Diary of a Season: St. Mary's Redemption

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Wednesday 14th December, 2022

Preparation vs EVERTON (a)

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Everton: 7/1; SAINTS: 1/3 (fav); Draw: 3/1

The Toffees are currently in the Premier League relegation zone with just 13 points from 16 matches, and having conceded 38 goals they have the worse defence of the season so far. They play 4-2-3-1 and let in a lot of goals at the beginning of each half. We are working on Attacking Movement and I will look to line-up in the 3-5-2 formation again.
 
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Thursday 15th December, 2022

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We will meet Coventry City in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup, while Birmingham City will take on Manchester City. Coventry were our feeder club last season, when they won promotion to the top flight from the Championship.
 
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Friday 16th December, 2022

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The other cup draw we are involved in this week is the small matter of the European Champions League, 1st Knock-Out Round. And we are drawn against the team that has won 6 of the last 7 (including all of the last 5) Eredivisie titles: Vitesse. I have a score to settle with them, actually:

After finishing 6th in my first season with The Saints, we qualified for the Europa League but had to enter the Play-off prelim, against Vitesse. A Rickie Lambert hat-trick inspired us to a 5-1 home win over our hapless Dutch opponents, so - operating a small squad as I was then - I decided to rest several key players for the return leg in Arnhem. And we lost 0-4 - going out on the away goals rule. This will be the first time we have met them since - and I definitely won’t let the same thing happen again!

Of the other matches, tie of the round is a toss-up between Chelsea vs Barcelona, Manchester United vs Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich. The Final is going to be at Wembley Stadium, so it would be extra special to make it to our first European Champions League Final this season.
 
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Saturday 17th December, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 17
EVERTON vs SOUTHAMPTON
Goodison Park, Liverpool; Att: 37,201

SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim in goal; Phillip Kaminski retains his place in the back-3 alongside Reyes, while Radimov returns after missing the midweek cup match at Old Trafford; Luke Shaw starts on the left of the 5-man midfield with Mark Ardean-Webb and Mario Pugliese either side of Giammarco Stangoni; Kostas Kabastanakis replaces Calik on the right-hand side, who is rested; Christoffer Jorgensen and the in-form Kingsley Idris partner each other up-front; Jose Pinho and Andrew Powell are on the subs’ bench.

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Everton - 4-4-2: The Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac captains Everton; centre-back Tom Thorpe is a product of the Manchester United academy; the Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva was a 23-million transfer to Manchester City from Liverpool at the very beginning of my save in 2013, and joined Everton at the start of this season; the striker Eddie Routledge is from Everton’s own academy; he partners Giovanni Simeone, the son of Diego.

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The home team’s morale is poor, which is no surprise given that they are currently in the relegation zone. I have instructed normal tackles. Unusually, my team is relatively unchanged from the previous match so the pick up where you left off shout actually resonates with most of the players in the pre-match team-talk.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Everton kick-off, attacking from left-to-right.
- 2mins: Mario Pugliese picks the ball up deep inside the Southampton half. He passes forward to Giammarco Stangoni near the centre-circle and the Italian playmaker set off on a 50-yard run, eluding both Lucas Leiva and Luke Hyam on his way to the edge of the penalty area before laying the ball off to Luke Shaw on the left wing. He took a touch and then crossed to the 6-yard box where Kingsley IDRIS slipped away from Hannigan to head past Delac. 1-0.
- 7mins: Luke Shaw’s free-kick is on target but Delac makes a comfortable save.
- 8mins: Pugliese finds Stangoni in midfield, again, and the ball is quickly slid to Idris. Hannigan sells himself with a poorly timed sliding challenge, leaving Idris free to run through the middle and bear down on Delac’s goal. The right-back Nykanen sprints across but Idris unleashes a left-foot shot before he can get there, but Delac dives to his right to make a smart save.
- 12mins: Yellow card for Tom Thorpe for a trip on Jorgensen.
- 14mins: Eddie Routledge shoots wide with a 30-yard free-kick for Everton.
- 18mins: Two failed clearances on the edge of the Saints area leaves Gianniotas in possession on the right and his cross to Simeone, who is unmarked in the middle, is miss-hit - causing Ibrahim to push the ball over the bar.
- 25mins: Stangoni, Shaw and Ardean-Webb combine on the left wing and the latter’s cross looks comfortable for Delac. But under pressure from Idris, he drops the ball, leading to a scramble with Idris, Jorgensen and several Toffee defenders - who avoid sticky situation by clearing for a corner.
- 28mins: Idris drops deep to receive the ball and lays it off into the centre for Stangoni. With three defenders in front of him, he runs straight at them, causing Lucas Leiva to over-commit with a sliding challenge that hooks Stangoni’s right foot. Penalty. Yellow card for Lucas Leiva.
- 29mins: Diego REYES shoots high to the right side of the goal from the spot-kick, to extend Southampton’s lead. 2-0.
- 36mins: The Pugliese, Stangoni, Idris combination through the middd creates another opening for the striker but he shoots wide from the edge of the area, as the flag indicates offside.
- 39mins: Jorgensen shows excellent close control and running power to turn Tom Thorpe and advance on the Everton area in the inside-right channel. As Thorpe tries to get back to goal side, Jorgensen turns infield, shifts the ball to his left foot and chips it over the head of Nykanen to Kingsley Idris. The young striker does well to reach the high ball with his head, knocking it back for the on-coming Shaw, who takes it wider before crossing back to Idris just off the left corner of the 6-yard box, and his chest down and half-volley forces good reactions from Delac at the near post with Hannigan sliding in to concede a corner before Idris can latch onto the rebound.
- 42mins: Good hold-up play by Simeone releases Gianniotas behind Radimov, but his rushed shot is into the side-netting.

