help resurrect Caulkers reputation.
The biggest worry going into next season will be depth; a common worry for teams entering a European competition. Koeman claims though that he will look to add a couple more players before the window closes, and most fans will agree a Centre Half is essential because currently the club has less healthy centre halfs then last year with more fixtures coming. We will see what happens in the coming weeks with rumours of Virgil Van Dijk and other players surrounding the club.
Southamptons history should reinforce the belief in our manager and defense. Even though it may seem like our biggest weakness, I would argue it will be our strength again and its consistency will be key to a successful season and a repeat European appearances.
Getty Images, Gareth Copley
