Upon glancing at the current Premier League table as the focus shifts back in that general direction following the recent international interlude, the name Southampton literally jumps off the page.
Sitting in third place and having tasted defeat just the once (away at Norwich back in August), Mauricio Pochettino has got the team playing disciplined yet attacking, pressing, yet probing football, as their record of 15 goals scored and just 5 goals conceded through the opening 11 matches attests, which includes an impressive 6 clean sheets in the league so far.
Having been appointed as the new manager in January 2013 by Chairman Nicola Cortese, replacing the ever-popular Nigel Adkins; the man who had guided the Saints to successive promotions, the discontent was almost tangible. Irate fans could not see why the man who had restored this proud South Coast club to the top tier of English football for the first time since 2005 was being replaced, especially by someone who couldn’t even speak the language.
Cortese, appointed as Chairman by the late owner Markus Liebherr (ownership has since passed on to his daughter following his death from a 2010 heart attack) following his work in securing the club for the construction magnate for the type of fee that the club now spends on high-profile new signings, was insistent however that this move would be for the best and that discontented fans should trust the decision. Was the decision a harsh one on Adkins? Undoubtedly, for he had taken over from Alan Pardew and injected real momentum into their Premier League pursuit, picking up 180 points during the back-to-back promotion seasons.
A former physiotherapist who had had a pretty unspectacular lower-level playing career, Adkins had since carved out a decent managerial reputation after having Scunthorpe punch above their weight prior to his appointment, but clearly, Cortese, backed by the fortunes of the construction-based Liebherr family didn’t see him as the man to attract the players to truly elevate Southampton to the near-mythical ‘next level’.
Enter Pochettino.
Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino had been in charge of Espanyol in Spain’s La Liga, a club he had previously represented with distinction on two occasions during a playing career which saw him capped by his country 20 times, including a trip to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. After achieving three mid-table finishes, he found himself out of work following a poor start to the 2012 season and his entertaining brand of high-pressing, attacking football, coupled with his pedigree was enough to convince Cortese that this was the man to move the club forward and build on the good work put in place by Nigel Adkins.
To add to the sense of injustice and sympathy felt towards Adkins, his Saints were on a 5 match unbeaten run in the Premier League, which had included draws against both Arsenal and Chelsea. Indeed it was shortly after a 2-2 draw away at Chelsea that the managerial shakeup took place, leaving a fan base looking at each other, scratching their heads in a united show of disbelief.
Inheriting a team who were sitting in 15th place, Pochettino didn’t exactly wave a magic wand over the squad, with them winning just a further 4 league matches in that first season, on route to a 14th placed finish. Unspectacular perhaps but during that first season at Premier League level, finishing anywhere north of 18th is to be viewed as a success. Stepping into his first pre-season in charge, fully aware that financial backing on a very good scale would be forthcoming gave Pochettino the opportunity to truly put his own stamp on the side, which he did by reuniting himself with flamboyant former Espanyol striker Dani Osvaldo. Big money was also shelled out on uncompromising Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren and tough-tackling Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama from Lyon and Celtic respectively.
The clubs newly-purchased spine had plenty of surrounding talent to accompany it in the form of the underrated Morgan Schneiderlin, new England cap Adam Lallana and goalscorer extraordinaire Rickie Lambert, not to mention last season’s marquee investment, Gaston Ramirez. Add in the impressive home-grown talents of Luke Shaw at left back and James Ward-Prowse in midfield along with Nathaniel Clyne, the right back signed from Crystal Palace and another new England international in Jay Rodriguez, signed from Burnley, and the team has an extremely healthy look to it.
The continuing success of the production line of talent making their way into not only first team contention, but starring roles in the Premier League should be applauded loud and long, especially as a small riposte towards the doom-and-gloom merchants who bemoan the fact that high-profile, high-priced foreign imports serve only to block the path to the first team for young English talents. Southampton are showing that that absolutely does not have to be the case.
Adam Lallana has been one of the shining lights amongst the Premier League’s English contingent this season, whilst Ward-Prowse looks to be an exceptional young talent whose star is very much on the rise. Neither full back would look out of place in any of the typical top 4 sides, or indeed wearing an England shirt. All of this at a time when Southampton are spending levels of money that have drawn envious glances from a number of Pochettino’s fellow bosses. These young English players are not being picked out of any form of sentimentality, they are selected due to their qualities and technical abilities, which it must be said are plentiful.
The Academy staff responsible for the continuing development of a list of players which include Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain amongst the highest profile departures deserve every single plaudit which goes their way.
At a time when The FA are determined to improve the quality of our home-grown players, they would be well advised to take a long hard look at the proven methods which are in place at this thriving South Coast club as Pochettino continues to make his mark. Roy Hodgson has obviously already been looking.
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Main Photo Credit: Joseph Lago/AFP
