2019-20 Season Preview

Apologies for this being posted later than planned. Our late arrival has resulted in quite a few edits…

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Owen The Saints blog! Before I start, I would just like to thank everyone for the support shown on here, Twitter and SaintsWeb since my last post. It really meant a lot and I am so thankful to have been welcomed back in such a manner. After being hounded out by the worst of our fan base, the best has come to the fore. Now I can put last season behind me, and crack on with covering 2019-20!

In this post I shall be reviewing all that has happened at the club since May, whilst also looking ahead to what the next 10 months might (probably won’t) bring. I’ll be discussing various topics, including our dodgy kits, even dodgier sponsor, a successful transfer window, an unbeaten preseason and how we’re shaping up ahead of our curtain raiser at Turf Moor this Saturday.

Preseason began with the launch of our kits back in May. The club’s media department, in the past commended for such efforts as Barry Gayle, again struck gold with this year’s announcement video. The 6 minute video parodied the Netflix documentary on Fyre Festival, a fraudulent music festival that promised so much and delivered on nothing. Sadly, it’s all turned a bit meta…

Last year, we moaned about the Under Armour crest not fitting into a stripe on our home kit, resulting in a weird octagonal border. However, although this year’s kit has rectified this problem, it has also made me regret ever moaning about such a minor detail on last year’s. It’s hideous. The away is bearable, and the third slightly better, but the home kit is, in my opinion (and seemingly the national media’s), a mess. The black block at the top. The unparalleled grey lines within the stripes. The LD Sports logo – we’ll come onto that in a minute. It really is worse than any of the concept designs that were bandied around in the weeks leading up to it’s unveiling. I have no interest in buying any of them, even when reduced, so this week I have bought last season’s away shirt for £35, not that I could have bought this season’s had I wanted to.

Following on from last season’s away shirt being unavailable until September, this year all kits have been delayed. The club have just issued a statement that the Goalkeeper’s and Third Kit will be available from tomorrow. The home and away tops should hopefully be available by the time we play Man U, another three weeks away. Funnily enough though, if the club announce a massive discount due to the short life-span, they’ll probably sell more than if they were available on time at full price. The club and Under Armour are taking a lot of warranted flack for the debacle, but they’re citing a ‘Third Party’ involved in the logo embellishment process as the cause. Think everyone would rather the logo was left off.

Where do I begin with LD Sports?

Back in May, we announced them as the new main club sponsor, having agreed a three year deal. The official club statement declared that it was ‘the biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history’. Bearing in mind, our previous sponsor was Virgin Media, one of the biggest brands in the UK, expectations were high when we began to research the previously unheard of Chinese company. Instead, we found this.

Now this is only an opinion blog, but I’m going to state quite confidently that that picture is not of Southampton. They could literally have lied about having a UK HQ in any other city, but instead they state the one place where everyone is scrutinising them, and lo and behold, no such school exists. It was a strange website, if you could even call it that. My highlight was the squirrel.

This site was immediately taken down and was later replaced with this.

It is literally the official Saints website translated into Chinese. There’s no longer any information/lies about the what the company is or what they do. I’m suspicious. Have Under Armour refused to print these shirts having done an investigation into them? Just who are LD Sports has been the question that no one has been able to answer. In fact, last night I got the opportunity to pose that question to Matt Le Tissier. Look out for his response in another post on here later today… There are theories it’s Gao, there are theories it’s the Chinese State, but all that matters is if it’s above board and if the money comes in.

