One month into the 2015-16 English Premier League season Southampton sit in 10th spot on the ladder with five points from their first four games. It is a relatively comfortable position, but perhaps more could have been expected from a side showing so much promise last term.
First four games
Opening the 2015-16 campaign with a 2-2 draw at St. James Park against a surprisingly dominant Newcastle side, the Saints got two goals against the run of play and were definitely the happier of the two sides in coming away with a point.
The second match at home to Everton is one that would Saints fans would rather forget, a 3-0 drubbing in which the defence was parted repeatedly and the attack rarely mustered a threatening sight on goal. Following on, a match with newly promoted Watford saw a very tight fought draw, in which chances were few and far between.
The latest of the season featured what was by far the best performance from the South Coast club, with a thorough 3-0 victory over Norwich City. Amongst these opening few matches was a failed Europa League campaign that saw the Saints bundled out by Danish side FC Midtjylland, which many attribute as a distraction that will now no longer hamper domestic efforts.
Transfer window performance
Solid arrivals have added a few names to the Saints starting XI in the summer. Maarten Stekelenburg has been loaned in from Fulham to play between the posts in the absence of Fraser Forster. In defence, Steven Caulker joined on loan from Queens Park Rangers, while right-backs Cédric Soares and Cuco Martina agreed to permanent moves and long-term target Virgil van Dijk penned an important deal in the closing stages of the window.
The midfield saw the additions of Jordy Clasie and Oriol Romeu, adding a playmaker and some defensive cover. Finally, Juanmi joined the attacking-third to supply a different avenue up front. Overall, the players brought in, whether starters or backups, add a lot of strength and depth to Koeman’s squad.
Despite all the imports to St. Mary’s, the highest profile dealings were those exiting the club. Star player Morgan Schneiderlin departed for Manchester United and fullback Nathaniel Clyne joined Liverpool. Whether these positions have been adequately covered is still up for debate.
Key player – Cédric Soares
The most consistently impressive player throughout Southampton’s games has been Portuguese import Cédric Soares. Operating as the right-fullback, Cédric has been the main outlet in bringing the ball out of the defence among some lacklustre midfield creativity.
With the Southampton game plan relying largely around crossing the ball into the box for the powerful Graziano Pellè to latch onto, Cédric has demonstrated superbly accurate placement of the ball inside the area. With Ryan Bertrand absent due to injury, youngster Matt Targett has filled in on the left hand side of defence, but fails to offer much going forward and leaves the burden of attacking play to the opposite side. To not have left fans bemoaning the absence of Nathaniel Clyne is a testament to the quality performances Cédric has been delivering.
What has gone right?
Despite some far from satisfactory performances, the Saints have not really been absent of passages of play, indicative of a side with ambitions of a high finish. Pellè has looked dangerous in most games and chances are being created, even when they are not always being taken.
Where to improve?
The game plan as a whole does not seem too out of order, rather it has more been the individual performances of some players that have been lacking. Jay Rodriguez’s promising preseason form has yet to have been truly demonstrated in league play, Sadio Mané seems shades below his impressive finish to 2014-15 and Victor Wanyama seems to have let the transfer merry-go-round get into his head, his play suffering as a result.
Most disappointingly has been the central-defensive pair of captain José Fonte and Maya Yoshida, both have been shaky, slow and lacking composure too often so far this campaign, though performances have improved as the weeks have gone on.
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Next four games
Games away to West Brom and Chelsea, as well as home to Swansea City and Manchester United provide no easy tasks and will test the side now without the distraction of European play.
Ronald Koeman’s men have been below-par so far yet still, are in decent standing and have shown glimpses of a team that can secure a finish in the classier section of the table.
Grade – C-
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