HALF-TIME: EVERTON 0-2 SOUTHAMPTON

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We have had most the play in midfield, with Pugliese and Ardean-Webb making several interceptions and the Italian in particular feeding the ball to Stangoni who can then orchestrate attacks by running at the Everton defence. Jorgensen has shown some good touches but Idris is again the danger-man, getting into shooting positions more often. Kabastanaskis is having a quiet game on the right-hand side but Luke Shaw has done well on the left, often joining attacks late to provide a different angle of approach to keep the home side under pressure. Simeone has yet to get a sight of our goal and Everton have posed little threat, so far. I tell the players that they’re doing well but can still do better.

2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: The Saints are straight onto the attack, with Idris sprinting down the left wing and crossing for Jorgensen - but the ball goes into the side-netting, with Delac scrambling by his near post.
- 49mins: Jorgensen retrieves the ball after Shaw’s free-kick hits the wall on the edge of the Everton area. He plays a one-two with Kaminski before feeding Shaw inside the area. As Everton defenders close him, he has to take the shot with his right foot and hits the side-netting behind the right-hand post.
- 50mins: Lucas Leiva gets a foot in to dispossess Stangoni, and Hyam quickly forwards the ball to Routledge, who in turn finds Simeone in the Saints half of the centre-circle. He knocks the ball past Radimov and sprints straight through the middle with Reyes in hot pursuit. He sees Ibrahim advance off his line and chips him from the edge of the penalty area; the keeper gets something on it, but not enough; the ball drops in for Giovanni SIMEONE’s 10th goal of the season. 2-1.
- 52mins: Delac makes a low save on the goal-line from Luke Shaw’s free-kick on the left.
- 54mins: Shaw takes a throw next to the corner flag on the left touchline and Stangoni turns to slip the ball to Idris just inside the area. He pulls it back to Radimov, to the left of the D, and his short pass into the area finds Mario PUGLIESE in the middle, who has time to take a touch and then shoot left-footed from 14-yards, despite the attentions of McKenzie and Stuart, to beat Matej Delac in the bottom left-hand corner. 3-1.
- 60mins: Jorgensen brings the ball over the halfway line for The Saints, before passing infield to Stangoni. The Everton defence back-off as the reigning World Player of the Year runs at them, allowing Idris to slip out of Hannigan’s vision and round the back of the defender to latch onto his captain’s through ball. But he shoots on his right foot, his weaker foot, and the ball flashes wide.
- 62mins: Shaw intercepts a pass in The Saints half and releases Idris down the left wing. He beats Thorpe and crosses before Nykanen can get to him, presenting Jorgensen with a golden opportunity to extend Southampton’s lead further from 4-yards. But Delac throws an arm in the way of the Danish striker’s header, and McKenzie slides in to beat Kabastanakis to the loose ball, at the expense of a corner. The first corner is headed behind for another by Hannigan…
- 63mins: …and the second drops at the near post, leading a goalmouth scramble in which Jorgensen and Ardean-Webb both have shots blocked before the blue-shirted home team defenders clear the ball to halfway.
- 66mins: Jorginho comes on to replace Stangoni.
- 68mins: From midway inside the Everton half, on the left hand side, Shaw chips the ball to Idris who gets it down with Hannigan in close attendance, and then takes on his man in a diagonal run towards the centre. Nykanen comes across and clips Idris’s heel - resulting in Lee Mason pointing to the spot again for a second Southampton penalty. Yellow card for Turo Nykanen…
- 69mins: …Diego REYES again shoots to the right of the goal, but this time ferociously into the top corner. 4-1.
- 69mins: Everton go to 4-4-1-1 as they replace both Lucas Leiva and Eddie Routledge. I amend our OIs to make sure the new and re-positioned players are being picked up and closed down.
- 78mins: Shaw crosses from the left, after support down the flank from Mark Ardean-Webb, and Jorgensen connects with the header. But their is not enough power to beat Delac.
- 79mins: Andrew Powell comes on for Kingsley Idris.
- 81mins: Powell shoots from the edge of the area after Jorginho’s central through ball, but it goes wide of the left-hand post.
- 82mins: Jose Pinho replaces Kostas Kabastanakis.
- Everton manage a couple of long-range and tight-angled efforts during the last 10 minutes, but to no effect…

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
DEIGO REYES (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.2
Ball-Playing Defender_Cover: 2 goals; 0 assists.

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VERDICT:
Our ability to run at teams with the ball and carry the fight into the final third, coupled with good deliveries from wide, paid dividends today. Kingsley Idris and Giammarco Stangoni both caused panic among the Everton defenders when they got the ball down and went for them in central areas, and Luke Shaw, Mark Ardean-Webb, Mario Pugliese and Christoffer Jorgensen all provided good support and hold-up play when it was needed. The home side had little by way of response. A good win at Goodison.
 
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Saturday 17th December, 2022

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Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal all won today, so we remain 4th in the Premier League table, 10 points behind The Blues. Our next match is at home to Fulham (17th) on Wednesday.

The goal by Giovanni Simeone for Everton in our last match was the first we have conceded in 8 matches and we have been in an excellent run of form recently, which I am obviously keen to maintain throughout the Christmas and New Year period with squad rotation and clever use of substitutions.
 
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Sunday 18th December, 2022

I have offered new contracts to Louis Cruse, Tin Jedvaj and Mark Ardean-Webb - but I have decided not to offer a new deal to Tom Ince, who will therefore leave in the summer after 10 seasons with Southampton. He has been an excellent player for us, but with my tactics evolving away from the set-ups in which he thrived and with his advancing years, I think this summer will be a good opportunity to channel my transfer spending into that position. Jay Rodriguez, who is now 33, will also leave in July.

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Young Marc Smulders may yet emerge to make the left-sided position his own; Luke Shaw has also played well in that midfield role in our 3-5-2, even though he is obviously primarily a full-back; Dragan Hrustic could still be converted to play there and James Ward-Prowse and Giammarco Stangoni have both done so in the past; and there is also Arthur Semka - an 18 year-old Russian central or left midfielder currently with Spartak Moscow who I signed on a free transfer when he was 16 but have had to wait 2 years for him to actually join us, which he will finally do on 1st January. He doesn’t speak English, so I will probably look to loan him out to a Championship club for a while.
 
