Whilst researching another story on the site I came across some worrying statistics regarding the way our squad has been used this season.
They say its a squad game in modern football, but that doesn't appear to be the case at Saints, the great start to the season has not been by using the squad, but by the same small number of players playing week in week out, this does not bode well for a tough run of fixtures in quick succession where injury or suspensions could hit hard.
A look at the starting line up stats show that out of our opening 13 games, ten players have started 10 or more games, one of them goalkeeper Artur Boruc. After that only James Ward Prowse with 8 and Osvaldo with 7 have got anywhere near double figures.
A look at the rest of the squad stats is then worrying, Steven Davis and Callum Chambers have started 3 apiece(In Chambers case the opening 3 games) then its Danny Fox on 2 and Jos Hooiveld on 1.
From the bench its not much better, taking aside Paulo Gazzangiga's appearance on Sunday, on top of the sixteen other players used in the starting line up, only three others have got a look in off the bench, Jack Cork with a total of 4 appearances for 12 minutes game time, Guly 3 appearances for 20 minutes and Ramirez 5 appearances for 94 minutes, given that in Ramirez case 69 of those minutes came in the opening 3 games it tells a story.
That story is of a squad that is thin on the ground and not being used to its potential, given that Chambers and Ramirez have barely been used since those opening 3 games and the game time of Fox, Hooiveld, Cork & Guly is minimal, taking away the goalkeepers the startling thing that hits you is that it is the same 12 players for the ten outfield positions that are being used week in week out, even more worrying is the real lack of competition for places, 9 of these players are basically in the side barring injury with only Davis, Ward Prowse & Osvaldo not seemingly assured of a place in that starting line up ( in Lambert's case this may change now Osvaldo is back from injury).
This is amazing and although it highlights how strong our starting XI is, it also gives worrying pointers to the future if some of those players become injured etc, this Dozen could reduce as well if as rumoured Osvaldo wants away in January.
But in the long run this doesn't bode well, firstly it shows that Mauricio Pochettino is not using his squad to its full potential and secondly it hints that in using the same players week in week out off the bench as well we are not only becoming predictable, but we risk burning out those players as they are getting no rest.
But it isn't just the rest aspect for these regulars, our fringe players aren't getting game time either and that's not good either for being match ready when called upon, or for morale, the likes of Jack Cork will look at his contribution this season and feel that he isn't going to get a game whatever the circumstances.
A look at some of those fixtures when we cruised to victory at St Mary's shows that substitutions are not being spread around, take the Fulham fixture, one of our easiest victories of the season, only two subs were used, Guly in the 78th minute and Cork in the 89th, both pretty pointless, Cork should have been given at least 20 minutes and this would have been an ideal time to bring on Callum Chambers who has not featured since the 4th game of the season.
Likewise other similar home victories, its always the same players, we may talk about youth on the bench, but we don't seem to use them much, even when we have the game won, in that Hull game we had Sam Gallagher in reserve, why not give him his debut and a taste of the big time ?
Mauricio Pochettino has spoken of how he doesn't need to go into the transfer window as he can call on the youngsters, well so far there is scant evidence of them being ready and to be blunt its asking a lot of them to jump straight into the Premier League without any experience of it, bringing on Guly for 12 minutes against Fulham would have told us nothing new, bringing on Chambers would have been a lot more beneficial, not just in the youngsters developement but giving Nathan Clyne a bit of a rest.
You cannot knock Saints start to the season, however you also cannot avoid the worrying trends with regard to the fact that so few players are actually getting game time on the pitch, Mauriccio Pochettino obviously has very strong views on the way he wants to play and his best players to be able to facilitate these tactics, but the appearance statistics show that we are a long way of having a squad to be able to truly compete with the top six, it will come over time, but in the short term we should set our targets as realistic and accept that for one reason or another that the squad does not have the depth that is needed.
Obviously I would love to be only telling good news about Saints, however this site has always attempted to tell it how it is and in the frenzy that has surrounded our great start to the season and i do truly hope that it carries on, I think that we have overloooked just how much is owed by so many to so few !