Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
With the international break now well underway, I take a look at three of England’s youngsters in the under-21 setup – all of which will be aiming for a call-up to join the senior squad within the next year or so.
Continue reading “Analysis: Three talented youngsters aiming for senior England call-ups”
Since then, he has continued to progress at a steady rate and has established himself as an integral figure in Alex Neil‘s side over the past two seasons. Following their underachieving campaign in the Premier League this past term, it comes as no surprise that other top flight clubs had been linked with a move for Redmond, including newly-promoted side Middlesbrough as well as Stoke City and West Ham to name just a few.
Continue reading “Southampton edging closer to £11m deal for Norwich’s Nathan Redmond”
A comprehensive, impressive 4-0 thrashing over Premier League title challengers Arsenal at St. Mary’s. Yes, you read that correctly. Southampton – who seem to be involved in a never-ending cycle of losing key players, summer after summer, ended their winless run in style in-front of a joyous home crowd on the south coast.
An emphatic victory to say the least, but the following paragraph typifies the underlying problem which remains within the So’ton side. Fast forward a few days, and they lost again. Away in east London, they conceded two second-half strikes courtesy of Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll – succumbing to a frustrating defeat, having held the lead too.
Somewhat harsh, given the distinct lack of recovery time between the two fixtures. Between full-time after their win over Arsenal, and kick-off against the Hammers, there were approximately 44 hours in total. Insufficient recovery periods, admittedly. But still – all Premier League clubs would have had the same/similar excuses, so why were they unable to cope effectively? Ultimately, it all refers back to a lack of consistency.
At the end of 2014, plenty of critics and rival supporters alike were beginning to embrace the distinct possibility that Southampton might actually qualify for the Champions League. They were gelling together perfectly, the likes of Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin were the midfield enforcers – solid defensively, attack-wise, dangerous too. Graziano Pellé and Dušan Tadić were excellent, and frankly a joy to watch. They still are too, but last season was seeming more-and-more likely to be their breakthrough campaign in terms of European qualification.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle were all defeated by the mighty Saints in quick succession, a three-match winning streak in January suggested they would consequently assert their credentials as one of the League’s best sides.
But álas, the argument revolving around consistency. After their 2-1 win at St. James’ Park on 17 January, they only won five more fixtures for the rest of the campaign. An underwhelming five, when compared to the total of 16 that they’d played between January-May.
As opposed to a top four place, they finished in a respectable – but understandably disappointing – seventh place. 60 points, just four off Liverpool in 5th, two off Tottenham in 6th.
When you put it like that, their season seems like a disaster. By no means was it one, but in terms of the potential and quality within their side, their cutting edge was somewhat dull as the campaign proceeded to the business end.
That’s, what they’ll be hoping doesn’t happen this time around. After another summer overhaul and the unfortunate Europa League shortcomings at the start of the campaign, they sit in 12th position going into the New Year. Some shrewd acquisitions – including the likes of Cédric, Jordy Clasie and Virgil van Dijk – followed after some inevitable departures, including the likes of Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne.
Currently, Koeman’s side sit seven points away from 5th, seven points above 18th. Just reiterates the unpredictability of this year’s Premier League.
But, as the Saints’ saying goes, they’ll be hoping to march on in 2016 with style.
It was a hard-fought victory for the visitors, giving Mauricio Pochettino a welcome return to St. Mary’s against an out-of-form Saints side – which was evident.
Southampton‘s winless run extended to six games in all competitions as a quick-fire double between English duo Harry Kane and Dele Alli sealed all three points for the visitors, bouncing back from a disappointing home defeat at the hands of Steve McClaren‘s Newcastle side last time out.
They could have found themselves two-nil down with less than ten minutes on the clock though, as the Saints created a few clear-cut opportunities to break the deadlock.
First, Sadio Mané was set through on-goal in the area after a lovely chipped pass toward his path by Steven Davis. The winger shaped to shoot, but centre-back Toby Alderweireld – who spent a season on-loan at Southampton last term – was alert to the danger and got a strong interception behind the drilled effort, sending it behind for a corner-kick.
Then, two minutes later, it could have been two. Dušan Tadić drove down the flank, before unselfishly fizzing a perfectly-weighted pass into Mané’s path on the edge of the area. His well-placed effort was denied by Hugo Lloris though, making an excellent reflex save to keep the scores level.
Harry Kane had a half-chance of his own, which Paulo Gazzaniga did well to get behind, as the 22-year-old fired goalwards from a tight angle with power.
