Rickie Lambert - New beginnings

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Sunderland 0 - 2 Southampton​

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The win in the Capital One Cup has done wonders for the boys morale and it showed as we thumped Sunderland 2-0 with comparative ease. Virgil Van Dijk scored his first goal for the club, assisted by Insigne, who then scored a goal of his own to wrap the match up. Insigne seems to hopefully be starting to fit in. The Southampton side had plenty of fresh faces in it as Fonte and Clasie were rested and Wanyama suspended meaning Reed, Stark and Caluker all got a run out.
News​
  • A few chuckles in the dressing room as Mauricio Pochettino is sacked from Tottenham who have been awful this year and sit 11th in the Premier league and were knocked out of the Europa League by Kobenhavn. Michael Laudrup is the man chosen to take over the reigns.

  • The latest group of academy graduates have been signed to the club in the annual youth intake. In an indifferent year the best prospects seem to be playmaker Adam Hubbard and young midfielder Josh Kennett.
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Tottenham 5 - 6 Southampton
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Yes, I will repeat that just in case you think you misread it.. Tottenham 5 - 6 Southampton. A truly ridiculous game where pretty much every shot just flew in. Jay Rodriguez scored the final goal for us but didnt fit onto the screenshot above. Through to the FA Cup semi final. Can we make it a cup double?
Ludogorets 1 - 2 Southampton​
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A tense game with a lot at stake. An early penalty given away by Harrison Reed gave Ludogorets the early advantage but a Graziano Pelle wonder-goal levelled things up before Cedric converted his own penalty in the 2nd half to give us the win and two away goals heading into the 2nd leg.
Southampton 0 - 1 Everton​
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Revenge was clearly on the mind for Everton as they outplayed us to earn an important win at St Mary's. Seamus Coleman got the only goal of the game and we never really looked like getting back into it.

Southampton (5) 3 - 0 (1) Ludogorets​
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One of our best performances of the season as we flattened a downright average Ludogorets side 3-0. The highlight of the match was a first goal for youngster Demarai Gray who finished neatly, taking his chance well. We were through to the Europa League quarter finals!
Chelsea 2 - 1 Southampton​
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It was our turn this time to be played off the park as a far superior Chelsea beat us in a somewhat flattering scoreline. Sadio Mane gave us the lead by finishing off a brutal counter attack, but it wasnt to last. Eden Hazard showed his true class with an unbelievable finish before Falcao clinched it for them really late on. A disappointment considering how close we got to taking something, but not an unfair result.
 
March Review​
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THE CAPITAL ONE CUP! EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION!... that is all. That is all that matters from this month and my god did we earn it. Another magnificent two leg display in the Europa League puts us through into the quarter finals while that crazy Tottenham match puts us in the semis of the FA Cup. Somehow we are still going in every competition we entered. A good win against Sunderland was somewhat marred by the losses to Everton and Chelsea but the league is not our priority any more, we have our continental qualification. Time to go for more silverware.

Tables & Draws​
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The FA Cup semi-final draw see's us face off against Chelsea.​
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The Europa League draw has us playing Marseille in the quarter finals.​
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Player of the month​
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Sadio Mane - The Senegalese hitman had a slightly inconsistent month but made key impacts in games. Just the one goal and one assist but still very much deserved.
Players in danger​
Jack Stephens has not stopped complaining about first team football. I face the problem that he is not good enough to displace anybody in the first team and doesnt have enough potential to give game time in the hope he improves. Will be sold at the end of the season.

Cuco Martina is another player unhappy with his first team football, however he just hasnt impressed when given a first team opportunity. Will be sold at the end of the season.

I have a lot of sympathy for Fraser Forster after his lengthy injury, but he just hasnt come back the same player. He has let in some soft soft goals when he has played and spilled a couple to cost us a few more goals. An average rating or 6.5 shows the state he has been in. With the position of the club as it is, we dont have time to sit around and wait for a goalkeeper to come into form, and he is worth too much money not to play. Will probably be sold at the end of the season.

Juanmi is another difficult one. Promising and has shown that promise in flashes but not consistent enough to get into the first team. He is being very much outperformed by almost all the other options in his position however he is still young so it may just be a loan move next season.

A look ahead to April​
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Another very tough month for us. The important games to look out for are the two Marseille legs and the Chelsea semi-final. While we are not overly worried about the league at the moment we do need to keep picking up some points just to maintain momentum. Bournemouth and Watford are targets while I am optimistic against West Ham and dont have any expectations against Arsenal.
 
