Diary of a Season: St. Mary's Redemption

Friday 26th August, 2022

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While visiting family in Lachen, Switzerland, I spoke to Rene Meulensteen over the phone. He told me that we have been drawn away to Fulham in the 3rd round of the Capital One Cup. They are back in the Premier League this season but should be beatable as we attempt to break Liverpool’s record of four consecutive League Cup triumphs.
 
Saturday 27th August, 2022

When the manager is away!

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First, Kostas Kabastanakis kicked up a storm on Twitter over being left out of the Dutch squad to face Romania and Latvia, with Hedwiges Maduro preferring to call up Vitesse winger Rob Tokaya, instead - a player I have scouted in the past but he has had several long-term injuries.

Then I received an SMS from Antonio Fernandez Gere, our Head Physio, to inform me that Tom Ince (hamstring, 3 weeks) and Kevin Egan (hip, 3 months) are both injured. That’s a real shame for Egan, who had a chance of taking part in the Champions League group stage matches against Amkar.

Paris St.Germain beat Manchester United on penalties to win the European Super Cup, after a 1-1 draw in Cadiz.
 
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Sunday 28th August, 2022

Manager's Scouting Report
WALEED FARHAN
Real Betis vs Rayo Vallecano

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Betis: 4-2-3-1 Wingers; Rayo: 4-4-2 Narrow Diamond

Farhan starts as AM(R):
- He made some early forays down the right-wing but without much progress.
- After fading out of the game for a while, he popped up to score from a near-post corner with a left-foot half-volley, mid-way through the first half.
- Betis were 2-0 up at half-time and Farhan drifted out of it again, until the 63rd minute when a sharp turn and darting run created an opening which he blasted over.
- Looked comfortable in the No.10 position when switched for the last 15 minutes.

Waleed Farhan (Real Betis) - 7.5
Attacking Midfielder (Right): 1 goal; 0 assists

VERDICT:
A decent player when he was brought into the game, but tended to go missing on the wing. Impressive in the No.10 role where his passing ability created openings for his team-mates. Some thinking to do before the transfer window slams shut on Wednesday night.
 
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Monday 29th August, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 3
NEWCASTLE UNITED vs SOUTHAMPTON
St. James’s Park, Newcastle; Att: 58,986

Newcastle: 6/4 (fav); SAINTS: 13-8; Draw: 2-1

This week’s scouting report (which I neglected to post about), had us working on Attacking Set-Pieces in preparation for the Newcastle game. They line-up with a 4-4-2 Large Diamond, with Matt Phillips and Wilfried Zaha on the wings. The defensive midfielder, Arthur Girard, is one that I have scouted closely in the past. A win for Newcastle could put them top of the Premier League.

SAINTS Team News: A change of shape to 4-4-1-1 brings Buti Ndou in for his first game of the season; Tin Jedvaj returns to the scene of last season’s error and partners Roel Rutten at the back; Dragan Hrustic’s superior current fitness giving him the nod over Luke Shaw, who is among the substitutes; Shane Westley partners James Ward-Prowse in central midfield; Calik and Migliorini are on the wings; Jose Pinho makes his full debut as Shadow Striker, behind Christoffer Jorgensen; Saints Academy products Mark Ardean-Webb and Kingsley Idris are among the subs.

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I instructed the players to close down all Newcastle midfielders and forwards always, show them onto their weaker foot and to tackle hard.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Southampton kick-off, attacking from right-to-left.
- 2mins: Shane Westley takes the first shot, forcing Tim Krul into a save with a 20-yard strike.
- 5mins: Belfodil spurns a good opportunity after neat passing in midfield releases him between Jedvaj and Rutten, but Ibrahim catches his attempted lob.
- 9mins: Migliorini slides in to catch Jack Hunt in possession, after a Newcastle goal-kick, but he shoots into the side-netting when a square pass would have found Jorgensen and Pinho both unmarked in front of goal.
- 10mins: A brilliant last-ditch tackle from Jedvaj denies Zaha a shooting chance, and Westley’s shot is deflected over the bar at the end of a swift counter-attack by The Saints.
- 16mins: A mistake by Westley allows Phillips in on the left-hand side, but he shoots into the side-netting.
- 22mins: Calik’s run and shot from a tight angle, after patient build-up play by Jorgensen and Ndou, forces Tim Krul to concede a corner at his left-hand post.
- 26mins: Ward-Prowse launches a free-kick from the right-hand side, near the halfway-line, and Rutten heads narrowly over from 6-yards at the back post.
- 27mins: Calik’s cross-turned-shot loops over the despairing Krul but bounces back off the inside of the post, with Jorgensen unable to connect with the rebound.
- 28mins: Calik makes a 30-yard diagonal surge, plays Migliorini in behind the full-back, but the Argentine winger fires wide of the far post from just inside the penalty area.
- 32mins: Ibrahim saves Girard’s 30-yard free-kick.
- 34mins: A game of head tennis breaks out after Ward-Prowse’s free-kick from the left of the penalty area. Jedvaj has an effort headed off the line by Hunt, Pinho’s first follow-up is repelled, and he heads the second wide.
- 37mins: A collision between Hrustic and Zaha results in a Newcastle free-kick and the Saints left-back requiring treatment. Ibrahim catches Ryan Bertrand’s delivery.
- 40mins: Migliorini wastes another opportunity after Ward-Prowse plays him in from the left-wing.
- 45+1mins: Migliorini, on the left-wing, shows great vision to pick out Sercan Calik at the top right of the penalty area. But the Belgian winger takes a fraction too long to chest control and shoot, with two Newcastle defenders closing him down.