And it seemed as though it would stay goalless at the interval, but Spurs raced ahead to devastating effect. First, the north Londoners were the beneficiaries of an advantage being played by referee Kevin Friend.
He could have opted to stop play after Jose Fonté clattered into Alli in the build-up, but the visitors’ kept hold of the ball on the counter-attack and Kane’s close-range strike nestled into the far corner past a helpless Gazzaniga.
It wasn’t over yet, though. Southampton’s frustrating tendency to lose the ball in key areas of the pitch was emphasised once more, when possession was squandered in midfield. Within seconds they found themselves on the back foot and, fullback Kyle Walker was allowed space to roam forward from the right-hand side, before swinging a low ball across the face of goal.
It seemed as if the match was being played in slow motion, or something. The way the Southampton defenders collectively seemed, motionless, was as though they were naturally waiting for the linesman’s call for an offside. Alli was allowed the simple task of tucking the delivery away at the far post from close-range, with Gazzaniga not protected effectively by his backline. Marking, poor. Not tight enough, and the hosts had a two-goal deficit to overturn.
As the second-half began, Southampton knew they had a task on their hands. Attacking with both pace and purpose, similarly to the way they began in the opening exchanges, Graziano Pellé created a yard of space for himself – to test Lloris in-between the posts. His snapshot, after good initial work from Mané beforehand, was comfortably held by the French goalkeeper, at a swerving height as the home supporters showed their appreciation for his efforts with a warm round of applause.
Despite all of their shortcomings recently, the fans themselves have refused to give up hope. With the clock continuing to tick down on the affair, Ronald Koeman knew something had to change. A triple substitution – Shane Long, James Ward-Prowse and Juanmi – were all introduced to the fray, replacing Davis, Tadić and Jordy Clasie.
Substitute midfielder Tom Carroll could have wrapped up all three points for the visitors, but his effort inside the area lacked much elevation or power to fully test Gazzaniga, who was able to smother the danger. Ward-Prowse was denied the chance to halve the deficit in stoppage time after another fantastic diving stop from Lloris, stretching to his left, as he kept a well-earned clean sheet.
It just wasn’t Southampton’s day, you could virtually sense that after the first ten minutes. Mané’s two early chances, could have resulted in a two-goal cushion, but instead, they found themselves with a game to chase at the break, which just highlights one of their problems. During this winless run of six fixtures, they’ve only scored three in total – which, considering the chances they create for themselves, simply isn’t good enough. Plenty of room for improvement.
A first-half strike from summer signing Yohan Cabaye was enough to seal all three points for the Eagles, as they took their chance against an unfortunate Southampton side.
Southampton‘s run of winless games in all competitions extended to a frustrating five as they succumbed to a narrow defeat at the hands of Alan Pardew‘s Crystal Palace side on Saturday afternoon. Yohan Cabaye‘s close-range effort, capping off a well-worked team move in the final third, was enough to seal all three points for the hosts, who were fully deserving of the victory.
Twenty minutes were on the clock before Paulo Gazzaniga was forced into making an important save, denying Yannick Bolasie‘s swerving effort – which seemed to be curling towards the top corner – with a smart parry over the crossbar.
In the absence of Maarten Stekelenburg, the visitors’ third-choice goalkeeper was certainly tested in the early exchanges.
Cabaye powered goalwards with a sweetly-struck volley, which was parried to safety. Then, Connor Wickham was unlucky not to score minutes later, his powerful close-range header was thwarted by the Argentine in-between the posts.
The goalkeeping masterclass was not over yet, though. At the other end of the Selhurst Park turf, Wayne Hennessey made an acrobatic stop to push Steve Davis‘ headed flick-on over the crossbar.
For his succession of important saves beforehand, Gazzaniga could do nothing to prevent Cabaye’s well-worked opener.
After a neat pass into his feet by the returning Wilfried Zaha, Bolasie span past Jose Fonté as though the Portuguese centre-back was not there, before firing a low ball across the face of goal. The classy Frenchman was on hand to turn the ball home into the bottom corner.
At half-time, Ronald Koeman‘s men were behind and needed a quick response. Bolasie and Zaha were both causing all sorts of problems in the final third throughout, but neither was able to double the lead. Gazzaniga kept his side in the game to deny both Wickham and Bolasie with respectively stinging efforts inside the area.
