Diary of a Season: St. Mary's Redemption

[rocheyb]

MY ANNUS HORRIBILIS

Everything was going brilliantly for Southampton Football Club up until Friday 25th March, 2022:

We had banked the Capital One Cup for the fourth consecutive season, with a 2-1 win against Stoke City; as the reigning Premier League champions, we were leading the table again by 5 points with 8 games to go, with a game in-hand over our nearest challenger, Manchester United; we were going well in the FA Cup, with bottom-of-the-table Wolves awaiting our attention in the semi-final; and a very winnable Champions League Quarter-Final also lay in-store, against a Manchester City side that we'd already beaten 6-0 earlier in the season.

Then it all went wrong. Dreadfully, terribly, unexpectedly, horribly, some-would-even-say-maliciously wrong. And I don't know why. The screenshots tell the story in short-form. If you've got the stomach for it, I've already posted more gorey details in the Frustrations thread, but make sure you come back here when you've read it:

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http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot.../143779-post-your-frustations-thread-246.html (scroll down to view the post by rocheyb)


So what was behind this late-season collapse?

Was it the tactics? My trusty 4-4-1-1 all the way until I switched to 4-5-1 Assymetric for the final league game at Newcastle United? in which, it turned out, their late, late equaliser ultimately cost me the title. Am I guilty of ignoring my own earlier advice about using more than one tactic?

Was it the players? There was no Morgan Schneiderlin this season after his departure to Genoa, with Diego Reyes (primarily a DM) and the comparatively inexperienced academy graduate, Shane Westley, rotating into that Ball-Winning Midfielder role, alongside new captain James Ward-Prowse as the Deep-Lying Playmaker. Erik Gomez?s 70-million departure to Man United had fired them along all season, but it didn't stop us from being well ahead of them in March, with his replacement, Yvo Lucas, helping himself to a respectful 15 goals in his first season with The Saints, and the more established Christoffer Jorgensen hitting a personal record 26 - contributing to a Premier League record total of 100 goals by season's end.

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Giammarco Stangoni, the World Player of the Year, had been excellent up to early March, with 21 goals and a whole bunch of assists - but why did his performances suddenly deteriorate? Had other teams sussed him (me, us) out, and found a way to nullify Stangoni, in particular, to limit his impact on matches?

Had the squad rotation policy become stale? Perhaps I had inadvertently stopped rotating players effectively, so when called upon to inject new momentum into our floundering season, too many of them were not sufficiently match fit or tactically attuned to do so, leaving first-choice players to labour-on despite failing stamina and accumulated bumps and bruises.

Or, had that run of often high-scoring victories during the first three-quarters of the season bred an over-confidence throughout the squad - or the club - so intense, that even I failed to recognise the early signs of our imminent downfall during a one-goal-in-four-matches glitch prior to an unprecedented three consecutive defeats, that included an embarrassing 1-2 home reverse against that very same bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers, despite being 1-0 up until the 85th minute?

We had been uncharacteristically free from injury during April and into May - our previously annual centre-back crisis not materialising this year, meaning that Diego Reyes played virtually all of his minutes in midfield, while my four designated central defenders were in constant rotation as they had been all season.

Whatever it was: IT. MUST. NOT. HAPPEN. AGAIN... EVER.

 

[rocheyb]

THE STORY CONCEPT

I need to fix whatever the problem was; make my team better and more resilient and improve year-on-year, to achieve my ambition of winning the European Champions League - something I have never done in FM - with The Saints. I definitely don’t want a repeat of what happened last season, and I’m going to be getting all Louis van Gaal over the **** of any player who even thinks about letting the side down for a minute!

Three of the best football books I have ever read were in the ‘Diary of a Season’ format. One was from the early 80s, by the former Saints manager, and forever legend, Lawrie McMenemy, and two by Sir Alex Ferguson from the mid-to-late 90s. So in this thread, I will adopt that same format to post a warts-and-all expose of everything that happens at my version of Southampton Football Club in the 2022/23 season - from the kick-off on 13th August to the final day on 14th May (and, who knows, maybe even the Champions League Final on 27th May, 2023) as I seek to reclaim the Premier League title and launch our latest assault on the Big One.