Sunday 18th December, 2022

Preparation vs FULHAM (h)

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SAINTS: 1/6 (fav); Fulham: 10/1; Draw: 5/1.

We are overwhelming favourites to beat Fulham for the second time this season, having won 3-0 against them in the Capital One Cup in September. They are expected to play 4-4-2 again, and they are vulnerable to the same formation. They have a recent history of letting goals in throughout the first half and during the last 15 minutes, which explains why they are only just hovering above the relegation zone at the moment. We have won all of the last 7 meetings against Fulham, dating back to March 2016. They have been yo-yoing in-and-out of the Championship so there have only been 12 meetings in all, of which we have: Won 8; Drawn 2; Lost 2.

Fulham, who are know managed by one of my Southampton predecessors, Alan Pardew, have only won one of their last 10 Premier League matches, losing their most recent game 1-4 at home to Cardiff City. Martyn Wharton, John Guidetti and Tomas Ingi Urbancic are their main goal threats, who have 9 goals, 5 goals and 3 goals respectively, in all competitions.

We’re working on Attacking Movement and I am considering whether to stick with the 3-5-2 or go with one of our formations with full-backs to get a few lesser used squad members involved.
 
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Monday 19th December, 2022

Tin Jedvaj and Louis Cruse have both put pen-to-paper on new contract extensions that will keep them at St. Mary’s until 2027. Meanwhile, Billy Roberts will stay with Derby County in League One - where he has scored 10 league goals in 17 starts - for another 3 months, and the left-back Craig Jones will also have his loan extended, with Ebbsfleet United in the Skrill Premier, for whom he has been a regular so far this season.

Roel Rutten plays 60mins of an U21 friendly against Swindon Town, as he continues his comeback from injury. We win 3-0 with a side containing several recently unused members of the first team squad.
 
Tuesday 20th December, 2022

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Five of my players are on the short-list to win the World Golden Ball 2022. Giammarco Stangoni, who is the current holder, James Ward-Prowse, Kostas Kabastanakis, Roel Rutten and Sercan Calik are considered contenders. Erik Gomez, now of Manchester United, and Morgan Schneiderlin, who now captains Genoa, are the two former Southampton players on the list. Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are all well-represented on the list, too.

Chelsea and Manchester United both win their mid-week Premier League fixtures, but Manchester City go down 0-1 at home to Arsenal. So, while The Gunners have climbed above us into 4th place for tonight, a win at home to Fulham tomorrow will - thanks to our superior goal difference - see us replace City in 3rd place and knock Arsenal back into 5th.
 
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Wednesday 21st December, 2022

Mark Ardean-Webb has signed his new contract, which will now run until 2026. He has done well in the absence of James Ward-Prowse and seems to be well-suited to our 5-man midfield set-up. He is only 18 years-old but is already rated at 4-million and had both Manchester City and Manchester United listed among the clubs interested in signing him, before I tied him down with this new deal.
 
Wednesday 21st December, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 18
SOUTHAMPTON vs FULHAM
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 44,108

SAINTS Team News - 4-4-1-1: Ibrahim continues in goal; the shift to a back four brings Buti Ndou and Dragan Hrustic in as full-backs; Radimov and Jedvaj partner each other at centre-back; Shane Westley and Pugliese back-up Stangoni in midfield; Tom Ince comes in on the left with Kabastanakis retaining his place on the right, despite a subdued performance at Everton; Yvo Lucas returns to the starting line-up as the lone front man; Kevin Egan, Marc Smulders and Andrew Powell are among the substitutes.

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Fulham - 4-4-2: Wayne Kelly is a former England U21 keeper; Ekstrand and Ilori are both very tall centre-backs; Urbancic lines-up on the right of midfield; Wharton and Guidetti both start up-front; the former Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing is on the bench.

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I have switched to 4-4-1-1 in order to rotate players in and keep others fresh for the Boxing Day match against Manchester United. Hopefully it won’t have too unsettling an effect on the quality of our performance.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: The Saints get us underway, attacking the Chapel End to the right.
- 1min: A sliding tackle by Guidetti on Stangoni, mid-way inside the Fulham half, only serves to play Yvo Lucas in, but Joel Ekstrand pulls him back at the expense of a free-kick. Ekstrand is lucky not to see a card - of either colour. Kabastanakis fires wide.
- 10mins: A Saints corner from the left is headed out of the area but Tom Ince collects and lays it off for Giammarco Stangoni, whose right foot shot is wide of the right-hand post.
- 16mins: Martyn Wharton wins an aerial battle with Westley to knock the ball down to Brock, just inside the Southampton half. He plays a short diagonal ball infield to Guidetti and the Swedish striker quickly plays Wharton in-between Jedvaj and Pugliese. He advances through the D and shoots from the edge of the area, but Ibrahim dives low to his left to push the ball to the side where Radimov can take it away.
- 22mins: Kabastanakis shoots wide with another free-kick from 20-yards out.
- 26mins: Shane Westley plays the ball forward from the centre-circle to Yvo Lucas, who controls it 30-yards out with his back-to-goal. He turns Ekstrand and unleashes a ferocious drive which Wayne Kelly does well to catch in the Fulham goal.
- 28mins: Stangoni plays Kabastanakis in down the right side of the Fulham penalty area, but Wallace slides in and sends the ball into the corner flag. He goes to retrieve it, but Kabastanakis is on him, playing an inadvertent one-two with the corner flag before crossing to the 6-yard box. Yvo Lucas shoots but Kelly dives to his right and blocks the shot, allowing Oueslati to clear into touch.
- 31mins: Sergey Radimov heads over at the back post from Kostas Kabastanakis’s left-wing corner. A good chance goes begging.
- 38mins: Yellow card for Jack Baldwin for persistent fouling.
- 42mins: Dragan Hrustic rolls the ball to Tom Ince, on the left of the Fulham area. He steps around Oueslati’s lunge before striking at goal from an acute angle. The ball smacks against the crossbar and with Wayne Kelly on the ground, Kabastanakis heads back across goal from the right. But Wallace is there to head clear for Fulham, with Wharton completing the job from the D.
- 44mins: Yellow card for Joel Ekstrand for a charge on Stangoni. A short free-kick routine is scrambled away by Fulham, but Westley receives the ball in midfield and plays it out to Tom Ince on the left wing. He takes on Oueslati and crosses into the 6-yard box where Yvo LUCAS connects with a left-foot volley, despite Ekstrand sliding at his feet, and the ball goes high into the top-left corner of the goal. 1-0.
- 45mins+1: Yellow card for Tomas Ingi Urbancic - the third Fulham player to go into the book.

HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 FULHAM

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A less than convincing first-half display from our team, despite 63% Southampton possession, but that is largely due - I think - to the fact that several of these players have not played much first team football recently. Fulham are a relatively tall side, so they are able to head many of our crosses away, but the goal came from a Tom Ince cross where he played the ball behind the defence, rather than across it. The referee, Andre Mariner, has started to produce his yellow card and not before time; Fulham have tried to employ spoiling tactics so far, which has prevented us from playing our way through their midfield. Jedvaj and Radimov both react angrily to my assertive half-time instruction to not get complacent during the second-45, but I speak to them both individually and calmly tell them that there is more to come from them in this match, and they leave the changing room with renewed positive motivation.

2nd Half Highlights
- 48mins: Yvo Lucas slips the ball to Stangoni inside the Fulham area, but the Italian is reluctant to shoot with his right foot and the chance goes begging.
- 53mins: Kabastanakis shoots over from a 20-yard free-kick, from right of the D.
- 55mins: Hrustic plays the ball to Ince down the left-wing touchline. He exchanges passes with Shane Westley and then tricks his way passed Oueslati before playing a low side foot cross into the Fulham area. Giammarco STANGONI steps across Ekstrand to control the ball on his left-foot, turning to fire home from the angle of the 6-yard box. 2-0.
- 56mins: Fulham are now matching up against us with a 4-4-1-1 of their own. I reset the OIs and switch to Hard tackling.
- 70mins: Tom Ince takes on Kader Oueslati down the left wing, then holds the ball up. Oulesti dives in a second time and Ince again eludes the full-back, to cross into the centre. Among a crowd of players, Andre Mariner spots a push by Fulham sub Jay Spearing on Lucas and points to the penalty spot…
- 71mins: …Yvo LUCAS steps up to take it himself, blasting into the bottom-right corner, despite the distracting tactics of Wayne Kelly. 3-0.
- 72mins: Kevin Egan comes on for Southampton, replacing Sergey Radimov at centre-back.
- 75mins: Mario Pugliese glides into the corner of the Fulham area, on the right, from a Southampton throw. After initially being blocked, the ball falls to him again and his fiercely struck shot fizzes across the goal and narrowly wide of the far post.
- 75mins: Two substitutions for The Saints, with one eye on the upcoming Manchester United game: Jorginho replaces Stangoni; Jim Wright comes on for his second first team outing, in place of Shane Westley in midfield. Tom Ince takes the captain’s armband.
- 78mins: Martyn Wharton lays the ball off to Novotny down the Fulham right, before making the run into the area to get on the end of the cross. Ibrahim seems to step too far to his right, leaving Wharton with an easy finish from close range - but Tin Jedvaj slides in heroically to divert the ball wide for a corner.
- 80mins: Jim Wright passes from the back of the centre-circle to find Yvo Lucas midway inside the Fulham half. The Dutch striker controls the ball and lays it off short to Jorginho, who sells Ilori a dummy and races away from him and the retreating Spearing to the edge of the Fulham area, but he drags his left-foot shot wide of the far post.
- 82mins: Dragan Hrustic beats Novotny to a loose ball in the centre-circle, and plays it forward to Jorginho. The young Brazilian turns and runs at the Fulham defence, first beating Jay Spearing and then turning infield to out-fox the beleaguered Oueslati. But his side foot effort spoons high over the crossbar for a disappointing end to a promising move.
- 83mins: Novotny and Wharton exchange passes midway inside the Southampton half, allowing Novotny to try a long-range effort from the right-hand side, but it is high and wide.
- 86mins: Yellow card for Mario Pugliese for persistent fouling.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
YVO LUCAS (SOUTHAMPTON) - 8.9
Complete Forward_Support: 2 goals; 0 assists.

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VERDICT:
The first half was poor, by our standards, but the performance was much better in the second-45. Tom Ince had Kader Oueslati on toast and while we may have been lucky to get the penalty, we got the result we deserved and we will go into the Boxing Day match against Manchester United looking to extend our unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions, and in the hope of overhauling the Old Trafford outfit to move into 2nd place. But for tonight, we are 3rd in the Premier League, so I congratulate the players on a solid win.
 
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Thursday 22nd December, 2022

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“Right,” says Mullers. “The Africa Cup of Nations is just round the corner, so we have to prepare for the absences of Abdel Aziz Ibrahim and Buti Ndou [who will represent Egypt and South Africa respectively]. Obviously, Louis Cruse can play while Ibrahim is away, but I think we’d agree that we need some cover, just incase there is an injury.”

I nod my agreement. “Ales Danicek isn’t getting a regular game at Utrecht, but I don’t seem to be able to recall him, even though I stipulated that I should be able to in the loan agreement. Nathan Smith and Jonathan Miller in the U18s are not good enough, so let’s see who is available on the loan market.”

RM: “Way ahead of you, boss.”

rb: “As ever, Mullers. As ever.”

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RM: “Massimo Dorelli of Juventus is an Italian U21 international. He’s probably the best keeper on the loan list, but he’s a long way from match fitness at the moment, and we don’t have time to get him fit. Piet van Bochoven from NEC Nijmegen speaks English, but he’s also lacking match sharpness and was so good for Roda JC that they released him on a free to a team in Israel.”

rb: “Offer them 20-million!”

