Cracking the top 4

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After an extremely productive meeting with the chairman and the board, we decided on some changes that we can make to the club going forward.

First on the agenda was our junior coaching budget which the board decided to raise to help our young lads reach their potential at a younger age.

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Next up was a closer inspection of our Staplewood training complex and we noticed a few areas that could be improved. The discussions didnt take long as they didnt need much convincing but Ralph Krueger signed off on some state of the art improvements to our training base.

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I spoke to the board about the amount of injuries we have suffered this season and we decided that our physiotherapy department could be expanded and they signed off on permission for me to recruit one extra physio.

Lastly I convinced them to begin the search for a new overseas affiliate club to make the most of commercial opportunities as well as to improve our scouting network.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Martina, Clasie, Wanyama, Tadic, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Austin.

A good match and a good result away from home against Besiktas. It was a delight to have Stekelenburg back in goal as he made a string of good saves to keep us in it before Jordy Clasie equalised for us just before half time. Sadio Mane moved to a central role with Ward-Prowse starting out on the right in an experiment that worked reasonably well. Now a point against Shakhtar is all it will take to top our group.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Targett, Van Dijk, Fonte, Martina, Clasie, Wanyama, Tadic, Davis, Mane, Austin.

On another day, this result would be completely different. I felt we played really well and created some fantastic chances but it just wasnt to be as some clinical finishing from West Ham gave them the points., The obvious weak points in the team from the full back positions from the inexperienced Targett and Martina, and from a really under performing Wanyama who is in danger of losing his first team place.
 
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November Review​

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A mixed bag in terms of results with promising performances in Europe and a great win against Crystal Palace balancing out two disappointing defeats to Watford and West ham.
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The Premier League table is closer than ever. Everybody from Bournemouth down is probably in trouble, while even sat in 11th position we are only 5 points shy of Champion League football. Chelsea are languishingin 8th in the table while Man City move clear at the top.

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An almost perfect showing in Europe so far as we are undefeated and three points clear at the top of the group. Our priority has to be finishing top of this group now in an attempt to get a favourable draw in the knockouts.

Player of the Month​
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James Ward-Prowse is my personal player of the month for November and many seem to agree as he won the official player of the month away as well! Goals and assists have seen him sky rocket up the pecking order in the squad. Congratulations James.

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Academy Watch​
Very familar names now that are making the headlines in our youth team with Sam Gallagher grabbing a couple more goals on his loan spell while Sam McQueen is tearing up the U21's league. Josh Sims has upped his game and edged his average rating over 7, worth keeping an eye on.


Players in Danger​
With the January transfer window fast approaching I am starting to have a very careful look at my squad. Victor Wanyama is a player who has not lived up to expectations so far this season and is worth a considerable amount of money, The possibility of selling him to strengthen the rest of the squad is a tantalising one.

Shane Long is a player that we tried to sell in August but failed so he will remain on the transfer list.

Our back ups for the full back positions, Cuco Martina and Matt Targett have failed to live up to expectations and face uncertain futures. I will be more lenient with Targett as he is young and has potential but Martina is in real danger.
December Preview​
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A really tough month where we will have to play City, Everton and Spurs twice. This could be critical to our progress in the league and my job.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Martina, Clasie, Romeu, Tadic, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

An extremely frustrating day. Jordy Clasie dropped his team mates right in it by getting sent off for a reckless challenge, when you add that to the fact that we shipped four goals its not a good day. Pelle scored a brace to keep our goalscoring form going but our defence is falling apart and Stoke punished us.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Clasie, Davis, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Pelle.

And were back to keeping clean sheets again as we get a great result against Shakhtar to confirm our place at the top of our Europa League group. Jordy Clasie gets sent off for the 2nd time in as many games and has really disappointed me with his attitude. On the plus side Prowseys form is still going strong as he struck the winner and earned us the three points.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Yoshida, Fonte, Cedric, Romeu, Davis, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Pelle.

We showed up at the Etihad and gave Man City a really good game. I was extremely pleased with our performance and it took Joe Harts heroics to keep us out. The scoreline flatters City who were off the pace for a lot of the match and tripled their lead as we pushed up right at the death. An entertaining match but our troubled and inconsistent run continues.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Yoshida, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Davis, Rodriguez, Tadic, Mane, Pelle.

And we go back to the clean sheet and one goal win, not that I'm complaining, but this form is baffling. Jay Rodriguez came to me to ask for first team football and I told him id have him a shot. This move paid off as it was his solitary goal set up by Sadio Mane that secured the match for us and brought home three vital points.
 
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View attachment 215331Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Yoshida, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Davis, Rodriguez, Tadic, Mane, Pelle.

If it aint broke, dont fix it. The same team started today as the team that beat Everton and they did the job again superbly. Goals from Rodriguez (who continues to impress) Tadic and Yoshida were enough to comfortably see of Tottenham who grabbed a goal through Harry Kane. A couple of shout outs, first to Maya Yoshida who has waited so patiently for his chance and is now making the most of it, and secondly to Graziano Pelle who unselfishly laid on two of the goals today, he really is a superb striker.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Yoshida, Fonte, Cedric, Romeu, Davis, Rodriguez, Ganso, Mane, Austin.

