Cracking the top 4

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Things are progressing really well at the club. Over the summer the board have decided to increase the amount of coaches and scouts available to the first team in order to drive the clubs ambition even further. We now officially have the best coaching, physiotherapy and scouting departments in the Premier League which should help find and attract the top talents in world football.
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Renovations of the clubs training ground are well under way and should be completed in the next couple of months, but possibly most exciting is the renovation and expansion of St Mary's.

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While the initial expansion is only by about 4000 seats it is a step in the right direction and will enable further expansion as and when we need it.

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So far in the transfer window the club has been reasonably active in terms of both ins and outs. Some difficult decisions had to be made for the best interests of the club. We have turned down some very serious offers for some of our best players. We had an offer of nearly £40 million for Sadio Mane that was rejected as well as a £36 million offer for Ward-Prowse from Chelsea which we rejected as well. Every player has a price and if the offer is large enough we will not hesitate to sell but it is going to have to be mega money. In terms of what Mane brings to the team in particular with his pace, flair, eye for goal and proven Premiership record, It would take a lot of money to replace him with the same calibre of player.

TRANSFER BUDGET - 44 MILLION
SPARE WAGES - £300K

TRANSFERS OUT


Oriol Romeu - Sheffield Wednesday - £3.4 million​
Oriol was struggling for game time at St Marys, especially with the January arrival of Sven Bender, This deal was necessary for both parties as he gets game time and we get his wages off the books.

Shane Long - Brentford - £1 million​
Shane is a player that was unfortunate not to get his chance and his lack of game time crippled his in game value. The man that arrived two seasons ago for £12 million leaves for just £1 million having only scored 5 goals for the club. Cutting our losses.
Florin Gardos - Celtic - £1.5 million​
Florin was unfortunate to have the start of his career with the club hampered by serious injury. Now he is back he finds himself well down the pecking order and in the way of kids coming up from the academy, sold to Celtic to create that pathway for the academy youngsters.

Charlie Austin - Sassuolo - £7.5 million​
Charlie got off to a flying start to his Saints career but somewhat ran out of steam. This led to a confidence crisis and a lot of complaining about first team football, which he was not going to get with Pelle banging in the goals. With Sam Gallagher returning from loan to take his place in the first team it was better for both Charlie and the club to make our money back and let him leave.

Fraser Forster - Fiorentina - £4.2 million​
Fraser is another player who was seriously affected by injury as he missed the entirety of last season. With a new goalkeeper being brought into the club (which I will get on to in a second) his place in the squad compared to his wages didnt add up and we made the decision to sell.

Lloyd Isgrove - West Brom - £625k ​
A talented young winger but not quite good enough to make the first team, West Brom get the player they want and we make some money.

Maya Yoshida - - - £1.8 million​
Maya is a good and very accomplished player but will not get any game time ahead of Fonte, Van Dijk, any new signings or promoted youth players. A very similar situation to Florin Gardos, he has to leave the club for his own good.

Juanmi - Ajax - Loan​
Another player complaining about his lack of football, but somebody I see a bright future for. Behind Mane and Rodriguez in the pecking order it was better that he was sent out on loan to continue his development.

Jack Stephens - Bournemouth - Loan ​
Promising young centre back, needs first team experience which he should get with Bournemouth in the Championship.

Steven Caulker - Loan clause not activated.​
Steven had an up and down sort of season with us and really didn't get anywhere near like the game time a player of his standard deserves. As far as I can see, bringing him in permanently wouldn't change anything.

Asmir Begovic - Loan clause not activated.​
Asmir had a good second half of the season with us, but with the arrival of a new goalkeeper he wouldnt get the game time he required. Sent back to Chelsea.

TRANSFERS IN


Geronimo Rulli - Real Sociedad - Free​
A hugely promising talent in between the posts, goalkeeper Rulli is brought in on a free transfer after his contract with Sociedad expired. He instantly becomes first choice on the south coast after the clubs decision not to sign Begovic on a permanent deal and Fraser Forster is the man who pays the price, leaving the club.
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Maarten Stekelenburg - Fulham - £1.8 million​
With Forster leaving we were in the market for an experienced back up goalkeeper and who better than a man who knows the club well following his spell last season. Maarten is a good keeper and will be excellent cover for Rulli.
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Lorenzo Insigne - Napoli - £5 million​
This boy is a class act, if we can get his slight attitude problem under control he could be an absolute bargain and a key player for us moving forward. Quick, direct and full of flair this lad adds to an exciting attacking line up that already includes Mane, Tadic, Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse.
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Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli - £12 million​
Our second signing from Napoli this summer, Kalidou brings some much needed experience to our back line and will rotate with Fonte and Van Dijk and provide extra depth that we lacked somewhat last year.
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Sam Gallagher - Promoted from youth team.​
Sam had a good season out on loan at MK Dons, making 24 appearances and scoring 8 goals. I am sure the kid has a bright future and I am willing to give him a shot in the first team.
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Jason McCarthy - Promoted from youth team.​
Jason is a promising young centre back who made 9 appearances for Dundee in the Scottish Premiership last year, achieving an average rating of 7.32. I feel it is time that Jason joined up with the first team squad and pushed for a place.
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, McCarthy, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Insigne, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

