In usually, Southampton struggles in televised matches against Leicester City on a Friday night; however, when the Foxes visit St. Mary’s tonight evening in a match for early-season promotion, hopefully this will change.
Undoubtedly, the game in Sunderland was a disaster; yet, despite the outcome, the team was not inferior; rather, it was a team that committed individual and fundamental mistakes that allowed Sunderland to score all of the goals.
Given the circumstances, Russell Martin ought to be able to address it and fix it this time.
Although we had a nearly full squad to choose from against the Mackems, it wasn’t a squad that had played together, so the manager still had to consider which players would make up his best lineup. To be fair, the manager did warn that it would take some time for us to get everything just right.
Some have been quick to point out goals that they believe Gavin Bazunu should have handled better on, but they have been slower to note that he has also made some good saves. A goalkeeper, young or old, needs a steady defense in front of him, and Bazunu hasn’t had that at Southampton yet.
What will Martin do in defense? Will he continue to play with four defenders or will he switch things up and utilize a back three with wing backs? Personally, I think the latter option would work better for us. I would use Mason Holgate, Shea Charles, and Taylor Harwood-Bellis as my back three.
KWP and Ryan Manning would be the wing backs flanking Flynn Downes and Will Smallbone in the center, leaving Adam Armstrong, Charly Alcatraz, and Che Adams as the front three.
That side, in my opinion, makes use of both the players we have and the system we want to play. It has power and speed in the back, allows the wing back to attack down the wing, and, hopefully, prevents us from leaving significant gaps in the back when defending.
But I do believe that we will remain with the 4-3-3 formation. If so, the lineup would consist of a front three of Alcatraz, A Armstrong, and Adams up front, a midfield of S Armstrong, Downes, and Charles, and a back four of KWP, Holgate, Taylor- Bellis, and Manning.
I could make one or two changes to either of these starting lineups, demonstrating the depth of our roster. Players like Sam Edozie, Jan Bednarek, Sekou Mara, Ryan Fraser, Sam Amo-Ameyaw, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Joe Aribo have not been included in either starting lineup, and Ross Stewart is still on the way.
This should give us hope that we can play a significant role in the race for promotion this year. The problem is not the caliber or even the amount of the squad, but rather fixing the problems that began to develop at Sunderland and bubbled up in the early games.
We shall be a force to be reckoned with if we can resolve these.
Although tonight’s two teams may have the strongest rosters in the Championship and it is still early in the season, nobody of us has had it all our own way, as demonstrated by the Saints’ loss at Sunderland and the Foxes’ victory against Hull at home.
With victories over Leicester and Ipswich, the Saints will be considered strong favorites to win promotion. Losing both of these games would be a major blow, but it wouldn’t be a catastrophe given how competitive the division is.
We want to see organization from our team tonight because that is what caused us to lose at Sunderland. Too many times in that game, we lost our composure and paid the price for it. Sunderland used a hoof it forward strategy, and we failed to respond. The issue is not one of quality; it is one of leadership. Picking a team is simple, but choosing a captain from that team is not as straightforward.
We need an anchor in the back or in the middle of the field, but all we have are young players or loan players. Is it possible to have a captain who is a loan player? I believe that might be our best alternative, even though it is not preferred; Flynn Downes or Mason Holgate are two candidates.
Now that we are back, it is evident that this season will be quite the roller coaster. A lot of goals will be scored at both ends, and we just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.