Obviously, anybody reading this must firstly know that I am luring you into an article not entirely devoid of bias; I am from Southampton and, therefore, support their football team. I have never made any qualms about this, but I now especially relish sharing this fact with those who have watched and enjoyed the Premier League this season. Saints finished seventh in the table, which is such a smashing achievement for a team who looked set to dip massively in form. Granted, it was the players who performed in the last 38 games, but it was new manager, Ronald Koeman, who welded the team together.
Ronald Koeman: Manager Extraordinaire
Following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure at the end of last season, there was a gap to be filled; at this stage, many were speculative and wondered whether Saints could progress with a new boss. They managed to concede just 46 goals under Pochettino, and had a stellar line-up of men who made the games so interesting. However, the hope that sprung so clearly last season suddenly faded; Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers, Dejan Lovren and Luke Shaw all shipped out, leaving the red and white stripes somewhat in the lurch.
Would Saints ever get back on track? Would they slip so badly that relegation would become their vision, yet again? Answer one: yes, but even more so; answer two: no, not in the slightest. In light of recent discussions about who the accolade of Manager of the Season would go to, I see it fitting to discuss the heroic Dutchman, Ronald Koeman.
A Very Brief Background
Ronald Koeman’s footballing career began in 1980 in Groningen; he then went on to enjoy colourful seasons at many Dutch clubs, including Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, but also held down a six-year stint at Barcelona. His managerial career, however, began much later in 1997, where he spent a few years dotted around in the Netherlands and then Barcelona as an assistant in both roles. Ronald Koeman truly kick-started his solo path in 2000 with Vitesse, which then later spiralled into time with AZ, Feyenoord and Southampton.
Southampton’s Season 2014/15
Saints’ saviour, if you will, has coached such a fantastic new breed of players to grace St. Mary’s; Koeman has imparted insight, technical knowledge and his calm onto the rather remodelled squad and it has paid dividends. Instead of panic-buying a few major names, Koeman was calculating but modest. Consequently, the initially exciting duo of Graziano Pellè and Dušan Tadić entered the team, and flourished dramatically. Although this tapered off somewhat, the pair helped to forge the beginning of such a huge season for Southampton. Further still, Sadio Mané has been instrumental to the rate of play in certain games, especially when he broke the record for fastest hat-trick. Impressive.
Towards the back, Ryan Bertrand and Fraser Forster were also among the new players who contributed greatly to the sturdy formation Koeman enforced. Clearly, careful and meticulous planning really afforded Koeman’s imports space to find their feet at the club and on the pitch. Forster’s prowess in goal helped to minimise the 46-conceded count of last season under Pochettino; although with some assistance also from Kelvin Davis, Forster and the rest of the Saints only let in 33 goals under Ronald Koeman’s management.
Koeman’s decisions at the club have been clearly influenced by his past, which suggests to me that he respects what he’s learned and finds the importance of utilising that knowledge, rather than trying to bag the priciest hotshot that he could fit into a Saints jersey. Therefore, I would argue that the 54 goals scored by the club this season was not merely down to players having some decent games; Koeman’s particular management style has obviously aided the team and somehow meshed so well with the men on the pitch.
Koeman’s personal connections have also been most influential and blatant this season. His deep affiliation with Feyenoord also shone through in his choice of strikers; Pellè scored 12 goals for Saints in their quest to climb the Premier League ranks this season, which suggests that he was able to gel nicely with the south coast club and was another great decision made by Koeman. Fairly similarly, Tadić spent time at Groningen, which is where Koeman began. Quite obviously, these players had been sharing circles with their current boss; these connections have just come together under the shelter of St. Mary’s stadium and it’s functioned stupendously.
Ronald Koeman’s choices and humble nature as the most recent Saints manager suggest he was more than just Manager of the Month on two occasions; his control over the team has been inspirational and he has been one of the most interesting managers to watch throughout the season. Furthermore, if Arsenal claim the FA Cup this coming weekend, Ronald Koeman and his men might just be seeing much more of Europe.
To summarise, without Ronald Koeman, Southampton really might have floundered this season.