With several players still off on international duty, it was a slightly rotated side that took on City in the Community Shield. We made a really good game of it and did quite well, but the game was decided when Van Dijk made the simplest and slowest of backpasses to Stekelenburg, who decided he would just stand completely still and watch it roll into the net, thanks a lot game engine! Promising performances from McCarthy and Gallagher who came on as a substitute.
 
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Pre season​

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A packed Pre season schedule went extremely well starting off with an away win against Dortmund before a successful tour of America and then coming home to beat Monaco. All of our players are now up to fitness with the exception of Jose Fonte who is still struggling with his pelvic injury he sustained at the end of last season.

Players of pre season

Sadio Mane - 7.85​
Sadio has only been present for half of pre-season as he has been called up to play in the Olympics but the 4 games he did play in produced 4 goals and he looks as sharp as ever.

Cedric - 7.48​
Our first choice right back made 6 appearances through pre-season and claimed a very good average rating and two assists. We held off interest from Porto and Valencia for the Portugese right back and now we expect big things this season.

Lorenzo Insigne - 7.13​
Lorenzo has started to settle in nicely and has made 7 appearances, scoring 2 and setting up another 2. While he has not been the star player, he has gotten on with his game really nicely and I am impressed.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Koulibaly, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Ward-Prowse, Insigne, Mane, Pelle.

Not the best start to the new season but we put up a good fight. A nightmare of a debut for Koulibaly saw him put the ball into his own net and surrender the lead of the match to Arsenal and then we got caught trying to equslise in the last minute. A flattering scoreline to Arsenal. We tried to drop deep and hold our shape but Arsenal found far too much width and space on the wings and it was the crosses into the box that did for us in the end.
 
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Starting XI - Stekelenburg, Bertrand, Van Dijk, McCarthy, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Insigne, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Pelle.

Another close and entertaining match ended up with us on the wrong side of the result as Chelsea took all the points away from St Marys. Mane in particular was a thorn in their side for the whole game but we just couldnt do enough. morale is now very low after 3 consecutive losses to Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea and we are going to have to work hard to pull ourselves out of this one.
 
A lot of players lost there, you have too many squad players or are you looking to bring in more talent? Insigne is a class act, he should tear it up and an absolute bargain at 5mil!
 
Just gone all the way through this, a superb first season in charge mate shame you couldn't clinch that EL trophy! A lot to live up to now!
 
At least the scummers have finally won another trophy, you might catch up to Pompey one day :-P. Well done mate! Thoroughly enjoyable read so far :-D!
 
JustaJim said:
A lot of players lost there, you have too many squad players or are you looking to bring in more talent? Insigne is a class act, he should tear it up and an absolute bargain at 5mil!
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It's something I am looking at! I am looking for a little bit of stability in terms of the starting XI so wont buy for the sake of buying but if the right name comes up for the right price then I wont hesitate.

dani3w said:
Just gone all the way through this, a superb first season in charge mate shame you couldn't clinch that EL trophy! A lot to live up to now!
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Cheers man :) for me, breaking the top 4 is all about doing it little by little. At the moment if we can continue qualifying for the Europa League, we can raise our reputation and sign better players :)

joshcoles224 said:
At least the scummers have finally won another trophy, you might catch up to Pompey one day :-P. Well done mate! Thoroughly enjoyable read so far :-D!
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Haha! keep dreaming buddy ;) cheers for following!
 
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Starting XI - Rulli, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Ward-Prowse, Insigne, Rodriguez, Pelle.

A change in tactics to a 451 with a more possession based approach worked a treat against West Ham as we left the Boleyn with our first three points of the season. It was a happy return for captain Jose Fonte who scored the wining goal from a good set piece.
 
Wow the rate at which you keep these updates going is immense, first of congratulations on your great campaign last season, finishing 9th in the Premier League is very respectable, finishing as runner up in the Europa League is very impressive and winning the FA Cup is simply a brilliant achievement. Some great transfers especially grabbing Insigne for that price is a great piece of business Koulibaly also looks like a very good player for you. Okay start to the season so far, losing against Arsenal and Chelsea isn't something to be worried about especially given that the Chelsea result was a very close one. Brilliant performance against West Ham looks like you pretty much dominated them in every aspect, looking forward to seeing more of these brilliant updates!
 