In stoppage time, Shane Long had a golden opportunity to level the scoring – with virtually the last kick of the game. Hennessey was alert to the danger though, blocking Long’s effort swiftly with his legs, as the home supporters roared with delight.
They certainly appreciated the magnitude of Hennessey’s save, it confirmed that all three points were firmly staying in London, and it was deserved. As for the visitors though, they had to travel back home with the disappointment of another bitter defeat, especially when they knew they could have snatched a positive result instead.
It was just the one point for Southampton as they entertained Aston Villa in one of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off’s at St.Mary’s, but could – and probably should – have been all three.
The hosts, eager to respond positively after a Cup thrashing by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side on Wednesday evening, were boosted by the returns of Jose Fonté as well as James Ward-Prowse and previously suspended Graziano Pellé going into the fixture itself.
Maarten Stekelenburg continued in goal, with Jordy Clasie and Shane Long just two of the viable options for Ronald Koeman to choose from the substitutes’ bench.
Southampton could have found themselves infront with a two-goal cushion, but somehow, the scoreline remained goalless for the majority of the first-half.
Dusan Tadić fired over the crossbar from close-range, after good work down the flank by Sadio Mané to create the opportunity for the Serbian. Then, Tadić created a good chance of his own. His inch-perfect ball curled into the path of Pellé on the run towards goal, but his first-time effort flashed over the woodwork.
Victor Wanyama headed wide at the far post, Mané missed a volley, Fonte saw a goalbound effort cleared off the line by opposition striker Rudy Gestede – Southampton were all over their visitors, the opening goal was inevitable.
It came in due course, but against the run of play as Villa snatched the lead – on the stroke of halftime no less. Jordan Veretout‘s corner delivery bounced up awkwardly towards the far post, and former Manchester City centre-back Joleon Lescott beat Fonte to the ball, tapping home with ease to break the deadlock in surprising fashion.
Going into the interval, So’ton were down and understandably frustrated. They created so many chances, and somehow, they were losing. Virgil van Dijk came close with a headed effort, Wanyama trudged off with a knock whilst substitute Juanmi was lively in the final third, coming ever so close to levelling the scoring.
It was only a matter of time, and the goal did eventually come from an unlikely source. Ward-Prowse’ corner-kick delivery floated past the defenders near the goalline, but substitute Oriol Romeu, who’d only been on the pitch for ten minutes, reacted quickly to slot home from close-range and give Southampton a deserved equaliser.
The hosts pressed for a late winner, but the tempo of the game itself was overshadowed by plenty of timewasting tactics by the visitors – souring the mood and flow of the game in the dying stages.
Shane Long came on, added another attacking outlet but neither him nor any of his teammates could steal a late winner, despite being the better side on the afternoon.
The hosts were eager to get back to winning ways after defeats against Liverpool and Juventus within the space of a week – and got on the front foot from the referee’s first whistle at the Ethiad.
Raheem Sterling came close to breaking the deadlock after just a minute, with a sharp one-two between himself and Yaya Touré on the edge of the box. The 20-year-old curled an effort goalwards, but goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg made a good reflex save down to his right to parry the ball away to safety.
Southampton didn’t start particularly quickly, and they could have scored once more after five minutes. Aleksandar Kolarov‘s free-kick swerved towards the top corner and Stekelenburg’s save was good, but the ball skipped off the slick turf. Between Nicolas Otámendi and Fernandinho, neither could turn the ball in from close-range.
City did eventually break the deadlock though, through great work by Raheem Sterling. He dispossessed Maya Yoshida of the ball near the centre circle, and punished the visitors to good effect. He accelerated forward with pace and purpose, driving into the area before an unselfish cutback fell neatly into the path of Kevin de Bruyne. The talented Belgian was left with only a simple tap-in, and this time, Stekelenburg could get nowhere near it.
A sloppy pass gifted City another opportunity to find the back of the net, with a counter-attacking move being snuffed out by the sharp reflexes of Stekelenburg, once more. Sergio Agüero was inches away from doubling the hosts’ lead, instead, his effort on-goal was thwarted and trickled out of play for a corner-kick as the experienced Dutchman came rushing off his line to intercept the ball.
The resulting set-piece was poorly defended but the visitors were let off as a header flashed wide of the mark. In the 20th minute though, the lead was doubled. Fabian Delph‘s thunderous effort took a deflection off Virgil van Dijk near the penalty spot – spinning past Stekelenburg into the corner of the net. On his first start for the sky Blues, the former Aston Villa captain marked it with a goal, and City were fully in control.
