Crashing out of both domestic cups at the hands of Sunderland has proved very difficult for many fans to come to terms with myself included. However one viewpoint I do not share is that this season now a write off.
This season has been anything but dull. Drama off the pitch has perhaps overshadowed what are undisputable achievements on the field. Southampton made their best ever start to a top flight league campaign and until the turn of the year had the best defensive record in the league and among the best in Europe. At one stage the Saints’ defensive record was second only to Roma.
This season has also seen Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert all make their senior debuts for the England side and Southampton are almost guaranteed to have a strong representing in this summer’s world cup.
Southampton are well represented right through the England age groups with the latest England under 19’s squad including four academy graduates. The progression is also clear to see it seems only a matter of time before under 19’s captain Callum Chambers steps up to under 21 level where James Ward-Prowse and Luke Shaw have established themselves, with the latter being right in contention to make future senior squads after Ashley Cole has been frozen out of the Chelsea team.
While the result at the weekend was an extremely disappointing one- A 3-1 away defeat to West Ham. It showed how far as a squad Southampton have come over the past 18 months. With both summer signings (Victor Wanayama and Dejan Lovren) not considered fit this left the saints with a team they could have fielded last season. Southampton were certainly not out played and arguably deserved at least a draw after enjoying almost 70% of possession and over 20 shots on goal. The possession and pressing game is something Mauricio Pochettino has drilled into his players, when Southampton don’t have the ball they are always working hard in packs to get the ball back.
Whatever Pochettino’s staff is teaching on the training ground is certainly working and many players have at times looked like new signings since Mauricio’s appointment. The main benefactors being Jose Fonte, Jay Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse who have all come on leaps and bounds after a first preseason with the new gaffer.
The work being done behind the scenes at Southampton is also another reason for saint’s fans to be optimistic. This season has already seen the emergence of Callum Chambers, Harrison Reed, Sam Gallagher with it looking likely that others may make debuts including Matt Targett and Cody Cropper. As well as Luke Shaw cementing his place at left back, James Ward-Prowse remains ever present in the match day squads.
Furthermore, Big and potentially disruptive personalities have left the club including the Nicola Cortese and Dani Osvaldo. Kathrina Liebherr has also made the exciting appointment of Ralp Krueger- who is certainly no stranger to sporting success. Krueger has lead Canada to back-to-back ice hockey golds. Krueger worked as a consultant to the Canadian ice hockey team, specialising in scouting European opposition and advising on the differences between international ice hockey and that played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America. Krueger is expected to work on aspects of performance and training, as well as team-spirit and motivation. But the majority of his work is going to be on the commercial side.
It certainly looks as though Liebherr is setting Southampton up for the future and to keep growing in the way her late father intended. The final piece in the jigsaw could well be tying down Mauricio Pochettino whose stock has grown significantly since his arrival on the south coast.
The foundations are definitely set at Southampton and the future holds much in store for the saints, another solid preseason and continued stubbornness to let go of our prized assets could well lead to a very memorable 2014-15 season. The key for all Southampton fans is to be patient now and enjoy watching our youth blossom. The remaining games are great opportunities to give the youth premier league experience. We aren’t going to win a trophy this season or qualify for Europe but we will continue to develop our future stars.