My posts will include:
- Detailed accounts of my tactical thinking, including concise descriptions of my preferred formations and tactics (detailed versions already exist in the Tactics thread)
- My reasons for selecting certain players, from match-to-match (where significant, not just part of general rotation), and for promoting or demoting them as the season progresses
- Explanations of the decisions and changes I make in-game, and an evaluation of the success or failure of the choices I make
- Detailed coverage of my approaches to training and scouting
- How I deal with dissenting players or other problems that may occur throughout the season
- Descriptions of how I modify various in-game features to suit my own approach to FM
- Profiles of targeted players and explanations of why I think they will improve my squad - possibly even including my own personal go-and-watch-them-play-myself scouting reports (which I have done in the past, but not normally)
- Justifications for any further player sales or outgoing loans and how they fit into, or affect, my long-term plan.

This is going to be so detailed that it can probably only work for one season, being so labour-intensive both for me as the writer and for you as the reader. But, by examining and relaying my in-game actions so closely, and hopefully receiving engaging feedback from my fellow FMers as I go, I can strive to take the next major steps toward that European ambition - while hopefully also providing an FM resource that others can refer to for inspiration in their own ongoing saves. So feel free to follow along and post suggestions, praise, recriminations, general abuse and even predictions, if you like, to make this a better read for everyone.

 

[rocheyb]

SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB: THE ROCHEYB YEARS - Part 1

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The shock departure of Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2013, under mysterious circumstances, opened the door for former England international footballer rocheyb (pronounced ‘Rocky B’) to begin his managerial career - despite protestations from some fans about the appointment of such an inexperienced football manager. But a 6th place finish, the club’s second highest ever in the top flight, and a trip to Wembley for the Capital One Cup Final (a 0-3 defeat to Manchester United) allayed such concerns, and the subsequent 3rd place in 2014/15 sparked genuine excitement in and around the South Coast club.

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Working with a core of players he had inherited, but with the significant addition of Tom Ince on the left-wing, rocheyb consolidated The Saints as a top-half outfit over the next few seasons, picking up the first major honour of his tenure in 2016, when two second-half goals by substitute Adam Lallana won the FA Cup against Manchester United. Two consecutive 6th place finishes, followed by an 8th in 2017/18 - when the club appeared in both major domestic finals, losing to Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, but beating Stoke City 1-0 to lift the FA Cup again, thanks to a late Kostas Kabastanakis goal - and regular participation in the latter stages of the Europa League, were signs of improvement while the squad was integrating several younger players.

A clear-out in the summer of 2018 that saw Gaston Ramirez go to Newcastle United, Dutch full-back Daley Blind depart for Fenerbahce, Paulo Dybala sign for VfB Stuttgart and free signing Alberto Masi move to Granada for 15-million - in addition to the release of several academy players who had not made the grade - signalled the beginning of a new era at St. Mary’s. Record transfer fees were broken and broken again to bring Dragan Hrustic, Erik Gomez, Sercan Calik, Elias Migliorini and Philip Kaminski to the club, where they were joined by the Belgian centre-back Roel Rutten, whose season long loan back to Genk had run its course following his 16-million transfer, and previous season signings Kabastanakis and the England goalkeeper, Jack Butland.

 

[rocheyb]

SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB: THE ROCHEYB YEARS - Part 2

PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

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By employing a range of tactics that made it difficult for opposition managers and players to pin them down or plan for, ahead of matches, ‘The New Saints’ as they were (sometimes derogatorily) labelled, lost only 3 matches in the first-half of the 2018/19 season to top the table at the turn of the year, before winning 15, drawing 3 and losing only 1 of their back 19 fixtures to claim, by 11 points, the most prestigious prize in English football for the first time in the club’s history. And we didn't have to wait too long for the second title, in 2020/21.

TACTICS

I will write about my tactics and specific decisions that I make during the 2022/23 season, but I have already posted extensive descriptions of the systems I have used and developed over time in the Tactics section of this forum:

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ics/158222-you-need-more-than-one-tactic.html

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...1-real-4-4-2-how-i-learned-play-triangle.html

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/share-download-fm-14-tactics/149688-4-5-1-assymetric-saints.html

 

[rocheyb]

SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB: THE ROCHEYB YEARS - Part 3

PROGRESS IN EUROPE

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Premier League celebrations had to be put on-hold, though, while The Saints, who had earlier beaten Arsenal 3-1 at Wembley to add another Capital One Cup to their haul, prepared for the completion of an unlikely treble and a showdown with the Serie A runners-up, Genoa, in the Europa League Final at the Parc des Princes, Paris. Despite a close first-half, a Christoffer Jorgensen hat-trick eventually inspired an emphatic 5-1 victory, on a day that many fans still regard as their favourite memory from decades of supporting The Saints.

