After having their talent pool stripped to the bones in the off-season, how will Southampton react in 2014/15?
What happened last season
Southampton became a neutral’s favourite team in 2013/14, climbing to their highest ever Premier League finish (8th) and doing it with style. Under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino, a thriving and youthful Saints outfit employed one of the most enterprising styles of football in the league.
Expectations were tame but hope was high at the beginning of the season, and both lifted as the weeks grew on.
The only negative in Southampton’s season was the costly signing of Pablo Osvaldo, who struggled to find his place and moved to Juventus on loan. He’ll spend this season on loan at Inter Milan, with Saints not yet ready to make a hefty loss on the Italian.
But the omission of Osvaldo was barely a speed bump for the team from St Mary’s. Jay Rodriguez, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana combined for 37 goals, Rodriguez leading the way with 15 of his own.
Wins over Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City in a matter of weeks proved Southampton could match it with the big boys and Pochettino showed no shyness in giving his young stars their chance to shine.
Saints’ incredible depth was rewarded with seven players picking up World Cup selection.
What happened in the off-season
The most skewed ins and outs list of the Premier League goes to… Southampton have experienced undoubtedly the most dramatic turnover of players in the country.
Fans will be clinging to the memory of last season for a fair while longer.
Among the raft of exits were Lallana, Lambert and Dejan Lovren, who flew far north to Anfield, and Luke Shaw, who was snapped up by Manchester United.
It’s hard to see the club bouncing back from having four of their best players stripped away, but it seems there has been little urgency to spend the large wads of cash received for the big names.
In comes defender Ryan Bertrand on a loan deal from Chelsea, with striker Graziano Pelle brought in as cover for Rickie Lambert after two stellar seasons at Feyenoord and 10 million pounds splashed on highly-rated Serbian midfielder Dusan Tadic, who joins from FC Twente. Over the weekend, the club also announced the signing of England goalkeeper Fraser Forster from Celtic.
A change off the field, too, with Dutchman Ronald Koeman replacing Mauricio Pochettino on the sidelines.
Why Southampton fans should be excited about the 2014/15 season
Believe it or not, there is cause for optimism at Southampton. If you can bring yourself to look past the elephant in the room, you’ll take solace in the success of the club’s player development over the last five or so years.
Lallana didn’t pop up overnight, he benefitted from a thriving academy. As did Shaw. Not to mention it’s the club that propped Lambert and Rodriguez into the limelight.
There is still plenty of talent within the ranks, too, with James Ward-Prowse a particular standout last season and Morgan Schneiderlin experiencing perhaps the best of his six years with the club.
Experienced figures Artur Boruc and Gaston Ramirez maintain some sort of stability and you can bet Saints are already planning for the next Lallana to rise through.
The main man that can carry Southampton’s 2014/15 hopes
Plenty will hinge on how Dusan Tadic adjusts to life in the Premier League. Still only 25, he will be considered the mid-term future for Southampton and could fill the void of Lallana as far as goals are concerned.
The Serbian averaged almost a goal every two games at Twente and similar figures would considerably steady Southampton.
Despite the mass exodus, Tadic will have some competition in the middle of the park but has also made his name as a rover. That kind of versatility will make him valuable to Koeman, who would have been following the 25-year-old closely, having spent the last five years coaching with AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord.
Verdict – top 10 hopefuls
Southampton will have no issues with survival, but it seems a tough ask to call for a repeat of last season’s eighth-place finish.
Koeman won’t be expected to deliver instant success but he will consider a mid-table finish the minimum standard.
Providing significant encouragement is that Saints have won five from five in the pre-season, with just Bayer Leverkusen standing in their way of a perfect preparation.
A tricky trip to face Southampton B (Liverpool) on the opening day of the season awaits but that’s followed by somewhat of a favourable run, with fixtures against West Brom (H), West Ham (A), Newcastle (H), Swansea (A) and QPR (H).
Southampton’s full squad for 2014/15
Goalkeeper: (?) Fraser Forster, (1) Kelvin Davis, (25) Paulo Gazzaniga, (31) Artur Boruc, (41) Cody Cropper, (43) Will Britt, (44) Chris Johns.Defender: (2) Nathaniel Clyne, (3) Maya Yoshida, (6) Jose Fonte, (21) Ryan Beltrand,(26) Jos Hooiveld, (32) Jason McCarthy, (33) Matt Targett, (35) Jack Stephens, (36) Jordan Turnbull.
Midfield: (4) Morgan Schneiderlin, (8) Steven Davis, (10) Gaston Ramirez, (11) Dusan Tadic, (12) Victor Wanyama, (16) James Ward-Prowse, (17) Saphir Taider, (18) Jack Cork, (27) Lloyd Isgrove, (28) Harrison Reed, (34) Jake Flannigan, (37) Omar Rowe.
Forward: (9) Jay Rodriguez, (19) Graziano Pelle, (24) Emmanuel Mayuka, (30) Billy Sharp, (38) Sam McQueen, (39) Jake Sinclair, (40) Sam Gallagher.
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