HALF-TIME: NEWCASTLE UNITED 0-0 SOUTHAMPTON

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We have been by far the better team and are unlucky not to be in-front at the break. Our defence was breached a couple of times early on with balls into the channels, but we dominated from about the 20th minute. More of the same required, but with better finishing. Hrustic and Jedvaj both picked-up knocks, but I will send the same team out to begin the second-half.

2nd Half Highlights
- 55mins: A short passing move through the middle by Newcastle’s Girard, Kirby and Gabbiadini frees Belfodil to shoot into the top right corner from the edge of the penalty area. 0-1.
- 56mins: Hrustic is looking worse-for-wear, so Luke Shaw comes on to replace him.
- 61mins: RED CARD: Buti Ndou is sent-off for a second yellow card, after a sliding challenge on Belfodil. Southampton are down to 10 men. I respond by pushing Luke Shaw up to the Wide Midfielder-Left and replacing Migliorini with Diego Reyes, who slots into a defensive three alongside Rutten and Jedvaj. Calik also switches to WM and Pinho remains as SS. I instruct the team to Attack with greater Fluidity and adjust the team instructions to suit.

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- 63mins: Pinho heads out a Newcastle free-kick and the subsequent counter-attack releases Calik down the right-wing. He passes infield to Ward-Prowse who sets up Pinho, but the Portuguese’s shot is blocked by Krul, and Jorgensen’s follow-up hits Hunt. From the resulting corner, Jedvaj heads over from 2-yards.
- 65mins: A brilliant reaction save from Ibrahim to stop Kirby’s volley from a half-cleared corner.
- 68mins: Phillips and Belfodil combine down the Newcastle left and Belfodil’s side foot shot is saved by Ibrahim.
- 70mins: Jorgensen heads past Krul from Shaw’s left-wing cross, but the flag is up for offside.
- 71mins: Kirby’s looped pass finds Gabbiadini in space in the inside-right channel, but the angle is too tight after side-stepping the keeper and he fires into the side-netting.
- 72mins: Last throw of the dice: Idris is on as AF_A for Jorgensen; Pinho switches to AM_A.
- 81mins: Pinho side foots over the bar from 20-yards after a clever build-up down the left involving him, Ward-Prose and Shaw.
- 87mins: Westley picks up a late yellow card to round-off a miserable day for The Saints.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
TIM KRUL (NEWCASTLE UNITED) - 7.6
Goalkeeper: 2 saves; 2 parries

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I tell the lads that they were unlucky not to get anything from the match and get a good response from all of them. It will be a long and disappointing journey home and we must be better in the next match, against Leeds United. To make matters worse, I discover that Dragan Hrustic’s name must be added to our growing injury list - he will be out for up to two weeks with a damaged elbow.

VERDICT:
Despite the pre-match betting odds, we were the better team until the red card and still could have snatched something from the match even after we’d gone down to 10 men. I’m confused as to why we were unable to find the breakthrough. Clearly Stangoni’s absence hurt us and Migliorini’s shooting was poor, but we made enough chances to win this one. That Tim Krul should win the Man of the Match speaks volumes.
 
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Tuesday 30th August, 2022

There’s an international break now, including the start of the European Championship Qualifiers for the 2024 tournament in Sweden. Luis Enrique’s England are going to play Finland in a friendly on Friday, before taking on Scotland at Wembley next Tuesday.

After our indifferent start to the season, and with the transfer deadline in two days, I am considering whether to make any late moves for new players. I prefer to get new players in at the beginning of pre-season but I think we have an issue at the moment with too many young players in the first-team squad whose potential is world class, or close to it, but their current ability is average for the Premier League. That applies to all three of our promising right-backs, plus Mark Ardean-Webb, Jose Pinho, Kingsley Idris and Andrew Powell, and to a lesser extent, Shane Westley.

I don’t want those young players to be blocked out of the first-team squad entirely, so I am only going to try to bring in one player - to strengthen the central midfield. Diego Reyes is an excellent DM, but M_C is a secondary position for him and we need an effective BWM. Tomassi Di Martino of Porto would be my first choice, but he would cost more than the 46-million we currently have available for transfers. Waleed Farhan is still available from Betis and can play M_C, but he’s not a strong tackler. Jason Saville of Reading is in the same boat as Westley and Ardean-Webb - promising, but still young.

Rene Meulensteen and our Chief Scout, David Williams, who came to us from Manchester United this past summer, joined me this morning to pour offer possible recruits, and after hours of deliberations - and a short discussion on the possibility of bringing Morgan Schneiderlin back to the club - we finally agreed on one name: Mario Pugliese.

