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Southampton just three years ago were the envy of the Premier League, a sustainable model, injecting academy prospects, playing attractive football and reaping the rewards with European football and top eight finishes.
They harnessed the mysterious ‘Black Box’ to unearth gems from around Europe and develop them into Premier League stars, selling them on for profit and replacing them with someone of equal talent, a revolving door of improvement and profit.
A model which despite being seen as sustainable, never truly was. The recruitment faltered, big money signings never fulfilled their potential and backroom troubles were beginning to surface. A resignation from Nicola Cortese and Mauricio Pochettino leaving for Spurs was a hammer blow to the fans. But the immediate recruiment of Ronald Koeman, who in turn brought with him Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pelle, gave the impression the prosperous times were to live on.
Fast forward two years and Koeman departed for a sour ending move to Everton, and Southampton continued to sell their stars, Pelle, Victor Wanyama, Sadio Mane and Jose Fonte all left the club with their replacements not up to scratch.
The player recruitment was mirrored by the hiring and firing of the coaching staff, underwhelming, underachieving, uninspiring. Claude Puel achieved a League Cup final and an eighth place finished, but the cracks were thinly papered over, his dismissal was met with joy from the Southampton faithful, but jeers and mockery from the outside world.
In came Mauricio Pellegrino, who claimed to bring back the attacking philosophy the fans so craved, ultimately, did not. Possession based, pragmatic football which failed to yield any results, a barb that could not be thrown at his predecessor, things were looking downhill for the Saints.
The club found themselves in such a dire situation, the board deemed it right to employ Mark Hughes, a ‘fire fighting’ manager, to save them from relegation. A task which he successfully navigated, all be it in again, uninspiring fashion, winning the vital games when needed against Bournemouth and Swansea, but otherwise failing to capture the imagination of the fans.
His reward? A three year contract at the club, as a former player there was muted optimism amongst the fans, despite Hughes’ clear failures in previous jobs. He was backed in the transfer market, signing a host of players including the giant Jannik Vestergaard from Borussia Monchengladbach and forking out for FC Basel winger Mohamed Elyounoussi.
It took just a few months of the new season for fans and pundits to realise, the fit was not right. Hughes may have saved the club from relegation, but in reality, the club were lucky. Swansea failed to capitalise on any opportunity to save themselves and ultimately the Welsh side got themselves relegated more than Hughes had saved the Saints.
Hughes was duly relieved of his duties soon after a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, odd timing for some, but this time, finally, the club had a plan.
That plan, Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Run, you fools.
The Austrian, a former RB Leipzig and Ingolstadt manager, was a throwback to the style of appointment that gave the club it’s golden era in modern football. His tactical nouse, meticulous attention to detail and demand for 100% focus, attention and effort, providing light at the end of the tunnel for Southampton fans.
When asking the online Bundesliga experts such as Archie Rhind-Tutt, fans were told ‘Expect a lot of running’.
Music to the ears of those who have long sat back and watched their side wait for something to happen, rather than force the issue themselves.
Hasenhuttl first game was a baptism of fire in English football, a visit to Cardiff City, managed by the experienced and peculiar character that is Neil Warnock. His first team selection raised a few eyebrows amongst the fans, with those who rarely got a look in under the previous regime starting the game, and those who were seemingly untouchable dropped to the bench.
Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard came in to the back line, as did young full back Yan Valery. The change in style was not immediately visible due to the short period of time Hasenhuttl had spent with his players. But he made an immediate statement by bringing in two youngsters for more experienced pros, staying true to his reputation of having faith in the academy.
A 1-0 loss ensued, thanks to a monumental mistake by Vestergaard at the back, who let Calum Paterson sneak in on the end of a poorly executed back pass to win the game.
Change of system, change of fortunes
After a week of training, and the rumours circulating that Hasenhuttl had cancelled a planned day off, change was expected by the fans for the visit of Arsenal. The Gunners were in the midst of a 22 game unbeaten run and seemingly unable to lose a game. But a fantastic performance by the Saints earned them their first home win of the season, and ended that monumental run by the visiting side.
