Football News: Southampton, Stick Or Twist?

Image from: prosoccertalk.com

Southampton are at a crossroads this summer, much more so than last season, despite how it may appear from the outside. While they shed players like there was no tomorrow and the manager left too, last summer, it just enabled Ronald Koeman to build the side the way he wanted it from the outset.

Usually a new manager will only want a couple of players that are in the team, but it can take them years to clear out the ones he wishes to replace. Koeman was able to come in to a club that had pretty much cleared the decks for him to start with a clean slate.

Finishing in the top half was still a remarkable feat by the South Coast club, but it has left them in a difficult position coming in to this summer. They still face the issue of bigger clubs wanting to come in and cherry pick their best talent, but now it is talent the manager has been working with and has based his game plan around.

Now everyone that is lost requires a change of plan to adjust to the situation, as well as a replacement of some kind being brought in. Having Europa League football can be a benefit to the attempts to bring in the better players, but they need to be convinced that the club has ambitions to stay there.

How do you lose one of your better players, then recruit a replacement with talk of ambition? That is the issue facing Saints this summer. With the huge new TV deal the need to sell players is lessened, but it is difficult to keep a player happy when the big clubs come knocking and you turn down an offer.

Either way, the club needs to bring in a few players to strengthen the squad, which was stretched extremely thinly at times last season, for the challenge of European competition. The question is whether Ms Liebherr will invest for long term top flight safety or long term European football.

Written by Tris Burke June 11 2015 08:07:22