West Ham 2 - 0 Southampton​

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A truly awful performance saw us waste every single chance that came our way. Andy Carroll scored two good finishes to give the hammers the points. Really do need to change tactics now.
New Tactic​
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So the idea for the new tactic is to compress the middle of the pitch and get the players playing quick short passes as they try and get forward quickly. The two wide AMC's will push forward and almost act like strikers alongside Charlie Austin while the playmaker will sit slightly deeper and thread passes.
Southampton 2 - 1 Arsenal​
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A fantastic, fantastic performance against a very poor Arsenal team. We dominated the ball and created by far the most chances even if we did have to come from behind. For a while it looked like it just wasnt our day but then Charlie Austin nodded home and just four minutes later Sadio Mane popped up for the winner.

Southampton 3 - 0 Bournemouth
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Lorenzo Insigne continued his good form and Charlie Austin scored his 29th and 30th goals of the season as we breezed past Bournemouth. The stats make the game look much closer than it was in reality and we seem to be finally hitting some league form. The new tactic seems to be working!! Injuries have not been kind to us this season and now Dusan Tadic is out for at least 6 weeks with a sprained ankle and Harrison Reed will miss 8-10 days.
 
Very lovely laid out story man, been really interesting to follow. Only thing I could say is to maybe have a few more descriptive first person passages like you had at the very start of the story I really enjoyed those. But it is your story do what you feel is best I will be following either way.
 
Marseille 1 - 3 Southampton
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A wonderful result against Marseille as we come back from France with a two goal lead and three away goals. Sadio Mane was the best player on the pitch with two goals and an assist as Charlie Austin notched the 3rd. Lucas Ocampos scored a world class goal to give Marseille some hope.
Chelsea 3 - 2 Southampton​
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Heartbreak from Wembley as we crash out of the FA Cup at the semi final stage. Diego Costa was in imperious form but his strikes were matched by Insigne and Austin. It fell to Oscar in the 87th minute to volley home the winner to send us out. Disappointing but not the end of the world, the Europa League is my focus now.
Southampton (5) 2 - 1 (2) Marseille
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Another fantastic performance saw us play Marseille off the park. Barrada's early goal gave us a bit of a scare but Jay Rodriguez scored an absolute beauty, controlling on his chest from the corner of the penalty area and smashing a volley into the opposite top corner of the goal. Charlie Austin wrapped things up in the 2nd half to put us through to the Europa League semi final!!
Watford 0 - 3 Southampton​
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Boy am I loving this new tactic, and so it appears is Jay Rodriguez who is flourishing playing in a central role as he picked up man of the match in our win over Watford. Victor Wanyama started things off with a powerful volley before we forced Watford into an own goal. Rodriguez then dinked in another goal to see off Watford.
 
April Review​

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After a bad start against West Ham, April turned out to be a wonderful month for us! Premier League wins against Arsenal, Bournemouth and Watford see our position in the table improve and the two leg win against Marseille puts us into the semi-final of the Europa League which we can now look realistically at winning! A shame to be knocked out of the FA Cup, especially in the semi-finals but we met the boards expectations and gave it a good shot, not too unhappy.
Tables & Draws​
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The Europa League see's us drawn against Besiktas, while CSKA Moscow face Dortmund. The boys will be giving everything to reach another final!
Player of the month
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Charlie Austin - The striker has been in lethal form this month, finishing with 6 goals in as many games
May Preview​
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The final month of the season see's a tough run in in the Premier League with matches against Man Utd and Tottenham. I am confident that the league can take care of itself. The blinkers are on now and its all about the Europa League semi finals.
 
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Lambert commits future​
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Southampton manager Rickie Lambert has signed a new long term contract with the club today. The new deal will keep Lambert at the club until 2018.

Lambert, who had originally signed a one year contract to replace Ronald Koeman at the beginning of the season said he was delighted to commit his future. "Southampton have been really good to me, I love it here. I am having the time of my life here and we are achieving everything we set out to do and more. If I am happy and the club is happy then me continuing is perfect".

