Andreas Georgson & The Sparsity of Southampton

 

From Yorkshire to Devon the away wins keep coming. In Yorkshire we saw a marker in terms of what to expect from Southampton this season whereas in Devon we perhaps witnessed that the squad might be looking short in some positions. More importantly we didn’t concede from a set piece - let’s focus on that first

A word on Andreas Georgson 

Set pieces have frequently plagued Southampton defensively, conceding from these situations in their first 3 games (league & cup) this campaign

Against Plymouth though Southampton did not, actually scoring the winner from a corner in added time. Andreas Georgson had been brought in - hired day the season kicked off - there’s now signs of progress.

Notably before each substitution against Plymouth the last coach each player interacted with before taking the field was Georgson. RM would have an arm around the player, giving presumably a quick pep talk, before the Swede came over wielding an iPad with instructions for the oncoming player.

A visible presence on the sideline enabling accountability to these situations. 

Defensively Southampton massively restricted Plymouth’s chances from set plays as the Green Army generating a set play xG of 0.04 compared to the 0.68 of Norwich the week before, as 5’8 Jonathan Rowe scored an uncontested header from a corner for the Canaries.

From an attacking standpoint Southampton frequently targeted the near post with Manning’s corner deliveries - this routine leading to the winning goal. Ball whipped in with Jack Stephens rising at the near post, he though unable to flick the ball on so Adam Armstrong leapt to follow up however Plymouth GK Connor Hazard clawed his effort off the line. Thankfully there was Che to tap home. 

Now he’s settled into his role a bit more there certainly are promising signs for Georgson, while Plymouth do not possess the greatest threat from these situations in the Championship it is nice to think the fan base collectively can stop sh*ting themselves at every single set play conceded.

Somehow it’s looking a bit sparse around here.

Coming into the Championship season Southampton had a very bloated squad. Trimming the excess fat was first up on the agenda on Wilcox & Martin. 

In total 10 senior players from last season have departed and more may follow. Now this seasons squad is looking slightly light in numbers as highlighted in the Plymouth game.

Injuries to Smallbone and Alcaraz resulted in an unlikely midfield pairing of the Armstrongs alongside Shea Charles. With minimal options for replacements on the bench, though Aribo is capable of doing a job in the midfield how trusted is Aribo in this position? The Nigerian nevertheless did replace Stu after 83 minutes the longest the Scot has lasted in a match this season, although had the replacement available been more naturally suited to this position you’d imagine Stu might’ve been relieved earlier.

This example is in central midfield but the premise can be shifted around the pitch to highlight certain frailties.

For example should Stephens or Bednerak miss a match due to injury or suspension the next CB in line is Lyanco and you get the feeling he might not be sticking around. After him, short of dropping Shea Charles back, you’re probably looking at young Zach Awe who recently joined the U21 set up at Southampton. The rumour mill does have England U21 CB Taylor Harwood-Bellis linked with a potential loan move to the Saints. The Manchester City man, who spent last season with Burnley, does fit the apparent ‘Hey I know a guy’ approach to recruitment this summer. Like the Shea Charles deal this would enable Jason Wilcox to utilise his network to identify targets

Manning and Downes too fall into this approach, both having played under Martin before. The former a free agent eliminating the need to liaise with another club.

An archaic contrast to data led recruitment elsewhere. Perhaps that’s too strong a narrative, apologies.

RM did say in his pre match press conference he expects more than one or two signings before the window closes. With minimal external noise surrounding incomings it will be interesting to see who comes through the door. You can’t imagine Swansea would be too keen to open discussions for forward Joel Piroe, even if they were a potential ‘Southampton tax’ could make the fee eye watering.