Boxing day served up a wonderful game against Newcastle at St Marys and I have no idea how we didnt win it. Cheick Tiote got sent off early which meant we had the whole game against 10 men, but twice they took the lead and twice we came back but just couldnt find a winner. Jay Rodriguez grabbed a brace to make it 4 goals in his last 3 games. Impressive.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez, Tadic, Mane, Austin.

One of the lowest points of my career so far. 2-0 up against Tottenham at half time, against 10 men, with a chance to go within a point of European places. We end up losing the match 3-2, finishing the day 7 points off of Europe AND we get fined £25k for failing to control our players as we picked up 6 yellow cards. This result is simply not good enough.
 
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December Review​

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Another mixed lot really this month as our inconsistency really starts to hamper our progress. The win against Shakhtar helped us top our Europa League group and the back to back wins against Everton and Spurs were fantastic but the collapse against Tottenham in the last game has turned what would have been an excellent month into a fairly average, almost disappointing one.
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The Premier League table is starting to take shape now with Man City opening up a clear gap at the top of the table. Chelsea are still really struggling while Tottenhams win over us leaves us marooned in 11th position and to be honest, we dont deserve to be any higher.

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The Europa League has drawn us against Portugese side Sporting in the first knockout round.

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The FA Cup has seen us drawn away to Aston Villa in a tricky tie.


Player of the Month​
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Jay Rodriguez has been a force of nature this month, scoring 4 goals in 5 appearances as well as carding 2 assists. He has fully justified coming and asking me for a place in the starting XI and is surely on the verge of a recall to the England squad. Keep up the good work Jay!

Also a massive congratulations to Sadio Mane who was voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year.

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January Preview​
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Two consecutive games against Aston Villa will prove a fun challenge while a visit to Chelsea and a trip to local rivals Bournemouth will be crucial for our Premiership campaign.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Romeu, Davis, Rodriguez, Tadic, Mane, Pelle.

A cracking win against Aston Villa in an entertaining match. Jose Fonte headed us into the lead fairly early on and Sadio Mane doubled the lead just after half time. Villa ran straight back up the other end to get one back but after a nervy final half an hour we held out for the win. Shout out to Graziano Pelle for assisting Mane's goal and his generally brilliant hold up play.
 
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Ganso leaves Saints​

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Brazilian midfielder Ganso has left Southampton despite only joining in the summer. BBC Sources suggest that Ganso failed to settle in England and was unhappy about his lack of game time on the South Coast. Ganso has joined Brazilian side Corinthians in a deal worth £5 million which represents a £750k loss for Southampton on the amount they paid Sao Paulo in August.

"it is a great shame that Ganso felt this was the only option available to him" Said Ronald Koeman when questioned on the matter. "We cannot have unhappy players here at the club and the lad was really struggling. We have remade most of our money and he gets to go home so it is a win win for both parties. We wish him well for his future and thank him for his efforts."
 
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Bender and Begovic join Saints​

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Southampton have completed deals for German midfielder Sven Bender and Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Bender has joined for a fee believed to be around the £7 million mark while goalkeeper Begovic joins on a loan spell from Chelsea until the end of the season although BBC sources believe there is a buyout clause of around £8 million in his contract.

"We are very happy with the deals we have made" Said Southampton Director of Football Les Reed. "Both are incredibly talented players that have a good attitude towards the game and other players. Hopefully they can get their heads down, fit in quickly and contribute towards our performances."

As part of the deal to sign Begovic, Southampton have sent Marteen Stekelenburg back to Fulham, cancelling his loan deal. Under Premier League rules clubs are not allowed to have more than 2 domestic players on long term loan deals at the club. Southampton already have defender Steven Caulker on their books.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Targett, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Bender, Davis, Rodriguez, Juanmi, Ward-Prowse, Austin.

And we beat Aston Villa for the 2nd time in a week, this time in the FA Cup. This time we went behind early on as Libor Kozak broke our high line and prodded home. Just before half time is often said to be the perfect time to score and in this instance it was as Charlie Austin broke his dry spell to score. Ward-Prowse put us into the lead before Juanmi scored his first goal for the club with a wonderful finish. Sven Bender marked his debut by getting himself 2 yellow cards and getting sent off. Brilliant.
 
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Starting XI - Gazzaniga, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Rodriguez, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Austin.

Well this match was just full of drama and it even started before the game. On loan keeper Begovic was unavailable and Pelle injured himself before the game which left room for Gazzaniga and Austin. We went behind, then levelled, then went behind again, then levelled late on and then got a penalty in the last minute of the game which Austin proceeded to miss although I can forgive him because he scored our first goal. Rodriguez also continued his fine run of form with another goal. This was a hugely important result, not so much because we picked up a point but for the fact we stopped Chelsea taking 3.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Rodriguez, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Austin.

A solid win in the south coast derby. Austin and Rodriguez with the goals as both continue their form. This is perhaps the most dominant we have been in a match this season with a good combination of shots and possession. The team is really starting to bond now and we are getting towards the playing style that I want to achieve.
 
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Southampton sign Dutch defender Tete​

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Southampton have continued their spending in this transfer window by signing Dutch defender Kenny Tete on a 3 year deal for a fee that is a reported £2.5 million. Tete arrives from Ajax where he has risen through the ranks of their famous academy to feature twice for their first team this season. Capped 4 times by the Dutch under 21 side and scored two goals recently in the UEFA Under 21 Championship qualifiers.

Tete's arrival casts doubt on the future of current Saints defender Cuco Martina who is apparently unsettled at St Marys.
 
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