Squad Surgery: Southampton

[EFL Saints]

Hello

I'm an Ipswich Town fan who writes a blog about the EFL. Over the past month, I've been writing a 'squad surgery' series, looking at a club and examining which positions they need to strengthen ahead of the season and the latest one is Southampton As with most of the relegated teams, I imagine there will be a lot of turnover but I've focused on four positions and identified targets. I had this article written a week ago and was initially waiting for the Martin appointment to be confirmed before posting but now it seems the official announcement may not be for a while, I thought I'd publish it anyway. 

The blog is still a fairly new project so it would be great if any of you would be willing to subscribe. It's free and all the articles will arrive in your inbox when they're published. Of course, you'll all know more about your club than I do so feel free to offer any constructive criticism too. 

How are you feeling about being back in the Championship? I don't think there are any obvious promotion candidates at this stage, but any team with parachute payments should be up there.

Hope you enjoy 

Jacob/EFL Saints

Squad Surgery: Southampton - by Jacob Powley (substack.com)

[Crab Lungs]

Hi Jacob, before any of the forum pedants get you, you might want to change that we finished on 25pts, not 22.

As for surgery - everywhere. They’re horrendous.

Best wishes in your endeavours.

[EFL Saints]

  On 11/06/2023 at 07:38, Crab Lungs said:

Hi Jacob, before any of the forum pedants get you, you might want to change that we finished on 25pts, not 22.

As for surgery - everywhere. They’re horrendous.

Best wishes in your endeavours.

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Amended, thanks!

[Andrew Watson]

Need a massive clear out Jacob,too  many mercenaries and sub standard ploayers, I suppose that is the same at every premier league club though,with the league awash with money. Very pleased to see Ipswich back up,it is a real shame your best ever player the exceptional Kevin Beattie was not alive to see his beloved club get promoted.

[Winnersaint]

  On 11/06/2023 at 09:09, Andrew Watson said:

 Very pleased to see Ipswich back up,it is a real shame your best ever player the exceptional Kevin Beattie was not alive to see his beloved club get promoted.

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Muhren and Thyssen weren't that shabby either.

[Andrew Watson]

Nor were Mariner,Wark,Gates, Hunter and a few more,had Liverpool [ sorry to mention them,a team I loathe ] not been so good then,they would have won the league a couple of times under Bobby Robson.

[bangkoksaint]

I liked Alan Brazil - still do!

[bangkoksaint]

And who could forget Mick Mills!!

[SW11_Saint]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing. Like the sound of a couple of these options. 

[east-stand-nic]

  On 11/06/2023 at 09:20, Andrew Watson said:

Nor were Mariner,Wark,Gates, Hunter and a few more,had Liverpool [ sorry to mention them,a team I loathe ] not been so good then,they would have won the league a couple of times under Bobby Robson.

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And their GK, Paul Cooper. Unlucky to have been born in an era of so many great keepers or he would have got a lot of England caps.

[Saint_clark]

Bazunu in goal, we go down again. 

[saintant]

  On 11/06/2023 at 10:48, Saint_clark said:

Bazunu in goal, we go down again. 

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Don't think we'll go down but less chance of going up if we're relying on Bazunu. We need an upgrade in goal if we are serious about a swift return to the Premier League because he doesn't make enough brilliant saves while letting in plenty of soft goals.

[Deanovski]

Great assessment, would love manning and Giles.

[EFL Saints]

  On 11/06/2023 at 10:48, Saint_clark said:

Bazunu in goal, we go down again. 

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As poor as he was in the Premier League, I think playing in a Russell Martin team will suit him. Burnley last year had Arijanet Muric in goal who wasn't the best shot stopper but his role was to sweep up and recycle possession and in a team that kept the ball well against inferior opponents, his weaknesses were less exposed. Bazunu's definitely capable of doing the same thing, so I wouldn't discount him completely yet. 

[Saint Garrett]

  On 11/06/2023 at 10:48, Saint_clark said:

Bazunu in goal, we go down again. 

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On the flip side, he’s another year of experience down the line, and we’ve got relegated, he’s already proven to be a very good keeper at L1 level. And moving forward we’ll be a possession team, which will suit him massively.

I wouldn’t be unhappy if he’s our main keeper next season, despite him having a very poor season at premier league level. Im sure he’s learnt a lot from the last 12 months. 