TheOtherSpecialOne said:
Wow the rate at which you keep these updates going is immense, first of congratulations on your great campaign last season, finishing 9th in the Premier League is very respectable, finishing as runner up in the Europa League is very impressive and winning the FA Cup is simply a brilliant achievement. Some great transfers especially grabbing Insigne for that price is a great piece of business Koulibaly also looks like a very good player for you. Okay start to the season so far, losing against Arsenal and Chelsea isn't something to be worried about especially given that the Chelsea result was a very close one. Brilliant performance against West Ham looks like you pretty much dominated them in every aspect, looking forward to seeing more of these brilliant updates!
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Thanks so much for the feedback :) responses like this is what makes it all worthwhile! Definitely not panic stations just yet, morale took a bit of a hit with the consecutive losses but hopefully the West Ham result is the beginning of the turnaround :)
 
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August Review​

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A really tough start to the season but I remain optimistic. There are signs of real progress within the squad and players that I have shown a lot of faith in sticking with have played really well. Defeats are always disappointing but when you face City, Arsenal and Chelsea you have to expect the losses. One of the most important philosophies I am trying to instil here at Southampton is something that one of my favourite managers Nigel Adkins used to say, that you don't get too high when your winning, and you don't get too low when your losing, its all about drawing a line under the result and moving on to the next match regardless of the result.
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The Premier League table obviously means very little at this stage of the season but what an awful start for Man City! and in stark contrast, the three promoted sides, Brentford, Derby and Sheffield Wednesday have made very bright starts! this is such a tough league, anybody can beat anybody else on any given day. That is exactly why I believe it is the best league in the world.

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I feel that the Europa League draw has been kind to us this year although we are going to have to be on our game to advance. Hoffenheim are a real threat, while Sadio Mane's old club Red Bull Salzburg will make any game difficult.

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After the disappointment of last seasons Capital One Cup, I am keen to get slightly further into the competition this time and we have been drawn against freshly relegated West Brom in our first match. Brendan Rodgers is going to make life difficult and we are going to have to strike a balance between giving the kids some much needed match time and fielding a competitive side.
Player of the Month​
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This month I am going to give the award to Virgil Van Dijk. An argument could easily have been made for Sadio Mane to grab this award with his two goals, but his injury limited him to only two appearances where as Virgil has been an ever-present in the side and dominated the defensive line in true style. The club held off several bids from PSG for the Dutchman who was eventually convinced to stay because I feared for his lack of first team football at PSG and I believe he is a real asset to the team.
September Preview​
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A jam packed September will see us tested on multiple fronts. Brentford is going to be an extremely tough game with the form they are in and it is also crucially important to get off to a good start in the Europa League with an away trip to Salzburg. Swansea and Stoke are games that we have to try and target maximum points in to kick start our League season.
 
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The end of August means that the transfer window has come and gone again and there are no new signings at Southampton to tell you about. Fans and followers alike have been surprised at the lack of transfer incomings at St Mary's as we finish the transfer window with £35 million still in the transfer budget and almost £300k under our wage allowance. There are three reasons for this approach to the squad.
  1. I want to take some more time to investigate the options I already have. I felt that last season there were some players that I just didnt manage to get the best out of. A good example of this is James Ward-Prowse who alternated his time between central midfield, attacking midfield and the right wing. Victor Wanyama is another example who I just couldnt find the right role for. I have made a conscious decision this season to maintain some faith with these players and see if I can get the most out of them.
  2. Some of our players were absolutely amazing last season. Three that immediately spring to mind are Graziano Pelle, Jay Rodriguez and our captain Jose Fonte. They all managed average ratings well into the mid 7's with Pelle and JayRod banging in the goals and Fonte captaining beautifully from the back. Now, apart from a few exceptions I am really not in the business of buying backup players, instead either buying youngsters or players that are better than what we already have, with the existing player dropping to the bench. I am also not in the business of dropping the players that are performing superbly. While it would be very easy to go out and splash my entire transfer budget on a striker like Lacazette or Benteke, it would be grossly unfair on Graziano for me to do that.
  3. This is Southampton, and that means one thing. Youth Development. With players like Jason McCarthy, Sam Gallagher, Jake Hesketh and Callum Slattery coming through, they are going to need a pathway into the first team when they are ready. That would not be helped by masses of new players each and every year.
With those points in mind it becomes obvious to me how we are going to develop this squad and that is slowly but surely.

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As for the rest of the Premier League they have been spending money like its going out of fashion. Man City are the biggest culprets by signing 4 players for a staggering £100 million. John Stones, Jose Gaya, Andriy Yarmolenko and Danny Welbeck have all moved to the Blue side of Manchester, while Arsene Wenger has finally taken the plunge and spent big money on a striker with Gonzalo Higuain moving to the Emirates.
 