It could have been very different if van Dijk’s rasping effort did not cannon off the crossbar a minute later, though. After a promising passing spell near the edge of the area, the centre-back let fly and second-choice goalkeeper Willy Caballero dived helplessly as the strike seemed destined for the top corner.
Sterling fired over the bar whilst Shane Long stung Caballero’s gloves with the first-half’s action coming to an eventual close. Two-nil down with plenty of football left to play, Southampton were behind but certainly not out of the contest itself.
Whatever Ronald Koeman said to his players in the dressing room, it must have worked. Just five minutes into the second-half, the deficit was halved in effective fashion. Sadio Mané delivered a teasing cross into the box, and Long was sharp to meet the ball with a sweetly-connected header, giving Caballero no chance from close range.
2-1, and it was game on again.
Tadic came close with a deft chip from close range, before Long saw his powerful half-volley parried away by Caballero as the visitors were certainly beginning to turn the screw attacking-wise, for the first real period of the match itself.
Agüero gave the home supporters a scare as he went down clutching his ankle in pain after falling awkwardly following an aerial challenge in the area. He limped off the pitch, being replaced by Wilfried Bony – but later concerns were relieved as the knock was described as a minor one.
In his absence, a well-crafted team goal sealed all three points with twenty minutes to go. Another stop from Caballero ensured Tadic was unable to level proceedings, as the Serbian’s curling drive was creeping towards the far corner.
At the other end, Kolarov got himself on the scoresheet in some style too. Sterling passed the ball onto Bony in the area, his backflick fell to the path of de Bruyne to his right. Instead of taking a shot for himself, de Bruyne cooly flicked the ball up in the air for Kolarov – who needed no invitation to shoot – and despite having two men on the goalline, his powerful effort arrowed into the bottom corner.
Both sides made substitutions with the clock ticking down, with the notable alteration seeing David Silva being introduced into the fray with fifteen minutes left to play. Having been sidelined for six weeks after an injury he’d picked up on international duty, the midfield maestro was back and greeted to a warm round of applause around Eastlands.
Mané and Bony both had decent chances to score for either side, but the scoreline remained 3-1 and it was ultimately a deserved victory for Manchester City.
Despite their much-improved second-half performance, the damage was already inflicted from Southampton’s point of view, and it’ll be a positive learning experience – they cannot afford to give away possession and as many chances as they allowed City to create in the first 45.
Southampton‘s unbeaten run of eleven matches across all competitions, was ended by Mark Hughes‘ Stoke City side – who were defensively disclipined and constantly provided a counter-attacking threat in the final third.
Bojan Krkić scored the game’s only goal after just ten minutes, but it could have been more from the visitors after an early start to proceedings.
Before the opener, Dušan Tadić was unlucky to see his effort narrowly flash wide of Jack Butland‘s far post. A goalmouth scramble ensued in the box as Stoke struggled to clear their lines, and the Serbian creative midfielder pounced on the danger but was unable to break the deadlock.
The build-up to the goal itself was well worked by Stoke in fairness to them, after Xherdan Shaqiri got on the ball from the right-hand side, drove towards the edge of the box and pulled two defenders out of position to try and contain his threat.
The ball was quickly shifted towards the left, with Erik Pieters swinging in a teasing ball into the area itself. Jose Fonté was caught static and Bojan made the Portuguese centre-back pay with a clinical flick on, giving goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg no chance.
Shaqiri almost made it two in six minutes, but for a good reaction stop by Stekelenburg. Marko Arnautovic‘s long-ball forward found Bojan, who slipped through an inviting ball towards Shaqiri. His low effort seemed destined for the bottom corner, but Stekelenburg had other ideas and parried the danger.
Chances came at a premium for the rest of the first-half, with Southampton defensively looking vulnerable when trying to deal with the counter-attack.
Tadić fired over the crossbar before the interval, then defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama saw his effort flash narrowly wide as the second 45 began and the hosts went in search of an equaliser.
Ironic jeers reverberated around the stadium when Arnautovic fired high and wide with a golden opportunity to make it two, with only the goalkeeper to beat. But you could definitely tell that the home supporters were getting edgy, as they had to make the most of their half-chances.
With time ticking down on the affair, Graziano Pellé was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty-kick after a high foot from Philipp Wollscheid – who missed the ball completely – was waved play on somehow by the referee. After this, you could tell it wasn’t going to be Southampton’s day.
