Under Ronald Koeman, the only way for Southampton is up

Southampton versus Sunderland at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday evening was expected to be an evenly contested affair. However, what took place on England’s south coast was a masterclass in goal-scoring ruthlessness delivered by the hosts.

But it was never meant to be this way, was it?

Certainly not after Manchester United, Arsenal and in particular Liverpool had spirited away their best players. The Saints’ 8-0 battering of the very aptly nicknamed Black Cats is perhaps the latest statement in how far Southampton Football Club have progressed since their return to the Premier League in 2012.

Southampton let go of 12 players this summer, five of whom were club captain Adam Lallana, veteran centre forward Rickie Lambert, the very talented home-grown duo of Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers from the club’s prestigious academy and defensive stalwart Dejan Lovren.

In total, the club earned a whopping £105 million from the sales of these players and the wages that were freed up when some of them left on loan. In order to replace them, the club recruited new talents very smartly.

Part of this was down to the arrival of Ronald Koeman as manager. The Dutchman, who made a name for himself at Barcelona where in six seasons he earned repute for being a centre back with a thunderous right-footed shot.

Koeman brought in players he’d either previously seen personally or knew would definitely fit the bill at Southampton.

Graziano Pelle, for example, worked under the Dutchman when he was manager of AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2009. He knew the giant Italian’s physicality and prowess in front of goal would make him an upgrade over the departing Lambert.

Pelle had consistently finished second in the Eredivisie goalscoring charts during the last two seasons of the league. He’s already scored seven goals in 10 matches for Southampton this season, becoming an instant hit in the Premier League, a fact only highlighted by him being awarded the Player of the Month Award for September.

Pelle was not the only talent Koeman recruited from his homeland. Two places behind him in the goalscoring charts and atop the assists table last season was FC Twente Enschede’s Dusan Tadic, with 16 goals and 14 assists to his name.

It is the same with two players who’ve been signed from relative obscurity: Florin Gardos and Sadio Mane.

Gardos was part of the Steaua Bucharest team that won the Romanian League and Supercup double last season. Having already won everything in his native land, Gardos represented a man who’d be looking to make the move to a better league.

The same goes for Mane, who was bought from Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg, with whom he did the domestic double last season. Both players have also played in Europe against clubs of superior pedigree than their own and that will help them in England.

But while it was assumed that these players would require some bedding-in time, Shane Long would not. The Ireland international has a wealth of experience in the Premier League, having previously been on the books of Hull City and West Bromwich Albion, and will be expected to share the striking duties with Pelle.

Like all of Southampton’s permanent purchases this summer, the arrival of England international goalkeeper Fraser Forster from Celtic for a very modest £10 million signifies the ambition the club have. Forster has won everything he possibly can in Scotland, with Celtic being by far the most dominant team in the league and his move to Southampton is a win-win situation for both parties. Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld were two excellent loan signings brought in to bolster Southampton’s ranks. Both of them are in need of playing time and will improve as players while at the club.

It’s not just that Southampton have brought talented players. It’s that they’ve done their business smartly. Those who came in only cost a total of £64 million, which means the club had a transfer surplus of little more than £40 million.

While Southampton’s squad has received a major overhaul this summer, their malleability is down to the coaching methods of Koeman.

The former centre-back has been schooled in the Dutch style of coaching, which focuses on developing better understanding between players. This is done by splitting players up into smaller groups and making them work with each other so that they’re all on the same wavelength.

Dutch players that are blooded through the system often take part in four-a-side drills. What this does is increase the number of touches players receive, which means they are able to rehearse the same moves over and over again. Over time, players are accustomed to these moves and they instinctively know what to do when they are played out during a match.

Gradually, Dutch prospects are introduced to seven and eight-a-side games so that they learn to gel as a team and get to grips with the responsibilities that players are normally handed in a football game. Only then are they allowed to take part in full eleven-a-side matches.

It is training methods like these that Koeman has introduced at Southampton. That it is already paying dividends is very evident, and will continue for many years to come: these coaching strategies will now be adopted by the youth setup at Southampton as well, and this will only go a long way in developing the already excellent production line that the Saints have in place.

James Ward-Prowse is the latest academy graduate to come through the ranks at St. Mary’s and he will definitely benefit from the influence of Koeman, whose excellent work at the club has seen him pick up the Manager of the Month Award for the month of September. If that is the sign of things to come, it is quite clear that the club is in very good hands.

As recently as April 2009, Southampton Football Club were bankrupt, in freefall, in administration and playing football in League One after suffering relegation from the Championship.

Today, they are moving from strength to strength. Currently third in the Premier League, ahead of far more illustrious teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, Southampton will be on the hunt for a place in Europe next season. For the club from the south coast that have been for so long an institution of English football, the only way is up.