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Squad Review​

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With the transfer window closed, it is now time to take a look at the squad that is left at my disposal until January at the very earliest.

Goalkeepers​

Geronimo Rulli - First choice goalkeeper signed on a free transfer at the beginning of the season. Hugely gifted and talented goalkeeper who has a chance to make an impression at the club.

Marteen Stekelenburg - Signed as a backup option for the goalkeeping position where we were caught out last season with Gazzaniga having to play in between the posts which cost us points.

Paulo Gazzaniga - Third Choice, young goalkeeper. Will need to do something spectacular to get near the first team again.

Left Back​

Ryan Bertrand - Mr Reliable. Ryan is our first choice by a distance and had a very good season last time out. Rarely has an off day and is a key part of how we play.

Matt Targett - Young and talented, Matt had a great season last time out, despite limited opportunities. Started out as first choice with Bertrands injury and made the most of it. Bright future.

Centre Back​

Jose Fonte - Our captain, our leader, our legend. Jose is one of the first names on the teamsheet and is reliable and solid. The perfect role model to the youngsters coming through although at 32 he is not getting any younger.

Virgil Van Dijk - This lad just oozes class. The 25 year old Dutch international arrived at St Marys at the beginning of last season. Had a stunning season last time out that has seen his value rise to over £20 million. Hugely important.

Kalido Koulibaly - Recently arrived from Napoli to fight for a first team spot. Still young at 25 and full of potential he is a welcome addition.

Jason McCarthy - One of the brightest prospects from the academy, I deemed Jason ready to fulfil a first team role, replacing Yoshida in the squad. Keep an eye out for this lad getting some appearances.

Right Back ​

Cedric - Our clear first choice, the Portuguese international has some seriously impressive stats and is a reliable starter.

Kenny Tete - Signed in January to replace outgoing Cuco Martina, Kenny has the potential to be a world beater. I will be looking at gifting him some more starts this season and he needs to take his opportunity.

Defensive Midfield​

Victor Wanyama - The Kenyan Monster is a wonderful midfield destroyer and offers great balance to our team. With a strength rating of 20 and stamina and work rate of 17, the big man will run and tackle all game long.

Sven Bender - The German was a January signing last season and provides great depth to the squad and a great challenge to Wanyama. Again with 20 stamina, 14 strength, 20 work rate, 19 team work and 18 tackling this lad is seriously impressive.

Central Midfield​

Jordy Clasie - Brought in as a like for like replacement for the United bound Morgan Schneiderlin, Clasie did well in his first season and managed to work his way into the Dutch international squad. Key Player.

Steven Davis - Hugely experience Northern Irish international. His work rate, team work and passing make him a key figure in the midfield, linking up play. He is never going to be spectacular but is oh so important.

James Ward-Prowse - The brightest young talent at the club, At just 21 years of age he has already made over 100 appearances for the first team and is captain of the England under 21's. Hugely talented and determined, the world is at this lads feet. Held off interest from Chelsea and Man City over the summer.

Harrison Reed - Didnt play a game last season but I am taking a long look at what this lad can bring to the table. Another academy prospect and a solid option at both defensive and central midfield.

Jake Hesketh - Yet another academy product that I am giving the opportunity to shine this season. Quick and talented with plenty of flair, this playmaker will be making cup appearances this season.

The Wings ​

Sadio Mane - An absolutely beautiful player to watch. Always dangerous with his pace, flair and dribbling ability he chips in with goals and assists and is arguably our most important player. An in game value of £31 million shows how good this lad is and we rejected offers greater than his value in the summer.

Dusan Tadic - The Serbian playmaker is a valuable member of the squad and has unlocked many a stubborn defence in his time. Most often found playing as a winger on the left hand flank, his flair, vision and crossing ability makes him so dangerous.

Jay Rodriguez - The 27 year old England International had a great season last time out and was selected in Englands European Championship squad. 20 goals in 50 appearances last time out will be the target to better this year. Also a useful option up front.

Lorenzo Insigne - New signing from Napoli with the potential to be extremely dangerous. Capable of cutting in from either wing with plenty of pace, an eye for a pass and a mean finish, he is a welcome addition to the squad.

Strikers​

Graziano Pelle - A truly wonderful striker. 25 goals in all competitions last season. His finishing is fantastic, his hold up play is wonderful and he is the perfect foil for the players around him. I cannot say enough how much I love this man, irreplaceable.

Sam Gallagher - The lad has big shoes to try and fill in the departing Charlie Austin but I have every faith in him. Still only 20 years old he has a big future. Tall, strong and direct he will be receiving tutoring from Pelle this year.


Squad Balance

24 players

Aged between 16-21 - 7
Aged between 22-26 - 9
Aged between 27-31 - 6
Aged 32 + - 2

English Players - 8
Academy Products - 6
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