A sponsor is just a sponsor though and I don’t want to get bogged down in negativity, so instead let’s talk about our transfer window. As previously mentioned, it was a stupid decision to write this on Deadline Day and it has since been edited and tonally changed… Here is the current list of incomings, outgoings and returning loanees:

INCOMINGS

Danny Ings – ST, Liverpool, £20 million, Three year contract

Moussa Djenepo – LW, Standard Liège, £14 million, Four year contract

Che Adams – ST, Birmingham City, £15 million,  Five year contract

Kevin Danso – CB, FC Augsburg, Loan with Exclusive Option to Buy

Romello Mitchell (Academy) – ST, Birmingham City

Tommy Scott (Academy) – GK, Yeovil Town

OUTGOINGS

Steven Davis (Rangers)

Jordy Clasie (AZ Alkmaar)

Matt Targett (Aston Villa)

Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers)

Charlie Austin (West Brom)

Jack Rose (Loan – Walsall FC)

Tyreke Johnson (Loan – Woking FC)

Alfie Jones (Loan – Gillingham FC)

Josh Sims (Loan – New York Red Bulls)

Harrison Reed (Loan – Fulham FC)

RETURNING LOANEES

Sofiane Boufal (Celta Vigo)

Cédric Soares (Inter Milan)

Wesley Hoedt (Celta Vigo)

Guido Carrillo (CD Leganés)

Harry Lewis (Dundee United)

Both Djenepo and Adams came in early. Identified as Ralph’s top targets, the club got the deals done efficiently, and there’s no denying they have bolstered our attack. Adams in particular has hit the ground running in preseason. Having scored goals after 2, 1 and 6 minutes, he seems to hit the ground running in matches too. The former Birmingham City forward didn’t get on the scoresheet in the home friendly against FC Köln, however he did get the assist for Højbjerg’s goal, which rounded off a slick passing move that started all the way back with Gunn. 21 goals for the Blues last year saw Adams named in the Championship Team of the Season, and the 22 year old arrived at St Mary’s with welcome ambition of ‘we want to win the league.’ The signing is an exciting one, and I have drafted him into my fantasy Premier League teams. Djenepo arrived late after competing for Mali in the AFCON, so he can not be expected to have an immediate impact. Signing a raw pacy winger though has shades of Sadio Mané, and that didn’t turn out too bad, so he is another one to feel optimistic about.

Elsewhere, Danny Ings’ move from Liverpool was confirmed as permanent on July 1st. His Saints career started brightly, but he faded after Ralph arrived, and began to suffer from injuries. If we can keep him fit, he could play an instrumental role in our tricky and pacy attack. Whether he is good business though remains debatable.

We have also signed two young starlets to slot into our academy, a strategy greatly discussed at a recent Fans Forum for people who attended every game last season. We’re regaining our reputation of having an academy that provides a pathway into the first team, with Yan Valery’s breakthrough season a major factor, all thanks to Ralph’s youth philosophy. We’re now an attractive destination for exciting future talent, the benefit of which we shall feel in a couple of seasons time.

Young centre-back Kristoph Klarer could be this season’s breakthrough, though with now 6 first team centre backs, the path isn’t clear. (It is hoped that at least one will be moved on to a European club.) Klarer might feel disappointed by the late arrival of Danso, but with them both being Austrian, they could turn out to be a future Saints first team and international pairing.

Yes, this morning Southampton announced the signing of 20 year old FC Augsburg centre back, Kevin Danso. The player we’ve needed all summer but didn’t know existed until after the window shut. Last night was fun, wasn’t it? When news filtered through that we had submitted a deal sheet, no one had a clue who it was for. It has to go down as one of the quietest deals in recent times. Soon enough, Danso was revealed to be the man and that cued everyone going to Wikipedia to look him up. I’m not going to claim I know anything about him, but it would appear that’s he’s strong and pacy, the perfect compliment to our other defenders. Then came the sweats of us getting it done in time, but our reliable Twitter ITK’s confirmed the deal was completed and would be announced this morning. Twitter was a very entertaining place in the mean time last night.

And so we got the centre back everyone had been calling for, and we needed it. Our defence was ultimately our undoing last season. Whilst our attack was far from ideal, we did score, in fact we scored the joint-second most amount of goals from outside the box (14). However, we had a painful tendency to make individual errors in defence, which resulted in dropped points. Wesley Hoedt and Jack Stephens were our worst offenders, but even reliable players like Vestergaard and Gunn were guilty at times.

