Taking on West Bromwich Albion on their home soil at The Hawthorns, Southampton set themselves up for yet another draw of their Premier League campaign. Their current bids have been futile, with largely poor playmaking, which has been tedious for both supporters and boss, Ronald Koeman. Following the match, Koeman spoke about (as shown on BBC Sport’s website) the lack of clinical aptitude from his team, which he considers the chief reason for their downfall – or, rather, no victory. The issue therefore persists; Southampton really have lost their tight formation, and seem to favour a lacklustre approach.
Structurally Sound Southampton: The Clinically Mundane
In this article, I will traverse the deeply seated problem that the St. Mary’s men have been facing ever since League action commenced back in August: failure to play clinically and proactively. In prior weeks, it has been palpably clear that the team could benefit massively from the sizzling trio of Dušan Tadić, Sadio Mané and Graziano Pellè. Although they have only been privy to winning one game – and one mostly certainly due to their fancy footwork – for the club, they have turned up to every game with great tenacity. Their focus isn’t what I’d quibble; their execution, perhaps. However, I still wouldn’t argue that these players alone have been the reasons behind the failure to launch; somehow, the easy gelling of teammates last season just isn’t presenting itself right now. This is something Ronald Koeman seems eager to address, but just hasn’t managed thus far. The cogs simply aren’t whirring, full stop.
Possibly among the most outstanding members of Saints’ performance against West Brom were Jay Rodriguez, who nearly met the net, and Virgil van Dijk, who made his club debut in place of the dejected Maya Yoshida. In fact, the whole Yoshida resistance itself has not only been a tad scandalous, but rather dreadful for morale. If there is a lack of good will and cohesion among the team, then no wonder they will be average on the pitch. So, at this stage, I’d ask exactly what it is Saints want from the Premier League. Do they want to reach the top seven again? Do they even want to be praised so much this time around? Currently, I wouldn’t answer either of those with a ‘yes’.
My previous article in this small series outlined that Tadić, Mané and Pellè would be the saviours of the club, if they pushed forward together and really rallied against the opposition. However, regardless of who is on the ball, it is safe to say that Saints haven’t looked prepared to play for three points; their tactics against West Brom seemed to be those of just getting through the 90 minutes without conceding. Granted, they achieved that, but they could have stormed them. They could also have done so mere weeks ago against Watford, but just didn’t. Whatever the reasons, this is becoming unacceptable.
Maya Yoshida’s lack of commitment has been a problem for Southampton, with the Japanese International failing to mop up defensively, and deciding that he would be best suited to warming the bench instead. Although Virgil van Dijk might be the man to change Southampton’s defensive fortunes, Cédric Soares was also anticipated to do the same and hasn’t initiated any dropping of jaws. Further still, Graziano Pellè hasn’t been as reliable as he should as a striker; nor has Shane Long. Sadio Mané has often been rampant, but hasn’t been able to quite finish properly, which has been less prevalent in Dušan Tadić, but seems a similar overarching issue.
Therefore, all of these little niggles must be contributing to the general failure of the entire team. I just don’t understand how a side with so much vigour last campaign has become so dull on the field; the gumption should translate into goals, but just doesn’t, thus, hinting at some form of miscalculation between foot and ball. This must be sorted very quickly if Saints want to succeed in this League, but it seems any suggestions just aren’t helping their cause.