Lambert only entered the world of management this season but has already achieved incredible success with his Southampton team having won the League cup, ensuring European football next season, as well as guiding the Saints to the Semi-Finals of the Europa League where they face Besiktas next week.
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Southampton 5 - 4 Man Utd​

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Ladies and Gentlemen. The Charlie Austin show. A corker of a game where both sides decided to completely neglect their defensive duties and go for all out attack. A wonderful show for the fans as Charlie Austin scored all 5 goals for us to claim a perfect 10 match rating. It was a tight match that perhaps United saw the better of, but even a Morgan Schneiderlin goal against his old club couldnt salvage anything for them.
Southampton 1 - 1 Besiktas​

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An enthralling game at St Mary's as we started our Europa League semi final. A game that we dominated was made slightly easier by the sending off of Gulum for a rash two footed tackle on Charlie Austin who was thankfully unhurt. It took something really special to break the deadlock as Victor Wanyama crashed a swerving shot into the corner of the goal from 30 yards out. Unfortunately we couldnt hold on and Cenk Tosun nodded in an equaliser from a corner for an away goal. Very tight going back to Turkey.

Yet more Injuries​
We are starting to experience somewhat of a crisis in the attacking midfield department. Just as Sadio Mane returns from injury, Jay Rodriguez bows out with a sprained ankle that will see him miss the rest of the season. That is now Rodriguez, Tadic and Ward-Prowse out. With Mane still not at full fitness it might be a chance for Juanmi to have a run out.
 
Aston Villa 1 - 4 Southampton​

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A lethal performance saw us see of Aston Villa with ease. A Sadio Mane hat-trick earned him the match ball and us the three points. Big Vic Wanyama seems to be making a habit of scoring long range screamers as he nets his 7th of the season here.
Besiktas (2) 1 - 0 (1) Southampton​
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So close.. but yet so far.. Our luck finally ran out as we travelled to Turkey to meet Besiktas in the Europa League semi-final 2nd leg. Harrison Reed showed his inexperience in big games when he gave away a penalty which Jose Sosa converted. From that point we were chasing the game until Wanyama made a really stupid two footed tackle and got sent straight off. After that we were chasing shadows and go crashing out at the semi-finals.
Southampton 2 - 4 Tottenham​
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We were unlucky here to come up against Burak Yilmaz in such good form. We played very well for the whole game with some lovely passing and link up play, allowing Lorenzo Insigne to score two good goals. Unfortunately our defence wasn't so impressive and Yilmaz just kept finding space and was in the mood for goald. 4-2 it finished.
Newcastle 2 - 0 Southampton​
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It was clear that the lads had already packed their bags and were just waiting to go on holiday. With nothing to play for we looked poor in possession and wasteful in front of goal and were punished for it with first Papiss Cisse and then a Jose Fonte own goal making the score 2-0. A poor way to finish the season.
 
Season Review​
So that was it.. the end of my first season in charge at Southampton, and what a season it has been. First lets have a look at the final Premier League table..

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A roller coaster of a season ended with Chelsea being crowned Champions of the Premier League as Jose Mourinho works his magic once more. Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City qualified alongside Chelsea for the Champions League places while Arsenal secured the Europa League spot. It is, what I feel, a very respectable 8th place in the table for us with 55 points. If we are to really challenge the top clubs then we to score a few more goals than this season. Dissapointment for Tottenham fans as they can only manage 9th place and shockingly all three newly promoted clubs stayed in the Premier League with Aston Villa, West Ham and West Brom relegated to the Championship. Promoted from the Championship are Middlesbrough, Hull and Reading.

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A fantastic season in the cup competitions saw us win the Capital One Cup and make the Semi Finals of both the FA Cup and the Europa League. This was a fantastic effort from the players and much more than we were hoping for.
Stand out performers​
There have been lots of exceptional players this season for us, so I just want to take a moment to recognise a few of them.

Charlie Austin - Signed for £12 million at the beginning of the season as competition for Pelle, he quickly made the lone striker role his own and ended the season scoring 38 goals in 51 appearances, 25 of those coming in the premier league. He also managed 8 assists and 6 player of the match awards and equals out at an average rating of 7.2. He has more than paid back his transfer fee and is automatic pick up top for next season. Well done Charlie!!

Dusan Tadic - The Serbian played in 48 games for the club this season, managing 13 goals and 16 assists. Serious injury thwarted the end of his season but he is perhaps the best player in the squad and brings pure class to the midfield when he plays. An average rating of 7.36 for him.