At this point of writing, my season ticket has just dropped through the door!

It has been a very good window in the end, although we still need to shift some deadwood. I would have liked to have seen a defensive midfielder to protect the defence, especially with Reed gone and Lemina presumed leaving, but it would appear Danso can play there. Maybe even Stephens? As long as we don’t start ANY games with a Stephens/Hoedt defensive partnership – see Bodin’s goal for Preston for why. Ultimately, we have only conceded three goals in preseason, but Premier League attacks are a different animal. It could possibly be that match fitness becomes the difference, as well as an increase in mental strength. Last season saw too many dropped points in the last ten minutes. Confidence should have been bred by our preseason form – winning seems to have become a habit. We’ll see which combination steps up to the plate this season.

Ross Wilson and co need to take a lot of credit for what they have achieved, despite having their hands tied by the previous management’s failings. Having so much deadwood on the wage bill meant outgoings were a priority, but we have still managed to strengthen across the pitch. When we have people like Carrillo, Elyounoussi and Forster all amongst our top earners, but unlikely to feature in tomorrow’s squad, we were always going to struggle to balance the books, but somehow we’ve come out in a promising position. I can see some moving on to European clubs later this month, but that’s the disadvantage of having our transfer window close early; it’ll be too late for us to reinvest. The board have also been completely transparent for the first time in a while. They’ve been very open in stating that there wasn’t a plan a year ago, but there is now. Apparently there is a list of 10 criteria each new signing has to fit, including being a long term investment for the future of the club. We’ve made a very good start to repairing the damage Reed and co inflicted, but it could take a couple of years to completely recover.

I am not overly worried though as I think we have enough. In the form table, we were comfortably midtable from the point Ralph took over, and now he has had a full preseason and strengthened our attack and defence. Also returning to the fold is Sofiane Boufal, who has seemingly settled in very well for the first time in his Saints career. A sweetly taken goal against Feyenoord his most notable contribution yet. I am optimistic that Ralph will manage him correctly, and he will feel like a new signing. His teammates have come out and been very complimentary, support I’m sure he appreciates as sadly he lost his father recently. Josh Sims has made way for him though through going on loan to New York Red Bulls, a shame as he is a player that can excite at any moment, however I fear he might never make the cut here.

I admit it was unlikely he’d feature much again though, due to competition ahead of him. The first big news for Saints yesterday was a contract extension for Nathan Redmond, which will see him stay at the club until 2023! I am delighted with this news and think he will go on and achieve even more this season. He was a crucial player under Ralph and a large part of the reason we stayed up. A very deserving Player of the Season. However, I wouldn’t have blamed him had he not have wanted to extend. My lowest point supporting Saints was being in the stands during 17-18’s Boxing Day 5-2 defeat to Spurs at Wembley,  with fans around me chanting ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt.’ It was disgusting at the time, and looks even more ridiculous now. Huge respect to Nathan for how he has responded. Personally, I would like to see Forster be the next person to defy the fans and come back to his peak.

On field, it has been a very positive preseason campaign, despite a large amount of travelling and the squad being split between trips to China and Ireland at one point. Ralph’s playing style has been evident, and has resulted in multiple well worked team goals made from quick passing movements. I am expecting high scoring games this season.

PRESEASON RESULTS

SCR Altach 1-1 Southampton

Brentford 0-3 Southampton (Apparently)

Preston North End 1-3 Southampton

Guangzhou R&F 0-4 Southampton

Feyenoord 1-3 Southampton

Southampton 2-0 FC Köln

Goals For – 16

Goals Against – 3

The next time Saints take to the pitch will be tomorrow at Turf Moor, for their opening Premier League fixture against Burnley. Everyone knows that VAR is to feature in the Premier League this season, however the IFAB have introduced rule changes to the game itself, a few of which may actually prove to be worthwhile and affect the game.