 

 

[Convict Colony]

Replace back bone, ensure vocal chords work and insert bottle.

 

[Convict Colony]

  On 11/06/2023 at 10:48, Saint_clark said:

Bazunu in goal, we go down again. 

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I like how you think, he's outstanding in L1 and we will walk that league, let's bring the glory days back.

[Colinjb]

Squad surgery.

Believe we shall be adopting the; 'Burn it down. Salt the earth,' philosophy.

Edited 11 June, 2023 by Colinjb

[waylander]

Need someone to score goals regularly. That might be Che Adams as he has been prolific in the Championship before but there's no certainty he is staying.

[Chez]

  On 11/06/2023 at 07:33, EFL Saints said:

Hello

I'm an Ipswich Town fan who writes a blog about the EFL. Over the past month, I've been writing a 'squad surgery' series, looking at a club and examining which positions they need to strengthen ahead of the season and the latest one is Southampton As with most of the relegated teams, I imagine there will be a lot of turnover but I've focused on four positions and identified targets. I had this article written a week ago and was initially waiting for the Martin appointment to be confirmed before posting but now it seems the official announcement may not be for a while, I thought I'd publish it anyway. 

The blog is still a fairly new project so it would be great if any of you would be willing to subscribe. It's free and all the articles will arrive in your inbox when they're published. Of course, you'll all know more about your club than I do so feel free to offer any constructive criticism too. 

How are you feeling about being back in the Championship? I don't think there are any obvious promotion candidates at this stage, but any team with parachute payments should be up there.

Hope you enjoy 

Jacob/EFL Saints

Squad Surgery: Southampton - by Jacob Powley (substack.com)

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Cheers. Some very good insight there. One minor thing, I don't think Will Smallbone is more physical and he certainly isn't a DM - hasn't played in that position for us or Stoke and is more likely to battle it with Alcaraz for the AM role - and shows how shirt we are in that DM role when JWP, Lavia and Diallo depart.

[EFL Saints]

  On 11/06/2023 at 15:06, Chez said:

Cheers. Some very good insight there. One minor thing, I don't think Will Smallbone is more physical and he certainly isn't a DM - hasn't played in that position for us or Stoke and is more likely to battle it with Alcaraz for the AM role - and shows how shirt we are in that DM role when JWP, Lavia and Diallo depart.

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Cheers, have changed the formation at the bottom. Not sure how I made that error, must have been writing it late at night! I wouldn't be surprised to see both Smallbone and Alcaraz playing with somebody like Grimes or whoever joins in a midfield three. 

I agree central/defensive midfield is an area where at least two need to be brought in. 

  On 11/06/2023 at 14:37, waylander said:

Need someone to score goals regularly. That might be Che Adams as he has been prolific in the Championship before but there's no certainty he is staying.

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Keeping hold of Adams will be key, a big decision to make on whether to sell now for a fee or risk losing him for free next year. I'd probably take the risk and hope he can be the man to lead the line this year. I take it Onuachu is probably going to move abroad? Will be interesting to see how he gets on in the Championship if not. 

[Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan]

Really good piece to look at some good options for us.

I think the difficulty is that we don't really know who is staying and who is going! A front 4 that includes Sulemana, Alcaraz and Tella would be brilliant, but they could also all easily be with other teams.

I certainly think we need to be looking at the Swansea left back. If we can get him in, and keep Perraud or get a suitable back up, with Livramento and Bree at right back I'd feel comfortable going into the season.

[Chez]

  On 12/06/2023 at 09:53, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

Really good piece to look at some good options for us.

I think the difficulty is that we don't really know who is staying and who is going! A front 4 that includes Sulemana, Alcaraz and Tella would be brilliant, but they could also all easily be with other teams.

I certainly think we need to be looking at the Swansea left back. If we can get him in, and keep Perraud or get a suitable back up, with Livramento and Bree at right back I'd feel comfortable going into the season.

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If no Prem side offers Manning a deal - although he's had a good season and is available on a free it's all about whether he has the quality - you'd think we'd be next in line. We then perhaps need one of Larios and Small to be good enough to at least be second choice. If we have turned down offers for Small from Spurs (no idea if those reports were true), we must think there is a top player in there still. In terms of Larios, can he step up and not just fill a shirt, but truly impact a game next season?

