Can Saints finish in the top 7 ? our columnist Matt thinks so, but he is not so onfident that we can go higher, do you think he is right ?
Just to clarify, by ‘Top 7’ I mean ‘7th’; we’re unlikely to break into the Top 6 again for some time. A battle with Everton for that 7th spot, though, is possible. More than that, I think it’s likely.
Saints fans could be forgiven for feeling somewhat underwhelmed at the current state of affairs. It’s been a solid, if underwhelming, start to the season: a frustrating opening day draw to Swansea was followed by a fortuitous win against West Ham and a hard-earned draw at Huddersfield Town. Five points from nine, yes, but combined with a low-key exit from the Carabao Cup against Wolves, it’s not exactly the return of the free-scoring, flowing football that we all want and expect.
It hasn’t been easy, but was it ever going to be? Let’s put this into perspective.
The Pellegrino effect
Saints have in the past made some fantastic managerial signings. Pochettino and Koeman are fantastic managers, and were a perfect fit for ‘The Southampton Way’ when they came in. However, even the most dogmatic Saints fan would have to say that every new manager cannot be expected to hit the ground running in their first season. Let’s hark back to this time two years ago, when Saints had two points from their first three games, a draw with Newcastle and newly promoted Watford and a tepid 3-0 loss to Everton. This was Koeman’s second season, and I remember ridiculous calls for him to be sacked even then. What happened? We finished 6th. SIXTH! In the Premier League!
That year, if the Premier League started December, we would have finished second. It took a while for us to get going. This year, Pellegrino has delivered 5 points against a similar calibre of opposition. His ideas are positive: we’re attacking, passing the ball much quicker and creating far more chances than we were under Puel.
His ideas will take a while to stick, and we have to remember the quite exceptional circumstances of his arrival in the midst of a vicious transfer saga, a want-away star player and a downbeat dressing room following a poor end to the previous season.
Mauricio Pellegrino has impressed me, and once his philosophy percolates into every aspect of the team’s play, we will be the exciting force of two years ago.
Squad depth and quality
The current squad is one of the strongest and deepest we’ve ever had. Yes, even compared with the 2015-16 squad. I wouldn’t have been saying this 4 weeks ago, mind. The arrival of Lemina has provided us another quality midfielder and provided healthy competition to Davis and JWP. Similarly, Hoedt is the big, strong, quality-on-the-ball defender we were craving in the absence of van Dijk. We’re not ready for the Big 6 currently, and we’re lucky our fixture list has allowed us time to adapt, but, if Hoedt can integrate, we will be.
And this without mentioning van Dijk, of course. Let’s be clear, right now it looks unlikely he will go anywhere, despite the extraordinary efforts of the press to suggest otherwise. Staying is one thing, but reintegrating and having the same impact he’s had over the past 2 years is another. If (and it’s a
big ‘if’) van Dijk comes back into the fold, Saints will have one of the best defensive line ups in the league.
Unlike a large portion of the Saints fanbase, I don’t currently see the need for a creative, attacking midfielder. The reason is simple: we have one sat on the bench. Boufal has looked in great nick every time he’s played this year. He’s the most creative player in our squad by some distance, and with Tadic only turning up every four games or so, Boufal represents the perfect replacement. To my mind, a forward three of Redmond, Boufal and JWP/Davis is perfectly adequate to create chances. As I’ve said many times, our striking options are not the issue. Gabbiadini, Austin and Long will get goals this year.
And on that point, the club could easily make an extra £15m with the sale of Tadic before the close of the window. He hasn’t done enough for me to warrant a place in the starting line-up, and no doubt we can free-up a hefty wage bill with his exit.
A matter of context
The bigger picture can be hard to see when you’re watching your team lose 2-0 to Wolves on a Wednesday night, but let’s be real: we’ve secured 5 points from a possible nine in the league, only conceded 2 goals, and are beginning to play some attractive football once again.
That’s a good return, but it’s not to be settled for.
I get frustrated at times when I read comments like ‘Think about where we were 6 years ago!’ or, ‘Be grateful we’re not still in League 1!’. That’s not the right attitude; we ARE in the Premier League now, we ARE a top 10 side, and we SHOULD NOT be totally content with a 10th place finish. Why? We’re better than that. The moment we stop craving more success is the moment we stand still.
In that light, I’m not going to say that I think we’re headed for a 10th place finish and that we should be happy with that. I think, with the team we have, the manager we have, and the football we’re playing, we will finish 7th this year.
Bring on Watford.
COYR.
@tposmatt