Since then, the club have been perennial participants in the European Champions League, qualifying from the group stage every season. While additional domestic trophies and a second Premier League title (2020/21) have been secured, and intelligent player recruitment continues to strengthen and develop the squad, two semi-final eliminations remain the closest that Southampton have come to winning the Champions League. The second occasion was particularly hard to take, having led Bayern Munich 3-0 after just 24 minutes of the 1st leg match at St. Mary's Stadium.

BOARDROOM TAKEOVER

rocheyb’s reign has also coincided with a period of upheaval in the boardroom. After the failure of two rival bids, early in 2020, a consortium led by the former Oldham Athletic chairman, Simon Blitz, successfully secured a controlling interest in the club from the previous owner, Katerina Liebherr. A large injection of funds cleared some long-standing debts and made Southampton Football Club a force to be reckoned with in the transfer market, as well as on the pitch. The takeover occurred at the end of a period of squad building, enabling rocheyb to commit larger fees to the pursuit and capture of a selected few transfer targets.

 

[rocheyb]

SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB: ROLL OF HONOUR
- Up to and including season 2021/22

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(Seasons/years highlighted in bold type indicate trophies won under rocheyb's management)

Europa League
Winners: 2019

European Super Cup
Runners-up: 2019

Premier League
Champions: 2018/19, 2020/21
Runners-up: 1983/84, 2019/20, 2021/22
3rd place: 2014/15

FA Cup
Winners: 1974, 2016, 2018, 2020
Runners-up: 1900, 1902, 2003, 2022

Capital One Cup
Winners: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Runners-up: 1979, 2014, 2018

Community Shield
Winners: 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021
Runners-up: 1976, 2018

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Johnstone's Paint Trophy
Winners: 2010

 

[rocheyb]

SUMMER TRANSFERS - 2022

Several of my players - particularly the English contingent - were growing old together. So during the summer transfer window, a bit of surgery was required to produce a younger, leaner Southampton first-team squad.

OUT go:

- Jonjo Shelvey to Arsenal for a cut-price 5-million. No real reflection on him - he has been one of my most reliable players since I signed him in 2015 - but he had become a rotation player and, at the age of 30, I needed to move him on to make space in the squad for new talent.

- Nathaniel Clyne (aged 31) to Norwich City for 2.4-million. Brilliant at right-back ever since I walked through the door, but younger players of greater potential need first team football.

- Guido Vadala (to Parma for 8.25-million), Bentley Gouano (to Tottenham Hotspur for 14.5-million) and Vitaly Koviazo (to Juventus for 9-million) - three free transfers who had not established themselves in my line-up or my future-planning; 32-million is a lot of money to pass-up for players you don’t use.

- And Will Beautyman, an academy goalkeeper who performed heroics during a six-match goalkeeping injury crises during the run-in to the 2019/20 season as a 16 year-old (won 5; lost 1), found himself behind three excellent ‘keepers this season so joins Swansea City to progress his career, with my best wishes.

I will introduce my whole squad over a series of posts, so screenshots for these players will be included there. But for now…

IN come:

- Jose Pinho, a world-class potential attacker and Portugal U21 international from Porto, for 15-million.

- Rodrigao, a Brazilian starlet right-back who played 30 matches during Osasuna’s 3rd place finish in La Liga last season, for 12-million.

- Andrew Powell, a 22 year-old Welsh international striker from Swansea City, who I’ve been scouting for several seasons and have now acquired for 16-million, plus up to 4-million of add-ons.

- Marc Smulders, a 17 year-old left-winger from Ajax, who will hopefully improve here and out on-loan over the next couple of years, with a view to incorporating him into the first team squad when Tom Ince finally slows down.