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He’s a 26 year-old Italian, currently with Shakhtar Donetsk, who started his career with Atalanta but spent most of his time in Spain with Valencia before an 8.75-million move to Ukraine in 2019. He doesn’t speak English but he can speak Italian, Russian and Spanish - all of which are well-represented within our squad. He has the required attributes for a Ball-Winning Midfielder and his recent form has been good, too.

He is currently rated at 10-million by Donetsk. We haven’t scouted him and not being an Italian international, he is not due to play again until the Donetsk derby with Metalurg on 10th September - by which time the transfer window will have closed. So, I’m going to have to trust my instincts and try to get a deal done within the next 36 hours - despite reported interest from Milan.

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I prefer to handle transfer negotiations myself, so I was pleasantly surprised when I looked-up the details for Shakhtar Donetsk to find that their manager is none other than former Southampton player Dan Petrescu; the Romanian international who also played for Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City. With figures floating around in the my head, I quickly dialled the telephone number and waited patiently for someone to answer.
 
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Wednesday 31st August, 2022

Chelsea have had a 3.7-million bid for Jason Saville accepted by Reading, so I took one last look at my notes on the player and finally decided not to interfere with that piece of business - although I am amazed that Reading are letting him go so cheaply. The Blues have also lodged a 28.35-million bid for Joaquin, a Barcelona striking prodigy who I have long-admired but can’t compete for now.

While I was sitting in my office, waiting for news on the Pugliese deal, I saw on Sky Sports News that Chelsea have wrapped-up both of those deals, and two of my former players are also on-the-move. Fallou Diagne joined Leicester from Sampdoria, while Alberto Masi returned to his native Italy to join Udinese from Granada.

George Carter scored a hat-trick for the Saints tonight, in a 3-1 home win against Bury, at U18 level.

Charlton Athletic made a bid to loan 17 year-old right-back, Nicolas Cruz, for 5 months. The Addicks are a League One club and I would have preferred for him to play in the Championship, but they intend to use him as a key player at right-back, and I knew he’d be in good hands with Mark Hughes in charge there, so I accepted the bid and then called Curro Torres, the Assistant Manager of the U21s, to tell him to let Nicolas - who doesn’t speak English yet - know where to be for training tomorrow morning.

Finally, at 9:45pm, as I was finishing off my Chinese takeaway in the office, I received confirmation that Mario Pugliese had agreed terms on a four year deal, and had become a Southampton player. The transfer fee was an initial 16-million, with potential add-ons up to 19.5-million, and his starting salary will be 100,000 per week. I left the office thinking that I’m sure we’re paying him more than he’s worth, but he will add some considerable strength and experience to our midfield.

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Friday 2nd September, 2022

Tommaso Di Martino, the Porto midfielder that I wanted to sign, suffered a twisted ankle while on international duty with Italy today, so he’s out for 5 weeks. Just as well I didn’t sign him, then.

We registered our Champions League squad, today, for the Group Stage. We named 24 players in the squad with the minimum 4 players trained by Southampton and 8 trained in England, plus 4 additional U21s who don’t have to be registered.
 
Saturday 3rd September, 2022

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Yvo Lucas celebrated his debut for The Netherlands by scoring against Romania, during a friendly 1-1 draw in Rotterdam - triggering a wage hike to 42,500 per week. He also suffered a dead leg during the match, so he’ll be touch-and-go for the Leeds match, next Saturday.
 
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Monday 5th September, 2022

Preparation vs LEEDS UNITED (h)

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SAINTS: 6/4 (fav); Leeds: 7/2; Draw: 9/4

Our next match will be against Uwe Rosler’s injury-hit Leeds United, who finished 11th in the Premier League, last season. According to the scouting report, they usually play 4-4-2 and are vulnerable to 4-2-3-1. They are most likely to concede goals after the hour mark. Similar to Birmingham City, their squad does not compare well to ours, so I will play the 3-5-2 system against them and go in search of goals.

We beat them 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last season and followed that up with a 1-0 win at Elland Road in the return. In fact, we have beaten them on each of the six occasions we have met, so we will be looking to extend that 100% record on Saturday.

Their best player, Nigel McCartney - a striker - is among the injured, with a groin strain that will keep him out of the trip to St. Mary’s. But they will have Zac Frew, a 24 year-old former Arsenal youngster who totalled 31 caps and 9 goals for the England U21s.
 
Wednesday 7th September, 2022

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Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse were both part of the England team that beat Scotland 2-0 at Wembley Stadium, in their first European Championship Qualifying Group G match. Louis Cruse was among the unused substitutes. Meanwhile, Andrew Powell scored 4 for Wales in a 7-1 defeat of Malta, at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium. We also had players involved in Belgium’s 10-0 demolition of Gibraltar and Croatia’s 9-1 mauling of San Marino.

A makeshift Saints U18s team, with several players on international duty, drew 2-2 at home to Watford.
 
Saturday 10th September, 2022
- The Echo Online


SAINTS AMONG BOOKIES’ EUROPEAN FAVOURITES

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SOUTHAMPTON have been named joint 9/1 second favourites to lift the European Champions League trophy this season, behind Bayern Munich at 8/1.

