And I’m back. It does not feel like three months since I last opened a fresh WordPress blog post template, but I’m very excited to finally get back to it all. I’ve missed it. This first post will be a look back on all things Saints since I last posted, a look ahead to 2018/19, and an explanation of all the exciting things I’ll be doing during this upcoming campaign.
The summer has gone quick, probably because it has been so busy. The country has been basked in sunshine for the majority, and the world has been treated to one of the finest World Cups in history. England of course did us proud, getting through to the semi-finals, albeit via a very fortunate run of fixtures. The country witnessed a rare time of optimism, unity and excitement; the kind I don’t recall experiencing in my 20 years.
As I just wrote ’20 years’, it feels like a good time to mention my birthday fell in July, and lead to this exchange on Twitter.
Seconds after Saints’ Twitter account had liked my tweet, they officially announced Jannik Vestergaard, so you have me to thank for that one… you’re welcome.
I spent weeks during the World Cup on my sofa, watching every second; even using my TV’s splitscreen feature to watch third round group matches simultaneously. Looking back, I don’t know how I had the time as I’ve had a packed summer including having a play I’ve written on at the Camden Fringe Festival, performing in The Wedding Singer, working at Theatre Royal Winchester to help run their Musical Theatre Summer School, and last week enjoyed a nice break at Center Parcs. I know none of that is relevant, but I just want to say I wouldn’t have the confidence in my writing to have a play put on, if it wasn’t for the support I get for this blog. So honestly, thank you.
More interestingly for you perhaps, is that I was featured by Sky Sports in their social media advertising campaign for the new season! Here’s the link if you haven’t seen it!
Right that’s enough about me, let’s talk Saints; more specifically, everything that’s happened since Jesus’ last minute winner and that pitiful pitch invasion at St Mary’s back in May.
TRANSFERS:
The team was undeniably weak last season, though Pellegrino only heightened the issue. We started looking more competent under Hughes, but the squad was still in need of repair and, as expected, Saints have been one of the more active teams in the transfer window. I must say I am very excited by the additions, however some of our more vocal negative fans have been quick to write off our business when compared with Fulham signing Schurrle and Brighton signing Jahanbakhsh. Before I go on, here’s our full list of incomings so far, with the window closing next week.
INCOMINGS
Stuart Armstrong (Celtic FC) £7m, 4 Year Deal
Mohammed Elyounoussi (FC Basel) £16m, 5 Year Deal
Angus Gunn (Manchester City FC) £13.5m, 5 Year Deal
Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Mönchengladbach) £18m, 4 Year Deal
All four additions have the potential to be first teamers, and they clearly address issues we previously had in the squad. People moan that we just replace instead of add, but what do you expect with the 25 man limit? After ousting Forster in December, Alex McCarthy cemented his No.1 berth, and with each appearance it seemed less likely Forster would return between the sticks. The Forster issue I’ll get onto in due course, but signing Angus Gunn, undoubtedly future England No.1, as backup provides strong competition for the place, which we haven’t had in years. Could seem him being first choice by the end of the season.
It was fairly obvious where our defence was weakest last term; aerial presence in the box was non existent after the departure of VvD, hence why it felt like we conceded a free header every game. In comes Vestegaard, 1.99m tall, only two less than Peter Crouch, and suddenly will we not only be winning defensive headers, we’re going to be a real threat from set pieces. With the most blocked shots in the Bundesliga last season, this man is going to really be a force for us, and hopefully Hoedt and Bednarek will learn and improve alongside him.
The 15 goal a season striker fans have been clamouring for hasn’t been signed, but who would that be anyway? Instead we’ve bolstered the suppliers and goals from midfield with Armstrong and Elyounoussi. Armstrong has been impressive in pre-season, and Moi has the credentials to really perform at Prem level, having scored in a MOTM performance against City at the Etihad in the Champions League.
Fans will always want more, but this has been our strongest window since the Koeman days, and I am excited to see what this squad can produce with a fresh start.
To free up spaces in the squad, there have been inevitable departures.
OUTGOINGS
Dušan Tadić (AFC Ajax)
Guido Carrillo (CD Leganés – Loan)
Sofiane Boufal (RC Celta de Vigo – Loan)
Jordie Clasie (Feyenoord – Loan)
Only one sale, and none to Liverpool, shows how unappealing our players were after the failures of last season. It was sad to lose a real character in Tadić, but he did a decent stint with us and ultimately we saw his best years. He leaves us with many memories of special moments, and we’ll be forever thankful for the part he played in keeping us up.
The rest only being loaned though demonstrates how poor recent windows have been. Two of our record signings are unlikely to play for Saints again having had minimal impact. The club can only hope they impress abroad and we recoup some of the extortionate fees we paid for them. In reality we brought this on ourselves though, particularly with the Carillo cluster****. This window has felt different because it appears Les Reed has had little involvement, and judging by recent standards, what a bloody relief.
An ongoing issue is that of Fraser Forster. Angus Gunn and Harry Lewis being on the bench today means our supposedly highest paid player is a 4th choice GK. Pope’s injury resulted in interest from Burnley, but they have opted for Joe Hart instead. I genuinely don’t know who will take him, but we really need to get him off our books. And quick.
