Rickie Lambert - New beginnings

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Stones becomes a Saint​

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Southampton have announced the signing of Everton defender John Stones on a 5 year contract. 22 year old Stones has moved to the south coast for a fee believed to be in the region of £26 million. Saints manager Rickie Lambert is said to be thrilled to have acquired the England international.

"John is still very young but has all the ability in the world, he is a full England international and can give us some real steel at the back. We are all very excited by his arrival and I feel that it is a real statement of intent on our part. We want to be competing at the pinnacle of football and to do that you need quality and depth which John will give us."

Stones will be cup tied for the next two matches, along with fellow new signing Christian Eriksen, but both players could feature in Southampton's league game against Middlesbrough on the 28th.
 
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So with the transfer window now good and closed its time to take a look back at the business we have done in January.
  • Christian Eriksen joined the club from Tottenham, smashing our transfer record as we paid almost £40 million for the Dane. I am confident he can add some real flair and a decent goal threat to our attacking midfield.
  • John Stones has arrived from Everton in a £26 million deal. Stones is still only young and has the potential to be one of the best centre backs on the game. Perhaps a future partnership with young Jason McCarthy?
  • Gareth Barry leaves the club without making a single appearance as his loan is cancelled, forcing him to return to Everton.
  • Maximillian Meyer is struggling for game time at the club, and I felt he needed to be playing regularly for his development. A loan move to Borussia Dortmund was agreed and he will return at the end of the seaosn.
A fairly quiet transfer window with only two new arrivals but between them they should really improve the squad. The lack of activity both in and out should help keep the squad nice and stable for the 2nd half of the season.
 
January Review

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A good month in all as we go unbeaten in the league and reach the League Cup final. I swear I have done something to upset the footalling gods though as yet another draw in the FA Cup saw us have to go to another replay in an already crowded fixture list. Then it turned out that the replay went to extra time so that was another 120 minute match... Mental. We eventually lost which I am not too upset about, it allows us to focus on the league.
Tables & Draws​
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The table is looking pretty good at the moment! seven points off the lead with two games in hand! and 11 points clear of 4th place Tottenham. Champions League qualification is starting to look really good and the title challenge is by no means over.

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We have a chance to reclaim our Capital One Cup trophy but Tottenham are going to be tough opposition.

Key Players​
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5 goals this month for the prolific hit man. He is proving to be a world class striker. Turned down a £28 million bid from Real Madrid in the transfer window. A key part of our side.











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Big Vic... Oh Big Vic.. you really are my hero. An absolute monster in midfield and holds up the whole side on his ridiculously broad shoulders. Amazing.











February Preview​
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Another important month.. but then again aren't they all. A cup final against Spurs and the first knockout round of the Champions League are the biggies here but also that Premier League fixture against Chelsea! A must win if we hold any aspirations on the title!
 
Just read through this mate, and despite being a Pompey season ticket holder, I absolutely loved it haha! Keep it up mate. Awesome work!

P.S PUP ;)
 
Great story here mate, a very good read. You've done very well to break Southampton into the top 4 while also contesting the cup competitions, well done! Also some very good signings, Meyer at £11M is a bargain! I'll keep on following.

Also, which skin do you use? Looks very nice.
 
February Review​

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A wonderful month, spoiled by a cup final defeat in the cruellest of circumstances. In a game we absolutely bossed with over 30 shots at goal compared to their 12, the game went to extra time and then penalties at 0-0. We then proceeded to have the longest penalty shoot out ever as Tottenham eventually won 19-20.

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Putting that aside we beat Chelsea in the league!! and squeaked a win in our first leg of the Champions League last 16. Morale is so high at the moment, even if the squad is very small and selection gets complicated when players are cup tied for different competitions.
Table​
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With a game in hand, we are just one point off the lead! the win against Chelsea was huge and stopped them from running away at the top of the league! This could truly be a magical season for us.
Players of the month

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Its almost getting to the point where you should just assume that Austin is in this list all the time! 4 goals this month including two against Bournemouth and goals against Stoke and Aston villa.











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Christian Eriksen is making himself at home on the South Coast. 3 goals for the Dane, scoring against Villa, Stoke and Bournemouth as he forms quite a partnership with Charlie Austin.










March Preview​
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Finally a month that is easy on the fixture list and a chance to kick back a little bit. We cant afford to relax too much though with important games against Gladbach, Everton and City.
 
March Review​

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Despite the horrible defeat to City, I would have to class this as a good month! Through to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League and solid wins against Everton and Sunderland to keep our League challenge going. We lost out to city in the 91st minute.. gutted.
Tables & Draws​
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Its officially a three way race for the title! one point separating the top three! This is perhaps the most exciting title race I have ever been in, we are so close and yet so far! 8 Games to go.

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Typical.. Tottenham.. Again!!! I'l prepare myself to be knocked out on penalties again!

Key Players​
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Two more goals for Eriksen see the Dane retain his place in the key players list for another month. What an impact he is having.










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Jason McCarthy has had a good month, called upon to take his place in the centre of the defence. 3 appearances and a rating of above 7 in each match. This kid has got a bright future.









April Preview​
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League against Arsenal, Champions League against Tottenham.. important month! We will have to be careful to avoid an upset against teams like Brentford and Norwich.
 
April Review​

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Another really really good month. We breezed past Tottenham in the Champions League and went unbeaten in the Premiership, although the 0-0 draw with Arsenal saw us drop some ground in the title race. The 6-0 win against Leicester was a personal highlight.
Table & Draws​
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Still in with a chance! especially with our big game against United still to come.