And for Saints Academy graduates Mark Ardean-Webb (midfielder, 18 years-old) and Kingsley Idris (striker, 19), this is going to be a make-or-break season - while their peers Jorginho (striker, 20), Carl Storrie (striker, 20) and Billy Roberts (striker, 20) might struggle to set themselves apart in the U21s and out on-loan, with even higher rated talent waiting in the U18s squad.

With this squad, I shall be aiming to reclaim the Premier League crown that we won in 2018/19 and 2020/21 and reach at least the semi-finals of the Champions League, for the third time, this season. Winning the Capital One Cup for a fifth consecutive season would break Liverpool’s record from the early-80s; the FA Cup is a nice-to-have, rather than a must win, but I’ll prioritise other competitions to protect my players from injury and exhaustion, if I have to.

 

[rocheyb]

Friday 8th July, 2022

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St. Mary’s Stadium has been under renovation since 15th May, so I took some time out this morning to go and take a look at how they are getting on. This is the second ground expansion project that we have undergone, having had the capacity increased to just above the 42,000 mark a few seasons ago. The foreman assures me that everything is on schedule for completion by 3rd November, as planned. The capacity will be restricted to just under 39,000 until then, but will be over the 50,000 mark when it is finished.

 

[rocheyb]

Saturday 9th July, 2022

I meet with my backroom staff for some final preparations before the beginning of our pre-season campaign - which kicks-off tomorrow with a 10-hour flight to Beijing. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which featured more than half of our first team squad, means a truncated pre-season programme lies ahead, against relatively easy opposition. Having benefitted financially from a previous tour of the USA, I have decided to take the bulk of the squad to China this summer, to play exhibition matches against Beijing Guo’an, Guizhou Renhe and Hangzhou Lucheng. Even against such low quality opposition, there will be opportunities to learn about my players and how they operate within my tactical systems. The Belgian, German, Danish and Argentine players in my squad are excused from the tour of China, while they take extended leave to recover from their involvement in the latter stages of the World Cup.

THE BACKROOM STAFF (selected)

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Rene Meulensteen is my trusted right-hand man, having joined the club as a coach in 2016 and accepting promotion to Assistant Manager a year later. He had been coaching at Valencia for three years, after the collapse of the Anji Makhachkala project.

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My goalkeeper coaches include Toni Jimenez - who I inherited from Mauricio Pochettino’s aborted tenure at St. Mary’s - and the former Chelsea keeper Kevin Hitchcock. The ex-Everton and Tottenham keeper Bobby Mimms takes the U21s, while the former Southampton and Bournemouth goalie Neil Moss has recently joined from the Cherries to train our U18s.

The other famous names in my backroom are:

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Dennis Bergkamp, the Dutch Master and star of Arsenal's Invincibles, drills the first team squad on Ball Control; Sylvain Distin is a defensive coach who used to play for Everton, but was inexplicably never capped by France; Ade Mafe is a former Team GB Olympic athlete who became a fitness coach upon retirement from track-and-field, working for Chelsea, Millwall, MK Dons and West Brom before I signed him at the beginning of my Saints career, in July 2013; Kit Symons is a former Wales international, who made his name as a player at Portsmouth and was coaching at Fulham when I signed him in 2017, as my U18s defensive coach; Dejan Stankovic was a junior member of the Red Star Belgrade squad that won the European Champions Cup in 1991, who came to international attention during long and successful spells with Lazio and Internazionale. Now works as a member of Southampton’s 15-strong scouting team.

 

[rocheyb]

Our pre-season campaign consists of 8 matches. I will now alternate between posting short descriptions of each of those matches with introductions to my squad of players for the 2022/23 season...

 

[rocheyb]

Wednesday 13th July, 2022

Pre-season Friendly
BEIJING GOU'AN vs SOUTHAMPTON
Worker’s Stadium, Beijing; Att: 41,060

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(I will devize a more expansive Match Report format for competitive games, but for pre-season friendlies I will go with this short-form version)

For the opening match of our pre-season campaign, the team lined-up in the 4-4-1-1 formation. Jose Pinho looked comfortable in the Shadow Striker role, from the No.10 position, getting forward often and scoring two goals from close range. Shane Westley had license to roam as the Deep-Lying Playmaker and Mark Ardean-Webb, the teenager, impressed in the Ball-Winning Midfielder role. Rodrigao, new to the club this season, was also impressive at right-back. The team did well to penetrate Beijing’s densely packed 5-3-2 formation - their lack of wide midfielders granting the freedom of South East Asia to my full-backs and wingers.

