Southampton managed to go one better than last year’s record high finish of seventh managing to crack the top six in 2015-16.
It was a story of two halves to this season with the Saints suffering from a slow start that saw them looking in poor stead going into the new year, managing just five wins from 19 Premier League fixtures in the first half of the season.
Ronald Koeman’s side finished strongly however, winning 12 of the remaining 19 pushing themselves above West Ham into sixth position on the final day. The strong performance in the league was countered by poor showings in all cup competitions and a disastrous Europa League qualification tilt.
The story
Many accused the Saints of falling into the old problem for a club making its foray into European competition for the first time that with focus shifted performance in the league would be negatively affected. This seemed as though it may have been the case for Koeman’s side with the quality shown far from the standard that the team was capable of.
An early exit from Europe may have been the best result for the South Coast club who managed to come back in 2016 with renewed vigour and string together consistently strong showings.
Important wins against Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham in the final stages of the season demonstrated an important mental strength in the side and they seem ultimately well deserving of their position in a year where many larger clubs stumbled.
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Key player
Throughout the season many had good runs of form. New signing Cédric Soares started the season brightly, Shane Long was one of the league’s form players in the final weeks, and Fraser Forster kept an impressive six consecutive clean sheets on his return to the squad.
There were two who consistently performed for Southampton, one in defence and one in midfield. Virgil van Dijk was named as a target for many Premier League sides and made his move to the South Coast from Celtic near the end of the window. Tall, strong and adding much needed composure to a shaky defence van Dijk seemed to be a constant steadying presence in the back.
Steven Davis is hardly the name on the lips of Premier League pundits but his work-rate is an asset to Koeman’s side. Not always the one making the spectacular dribble or putting in the key final ball, the Northern Irish international was one who always kept things ticking over in midfield, a highly underrated skill.
Manager
Koeman came into the club two seasons ago amidst a flurry of high-profile names exiting and was praised for rebuilding the side and carrying them to, what was then, the record high finishing position of seventh. He proved this year that this was no fluke by continuing his strong managerial form recruiting smartly and filling out a well-rounded side.
With a second shot at European football on the cards next season he will have a chance to rectify the mistakes of the last campaign and not allow continental competition to interfere with the PL.
Off-season recruitment
It seems that this year, as it does so often for the Saints, that it is a case of holding onto the players they’ve got rather than looking to bring in new signings. Perhaps a few fringe players should be replaced to maintain depth in the squad, the likes of Juanmi and Gastón Ramírez possibly, but the manager can be largely happy with the squad he has going into 2016-17.
Grade – A-
It is easy to point out that there were many instances where Southampton failed to fulfil their potential but it cannot be forgotten that they have managed their best ever Premier League finish in a highly competitive league, a feat which deserves lashings of praise.
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