Sadio Mane - Mane was a touch inconsistent but has earned his place on this list. 12 goals and 12 assists from 44 appearances make him a prime candidate for any of the attacking midfield spots. Average rating of 7.2 for the Senegalese.

Victor Wanyama - The heart of the midfield and one of the best defensive midfielders in the country. Wanyama makes his presence felt whenever he plays and scored some spectacular goals. 54 appearances show you what a mainstay in the side he is and despite only clocking 7 goals and 4 assists he has been one of the most influential players of the year.
Breakthrough players​
A big part of the Southampton way is developing young players through the academy and integrating them with the first team, here are some of the players who made it.

Harrison Reed - A fantastic first full season for the young midfielder who played 25 times for the first team, scoring 1 goal and carding 6 assists at an average rating of 7.2. Reed looks composed and confident in the centre of midfield and while he is still prone to the occasional mistake he will only get better. Happy to rely on him more next year.

James Ward-Prowse - A cruciate ligament injury stopped this young man in his tracks but up until that point he was the brightest light in the team. 29 Appearances yielded 11 goals, 6 assists and 4 player of the match awards at an average rating of 7.47. The injury will be tough to come back from but we will support him the whole way and get him back in the first team. A sure fire future star.
Player of the season​
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Yeah you guessed it, of course its Charlie Austin. Lets just have a look at his stats.

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Looking ahead​
So next season we will continue our Premier League adventure and re-enter into the Europa League where we will take extra confidence from our performances this year. There are certain areas of the squad I am not happy with so we will be entering the transfer market, depending on the transfer funds the board deem acceptable. But now isnt the time to worry about any of that.

Time for a holiday!
 
News​

  • After completing a treble last season with the Community Shield, Premier League and FA Cup, Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho has left the club and signed a contract with Manchester United. Mourinho was quoted as saying "He loved a challenge and couldnt wait to help United back to the big time"

  • Arsenal have finally won the Champions League! Arsene Wenger has been labelled a hero. Could this be the right time for Arsenal to push on and become a world force?

  • Steven Caulker and Maarten Stekelenburg have returned to their parent clubs as Southampton turned down the buy options on both of their contracts.

  • Both PSG and Manchester City have had bids turned down for Virgil Van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand respectively. Southampton manager Rickie Lambert has gone on the record stating that the Saints are not a selling club any more and no players will be allowed to leave without it being the clubs wish.
 
Read all of this throughout the day congrats mate!

Surprised you didn't buy Caulker as he turns out to be a beast on most of my saves as well as being HG
 
Rootsey said:
Read all of this throughout the day congrats mate!

Surprised you didn't buy Caulker as he turns out to be a beast on most of my saves as well as being HG
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Thanks buddy! Caulker wanted far too much money! and for the £12 million they wanted I feel theres better value out there.
 
I've been following this one from the shadows since the start and I usually don't tend to post unless I can contribute with something useful to story... But I have the urge to say something...

WHY GAME? JUST WHY?

I just don't get it... why does always this game relegates Aston Villa on the first season in almost every save? We're not England's ace team... but we aren't that bad either... x_XNow seriously though, you just made an outstanding first season with Soton. You ended up in a more than decent and respectable position in the league table and to top it off you secured Europa League spots by winning the Capital One Cup.
It's a shame about Europa League though... you were so close at securing Champions League football on the first year, but an unlucky match against an inferior team (without disrespecting Besiktas... But the Saints have a more solid squad overall) put an end to an almost perfect campaign... Oh well, there's always next year.

I can't wait to see how you scout every nook and cranny of the market this summer, specially since there's some positions you'll need to seriously buff up for next year such as the goalkeeper (without Stekelenburg and with Fraser's sudden form drop you'll need a new goallie for sure).
Needless to say, feel free to grab anything salvageble of our wreckage of a team if needed (like Okore).

Good job, good luck and I'll try to come up with something remotely useful for any hypothetical future post of mine. ^^.P.S.: I guess Pellè has expired his time as Saint, after Austin and Mané's display this season I can't see the Italian in St.Mary's anymore.
 
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Southampton seal Immobile deal​
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Southampton have announced their first signing of the season with the capture of Ciro Immobile from Borussia Dortmund for a fee believe to be £8.5 million. The 25 year old Italian striker, capped 10 times by Italy, has signed a 3 year deal at St Mary's.