Best goal: Kostas Kabastanakis, 31 minutes (to make the score: 1-3)
Left-wing progression by Tom Ince (ML_A) and Dragan Hrustic (DL_S) ran into rare resistance from the Beijing midfield. So a short infield pass to Shane Westley (DLP_S - detailed to play More Direct Passes) allowed the skipper for the day to switch the play to the open expanse of the right flank. KABASTANAKIS sprinted in from the touchline to meet the ball, took one touch to control it 30 yards from goal, quickly advanced into the inside-right channel, beating two defenders in the process, before cutting into the angle of the six-yard box to place a left-footed, side-foot shot inside the far post.

 

[rocheyb]

MEET THE SQUAD - GOALKEEPERS

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ABDEL AZIZ IBRAHIM
Age: 24 - Nationality: Egyptian - Caps: 76
A world-class goalkeeper signed on a free transfer from Barcelona in the summer of 2020. Spent time on-loan at Anderlecht during his time under contract to the Nou Camp club. Rotated with Louis Cruse since coming to St. Mary’s - partly due to international commitments and injury - but expected to assert himself as the No.1 choice this season. Will likely travel to South Africa with the Egypt squad in January, though, to take part in the African Nations’ Cup 2023.

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LOUIS CRUSE
Age: 24 - Nationality: English - Caps: 0
Saints Academy graduate who has made 118 first-team appearances to date and has been called-up to the senior England squad, although he awaits his full international debut, despite 28 caps at U21 level. Faces stiff competition for his place from Abdel Aziz Ibrahim, so rotating him into the starting line-up often enough to keep him settled at the club will be a major task for the manager, this season, although Ibrahim’s anticipated absence for the African Nations’ Cup should provide some first-team chances for Cruse.

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ALES DANICEK
Age: 17 - Nationality: Czech - Caps: 0
Promising goalkeeping prospect who joined Southampton from Sparta Prague for 125,000 in January 2022 and was immediately loaned-out to Coventry City, where he managed six clean sheets in 16 matches to help the Sky Blues to promotion from the Championship. Will spend the 2022/23 season on-loan at the Dutch club, FC Utrecht.

 

[rocheyb]

Saturday 16th July, 2022

Pre-Season Friendly
GUIZHOU RENHE vs SOUTHAMPTON
Guiyang City Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Guiyang; Att: 34,038


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We tested out a new 3-5-2 formation, and despite the weakness of the opposition, there were signs that close possession between defenders and midfielders is prone to the “too many cooks” syndrome. The goal we conceded came from Reyes pushing forward at the wrong moment to leave a hole between the other two centre-backs - that HONG YUBO ran from the centre-circle to take full advantage of. The second Saints goal, on 32 minutes, was a fine example of how a False9 can drop into the No.10 position to control a pass from midfield, before slipping a short pass to his strike partner for a straight-forward finish. Renhe didn’t have enough possession to test the absence of our full-backs.


Best goal: Kingsley Idris, 26 minutes (1-2)
Tom Ince (WML_S) crosses from the left touchline, about 20 yards from the goal-line. Meanwhile, IDRIS sprints from deep to meet the ball on the full, above the penalty spot, to crash an unstoppable, jumping left-footed volley past the ‘keeper. I don’t care who you are, you don’t stop them!

 

[rocheyb]

MEET THE SQUAD - CENTRAL DEFENDERS

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ROEL RUTTEN
Age: 25 - Nationality: Belgian - Caps: 67; Goals: 6
World-class centre-back signed from Genk for 16-million in the summer of 2017, spending the following season on-loan to them to continue his development while the Mexican international Hector Moreno saw out the last year of his contract at St. Mary’s. Won the Premier League in his first season with The Saints and was a vital member of the Belgium squad that won the European Championships in 2020 and the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, this past summer.