RM: “…Or, there is a keeper at Saint-Etienne, called Vivian Rolland, who has been flipping between their 1st and 2nd teams for a few seasons now, but has performed consistently well. He’s played 13 times this season and only conceded 7 goals, though all but one of those appearances were in the lower league with the Reserves. He’s 23 years-old and fully fit at the moment.”

rb: “What’s his morale like?”

RM: “Not so good, according to my sources, but that may be because he’s also on the list for permanent transfer and he doesn’t want to leave Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.”

rb: “Is anybody else showing an interest in him?”

RM: “Not as far as we know.”

rb: “Okay. Send Jean-Sebastien [Merieux, our only French scout] to get a good look at him and if he’s even half-decent, we’ll move for him.”

RM: “No problem, boss. One other thing; the extension to Carl Storrie’s loan at Watford has gone through. He'll be there for another 3 months.”

rb: “Good. I’m surprised they’ve only played him 8 times so far, but 4 goals is not a bad return, even in the Championship. Hopefully they’ll see the sense in picking him more regularly from now on.”

RM: “Once he’s recovered from his broken nose!”

rb: “Ouch!”
 
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Thursday 22nd December, 2022

Preparation vs MANCHESTER UNITED (h)

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SAINTS: Evens (fav); Man Utd: 11/5; Draw: 11/5.

Javi Rico hasn’t suggested which area of training to focus on for the United match, so I have opted for Defensive Positioning since that is the one area we seem to neglect the most. They are expected to play 4-2-3-1 and are vulnerable to 4-4-2, but I will set-up to play our 3-5-2 formation against them and hope to dominate the midfield on our own pitch. United have been prolific either side of half-time in their matches so far this season, and they are the only team in the division with a goal difference to rival ours - although, we’ve scored more goals.

The historical record against Manchester United, for this save, currently stands at: P 27; W 9; D 8; L 10; F 29; A 33; GD -4; Pts 35. So a 4-0 victory would level things up; a 5-0 win would give us the advantage. Neither are likely though, against a very good United team that is the reigning Premier League Champion and one that is sure to put out a stronger line-up than for our Capital One Cup Quarter-Final 9 days ago.
 
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Monday 26th December, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 19
SOUTHAMPTON vs MANCHESTER UNITED
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 51,189

SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim remains in goal for a 5th consecutive match; Radimov, Reyes and Jedvaj make-up the back-3; Luke Shaw returns to the left of the midfield, with Sercan Calik doing likewise on the right; Shane Westey and Mario Pugliese flank Giammarco Stangoni in the now familiar central-midfield-3; Christoffer Jorgensen is without a goal in his last three outings, but Kingsley Idris has 14 goals from his last 12 appearances; John Stones is not totally fit, but he can cover centre-back and right-back, which allows Jorginho, Ince, Pinho and Lucas to all be included among the substitutes.

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Man Utd - 4-2-3-1: David De Gea has kept 7 clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season; Italy, Germany, France and Finland are represented in the United back four; Phil Jones captains the visitors from central midfield; Mirko Djurdjevic posed a threat to us from the No.10 position in the Capital One Cup match, recently; Erik Gomez lines-up on the right of the attack; the Turkish international Aytac Ozkan is only 81% fit after recent calf muscle and knee injuries, so Gabriel Iancu will probably be called from the bench at some point; the 32 year-old Rafael is also among the subs for the visitors.

United come into this match with a great deal of confidence from their recent good Premier League form, but so do we. Over-confidence could be a factor for either side, actually. I tell the team to pick up where they left off and re-assure those who don’t respond well that I have faith in their ability, which sends the team out in buoyant mood. I have also instructed the players to tackle hard.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Manchester United, in their changed strip of all blue, kick-off - attacking from left-to-right.
- 1min: Mario Pugliese receives a short free-kick from Tin Jedvaj, just inside the United half. He plays it square to Stangoni by the centre-circle, and the Italian international sets off on a run through the heart of the visitors’ midfield. He evades Djurdjevic long enough to let fly from the edge of the D, but his shoot is too high - though De Gea makes an acrobatic dive to make sure he has it covered.
- 3mins: Giacomelli trips Stangoni a few yards outside the penalty area, well to the left of the D. Luke SHAW steps up to strike over the wall and into the top-left corner for his 1st goal of the season. 1-0.
- 4mins: Stangoni passes the ball between Jones and Gomez to find Shaw on the left wing. Giacomelli tries to close him down, creating space for a short through ball to Shane Westley. His diagonal pass into the area enables Kingsley Idris to run off the shoulder of Heerwagen and get to the byline. His high cross to the back post is met by the leap of Jorgensen, but his header is over-the-bar.
- 7mins: From a throw-in close to the corner flag on the right, Calik and Radimov work the ball back to Westley on the corner of the area. Sergey Radimov makes the run for the return pass, 10-yards to the right of the penalty spot. He controls the ball on his left foot, turns and shoots over-the-bar. A good chance that fell to the wrong player.
- 17mins: From the middle of the United half, Shane Westley passes to Idris, on the edge of the D, with Heerwagen marking him tightly. Idris manages to play a short diagonal pass behind Giacomelli to put Luke Shaw through on goal, but the left-footer opts for an early shot with his right, which lacks conviction and makes for an easy save for De Gea.
- 23mins: Sercan Calik takes a corner from the left and Westley runs from deep to head it at the near post, but the ball flies wide and into the fans behind the goal.
- 25mins: Benassi and Jones work the ball forward to Aytac Ozkan, who takes on Reyes before shooting from 25-yards - narrowly over-the-bar.
- 28mins: Sercan Calik’s free-kick from right of the D is on target but caught by De Gea.
- 31mins: Stangoni plays Jorgensen down the right wing. With two defenders for company, by the corner flag, he slips the ball along the byline to Calik, who pulls it back to Stangoni, now on the 6-yard line. His shot appears to have De Gea beaten, but Phillipp Heerwagen makes a crucial block, deflecting the ball onto the right-hand post, before smashing the rebound out of play on the far side.
- 38mins: Heerwagen is injured in a challenge with Kingsley Idris, in which both players slid in, after Jones conceded possession to Jorgensen with a heavy touch on the halfway line.
- 40mins: Yellow card for Phillip Heerwagen, after a lengthy period of treatment from the physio. Then a right-wing cross from Calik is headed out by Giacomelli and then Jones. Radimov knocks it down to Giammarco Stangoni whose ferocious left-foot half-volley is well-saved by De Gea.
- 42mins: Yellow card for Phil Jones.
- 44mins: Yellow card for Tin Jedvaj for a foul on El Shaarawy. Then, Yellow card for Sercan Calik for a trip on Christer Pedersen.

HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

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The fact that I just incorrectly typed 2-0 in the line above tells you how dominant we were in the first half, but while the lead remains so slender we are vulnerable to dropping points here against such good opponents. Our attacks tends to move diagonally from right-to-left, bringing Luke Shaw into the play with his late runs and Giacomelli, the United right-back, is having difficulty keeping him under control. Idris and Jorgensen have both done good work in wide positions and in the channels, and Stangoni looks up for this, too. Of concern, though, are the 6.5 ratings of Pugliese and Reyes. David De Gea is the highest rating player in the United team; he and Heerwagen have kept them in the game. They’ve only had one shot, so far. But I expect their substitutions to improve them in the second-half - when they make them. They had most possession, but they tend to play passing games in midfield until we get a foot in and launch a counter-attack. I tell the players that they’re playing well but can do better still. Diego Reyes doesn’t respond particularly well to that or my one-to-one chat, so I might have to withdraw him at some point.

2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: Phil Jones and El Shaarawy work the ball to Christer Pedersen on the left corner of the Saints penalty area, and his cross hits Jedvaj on the head and deflects dangerously towards the Southampton goal. But Ibrahim is ready for it and makes the catch.
- 59mins: Giacomelli throws the ball to Benassi on the right, and he pulls it back to Djurdjevic on the corner of the box. His low shoot is well-struck but it sears wide of the far post.
- 61mins: Stangoni’s mistake midway inside his own half allows Jones to feed Aytac Ozkan on the edge of the Saints area. But his left-foot shot on the turn is rushed and goes wide of the far post.
- 63mins: Yellow card for Aytac Ozkan, for United.
- 66mins: John Stones comes on for The Saints, replacing Diego Reyes.
- 68mins: Yellow card for John Stones, who wastes no time getting into the game by tripping Aytac Ozkan to the right of the penalty area. The free-kick is taken short and then Aytac Ozkan finds Erik Gomez in space on the right of the area. He slips the ball past Radimov to the on-rushing Phil Jones, but his shot from a tight angle is into the side-netting.
- 70mins: Yellow card for Christoffer Jorgensen for bundling into Yanga-Mbiwa, deep inside the United half. Then Mark Ardean-Webb comes on for Mario Pugliese, swapping with Shane Westley to take up the Deep-Lying Playmaker role, so Westley will now operate as the Ball-Winning Midfielder.
- 74mins: El Shaarawy picks up the ball just behind the halfway-line, as United mount a counter-attack. He finds Benassi infield and his pass is controlled by Djurdevic and fed into the path of the on-running Aytac Ozkan, straight through the centre with the Southampton defence at sixes-and-sevens. He reaches the edge of the area and then - inexplicably - lays the ball off to the right for Gomez, allowing Shaw to slide in and make the block. Benassi also then turns to play the ball backward when a shooting opportunity was there, and in the ensuing scramble, a back-heel by Ardean-Webb does little to calm his manager’s nerves - but Radimov and Shaw calmly work the ball into midfield.
- 76mins: Yellow card for Sergey Radimov.
- 77mins: Giacomelli plays the ball infield from the right wing to Benassi. He plays it forward to Aytac Ozkan who runs into the area and plays the ball past Radimov to the unmarked Stephan EL SHAARAWY who has time to pick his spot and fire into the far corner from the corner of the 6-yard box. It has been coming. 1-1.
- 80mins: United substitute Gabriel Iancu’s free-kick from 25-yards out, right of the D, is well hit and forces Ibrahim into a smart save on his goal-line. Then, Yvo Lucas replaces Christoffer Jorgensen for The Saints.
- 83mins: Yanga-Mbiwa’s foul on Idris to the left of the United penalty area results in a free-kick for Southampton. Sercan Calik puts the ball into the box and Mark Ardean-Webb heads over from 9-yards. Then United open up the home side’s defence with a sweeping counter-attacking move, but the offside flag comes to our rescue.
- 84mins: A high kick from Ibrahim is won midway inside the United half by their substitute, Bilal Celik, but his header falls to Sercan Calik who then releases Yvo Lucas into the inside-right channel. He takes a touch but sends himself wide and can’t drag his shot back enough to hit the target.
- 88mins: Idris’s snapshot from just outside the area goes wide, after Benassi’s challenge on Stangoni prods the ball to him.
- 90mins+2: A clumsy clearance by Bilal Celik allows Southampton to mount another attack. Calik finds Lucas on the right corner of the area, and he lays it back to Westley in midfield. Benassi comes to challenge and leaves Stangoni unmarked, the Italian doing well to control the chipped pass and turn to his left before striking on target from the edge of the area. But De Gea is equal to it.
- 90mins+3: Luke Shaw launches a Saints counter-attack down the left wing. He chips an angled pass into the area for Kingsley Idris, who controls it and crosses from the left edge of the area, level with the 6-yard box, into the middle - where Lucas gets his head to it but De Gea stoops low to make the save.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
GIAMMARCO STANGONI (SOUTHAMPTON) - 8.4
Advanced Playmaker_Attack: 0 goals; 1 assist.