The Saints are considered level with the reigning Champions, Paris St.-Germain, by the online bookmaker SkyBet, with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United all listed at 10/1. That’s despite the fact that Southampton are the only club among the favourites to have never lifted the trophy, since its inauguration in 1955.

rocheyb and his team, who finished second in the Premier League last season, face a trip to French side Lorient on Wednesday night, as they launch their bid to reach the Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium on 27th May. The two sides met at the same stage of the competition in 2019, when a 3-1 away win for The Saints was followed by a 4-0 home victory, at the beginning of a campaign that culminated in elimination at the semi-final stage on away goals, after a 1-1 aggregate draw with Porto.

“It should be an entertaining game of football on Wednesday,” rocheyb said, during this week’s pre-match press conference ahead of this evening’s home match with Leeds United in the Premier League. “Lorient have been remarkably consistent in the French league over the last seven or eight years and, although they have never made much of an impact upon European competition, they pose a considerable threat. We will certainly have to be on our game.”

Les Merlus, who are currently without a manager, finished third in Ligue 1 for six consecutive seasons prior to going one better last term when they climbed above Monaco to take the runners-up spot - albeit 18 points behind the runaway leaders Paris St.-Germain, who claimed their sixth consecutive French league title and their 11th overall.
 
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Saturday 10th September, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 4
SOUTHAMPTON vs LEEDS UNITED
St. Mary’s Stadium; Att: 37,546

SAINTS: 6/4 (fav); Leeds: 7/2; Draw: 9/4

SAINTS Team News: Goalkeeper Louis Cruse makes his first appearance of the season, in place of Abdel Aziz Ibrahim; Rutten, Reyes and Radimov line-up as the now familiar back three - with Roel Rutten making his 125th appearance for The Saints, today; Mario Pugliese makes his Southampton debut in midfield, after his 18-million transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk; Westley and Jorginho partner him in central midfield, with James Ward-Prowse dropping to the bench due to tiredness after the midweek internationals; Elias Migliorini keeps his place on the left-wing, with Kabastanakis on the right; Christoffer Jorgensen is partnered by Kingsley Idris up-front, in a side that appears to have one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with Lorient.

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Leeds line-up in the 4-4-2 formation, with Zac Frew up-front and ex-Saints Academy player Adrian Smith at centre-back.

1st Half Highlights
- 1min: The home side is straight on the attack, towards the Northam Stand, and two far-post crosses have to be scrambled away to deny Jorgensen an early chance.
- 2mins: Rutten’s low shot is saved by Long, the Leeds keeper.
- 5mins: Southampton’s fast-paced attacking is too much for Leeds to cope with. Idris fires wide from the edge of the area.
- 17mins: A 30-yard free-kick from Kostas Kabastanakis hits the left post.
- 30mins: Jorgensen’s close range header is well saved by Long.
- 32mins: Kabastanakis strikes a free-kick into the top right corner, from a position right of the D. 1-0.
- 37mins: Long pushes another Kabastanakis shot over-the-bar, after clever build-up play by Pugliese and Jorginho.
- 38mins: Kingsley Idris charges out to the left-wing and whips the ball into the near-post. Christoffer JORGENSEN controls the ball and slots it home from 4-yards. 2-0.
- 39mins: Jorgensen dribbles past Sellimi before unleashing a 30-yard drive that strikes the crossbar.
- 45mins+1: Migliorini receives the ball on the left-wing, midway inside the Leeds half, and finds Jorginho with a short diagonal pass. He plays Kingsley IDRIS into the inside-left channel and the young striker fires past Long, into the far top corner. 3-0.

HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 3-0 LEEDS UNITED

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We have dominated the first-half, with Jorginho, Kabastanakis, Jorgensen and Idris all playing very well. Pugliese, like the rest of the defensive players in the team, has not been involved much. In a short team-talk - I calmly tell the lads to produce more of the same in the second-half.

2nd Half Highlights
- 52mins: A lot of fouls going in from both sides. Yellow card for Ampuero of Leeds.
- 55mins: Jorginho hits a long range effort wide of the left-hand post.
- 66mins: Kabastanakis rushes a left-foot shot after an incisive pass from Pugliese.
- 67mins: A smart run and shot from Idris forces a low save from Long.
- 72mins: Jorginho goes down and has to be replaced. James Ward-Prowse comes on, and Jay Rodriguez also replaces Jorgensen in the False9 role.
- 73mins: Square passes from Kabastanakis and Pugliese, just beyond the halfway line, find Ward-Prowse by the centre-circle. He chips a delightful, defence-splitting ball onto the chest of the advancing RODRIGUEZ, who lets it drop before unleashing a beautiful right-foot half-volley from the edge of the area, into the far corner. Keeper - No Chance. 4-0.
- 75mins: Leeds pull one back. A corner from the right leads to a goalmouth scramble and Pelly RUDDOCK scores with a low drive from 6-yards. 4-1.
- 79mins: Centre-back Philip Kaminski replaces Westley, with Reyes moving into midfield.
- 87mins: Long dives to his right to catch a 25-yard effort from Rodriguez.
- 90mins+1: A Saints counter-attack is launched up the right-hand side by Kabastanakis. Rodriguez plays the ball up the line for Ward-Prowse, who breaks beyond the Leeds back four, reaching the ball close to the byline to the right of the penalty area. He squares up to Ruddock before pulling the ball back to RODRIGUEZ, just inside the box, who fires another unstoppable shot in off the inside of the far-post. 5-1.
- 90mins+2: Aubameyang wriggles free on the right hand side to shoot past Cruse, but his shot is wide of the far-post.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
JORGINHO (SOUTHAMPTON) - 8.9
Advanced Playmaker (Attack): 0 goals; 2 assists.