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TIN JEDVAJ
Age: 26 - Nationality: Croatian - Caps: 87; Goals: 2
A former recognised starlet whose poor form while on-loan with Ajax in 2015 convinced Roma to transfer-list him, facilitating a 2.4-million move to Southampton, where the presence of his Croatian international colleague Dejan Lovren, helped him to settle-in and learn to speak English relatively quickly. A consistent performer who will be wanting to make amends for his mistake against Newcastle United in the final league match of last season, that led to the goal that denied Southampton a third Premier League coronation.

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SERGEY RADIMOV
Age: 25 - Nationality: Russian - Caps: 50; Goals: 1
A product of Zenit St Petersburg, who joined Anzi Makhachkala prior to a 24-million move to Paris St.Germain in January 2019. Joined Southampton for 20-million in January 2021 and, despite poor initial performances, has settled into consistent form. Can play anywhere across the back four, but usually deployed at centre-back.

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PHILLIP KAMINSKI
Age: 27 - Nationality: German - Caps: 19; Goals: 2
A 6ft6in former Borussia Dortmund centre-back who joined Southampton for 2.5-million in 2018. A lack of pace requires him to be paired with a quicker defensive partner, so rotates in and out of the team, and is often named among the substitutes. Was expected to leave this summer, before the long-term injury to Bayern Munich’s Alexander Slaatsveen scuppered a potential big-money raid on Pep Guardiola’s squad.

 

[rocheyb]

Tuesday 19th July, 2022

Pre-Season Friendly
HANGZHOU LUCHENG vs SOUTHAMPTON
Hangzhou Sports Centre, Hangzhou; Att: 15,742

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For the final match of our China tour, I switched back to 4-4-1-1 against Hangzhou’s traditional 4-4-2. A routine win against poor opposition. Clever, short passing moves through the middle constantly opened up the home side’s defence, and the majority of goals were from close range. Switching the play from flank to flank, via the central midfielders, pulled Hangzhou’s defence out of position and created space to attack.

Best goal: Kingsley Idris, 81 minutes (0-4)
As the team’s attacking unit moved forward in unison, Elias Migliorini’s path down the left-wing was blocked off, so he played a short diagonal pass inside to Marc Ardean-Webb. Finding his own forward momentum halted by retreating defenders, he lay the ball back to Migliorini, whose first team diagonal cross from 35 yards out was met by the run from deep of Kingsley IDRIS, taking one touch to control the ball in the inside-left channel, and one touch to finish in the bottom, far corner.

 

[rocheyb]

MEET THE SQUAD - FULL-BACKS

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JOHN STONES
Age: 28 - Nationality: English - Caps: 11
A solid, former Everton defender, signed for 6.5-million in 2014, who has made more than 250 appearances for The Saints, despite never being the first-choice right-back with Nathaniel Clyne ahead of him. Can also cover at centre-back. Finally broke into the England squad in the run-up to this summer’s World Cup, and quickly amassed 11 caps.

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BUTI NDOU
Age: 21 - Nationality: South African - Caps: 44; Goals: 5
Very highly-rated attacking right-back who represented Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in his native South Africa, before a move to Serie A with Juve Stabia. Joined The Saints in 2020 for 10.5-million and after two seasons of development in the U21s with occasional first-team outings, will feature in the first-team a lot more this season now that Nathaniel Clyne has departed for Norwich City. Can play anywhere on the right-hand side of the pitch and is expected to be trained to play at left-back, too. Quick, and an accomplished crosser of the ball, who is expected to feature for the host nation in the African Nations’ Cup 2023.

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RODRIGAO
Age: 20 - Nationality: Brazilian - Caps: 2
Former Atletico Mineiro and Cruz Azul right-back, who starred in 30 matches for Osasuna during their 3rd place finish in La Liga last season. Southampton took advantage of a 12-million minimum fee release clause to bring him to the Premier League, where he will compete with Buti Ndou and John Stones for a starting spot. An excellent passer of the ball.

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NICOLAS CRUZ
Age: 17 - Nationality: Spanish - Caps: 0
Another exciting prospect at right-back, brought to the club from Sevilla in the summer of 2021. Expected to be loaned out to a Championship club, with learning English among his objectives for this season. Very determined, but his career history to date is limited to a solitary appearance for Sevilla, during a season-long loan to his former club - causing arguments between his manager and Roberto Donadoni - and one game for Spain U21s.