Hasenhuttl opted for a 3-4-3 formation. Bringing in Yoshida as the third central defender and allowing his full backs to fly forward. Mario Lemina lost his place to Oriol Romeu and Charlie Austin sat on the bench for Danny Ings to come on.
The high intensity press was evident, it was all or nothing from the Southampton players. Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond flying around the final third putting the makeshift Arsenal defence under all sorts of pressure, forcing them to lump the ball forward for Romeu and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to mop up.
Defensive frailties were still evident in the concession of two soft goals to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but heads rarely dropped, the players oozed confidence, belief and determination to get a result, which Austin came off the bench to provide when Shane Long planted the ball onto his head just four yards out.
A similar performance was given in the 3-1 win against a more physical Huddersfield, flying into a 2-0 lead before an Alex McCarthy blunder let Huddersfield back in at 2-1, but academy graduate Michael Obafemi came on to score his first Premier League goal for the club and seal back to back wins for Southampton. Their first since April 2017.
Results falter, but regression not evident
The club were only looking up, Hasenhuttl was deemed a deity by some Saints fans, something you can forgive after three years of bland, soul destroying football.
But this rapid transition from what was dubbed ‘a holiday camp’ to an all out slugfest in training and matches was going to take it’s toll on the squad. The Christmas period is the busiest on the Premier League calender, and fatigue was always going to creep in.
That was evident against West Ham, who were by far the better side in a 2-1 win a St Mary’s. Declan Rice controlled the midfield in the absence of the suspended Hojbjerg whilst £42m man Felipe Anderson proved his star quality by providing the moment of magic when they mattered, grabbing both goals in the win.
Legs and minds were clearly heavy in the latter stages of the game and it didn’t stop there, just days later the champions would arrive. Manchester City had lost their last two games and were suffering without their midfield metronome Fernandinho, who returned for the fixture against Southampton, giving Pep Guardiola confidence to let his front five run riot.
Hasenhuttl has no such luxury.
The Austrian made six changes from the team that lost to West Ham, as the intense style and schedule caught up with his squad. Kayne Ramsey made his debut for the club at right back, the 18 year old ready for an education against the likes of Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero.
Southampton made a good account of themselves, but costly mistakes saw them go down 3-1,in a game that was all but won at half time. Evidence of the pressing game were still there, Hojbjerg’s goal came as a result of winning the ball in the final third and lashing it into the roof of the net.
But the quality in depth of the squad is not what is required for Hasenhuttl. Mario Lemina, Matt Targett and Mohamed Elyonoussi all struggled to have any significant impact on the game, and were at times a hindrance to the side.
Belief instilled in the fans, but recruitment is key
Five game into his tenure and the fans have very little to complain about. Such was the dire situation they were in under Mark Hughes. Hassenhuttl has already gained two-thirds of the points achieved before he arrived at the club, all in an entertaining style, which is something the Southampton faithful demand.
Pros:
The playing style/pressing is 10x better than under Hughes
Great to see academy products regularly starting
Redmond, PEH & Bednerak look transformed.
Negs:
Concerned about Targett, Elyounoussi & Lemina performances
Defensively we don’t have an experienced leader#SaintsFC— The Itchen Opinion (@ItchenOpinion) December 30, 2018
Simply put… Good. Utilizing youth, dropped struggling veterans, and has quickly instituted his system of choice. If he can make some additional changes during the transfer window, a top 10 finish could be on the cards.
— Robert Molnar (@LWOSRobMolnar) December 30, 2018
The January transfer window opens tomorrow, and those of a Saints persuasion will be anticipating ins and outs at the club. But overall, it is evident that the club is in a position to not just survive, but thrive under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
When we’re playing well we’re brilliant. Think the bad parts are more down to the quality of players we have rather than the managers intentions. Once he gets a few of his own players we’ll be off and running
— Saint Harris (@LHarrisSFC) December 30, 2018