"Ciro is a hugely impressive professional who can bring a different dynamic to the squad. We are delighted he has decided to join us" Said Southampton manager Rickie Lambert. "We all believe he can be a huge hit here"

Immobile's arrival at Southampton has called into question the future of fellow Italian striker Graziano Pelle who went public with his complaints about first team football last season.
 
Zlatan Lumic said:
I've been following this one from the shadows since the start and I usually don't tend to post unless I can contribute with something useful to story... But I have the urge to say something...

WHY GAME? JUST WHY?

I just don't get it... why does always this game relegates Aston Villa on the first season in almost every save? We're not England's ace team... but we aren't that bad either... x_XNow seriously though, you just made an outstanding first season with Soton. You ended up in a more than decent and respectable position in the league table and to top it off you secured Europa League spots by winning the Capital One Cup.
It's a shame about Europa League though... you were so close at securing Champions League football on the first year, but an unlucky match against an inferior team (without disrespecting Besiktas... But the Saints have a more solid squad overall) put an end to an almost perfect campaign... Oh well, there's always next year.

I can't wait to see how you scout every nook and cranny of the market this summer, specially since there's some positions you'll need to seriously buff up for next year such as the goalkeeper (without Stekelenburg and with Fraser's sudden form drop you'll need a new goallie for sure).
Needless to say, feel free to grab anything salvageble of our wreckage of a team if needed (like Okore).

Good job, good luck and I'll try to come up with something remotely useful for any hypothetical future post of mine. ^^.P.S.: I guess Pellè has expired his time as Saint, after Austin and Mané's display this season I can't see the Italian in St.Mary's anymore.
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Thanks for the comment buddy, I was so frustrated when that Europa game happened at the time!! just wasnt to be! Scouting is always a tricky one, by the time I find somebody with suitable wages, transfer fee and mentality then they are usually snapped up by somebody else.. Will need to spend a lot of time scouting this time!
 
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Reporter - "I'm here with the man of the moment! Southampton Manager Rickie Lambert.. thanks for finding the time to talk to us Rickie"

Me - "No worries at all"

Reporter - "So, what a season! have you recovered yet?"

Me - -laughing- "Just about, it was just incredible. All of us are still on cloud nine, but the hard work starts here and now!"

Reporter - "Same again for this season then?"

Me - "I hope so, I really do.. thats the plan, Southampton are such a big football club, we need to be up there challenging for and winning trophies and I really do believe we have the squad for it"

Reporter - "We know that when Southampton gained promotion from League 1 to the Premier League there was a 5 year plan in place, do you have something similar now?"

Me - -after a pause- "Its difficult.. now. We have kinda hit the glass ceiling for clubs this size. To catch up with the big clubs like Chelsea and the Manchester clubs then we need to spend money.. and we cant spend money because financial fair play restricts us from doing that.. We are only allowed to spend a percentage of our income. To increase our income, we need to spend money, which we cant do because of financial fair play. Its a nightmare situation, but we are going to do everything we can to break that glass ceiling"

Reporter - "Thats refreshingly honest.. are you calling for FFP to be removed? or looked at?"

Me - "It wont ever happen, we are stuck with it now, so theres no point in me commenting to be honest"

Reporter - "OK Rickie, this week we have seen Ciro Immobile join the club, did the deal happen fairly quickly?"

Me - "Yeah, we are all very happy with that deal.. we talked to the club and we talked to the players representatives, and it was clear that the club were keen to sell and the player was keen to move.. from that point in its very simple and just formalities".

Reporter - "So, this has raised questions about the future of Graziano Pelle, can you shed any light on that?"

Me - "Graziano.. is.. not happy at the club.. he wants more game time, which we cant give him.. so he is actually discussing terms with other clubs"

Reporter - "Ok, thanks for your time Rickie"
 
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Saints allow four to leave
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Southampton have announced that four players have left the club today. Graziano Pelle has secured his transfer to Italian team Sampdoria for a fee of £5.75 million. Florin Gardos has left the club after his injury hit season to join fellow Premier League club Leicester city for a fee close to £4 million. Cuco Martina will join Norwich for £3.4 million and Jack Stephens has been sold to Birmingham City for £450,000. All of these players were told by manager Rickie Lambert that they had no future at the club at the end of last season. Southampton must surely be in the market for more players now as they look to push on from their amazing season last year.

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Meanwhile, the Saints have also let Sam Gallagher leave the club on loan. Gallagher will join Doncaster Rovers for next season in the Championship.
 
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