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LUKE SHAW
Age: 27 - Nationality: English - Caps: 53; Goals: 1
26.5-million rated veteran left-back who has made more than 264 league appearances to date. An attack minded full-back with excellent crossing ability who broke his goal-duck two seasons ago and has gone on to score a total of 6 goals, since, including some outstanding free-kicks. Has remained loyal to The Saints despite constant speculation linking him with a move to Manchester City. A member of the England squad that reached the World Cup Final in Russia, in 2018.

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DRAGAN HRUSTIC
Age: 26 - Nationality: Bosnian - Caps: 53; Goals: 1
Started out with Zeljeznicar but was scouted while playing for Rapid Wien, in Austria, prior to a 7.75-million move to Southampton. Rotates with Luke Shaw and has the necessary defensive and attacking attributes to perform the role in a similar manner. Unusually tall for a full-back, strong in the tackle with an excellent first touch. Has been the subject of rejected bids from rival teams, but remains an integral part of the manager’s plans.

 

[rocheyb]

Saturday 23rd July, 2022

Pre-Season Friendly
SAINT-ETIENNE vs SOUTHAMPTON
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne; Att: 21,119

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Billed nowhere as The Battle of The Saints, this France-based friendly brought us into contact with our former Mexican centre-back, Hector Moreno, who played for us between 2014 and 2018. He’d obviously missed us, because our 3-0 half-time lead included two own goals from the man himself. Yvo Lucas helped himself to the other two. The home side were surprisingly lacklustre and offered little to learn from. Their goal was due to some poor defending by John Stones.

Best goal: Yvo Lucas, 59 minutes (0-4)
A patient build-up that began with our own goal-kick, moved across the midfield and involved most of our outfield players, culminated in a low cross from Kabastanakis on the right hand side, which LUCAS sprinted from the blind-side of two static defenders to control, before firing in at the near post.

 

[rocheyb]

MEET THE SQUAD - CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

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DIEGO REYES
Age: 29 - Nationality: Mexican - Caps: 99; Goals: 3
The captain of the Mexican national team who became a target for Southampton while playing for Porto, but was unobtainable until a 34-million release clause in his contract with CSKA Moscow facilitated a move in 2019. An expert penalty-taker who has often skippered The Saints, and was one of the most impressive performers in the squad last season. Usually plays in midfield for Southampton, but his role in a back-three for Mexico has prompted some tactical experimentation during pre-season, in which he operates as a Ball-Playing Defender in a 3-5-2 formation.

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SHANE WESTLEY
Age: 23 - Nationality: English - Caps 7
A 16-million rated product of the Saints Academy who had loan spells at Bury and Hull City before becoming a rotation player at St. Mary’s in the 2017/18 season. Took a half-season loan to Manchester City in 2020, but came to greater prominence during the last 12 months following the departure of Morgan Schneiderlin to Genoa, making 37 appearances and scoring 5 goals last season - including an outstanding long-range winner against Stoke City in the Capital One Cup Final. Made his international debut in a friendly against USA in March 2022, and played in all three matches during England’s disastrous showing at World Cup 2022, in Qatar. A determined and composed midfielder; a potential future captain.

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JAMES WARD-PROWSE
Age: 27 - Nationality: English - Caps: 60; Goals: 7
Highly creative central midfielder whose 21 assists last season is a new club record. Operates as a Deep-Lying Playmaker, delivers set-pieces and captained The Saints throughout last season. He was disappointed to give-up the armband this season, but will now deputise for Stangoni. Poses a goal threat from outside the penalty area, including dead-ball situations. Achieved his highest match ratings to date last season and continues to be integral for club and country.

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MARK ARDEAN-WEBB
Age: 18 - Nationality: English - Caps: 0
Macclesfield-born Saints Academy product who impressed in the Southampton first-team during the first half of last season, before being loaned out to bolster Coventry City’s successful promotion push with 2 goals in 16 appearances. A similar type of player to Shane Westley, who can operate as a Ball-Winning Midfielder or a Deep-Lying Playmaker. Has impressed during pre-season and is expected to feature regularly for the first team this season. An England U19 international.

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GRANT KINGSMILL
Age: 18 - Nationality: English
Central midfielder who hasn’t lived up to early promise. Spending the first half of the season in League Two, with Fleetwood Town. Was at Tranmere Rovers last season.