Edited 12 June, 2023 by Chez

[Chez]

  On 12/06/2023 at 09:33, EFL Saints said:

Keeping hold of Adams will be key, a big decision to make on whether to sell now for a fee or risk losing him for free next year. I'd probably take the risk and hope he can be the man to lead the line this year. 

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He's here until a reasonable offer comes in. I can't see us turning down `reasonable' money. Not least because he wants to go. I wonder what offers we/he will get? 

Edited 12 June, 2023 by Chez

[sambosa75]

I enjoyed George Burley's Ipswich quite a bit too.  Had some decent players.  Bramble, Reuser, Finidi George, Magilton, Holland, the Bents, Marcus Stewart.  Didn't they finish 5th around then?

[EFL Saints]

  On 12/06/2023 at 09:53, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

Really good piece to look at some good options for us.

I think the difficulty is that we don't really know who is staying and who is going! A front 4 that includes Sulemana, Alcaraz and Tella would be brilliant, but they could also all easily be with other teams.

I certainly think we need to be looking at the Swansea left back. If we can get him in, and keep Perraud or get a suitable back up, with Livramento and Bree at right back I'd feel comfortable going into the season.

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Thanks. The right back options are comfortably the best in the division, even if Livramento struggles with fitness again. 
 

  On 12/06/2023 at 12:19, sambosa75 said:

I enjoyed George Burley's Ipswich quite a bit too.  Had some decent players.  Bramble, Reuser, Finidi George, Magilton, Holland, the Bents, Marcus Stewart.  Didn't they finish 5th around then?

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Yeah 5th place followed by relegation the next season. The worst case of second season syndrome in the Premier League era.

[verlaine1979]

Well written and insightful. There's no place for that here. Be off with you.

[EFL Saints]

  On 12/06/2023 at 19:39, verlaine1979 said:

Well written and insightful. There's no place for that here. Be off with you.

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Hahah thank you!

[hypochondriac]

  On 11/06/2023 at 07:33, EFL Saints said:

Hello

I'm an Ipswich Town fan who writes a blog about the EFL. Over the past month, I've been writing a 'squad surgery' series, looking at a club and examining which positions they need to strengthen ahead of the season and the latest one is Southampton As with most of the relegated teams, I imagine there will be a lot of turnover but I've focused on four positions and identified targets. I had this article written a week ago and was initially waiting for the Martin appointment to be confirmed before posting but now it seems the official announcement may not be for a while, I thought I'd publish it anyway. 

The blog is still a fairly new project so it would be great if any of you would be willing to subscribe. It's free and all the articles will arrive in your inbox when they're published. Of course, you'll all know more about your club than I do so feel free to offer any constructive criticism too. 

How are you feeling about being back in the Championship? I don't think there are any obvious promotion candidates at this stage, but any team with parachute payments should be up there.

Hope you enjoy 

Jacob/EFL Saints

Squad Surgery: Southampton - by Jacob Powley (substack.com)

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What an excellent article thank you very much for taking the time to do a considered piece on our club. You've obviously got a good knowledge of the championship which makes it a lot more interesting. Cheers. 

[S-Clarke]

Really good article and cracking insight into both our issues and the realistic options to fix those.

I do quite like Giles, was impressed with him at Boro last year. Wolves will need to sell anyone who isn't nailed down this summer, but you'd imagine Boro would have first dibs on that one.

[EFL Saints]

  On 13/06/2023 at 08:59, hypochondriac said:

What an excellent article thank you very much for taking the time to do a considered piece on our club. You've obviously got a good knowledge of the championship which makes it a lot more interesting. Cheers. 

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Thank you. I'm planning on doing a season preview/predictions article which I'll post on here when it comes out, probably towards the end of July. 

  On 13/06/2023 at 09:04, S-Clarke said:

Really good article and cracking insight into both our issues and the realistic options to fix those.

I do quite like Giles, was impressed with him at Boro last year. Wolves will need to sell anyone who isn't nailed down this summer, but you'd imagine Boro would have first dibs on that one.

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Cheers. I think Manning is the more likely of the two arrivals due to his links with Martin but they're both good options. Giles has a higher ceiling and a lower floor, he can be incredible going forward and from set pieces but lapses in concentration are more of a feature of his game, like a Championship version of Trent Alexander Arnold.