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VERDICT:
Similar to the Birmingham City game, Leeds couldn’t cope with the tempo and the ever-changing angles of our attacks. We scored 5 and could have had 5 more. Idris’s running with the ball was impressive, as was his crossing from the left. Jay Rodriguez cameoed with two contenders for Goal of the Season. An excellent performance all-round.
 
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Monday 12th September, 2022

Preparation vs FC LORIENT (a)

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Lorient: 9/2; SAINTS: 1/2 (fav); Draw: 13/5.

Yesterday’s scouting report on Lorient has us working on Attacking Set-Pieces and preparing to face their favoured 4-4-2 formation. The squad comparisons rate them somewhere in-between ourselves and the levels demonstrated by both Birmingham City and Leeds United, so I have decided that this match could be a good test of our new 3-5-2 formation against slightly stronger opposition. The six match Champions League Group Stage allows for some experimentation, after all, with five other matches available to put right anything you might get wrong during an away trip to the runners-up of last season’s Ligue 1.
 
Wednesday 14th August, 2022

European Champions League, Group F - Matchday 1
FC LORIENT (Fra) vs SOUTHAMPTON (Eng)
Stade Yves Allainmat (Le Moustoir), Lorient; Att: 21,051

Lorient: 9/2; SAINTS: 1/2 (fav); Draw: 13/4.

Lorient usually play 4-4-2 but Javi Rico’s pre-match intelligence suggests they might employ a 5-3-2 system with wing-backs, possibly as a direct counter to our formation. Nevertheless, this should be a good test for us.

SAINTS Team News: Louis Cruse continues in goal; the back three is unchanged; James Ward-Prowse takes the central Advanced Playmaker role, with Mark Ardean-Webb coming in alongside him; Sercan Calik and Luke Shaw occupy the wings; Yvo Lucas will partner Andrew Powell up-front, for the first time. Idris and Rodriguez are both among the substitutes, after impressive displays against Leeds at the weekend. This will be the first time we have tried the 3-5-2 formation away from home. I’ve just noticed that Sercan Calik’s ratings for corners and crosses are higher than James Ward-Prowse’s, so I have listed the Belgian as the team’s primary corner-taker. JW-P remains on free-kicks.

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So much for pre-match intelligence: Lorient line-up in a 4-4-2. One of our former midfielders, the Italian Simone Pasa, is playing centre-back for them. I give instructions to close down always, tackle hard and show Lorient’s midfielders and attackers onto their weaker foot, and my pre-match team-talk is mostly successful at motivating the players, though neither of my forwards shows much of a response.

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Lorient kick-off, attacking right-to-left in orange shirts, black shorts and white socks. Southampton are in black shirts, white shorts and black socks.
- 1min: Calik’s cross from the right is controlled in the area by Powell. He lays a short pass back to James WARD-PROWSE who fires into the far corner from 8-yards out. A fantastic start for The Saints. 1-0.
- 9mins: A snapshot from Ward-Prowse, one among a ruck of players involved in a penalty box scramble, forces Areola into a smart save, low to his right-hand post.
- 13mins: Lucas heads narrowly wide from Calik’s right-wing cross, after good work from Pugliese in midfield.
- 17mins: Benzia goes clean-through for Lorient after Reyes had stepped-up, but he doesn’t have the pace to escape the defenders and rushes his shot from the edge of the area, going wide of the right-hand post.
- 18mins: Mario Pugliese wins the ball back midway inside the Lorient half, after a short-passing move had broken down. First time passes from Ward-Prowse and Calik find Powell 25-yards-out, who draws the defender to create space before playing-in the on-rushing PUGLIESE, through the middle. The Italian takes a touch and fires into the net from inside the D, for the first goal of his Southampton career. 2-0.
- 22mins: More fine wing play from Calik leads to a deep cross which Lucas meets with a firm header, into the arms of Areola. Shortly after, Calik beats his man and tests the keeper with a diagonal shot.
- 25mins: A flowing move isolates Calik on the right with three defenders for company; a short through ball is well controlled by Ward-Prowse but his fiercely struck shot flies wide of the right hand post.
- 29mins: Reyes is dominating the aerial battles from Lorient's long balls and on this occasion heads into the centre-circle where a strong challenge from Lucas maintains Southampton possession. Powell advances over the halfway line and lays the ball to Calik on the right-wing. He squares to Pugliese, and regains the ball again via Ward-Prowse. Calik goes past two defenders and chips the ball to the near-post, where Powell controls it and tees up WARD-PROWSE for a carbon copy of the first goal. 3-0.
- 30mins: Luke Shaw leads a break down the left flank, passing to Lucas at the corner of the penalty area. The newly-capped Dutch striker turns Simone Pasa and crosses to the far-post to leave Andrew POWELL with a simple finish from close-range. 4-0.
- 32mins: Areola produces an outstanding one-handed save to deny Powell a second goal, from a right-footed snapshot from 12-yards.
- 34mins: Thievy plays Yassine BENZIA through the middle, to strike past Louis Cruse into the centre of the goal, after Calik had misjudged a bounce in midfield. 4-1.
- 36mins: Luke Shaw’s header hits the crossbar after Ward-Prowse’s quick free-kick releases Calik to cross.
- 40mins: Lucas is denied by Areola, after taking a shot on-the-run from the edge of the area, left of the D.