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VERDICT:
Missed chances in the first-half cost us dear, today. It was inevitable that United would come back into the match so we needed to make our chances pay, but we failed to do so and dropped two valuable points at home against the side we could have overtaken in the table. United didn’t change formation - they never do - but fresh personnel gave them new momentum and we didn’t spread the ball around with anything like the same confidence in the second-half. I’m not sure how I could have changed things for the better, at least within the three sets of tactics that I currently use. The performances of Reyes and Pugliese were disappointing, as they are my two primary ball winners. Jorgensen had another hard game - his early season form seems to have deserted him. I tell the players that they were unlucky; that doesn’t seem to land well with them, but since their morales are high anyway, I leave it at that.
 
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Monday 26th December, 2022

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Chelsea suffer a surprise 0-1 defeat at home to Reading, so we have closed the gap on them to 9 points, but 2-0 victories for Arsenal at Wigan Athletic and for Manchester City at home to Newcastle United drop us back into 5th place. One step forward, two steps back!

We broke our attendance record again with the Manchester United match: 51,189.

The U21s have several first-reamers in their line-up for a 2-1 away win at West Ham United.
 
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Tuesday 27th December, 2022

Preparation vs BIRMINGHAM CITY (a)

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Birmingham: 7/1; SAINTS: 1/3 (fav); Draw: 3/1.

Birmingham concede plenty of goals during first-halves and in the last 15mins. They usually play 4-5-1 with a flat midfield-5, but they have been more successful with 4-4-2 this season. We’re working on Attacking Set-Pieces.

They have spent more time in the Championship than the Premier League during my save, but they have yo-yoed a bit so we have played them 9 times to date, winning 7 and drawing the other 2. Having reached the halfway mark in the Premier League season, this is our first return match; we beat them 6-0 at St. Mary’s in August, which was the very first competitive outing for our 3-5-2 formation.
 
Saturday 31st December, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 20
BIRMINGHAM CITY vs SOUTHAMPTON
St. Andrew’s, Birmingham; Att:

SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim continues between the sticks; Kaminski returns to the starting line-up; Reyes and Radimov retain their places; Tom Ince returns in place of Shaw on the left; Kabastanakis also comes in on the right; Mark Ardean-Webb starts alongside Stangoni and Pugliese; Yvo Lucas replaces Jorgensen up-front, alongside Kingsley Idris; Kevin Egan is among the subs.

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Birmingham - 4-4-2: Goalkeeper Randolph is the captain of the home side; all of the back four are averaging under 7.00 for the season, so far; the midfield isn’t doing much better and Chuks Aneke is only 90% fit; Harry Kane has 3 Premier League goals in 16 appearances; Jakub Vejvoda, a Czech Republic international, also has 3 goals, from 12 appearances.

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I’m glad City have not opted for their version of a 5-man midfield. I instruct normal tackling and manage to get a positive response from the players before I send them out for the last time in 2022.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec-to-17secs: Southampton gets us started, attacking from right-to-left. The ball is played back to Reyes who squares it to Radimov, to his left. His forward pass is to Mark Ardean-Webb, who exchanges passes with Tom Ince before chipping a beautiful 40-yard ball into the path of Kingsley IDRIS in the inside-left channel. The striker races clear of Hanley and, from the corner of the 6-yard box, blasts low into the far corner, beyond Randolph. An excellent start for The Saints; Birmingham haven’t even touched the ball yet! 1-0.
- 2mins: Kostas Kabastanakis plays the ball infield from the right wing, releasing Stangoni to control the ball and burn past Partridge on his way into the area, on the right. The defender can’t make up the ground and Giammarco STANGONI shoots right-footed from the opposite corner of the 6-yard box (from Idris’s goal) beating Randolph at the near post. Two goals in the first two minutes. 2-0.
- 5mins: Grant Hanley brings down Kingsley Idris 25-yards out in a central position. Kostas KABASTANAKIS strikes the free-kick right-footed, over the wall and into the top-right corner. Darren Randolph has touched the ball three times, so far - but only by picking the ball out of his net! 3-0.
- 6mins: Birmingham have now switched to their 4-5-1 formation, so I have reset the OIs.
- 7mins: Stangoni corrects his own mistake near halfway, by winning the ball back from Bannigan after his own loose pass gave it to him in the first place. He gives it short to Mark Ardean-Webb and then sprints forward through the centre to exploit a gap in the heart of the home defence. He controls the pass in the D, at pace, rounds the goalkeeper and helps himself to his 2nd goal of the game. We haven’t even reached the 10 minute mark, yet! 4-0.
- 19mins: Yellow card for Stuart Bannigan.
- 21mins: Luke Bromley receives possession inside the centre-circle and plays a straight pass behind Diego Reyes to put Harry Kane through on goal. But former Tottenham man sees his shot pushed wide by Abdel Aziz Ibrahim.
- 31mins: Lucas has the ball whisked off his toe by Partridge inside the 6-yard box after Kabastanakis’s cross from the right. Stangoni’s snapshot from the loose ball goes wide.
- 38mins: Scott Malone’s tackle on Kostas Kabastanakis injures the Dutchman. Jose Pinho comes on to replace him.
- 41mins: Stangoni dribbles through the Birmingham midfield and feeds Idris inside the area, but his shot is saved by Randolph.
- 44mins: Lucas passes to Jose Pinho on the right wing for Southampton, and the young Portuguese sends a cross into the box, aimed at Lucas, but the flight of the ball almost catches out Randolph at his near post - the keeper managing to throw his arm in the way to divert it behind for a corner. Hanley clears the corner into touch after blocking Idris’s attempt at the near post.

HALF-TIME: BIRMINGHAM CITY 0-4 SOUTHAMPTON

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We blew them away in the first 10 minutes but the game has petered out since then. We have a history of relaxing too much from this position, so I will have to guard against that, but I will also try to rest Stangoni for the Capital One Cup semi-final with Coventry that is coming up on January 3rd. I calmly tell the players that I’m happy with their first-half display.