• VAR – It has finally arrived. For me, it made last year’s World Cup and Champions League dramatic and entertaining, but that was watching on TV, for which it currently feels designed for. I worry that once we’re in the stands, it will become slow, frustrating, and if not clearly communicated, confusing. They do say decisions will be explained over speakers and images will be displayed on the screens. This goes for all stadiums bar Old Trafford and Anfield, where, conveniently, there aren’t screens. Theoretically, the Top 6 should be stung by it’s introduction, but it’s still the same referees making calls so I’m not convinced. It’s safe to assume though that more penalties will be awarded for and against, so we need a penalty taker on the pitch at all times. And no, Danny Ings is not one. (Cards awarded for illegal celebrations shall not be rescinded if a goal is disallowed by VAR.)
• Mid – Season Break – An idea from the continent that has been constantly discussed, but never implemented here as everyone loves the festive fixture run. Well, it seems some bright spark has suddenly realised that it doesn’t need to fall in December at all, and so in February, Prem teams shall have a two week break. 5 matches, including Saints (vs Burnley at home), shall play on the weekend of 8th February, with the other 5 matches taking place the weekend after. Whether this will prove to be of any benefit, who knows?
• Handball – Any goal scored or created through accidental handball shall not count.
• Free-kicks – When there are three or more defending players in the wall, attackers must be at least one yard away so they can’t distract or open up gaps. Free-kicks can also be taken quickly, even if a yellow card is about to be awarded, which should mean more goal scoring opportunities. When defending teams take a free kick from their own area, the ball no longer has to leave the area before it is played.
• Goal-kicks – Goalkeepers can now play the ball to defenders inside the penalty area, however opposition players have to remain outside.
• Penalties – Goalkeepers must keep one foot on the line, and are not allowed to touch the posts as mind games before the spot-kick is taken.
• Substitutions – When being substituted, players must now leave the pitch at the nearest point, in order to prevent time wasting. Cue players drifting into the centre circle just as the ball is about to go out of play…
• Cards for Officials – Do I need to explain that one? If an official is unidentifiable, the senior coach will be penalised.
• Coin Toss – The team that wins the toss can now choose to take the kick-off or which goal they attack.
• Drop Ball – The ball shall be returned to the last team in possession by the referee.
• Head to Head – If two teams are level on points, goal difference and goals for and against, their place in the table shall be determined by their head to head record, rather than a play-off.

A change that Saints fans might care more about is that Kingfisher has become the club’s official beer partner, with them even producing a Southampton FC signature ale. This will be available in the club’s new Fanzone, located in the South Car Park. It has been promised that this new area will have match information on a large screen – no more struggling to load Twitter for teamsheets with no signal. There shall also be live Q&As and an astro turf pitch for children to use.

Our first home game is next Saturday against Liverpool, but before then we have a long trip up to Burnley tomorrow, who have re-signed Jay Rodriguez in this window. Our campaign started at home against Burnley last season, and it was a drab 0-0. The reverse fixture was a 1-1. Generally this is the trend when we face the Clarets, but let’s hope we can win an opening fixture for the first time since 2013-14. It’ll be a tough game, but with Ralph at the helm, you can’t help feeling optimistic about this season. Whatever happens, we’re going to be entertained, and I really don’t foresee us battling relegation for a third consecutive season. Hopefully we can bloody the noses of the big boys, finish higher than most people predict, maybe take one or two teams to the sword and have a good cup run. That’s all we can ask for and I trust Ralph more than anyone to deliver. The fun is back at St Mary’s.

I’ll be at Burnley so expect a post in the days that follow. Before that though, last night I attended Football Chat with Matt Le Tissier at The Concorde Club. He provided some interesting insights, so this afternoon I shall post a short summary of what he had to say. Feel free to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out on anything, and follow my new Twitter account @Owen_The_Saints! I’m so glad to be back and am looking forward to sharing this exciting season with you!

COYR

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