Norwich City made it three wins from four games after a goal from Alexander Tettey was enough to topple a Saints side that went down to 10 men late on.
Southampton entered the New Year much as they had left 2015, with another disappointing result, this time going down to a Canaries side in the middle of a purple patch. The sides were locked at 0-0 when Victor Wanyama received his marching orders for the second time this season, after a lunging tackle on Vadis Odjidja.
It took just three minutes for Norwich to utilise the advantage, with Tettey popping a strike from the edge of the area into the top corner after some solid build-up play from Odjidja. Some good keeping from Declan Rudd denied Shane Long from grabbing a goal on a couple of occasions but the swirling wind and slippery conditions led to the men in between the sticks having some troublesome time with crosses.
Mané Dropped for Being Late, Again
With top goalscorer Graziano Pellè sidelined through injury, it would be argued that Sadio Mané is the Saints next biggest threat when going forward. Despite this, Ronald Koeman had no trouble in dropping the Senegalese player from his starting lineup after he was late for a team meeting. The Dutch manager expressed his disappointment in his post-match interview, singling out Mané’s and Wanyama’s acts of ill-discipline for costing the team.
#SaintsFC boss @RonaldKoeman unhappy with individual errors after #NCFC loss – https://t.co/THEcdLK7R4 pic.twitter.com/TOBAUxkFmT
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 2, 2016
It is not the first time that the former Red Bull Salzburg man has had disciplinary issues while at Southampton, with Koeman dropping him in February of last year for being late to the stadium in a match against Liverpool. With rampant rumours about Mané’s future at the club after apparent interest from the likes of Manchester United for one, and now inklings of an attitude problem, there may be a battle to keep the attacking star on the South Coast.
Koeman Needs a Change in Fortunes
With just a single win in their last eight games, though it should be said that win was a crushing 4-0 victory over current league leaders Arsenal, pressure is mounting on the Saints’ Dutch manager. A Barcelona star in his playing days, Koeman now faces the problem of trying to figure out a way to inspire his team into better performances. Expectations are high after such a terrific debut season, leading the club to a record high Premier League finish of seventh, but things seem a lot more difficult this time around.
Even teams who exit Europe early often see the ill-effects that a European campaign has on smaller clubs, but having been out of the competition for months it is no longer an excuse for sub-par showings in the league. With their next three games at St. Mary’s against Crystal Palace, Watford and West Bromwich Albion, the Saints coach will surely be aiming to better upon recent records and find some form to see the club through the back-half of the season.
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Norwich had a Good Festive Season but Aren’t Out of the Woods Yet
Nine points from a possible 12 with wins over Manchester United, Aston Villa and now Southampton see the Canaries pass the midway point of this campaign in reasonable stead. Sitting 14th and with 23 points would see most supporters reasonably happy on the debut season returning to the top flight.
However, complacency is a danger for all teams in the Premier League and even more so for those promoted teams with battles in the top, bottom and middle of the table changing things dramatically in the backend of the season. Titles have been lost and, possibly more relevantly to Alex Neill, sides that thought they were safe have slipped into relegation. With six points of separation on 17th place the Yellows cannot take their foot off the pedal now, nor for the rest of the season if they wish to see themselves safely into 2016-17 as a top flight team.
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