HALF-TIME: LORIENT 1-4 SOUTHAMPTON

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All three of our defenders are dominating the aerial battles. The only weakness seems to be straight balls played into the channels between them; a consequence of the two centre-backs adopting wide positions when we are pushed higher up the field. But we’re controlling midfield possession for long periods and strangling much of the creativity out of the Lorient side - particularly due to 60% possession and the high number of interceptions. Reyes plays his part in that, often stepping forward of his position in the defensive three to regain the ball in midfield. Ward-Prowse and Powell are rating 9.1 and 9.2 respectively, but the 7.1 for Sercan Calik is disproportionately low, in my opinion - even if he was partially at fault for the home side’s goal. Rene Meulensteen is happy; so am I.

2nd Half Highlights
- 48mins: Andrew Powell has a goal chalked-off for offside, after a quick build-up through the middle.
- 51mins: Ward-Prowse goes close to completing his hat-trick with a long-range free-kick.
- 52mins: Lucas heads Shaw’s cross into the side-netting.
- 55mins: Two headed clearances from Reyes aren’t enough to clear the danger; Chaib plays the ball back into the area and Nyom capitalises on a missed sliding challenge by Rutten to play THIEVY in close to the penalty spot. His firm side-foot finish beats Cruse to his left. 4-2.
- 61mins: A right-foot drive from Powell produces a save from Areola, for a corner.
- 62mins: Lorient have threatened to breach the centre of our defence again, so I switch Reyes to Ball-Playing Defender_Defend and replace Ardean-Webb (6.9; 84%) with Shane Westley in the midfield DLP_S position.
- 70mins: Powell controls Calik’s cross on the byline and then fires across the goalmouth, but the desired deflection only produces a corner.
- 72mins: Kingsley Idris steps off-the-bench to replace Yvo Lucas as AF_Attack.
- 73mins: Pugliese makes a late run from deep into the right-hand channel, to latch onto Powell’s short pass, but his shot hits the side-netting.
- 80mins: Ward-Prowse sends a looping header over the bar, from Calik’s cross.
- 81mins: Luke Shaw is booked for a foul on Thauvin.

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- 83mins: I switch to the 4-5-1 Assymetric system, with Shaw and Radimov moving to the full-back positions, Ward-Prowse to left-midfield and Powell in an unfamiliar Shadow Striker role behind Idris. Phillip Kaminski comes on for Diego Reyes.
- 85mins: A half-cleared corner drops to Andrew Powell, just inside the penalty area, but his well-struck shot is wide of the right-hand post.
- 86mins: Powell plays Calik in on the right but his diagonal shot goes wide.
- 90mins: A left-wing cross from Monnet-Paquet is controlled inside the 6-yard box by Kaddour CHAIB, who is afforded enough time to scoop the ball into the net via the left-hand post from close-range. 4-3.
- 90mins: 3 added minutes indicated by the fourth official.
- 90+1mins: Westley’s misplaced pass for a Lorient throw suggests the team is rattled.
- 90+3mins: The final whistle goes on a pulsating Champions League encounter.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
JAMES WARD-PROWSE (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.1
Advanced Playmaker (Attack): 2 goals; 0 assists.

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VERDICT:
A scintillating first-half performance seemed to have put the match to bed, but a lacklustre showing in the second-half almost cost us two points. Nevertheless, some excellent performances in midfield and attack. The defensive three were left exposed on occasions, despite an impressive total of 15 interceptions by Diego Reyes. I choose to accentuate the positive during the post-match team-talk, to keep morale high going into the weekend.
 
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Wednesday 14th September, 2022

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The other match in European Champions League, Group F:

AMKAR PERM 0-3 ATLETICO MADRID

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich put 5 past Dinamo Zagreb without reply; Manchester City get off to a disappointing start to their European campaign with a 1-3 away defeat to the Dutch Champions, Vitesse Arnhem.
 
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Thursday 15th September, 2022

Despite being out for up to 7 weeks, hot prospect centre-back Kevin Egan confirms that being tutored by Sergey Radimov was worthwhile, and Egan now lists Radimov among his favoured personnel. Likewise, John Griffiths, who has the potential to become a word-class striker, is pleased with the results of his learning under Yvo Lucas. Some other tutoring links that I set up at the end of last season were not as successful, but I will create new links soon to benefit other young players.

