Successful Southampton

Weve all been stunned by the job Ronald Koeman has done at the Saints,
but how has he managed it? The Saints are currently sitting in second and
arent looking as if they are going to give up their position very easily. Here
are the reasons I have come up with for this shock run of form:

1) The pressure: Having lost more than a few first team players and
their manager from the previous campaign where what they achieved
was seen as impressive gone, there was lots of talk that Southampton
would be favourites for the drop to the championship, this season.
After the transition of the side and the introduction of a new manager
and players, the expectations of the Saints were still lowly. However,
this in my opinion could be a reason as to why they are being so
successful this season with no pressure on the team at all, it has
allowed them to go out and attack teams and look for results that they
arent expected to get. As well as this, now they are at the top end,
they have no reason to be expected to be there. This may be aiding
them because they is no pressure on Koemans men to keep their
position within the countrys top 2.
2) New players: This moves me onto my next point. With the sale of
another 4 key players amongst a host of squad players for around 88
million pounds. This meant that Southampton had money to invest for
the reconstruction of the team that did so well last season. This money
was invested fantastically. Notable signatures of Pelle, Forster, Tadic,
and Shane Long have proved to be fantastic bits of business. Shane
Long is now and has been for some years, a proven goal scorer in the
Premier League. Following the departure of Lambert in the previous
January, goals were something Koeman needed to bring to his side, so
the signing of long, for a perhaps overzealous 12million, has proved
to be a shrewd one although he hasnt gained as many plaudits as
Graziano Pelle. The Italian has been fantastic in leading Southampton
to the top. A relatively unknown player before making his move to
England from Feyenoord. With no reputation in the English game and a
huge opportunity to prove himself, Pelle has certainly done that, with 6
Goals in the league so far, he is on his way to repaying his 8 million
transfer fee. Whilst taking the chance to prove himself and enhance his
reputation he is also propelling the Saints to the top. The next and

possibly most influential player that has arrived at St Marys is Dusan

Tadic. The Serbian playmaker has 8 assists so far this season and has
been involved in a whole lot more. His creative ability has replaced and
arguably bettered that gap left by the departure of Adam Lallana. Once
more, without any real reputation, Tadic has used the step to the
Premier League to enhance his reputation, while pushing
Southamptons ambitions further. One of the lower key, but for me one
of the best buys for the Saints over the summer is Fraser Forster. The
English goalkeeper made a fantastic name for himself at Celtic with
more than one very impressive goalkeeping display in the Champions
League, most impressively against Barcelona. Without a doubt,
Southamptons weakest position last year, with them unable to cement
a number 1, the introduction of Fraser Forster has left the Southampton
side much more confident in their man between the sticks and has
resulted in more solidarity at the back and clean sheets often following.
3) The Manager: Koeman had done well as a manger before coming to
Southampton without really taking the world by storm. Upon
appointment at St Marys there was a lot of scepticism as to whether or
not he could cope with the demands on the Premier League. After
many additions in the summer it was expected that he would struggle
to gain consistency throughout his side, but contrary to popular believe
he has done exactly that! With Southampton sitting in second having
played 11 games, winning 8, drawing 1 and losing only 2, consistency
is exactly what Koeman has installed in the side. While it is clear his
side are set up to get at defensive and really attack teams from the
outset, they are well regimented at the back, which is the basis that
they can build on. A key aspect of Koemans games tactically, is taking
leads and remaining disciplined and keeping them, seeing out games
and winning 1 or 2 nil, despite his mammoth 8-0 win at Sunderland, of
course.