 

[rocheyb]

Wednesday 27th July, 2022

Pre-Season Friendly
VVV VENLO vs SOUTHAMPTON
Seacon Stadion - De Koel, Venlo; Att: 7,884

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I expected better opposition from Venlo, who are in Eredivisie, but we may have been far ahead of them in terms of our pre-season training. The constant triangles through midfield and into the attacking third, which are a feature of the possession based 4-4-1-1, confused them from the very start and our wingers and strikers capitalised on the gaps between their bemused defenders. It was 6-0 at half-time. A useful exercise in fitness and morale, but I would have preferred to see our defence tested a bit more.

Best goal: Kingsley Idris, 11 minutes (0-2)
A header by Westley from Venlo’s goal-kick, went to Migliorini who headed back into the middle for Stangoni, shortly advanced and left of the centre-circle. The No.10 chipped the ball over three defenders and into the path of the on-running IDRIS, who chested it down before placing a shot inside the right-hand post.

 

[rocheyb]

MEET THE SQUAD - ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS

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GIAMMARCO STANGONI
Age: 24 - Nationality: Italian - Caps: 48; Goals: 12
The reigning World Player of the Year and holder of the World Golden Ball Award. Southampton set a new club transfer record when they paid 39-million to Granada, in 2020. 10 goals and 19 assists during his first season were followed by 22 goals and 9 assists last term, but his drop in form during the run-in remains one of the mysteries of last season. An exceptionally creative passer, and a fast, direct dribbler who operates as a No.10 Trequartista, committing defenders left-right-and-centre to engineer openings for himself and teammates. Has an excellent on-field rapport with Christoffer Jorgensen and a knack of striking unstoppable left-foot volleys. Handed the captain’s armband for the new season. Very much the new Francesco Totti. Began his career with Milan.

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SERCAN CALIK
Age: 24 - Nationality: Belgian - Caps: 49; Goals: 19
A goal-packed, flying right-winger who has starred alongside Roel Rutten in the recent successes of Belgium and Southampton, alike. Started all 7 matches in Belgium’s successful World Cup 2022 campaign, scoring in the 3-0 win against Senegal in the 2nd round. Signed from Manchester United for 18.5-million, in 2018, since when he has accumulated 47 goals and 58 assists in all competitions. Can play as a winger or a wing-back. Fans' Player of the Year for each of the last two seasons. Born in Kocaeli, Turkey.

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KOSTAS KABASTANAKIS
Age: 26 - Nationality: Dutch - Caps: 44; Goals: 16
Greek-born Dutch international who was plucked from FC Utrecht for 13.25-million in 2017. An excellent crosser of the ball who carries a significant goal threat when raiding the right-hand channel. Similar in style to the former Manchester United winger, Andrei Kanchelskis. Can use either foot but is not as effective defensively as Sercan Calik.

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TOM INCE
Age: 30 - Nationality: English - Caps: 76; Goals: 17
The manager’s very first signing in 2013, for 3.2-million from Blackpool with Kelvin Davies and Guly do Prado going in the opposite direction. Has been consistently excellent on the left-wing, whether as an Advanced Winger or Midfielder Left_Attack. Very efficient at getting to the byline and crossing for the strikers; also skilled at shooting from tight angles on the left-hand side, with often unstoppably fierce strikes. A firm fan favourite, having won their Player of the Year Award on four occasions. One of the most experienced players in the squad who was among England’s leading performers in the run to the Final of the 2018 World Cup.

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ELIAS MIGLIORINI
Age: 24 - Nationality: Argentine - Caps: 28; Goals: 9
A more than able deputy for Tom Ince on the left-wing, who can also operate as a wing-back. His 20-million transfer from Real Sociedad was a short-lived club record and his consistent performances and career-best 14 goals last season suggest that Ince’s advancing years should not pose a problem to the squad, this season. A flair player with stamina and determination in abundance, who will be expected to shine again this term.

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MARC SMULDERS
Age: 17 - Nationality: Dutch
A summer acquisition from Ajax, for a nominal fee, who is a potential long-term successor to Tom Ince on the left-wing. Short, determined and quick with good crossing ability. May be loaned-out at some point, but begins the season in The Saints’ youth ranks.