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The Champions League draw for the Semi Finals has matched us up against Chelsea which is tough, but no tougher than any of the other competitors. Three English clubs in the last four of the Champions League is great news for the English game and coincidentally it is the same three English clubs that are locked in the race for the Premiership title.
Key Players​
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I know I know. You are all getting thoroughly bored of seeing his face, but you need to understand just how remarkable he has been. Austin has scored 10 goals in 6 appearances this month including four against Leicester and a hatrick against Crystal Palace. This month's goal haul has seen him pass the 30 goal mark in all competitions for the third season running. Surely I am not exaggerating when I say he is the most lethal striker in the world at the moment.




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Correa is getting better and better. 3 goals in his last 3 games has seen him nip into the key players this month and he is sure to play a big part in the coming seasons for us.













May Preview​
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Our last full month of the Season. The Champions League semi final against Chelsea over two legs is a big occasion but surely not as big as that final day clash against Manchester United. That game means that the Premier League title is still in our hands, if we win all our remaining games, we will be champions of England.
 
May Review​

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Ok so this is actually happening. After a really disappointing 4-2 first leg defeat in the Champions League to Chelsea, we actually fought back to claim a priceless 8-3 aggregate victory. We were in the Champions League Final. The two games against Watford and Burnley were both extremely tense and hard fought affairs but the points came back to the South Coast keeping us in the loop for the Premier League title as well.
Tables & Draws​
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So there it is. The Premier League table with one game to go, and its the big one. Southampton vs Manchester United for the Premier League title. Chelsea have slipped out of title picture meaning its winner takes all at St Marys.

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In a strange quirk of fate it is also Manchester United that we have to face in the Champions League final! our whole season rests on these two games.
Key player​
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Three more goals in three more appearances for the former QPR hitman who just cannot stop scoring. He has pretty much guaranteed himself the golden boot for the season.
 

CHAMPIOOOONSSSSSS!!!! A fantastic game effort from the whole team to pull it out the bag on the last day of the season. A long range Victor Wanyama drive took a huge deflection off of Phil Jones and diverted into the United net to make it 1-0. A thumping Angel Correa effort doubled our lead and was enough to see out the match.

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So the end of a wonderful campaign see's us crowned Premier League champions for the first time in our history. What a season it had been, here is final confirmation of the table.

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The Champions League final. Surely the pinnacle of football in Europe. It just wasn't to be our day.

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It felt like we were chasing the game right from the beginning. It took a Virgil Van Dijk header from a set piece to equalise after man of the match Di Maria gave Utd the lead. We managed to take them to extra time but then tournament top scorer Mauro Icardi notched them a second goal that we just couldn't counter. The Champions League title was heading to Manchester. I might say I was disappointed but to be honest that would seem churlish. In just three short seasons we have been completely transformed from a mid table team to Premier League Champions and Champions League finalists. A Tycoon has taken over the club making us one of the richest clubs in the world and we arguable have some of the best players in the world on the books. Perhaps the best thing of all is that we are in a position to push on next season and get even better!

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That win means that Untied have now won the Champions League twice in a row and have completed a treble this season with the Champions League, European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, as well as running us to the last game of the season in the Premier League. Mourinho is really working his magic at United, they could be difficult to stop next season.
 
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Reporter - "HI Rickie, this is the first chance we have had to talk to you in a while. First of all a huge congratulations on the Premier League title. Champions, how does that sound?"

Me - "It's just fantastic, Nobody can believe it at the club.. we played so so well last year and we got our reward, our first ever Premiership title"

Reporter - "And of course there was that wonderful champions league final which you did yourselves proud in"

Me - "That was a hard one to take, but it was a wonderful occasion, a brilliant day out for the fans and it also served to announce our presence on the European stage"

Reporter - "How far do you think this Southampton side can go?"

Me - "Well how much further is there to go.. Premier League champions, Champions League finalists. We are at the pinnacle of world football and we are only getting better. We have another transfer window coming up, more youngsters coming through, more time to work on our tactics. The future if very promising."

Reporter - "and of course the club has just announced the plans to expand St Marys by 16,000 seats, that must be very exciting."

Me - "Yeah its a big step for the club, we need enough space to satisfy demand and the more people we can get in cheering us on the better. Obviously its not ideal to have to ground share down at Reading for a while but it will be worth it in the end."

Reporter - "And the new multi million pound upgrade to your Staplewood training facilities, the owners seem fully committed?"

Me - "Yeah everybody at the club strives to be the best they can be, and if we can have the facilities to match that then it will be wonderful"

Reporter - "Congratulations also on your Manager of the year award! that must be very satisfying"

Me - "Yeah I mean its nice for success to be acknowledged but its a real team effort from everybody here, I would rather the praise be levelled at everybody here at the club that are doing such a fantastic job"

Reporter - "We saw last year you were linked with the Man City job and reportedly turned it down, are you expecting to see an increased demand for your services?"

Me - "It doesn't matter how much demand there is. I am as happy as I have ever been at the club, there is no way I am leaving now"

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Key Players of the Season​

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My player of the season once again, Charlie Austin has now scored 114 goals for Southampton in 3 seasons. The most lethal striker in the Premier League and indeed in Europe. How could he not be my player of the season?










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Dusan Tadic had an injury hit campaign and only managed 29 appearances, but in those appearances he claimed 9 goals and 9 assists. He is a superb playmaker and is easily the most creative player in the side. A pleasure to have him in the team. The fact that he can keep James Ward-Prowse out of the team speaks volumes about his ability.








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Almost an ever present in the Saints team with 54 appearances this season. In those appearances he only managed 3 goals and didnt create a single assist but his defensive presence is simply wonderful. A top class youngster who is already a key part of the squad.







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Angel Correa was probably our signing of the season last year. 47 appearances through the course of the season gave him a return of 13 goals and 16 assists. A perfect combination of creative and destructive, this lad can be one of the worlds very best.
 
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