PRESEASON:
Our preseason this year saw us travel to both China and France, via Derby, before returning for the traditional Wednesday/Saturday friendlies at St Mary’s. Here’s a run down of our results.
PRESEASON FRIENDLIES:
CHINA
FC Schalke 04 3-3 Southampton
Jiangsu Suning 2-3 Southampton
UK
Derby County 3-0 Southampton
FRANCE
Dijon FCO 0-2 Southampton
HOME RETURN
Southampton 3-2 RC Celta de Vigo
Southampton 0-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Our results have been a mixed bag. The first few games were purely about match fitness, so I didn’t worry about the results; though Derby County did cause a meltdown across our fan base. Standard. I thought we had turned a corner with a convincing win in France, and a comeback win against Celta Vigo. Our first half performance on Wednesday was poor, but our spirit to turn the result around renewed optimism.
Until today.
I was so happy to be back at St Mary’s for the first time since May; the weather was amazing and I was flanked by my sister and dad in a rare family trip to a match.
I was also excited to buy a new Saints drawstring bag, though was slightly embarrassed that it was stocked in the ‘Back To School’ range…
That was about where the good things ended.
Though it was a friendly, I decided to vlog the game so that I could get used to the feeling of having a camera in front of my face for the duration again. I did this to prepare myself for my 90Min return next weekend. I am pleased with how the vlog came out; the first stage of the 2018-19 Breakdown.
You can watch my vlog of today’s match here:
The vlog offers good analysis of what we witnessed today, but to reiterate the points:
- McCarthy is proving questionable.
- Our defence was too slow.
- Our midfield was too lightweight.
- There is no pace in our attack, or understanding between the players.
That basically sums up what I saw today. We looked stronger once Yoshida and Romeu were brought on, but by this time Mönchengladbach were heavily weakened by substitutes. Two games in a row, our supposedly first choice team has gone into half time losing, without even scoring. I was optimistic earlier in the window – even when I started writing this preview last week – but considering our next game is Burnley, it feels like there’s still a lot of progress to be made; more than we have managed over the whole summer. Maybe today ‘was just a friendly’, but there’s been consistent problems that I can’t see just vanishing when the Prem starts. Hughes has his work cutout over the next week.
In brighter news, Fulham, who’s window many fans have been jealous of, only managed a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo today.
Ultimately, the game doesn’t matter. It’s over, the result meant nothing and we all move on from it now. If you want in depth analysis, my vlog offers that, but its pointless reading too much into any preseason game. Especially one where you have Bertrand playing RWB in the second half… I’ll write a proper blog post for Burnley next weekend, because that’s when any of this actually matters. Besides, our last preseason ended with a 2-0 win against Sevilla, and yet we ended up in a relegation fight…
I guess all that is left to do is take you through what you can expect from me during this new season. I am delighted to be covering every Saints game for 90Min once again; so will be travelling home and away to vlog matches for their YouTube channel. At the end of last season, I started my own channel and enjoyed editing the videos, so will be uploading on there after every game. In terms of writing, I will be posting match summaries/rants on here, offering an often ‘alternative’ take on the weekend’s action. (Please take a second to explore the new-look site, I went a bit widget crazy.) A new exciting addition however, is I have been asked to be in charge of the Southampton content on 343Futbol, a new footballing site, and the affiliate Twitter account. I’ll be writing match previews and reports, and covering any other Saints news. It’ll be more formal than this site so if you want some actual football journalism, check it out! I shall also be active on Twitter and SaintsWeb.
Here are links all in one place for you:
90Min Football YouTube Channel
Owen The Saints YouTube Channel
My Twitter (@Owen_TheSaints)
343Southampton Twitter (@343Southampton)
There’s something I need to say though, it has been on my mind all summer. Next month I’m going into third year of university, studying Drama and Creative Writing at Kingston. At the moment, I’m on track for a first class honours, so am determined to dedicate as much time as possible to my degree. My dissertation will be time consuming, and I’ll have assessments for 3 other modules on top. My concern is that obviously uni has to take priority, and if things become too much, my blog posts will be the thing to be cut down. It’s disappointing, especially as this was the start of it all, but it’s also the thing I don’t do on behalf of someone else. I hope it won’t come to it, but if necessary, I’ll consider doing a monthly wrap-up as opposed to individual match reviews. I hope you understand.
And so we’re back, and despite everything, I can’t wait for next Sunday to come. I think we have just enough in us to avoid the relegation fight this campaign, but I can’t see us breaking into the top 10. Let’s just hope for mid table safety and a few more wins and goals to get us excited!
I’ll be back next weekend with another vlog and blog post – the first of the new Premier League season! It’s finally here!
My Southampton Finishing Position Prediction – 12th-15th
(Last season I predicted 6th, so what do I know…?)
PS. If you are a fantasy football player, make sure you join my free leagues!
FPL: 1220282-277066
Sky Sports FF: 8378847
Owen The Saints 
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