2nd Half Highlights
- 47mins: Junior Stanislas puts in a cross from the right which Kane climbs well to meet with a header, but he can’t direct it at goal. Goal-kick.
- 54mins: A poor kick by Ibrahim presents a long-range shooting chance for Kane but, surrounded by defenders, he fires wide of the goal. Our players have lost their tactical discipline; the match has been too easy for us.
- 56mins: Diego Reyes makes a last-ditch sliding tackle to prevent Kane going through on-goal.
- 58mins: A long-range effort by Idris goes high-and-wide to the left.
- 61mins: Another surging run through midfield causes havoc in the Birmingham defence. Yellow card for Matt Partridge for clattering Idris from behind, just outside the penalty area. Stangoni’s free-kick is disappointingly weak, hitting the Birmingham defensive wall.
- 66mins: Giammarco Stangoni is withdrawn to make way for Jorginho.
- 71mins: Yellow card for Diego Reyes. He’ll be suspended for the next match.
- 75mins: Yellow card for Scott Malone. This time he has injured Yvo Lucas. Andrew Powell comes on to replace him.
- 77mins: McGinn heads wide from 12-yards out after a right-wing cross from Power.
- 79mins: A left-wing cross from Tom Ince provides a scoring chance for Idris, but his shot is poorly struck and easily parried by Randolph. Powell tries to capitalise on the rebound but gets crowded out.
- 90mins: Ardean-Webb, Pugliese and Jorginho play keep-ball midway inside the Birmingham half, before the Brazilian finds the feet of Idris, who comes short to receive the ball just behind the D. He passes to Andrew Powell and then sprints for the return pass, played onside by Hanley, placing his shot towards the bottom-left corner, only for Randolph to push it wide. From the corner, the ball is headed out to the left of the D, but is played back into the area by Pinho. Radimov’s left-foot shot is blocked by Malone, but his second attempt cuts through the crowd to force a smart reaction save from Randolph and the ball is cleared to by Bannigan…
- 90mins+1: …but Tom Ince heads forward to Radimov, who goes down under the challenges of Power and Aneke. The ball squirms out to Ardean-Webb and he plays it to Jorginho on the left of the area. His pass along the ground provides another chance for Idris, whose angled shot is parried at the near post by Randolph, for another corner. Birmingham clear this one, at the third attempt.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
GIAMMARCO STANGONI (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.4
Advanced Playmaker_Attack: 2 goals; 0 assists.

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VERDICT:
We won the game in the first 10 minutes and then went to sleep! We created few more chances near the end and Idris should have had a hat-trick, but 4-0 away from home is good enough. I take Mullers’s advice and decide not to give a team-talk after the match.
 
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Saturday 31st December, 2022

Yvo Lucas and Kostas Kabastanakis both have twisted knees and will both be out for up to 2 weeks - which is less damaging to us than it could have been.

Chelsea win 1-0 at Coventry; Manchester United thrash West Bromwich Albion 4-0 at Old Trafford; Manchester City win 1-0 at Reading; Arsenal beat Cardiff 2-0 at the Emirates. We remain 5th. Norwich, in 6th, are 10 points behind us.
 
Sunday 1st January, 2023

Mullers - obviously still groggy from what must have been one **** of a New Year’s Eve bash last night - informs me that Tin Jedvaj, Christoffer Jorgensen and Sercan Calik were all below par in training during December. I suspect that they were all on the alcohol over Christmas, so I call them into my office, one-by-one, and tell them to up their efforts in training or they’ll be playing reserve team football. They all take it in their stride and promise to do better.

News comes through that Sercan Calik succeeds Giammarco Stangoni as the new holder of both the World Player of the Year and the World Golden Ball titles. Obviously still smarting from the ticking-off I gave him earlier, Sercan’s response to my congratulations is somewhat ambiguous and snarky, suggesting that he might be getting one-or-two ideas above his station!

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Roel Rutten joins Calik in the World Team of the Year, which also features Romelu Lukaku of Paris Saint-Germain and Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea. Waleed Farhan - the player I went to Spain to personally scout earlier in this thread - has been voted the Asian Young Footballer of the Year for the third year in a row.

On the domestic front, Giammarco Stangoni comes 2nd in the Player of the Month for December, behind his former Saints team-mate Erik Gomez, now of Manchester United. Max Gauthier of Coventry, who we play next, is 3rd. Mark Ardean-Webb comes 3rd in the Young Player of the Month poll, behind Paddy Byrne of Swansea and Elliot Stuart of Everton. Carl Evans, who is on-loan with Stalybridge Celtic, also comes 3rd in the Skrill North Player of the Month.

Abdel Aziz Ibrahim could soon be facing competition for his place as Egypt’s No.1, because his fellow countryman Ahmad Said, who plays for Al-Ahly, has been voted as Africa’s Goalkeeper of the Year - a title that Ibrahim has, surprisingly, never won. This is especially strange because Said is not even capped, despite being 25 years-old and having 13 caps at U20 level. Benjamin Pappoe, who won the African Midfielder of the Year, is a left-winger with Granada. I assign one of my Spanish scouts to go and watch him.

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Arthur Semka, the Russian midfielder who agree to sign for us almost two years ago, has finally arrived at the club. He’s not quite fully-fit, so he will get a run-out with the U21s against Middlesbrough, tomorrow.

Bayern Munich have made an offer of 22.5-million for Elias Migliorini, with the bulk of the fee spread over 24 months. I have turned it down flat; it’s little more than I paid for him and with Tom Ince due to leave at the end of the season, I don’t want to be bedding in two players at the same position. Plus, of course, I think he’s actually a very good player - even if his shooting sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

Jay Rodriguez came into my office, asking for clarification of his situation. I told him that I am prepared to let him leave the club at the end of the season, which he agreed would be for the best. If an offer comes in for him during the January window, I will let him go; he’s on 100,000 per week - although he deserves to be, given all the goals he has scored for this club.

There may be trouble ahead…

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The financial projections for this season still look rosy, but I’d better make sure we qualify for the Champions League again, at the very least!
 
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