Another three game week, another 7 point haul. The mood happier than it was after the same haul was secured with a 1-1 draw with Rotherham, in part due to Saints snatching a point from the jaws of defeat rather than drawing from such a dominant position. More than that it’s the bigger picture that’s really uplifting.
Southampton are now 4th and unbeaten in 6 matches.
What have we learned during this particular Championship trilogy?
Seemingly there’s is almost a unilateral understanding of the strongest midfield Southampton can field. Downes, Smallbone & Stu Armstrong. A home nations cocktail that has been crucial in this unbeaten run. Noteworthy that Leeds (H) was the first outing for this trio and they have only not started together once since then - Preston (A).
The Downes/Smallbone axis provides Championship nous, an understanding of the need for tactical fouls and breaking up play, while utilising both players passing qualities. Downes pass success rate of 95.4% marginally better than Smallbone’s 92.2%.
This stability allows Stu Armstrong to do what he does best. Carry the ball. Averaging 19 carries per 90 which places him 5th amongst the squad behind THB, Jan Bednerak, KWP and Kamaldeen Sulemana. As many Championship sides operate in a mid/low block it’s common that the centre backs often find themselves in possession. Additionally KWP and Kamaldeen have the freedom of their respective channels so unsurprisingly feature at the top of this metric. Stu’s ability though to collect the ball in central areas between defensive lines is what makes this impressive. Furthermore his average carry distance (12.55m) ranks No.1 for the Saints highlighting his ability.
The concern has to be how the team operate when this triad aren’t on the pitch together. We saw without Stu against Preston creativity was lacking somewhat centrally. Given Smallbone is only one yellow card away from suspension, should he pick up a booking against Millwall it will be interesting to see how the midfield looks & functions in the following fixture.
We mention RM’s settled midfield however his use of the wider squad should also be applauded after this week. If I were to say to you reader that James Bree would emerge as an option, nay a good option at left back you probably would have laughed at me.
Ryan Manning’s booking away to Hull took his tally to five yellow cards for this season subsequently ruling him out of the Preston match. A common school of thought amongst Saints fan was KWP would be shifted across to the left side, as has happened historically, and Bree or Holgate would get the nod at right back. KWP is arguably our best player, rightly RM didn’t want to disrupt him so Bree was given his first start at left back.
Bree bossed it. Winning 4/6 ground duels & 2/2 aerial duels. He was rewarded with another start against Birmingham, this despite Manning being eligible to play. A great example of the meritocracy RM has installed at Southampton, take your chance and you’ll play.
Another player that RM seems to have figured out how best to use is Ryan Fraser. A definition of an impact sub. Off the bench to score the winner at Hull, off the bench to swing in the corner that caused the Ched Evans og & off the bench once more against Birmingham to provide the cross that Edozie would head down for Adam Armstrong to kill the match.
RM often talks about mentality when it comes to this Southampton side, Fraser has that ‘dig deep’ mindset to see out games but more importantly he possesses the quality to make a difference in an attacking sense.
A far cry from previous seasons of bringing on Elynoussi to help our rest defence. *Eye roll/face palm combo
Lastly on the squad front, personally I’m pleased for Holgate. Mainly pleased that he didn’t experience another collapse. When your two starts including the Sunderland hammering and the defeat to at the time second bottom Middlesbrough there’s a realistic chance of becoming a scapegoat. Holgate did come on late to solidify the defence at Stoke but it was nice for the Everton loanee to have a start that didn’t result in costly errors - shambolic second half kick off routine aside.
The third and final learning point is undoubtedly the most glass half-full of the lot. Despite being the joint 4th scoring team in the league you can’t help feel a ‘proper’ central striker is the final piece of the puzzle.
Now this isn’t to say Southampton have bad attacking phases of play, quite the opposite. The fluidity of the first choice attackers is a joy to watch at times however there in-lies part of the issue. First choice being the operative phrase, take away top goalscorer Adam Armstrong - 8 goals - then options off the bench or as part of rotation can look limited. Adams hasn’t scored since August & Mara hasn’t scored full stop. The two have had opportunities to stake a claim for the position, Adams somehow blanking against Rotherham before taking a knock against Preston while Mara’s most notable misses were firing wide as a substitute at Stoke as well as not really clicking into gear in the second half against Preston.
Deadline day signing Ross Stewart is set to return in the not to distant future, the hope will be he can hit the ground running from a goalscoring perspective. A different option for RM in attack that ideally could push for double digit goal tally before the season is done.
The next three game week isn’t until the end of November with a trip to Huddersfield and two home matches against Bristol City and Cardiff. An international break and clashes with Millwall and West Brom to come first. No need to concern ourselves three game hauls anytime soon.
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