Griffiths is on target during the opening U19 Champions League match at home to Lorient. George Carter gets the other two in a comfortable 3-0 win. Like the senior team, they have a tendency to score all the goals in the first-half and coast the second.
 
Thursday 15th September, 2022

Preparation vs READING (a)

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Reading: 7/4; SAINTS: 5/4 (fav); Draw: 11/5.

Javi Rico’s scouting report on Reading has us working on Attacking Set-Pieces again. They are in 10th position in the Premier League at the moment and tend to concede goals between the 16th and 30th minute, so I will want to be getting at them early-on. They also struggle from half-time to the 75th minute. They beat us 0-2 at St. Mary’s last season, in a match where nothing went right for us, but we won 4-0 at the Madjeski in April.

Although I’m tempted to maintain the use of our 3-5-2 formation, I’m going to go with 4-4-1-1 because I want to get my full-backs involved and bring Jose Pinho into the No.10 role, while Stangoni remains out through injury.

Our next match after this one will also be a relatively short journey for us; Fulham away as we begin our defence of the Capital One Cup - and try to break Liverpool’s record of four consecutive League Cup trophies, from the Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan eras in the early-to-mid-80s.
 
Saturday 17th September, 2022

Premier League - Matchday 5
READING vs SOUTHAMPTON
Madjeski Stadium, Reading; Att: 32,197

SAINTS Team News: Abdel Aziz Ibrahim is recalled in goal; the switch to 4-4-1-1 brings Buti Ndou back into the side at right-bank; Dragan Hrustic comes in at left-back despite not being fully-fit; Jedvaj returns from European suspension to partner Kaminksi in the centre of defence; Pugliese gets the chance to continue the positive start to his Southampton career, alongside Shane Westley in midfield; Kabastanakis rotates into the team for Calik on the right-hand side; Migliorini remains on the left while Tom Ince continues to strive for match fitness after his recent injury; Jose Pinho will start as the Shadow Striker, behind Christoffer Jorgensen, who was rested midweek. Cruse, Radimov, Shaw, Ardean-Webb and Powell all drop to the bench, alongside Jorginho and Rodriguez.

Reading’s 4-4-2 features Alex McCarthy in goal and former Wigan and Everton player James McCarthy on the right of midfield, while veteran midfielder Jem Karacan captains the side. Northern Ireland Striker Liam Brown scored 25 goals in all competitions last season.

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I was going to instruct hard tackles again, this being an away match against a team that has beaten us in the recent past, but with Ndou having just returned from suspension and Hrustic not totally fit, I changed it back to normal. I get a positive response from the players with my encouraging pre-match team-talk, so off we go!

1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: It’s raining, as Southampton get the match started, kicking from right-to-left.
- 7mins: A Southampton counter-attack from Reading’s corner leads to Kabastanakis crossing to Jorgensen just 4-yards out - but the cross is inches too high.
- 8mins: A clever combination between Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rousias leads to the latter striking straight at Ibrahim from a tight angle.
- 11mins: Tin Jedvaj rushes out of defence to rescue the ball just inside the Reading half, after some sloppy play in midfield by Pugliese and Westley. He finds Migliorini on the left and the Argentine winger takes on the Reading right-back, Lasse Vigen. His cross, from level with the edge of the penalty area, is met by the head of Christoffer JORGENSEN, beating Alex McCarthy at the near-post. He races to the Saints fans in the corner, with arms out-stretched. 1-0.
- 13mins: Reading go straight on the attack and win a corner on the left. James McCarthy’s delivery has to be headed off-the-line by Jedvaj, and Ibrahim then produces a spectacular save to push a driven follow-up from Rob Daniels over-the-bar. Ibrahim is immediately called into action again, to tip McCarthy’s second corner over-the-top.
- 15mins: A quick exchange of passes between Hrustic and Migliorini gets the winger in behind the full-back, but his left-footed effort is wide of the near-post.
- 18mins: Yellow card for Buti Ndou [if I don’t say what it’s for, it’s because it wasn’t shown].
- 24mins: Kaminski picks out Migliorini on the left hand side. He side-steps the full-back and shoots wide.
- 27mins: Yellow card for Kaminski.
- 28mins: Kaminski gets caught under a floated pass from Vigen, allowing Rousias to get the ball under control, jink outside Ndou and strike against the crossbar from 20-yards.
- 31mins: Alex McCarthy saves at the back-post from Jedvaj’s header, after a looped corner from Kabastanakis.
- 32mins: The Saints extend their lead with a beautiful flowing move: One-touch passes from Pugliese to Kaminski to Westley to Kabastanakis, from inside their own half and across the halfway line, moving from right to centre, sets them on their way. The winger takes a touch and then slips the ball to Jorgensen in the inside-right channel. He plays a short pass to Jose Pinho, who holds it up with Tom Lees in close attention, before playing in the now sprinting Kabastanakis on the right-hand edge of the penalty area. He races forward and side-foots the ball infield for JORGENSEN to sweep home his second goal of the match. A superb team goal! 2-0.
- 35mins: Rousias controls a chipped pass from Emmanuel-Thomas to raid the inside-left channel, racing between Ndou and Jedvaj before striking the right-hand post with his shot.
- 39mins: A free-kick is conceded by Buti Ndou for a trip on Rousias. He’ll have to come off at half-time to avoid a red card.
- 41mins: Ndou gets forward on the overlap to provide a cross that Pinho loops into the arms of Alex McCarthy.
- 43mins: A Kabastanakis free-kick close to the left-hand byline is initially cleared by Reading, but Migliorini returns the ball to Kabastanakis on the left. He stabs a cross into the centre with his left foot. Pinho flicks it on from just inside the penalty area and Tin JEDVAJ adjusts his feet in time to head across Alex McCarthy for his first goal of the season. 3-0.

HALF-TIME: READING 0-3 SOUTHAMPTON

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We’ve had 54% possession in the first-half and I think the 3-0 scoreline flatters us a little. Reading have had some good chances and Rousias in particular has caused us some problems. Migliorini is playing well, although he should have at least one goal himself. The benefit of having a centre-back score from a set-piece is that it sets them up with a high match-rating for the rest of the game. Buti Ndou is another red card waiting to happen, so I replace him with my most versatile defender, Sergey Radimov. Reading have switched to a 4-4-2 Narrow Diamond, so I have reset my Opposition Instructions accordingly.

2nd Half Highlights
- 48mins: Liam Brown’s header is saved on the line by Ibrahim, after a left-wing move and a cross from Rousias.
- 49mins: Pinho moves the ball to Jorgensen inside the centre-circle. He picks out Migliorini with a square pass to the left-wing. Migliorini races against Vigen and crosses into the penalty area where Pinho’s low volley hits Alex McCarthy and bounces into the path of Christoffer JORGENSEN to help himself to his hat-trick goal from 4-yards. 4-0.
- 55mins: Pinho complains to the referee that he should have had a penalty for Tom Lees’s aerial challenge.
- 58mins: Phillip Kaminski makes a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny Rousias a shooting chance after a delightful defence-splitting pass by Liam Brown, from inside his own half.
- 60mins: Another pass from deep, this time from Emmanuel-Thomas, releases Rousias again, but his shot is narrowly over-the-bar. Emmanuel-Thomas then attempts an optimistic long shot when the resulting goal-kick breaks down in midfield, but Ibrahim is well placed to catch the ball.
- 64mins: A move through the centre leaves Liam Brown ready to take aim from close-range, but Tin Jedvaj slides in to flick the ball away.
- 65mins: Jem Karacan flashes a snapshot across goal and wide. Reading are enjoying a period of midfield dominance.
- 70mins: Mark Ardean-Webb comes on in place of Shane Westley in midfield - and nearly scores with his first touch as a Kabastanakis corner his headed to him by Kaminski, but Brown pokes the ball behind for another corner before he can react. Kaminski is penalised for handball from the second corner.
- 74mins: A cross from Rousias from the left is headed wide by Liam Brown - signalling the departure of hundreds of Reading fans who have seen enough!
- 80mins: Jay Rodriguez gets a late run-out, in place of the hat-trick hero Jorgensen.
- 84mins: Daniels passes to Jem Karacan close to the halfway line and he plays a short ball to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. A low through ball past Kaminski releases Liam BROWN through the middle, and he maintains his composure to strike from the edge of the area, into the bottom left-hand corner.
- 85mins: A deep cross from Kostas Kabastanakis finds Elias Migliorini unmarked on the far side, 12-yards out. The ball bounces high and Migliorini takes it on the full, drawing a sharp reflex save from Alex McCarthy.
- 90mins+1: Southampton finish the match on the front foot, and a right-wing corner from Kabastanakis is headed goal-ward by Kaminski. Tom Lees, standing in-front of his goalkeeper, blocks the effort but the ball bounces to Jay RODRIGUEZ who is left with an open goal. 5-1.

FULL-TIME

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MAN OF THE MATCH:
CHRISTOFFER JORGENSEN (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.6
Deep-Lying Forward; 3 goals; 0 assists.

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VERDICT:
Reading were better than the scoreline suggests - they had 12 shots to our 16 - and Rousias’s running in-behind our defenders did cause some problems, particularly behind Kaminski whose talents are in the air rather than across the ground. But his finishing was poor and Liam Brown was often operating too deep to harm us, despite his goal. Christoffer Jorgensen gave a masterclass in finishing but Migliorini needs to work on that aspect of his game - he is missing too many chances from the left-hand side. Another impressive cameo from Jay Rodriguez leads to his third goal of a season in which he is yet to start a football match. At 33 years-old and with so many other strikers now at the club, maybe he should be my Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for this final year of his contract.
 
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Saturday 17th September, 2022


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Post-match reports claim that the Arsenal manager, Brendan Rodgers, was at our match against Reading to run the rule over Elias Migliorini. Despite his wayward shooting, the Argentina international winger remains a key component in my squad so I won’t be entertaining any bids coming from the Emirates - or from anywhere else, for that matter.
 
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