Ibrahim Afellay came close to sealing the three points, and although it was a narrow victory, it was a deserved one too for the visitors. They started brightly, hit Southampton on the counter-attack and Ronald Koeman‘s men struggled to get going in the early exchanges.
As a consequence, The Saints‘ unbeaten run has been ended AND they miss out on the chance to leapfrog Everton, West Ham and Tottenham into fifth place – whilst Stoke move up to 11th after an effective away display, even though they should have scored a few more of their chances.
Southampton entertain Aston Villa in the Last 16 of this year’s Capital One Cup on Wednesday night, with both teams set to make alterations to their respective starting elevens. This match is an important one for both because Southampton will be undoubtedly targeting a trip to Wembley this term – having struggled to cope with the demands of the Europa League, being knocked out in the play-off rounds.
On the other hand for Villa, they need to win a game somewhere, somehow – be it late drama, extra time or even penalties. This will help to collectively boost the team’s morale, after a rather forgettable start to the 2015/16 campaign already. Both sides know how to counter-attack at speed, but the Saints‘ defensively offer more stability, something that the visitors may struggle to contend with at times.
Aston Villa will be boosted by the returns of defensive duo Ciaran Clark and Jores Okore from injury, whilst caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald may also recall Libor Kozak and Charles N’Zogbia into the matchday squad. Gary Gardner (ankle) is sidelined, but other than that, the Claret and Blues are at relatively full strength and you’d expect them to name a strong team – considering the competition is a welcome distraction from their poor Premier League form.
As for Southampton, they’ve only got two first-team players currently injured. Goalkeeper Fraser Forster, and defender Florin Gardos, both of which have sustained long-term injuries in the past, and will not be fully recovered until the new year in 2016.
Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez both have ankle knocks, but could feature nonetheless, whilst winger Sadio Mané is suspended – having picked up two bookings in quick succession during their 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. However, his ban may seem like a blessing in disguise to many of the fringe players hovering around the squad, with the likes of Juanmi, Gaston Ramiréz and Ryan Seager all eager to get minutes under their belt in the search for regular, competitive football, to be able to impress Ronald Koeman.
The beauty of the cup includes the fact that form means nothing, and Villa will certainly be motivated for the fixture itself. Whether they can actually prevail though, is a different story – against a Southampton side hoping to prove they’re amongst the big clubs in England’s top flight.
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Stekelenberg; Martina, Caulker, Fonte, Targett; Romeu, Clasie; Ramiréz, Juanmi, Ward-Prowse and Pellé.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Guzan; Richards, Lescott, Hutton, Bacuna; Sanchez, Gueye; Sinclair, Agbonlahor, Grealish and Gestede.
Tony Pulis’ men hosted a Ronald Koeman side who were eager for maximum points to keep their top four hopes alive, but they knew it would be a tough test away from home at The Hawthorns.
West Brom hosted top four challengers Southampton, in an intriguing fixture between two sides with something to prove. The Baggies, under new maangement with Tony Pulis in charge, wanted to solidify a place in the top half of the Premier League table – with their new boss asking for consistency as he tries to get the best out of his players; including Saido Berahino – who has been heavily linked with moves to some top European clubs.
The young Englishman ironically broke the deadlock at The Hawthorns, with a rather powerful volley effort which flew past English goalkeeper Fraser Forster into the top corner of the net – after just 74 seconds on the clock. That was his 11th Premier League goal of the 2014-15 campaign, and it was a truly special one too.
The Saints were looking for an immediate response, which did not come. They dominated possession of the ball, and attempted to dictate play in midfield but were shut out effectively and efficiently by Pulis’ men whenever they got forward deep enough into West Brom’s defence. A few half-chances were squandered for either side before the break, with the half-time scoreline going in the hosts’ favour.
In the second-half, Nigerian striker Brown Ideye had a perfect chance to double the lead for the hosts after a super pass towards his path by midfielder Craig Gardner, but his hesitation to shoot in-front of goal cost him in the end, as Maya Yoshida tracked back fast enough to block and eventually clear the danger away.
Berahino was seen clutching his leg on the ground in discomfort on the receiving end of a painful-looking challenge; he was substituted off as a precautionary measure to avoid aggravating the injury problem – Youssouf Mulumbu coming on in his place; for his first appearance following his African Cup of Nations involvement.
Southampton lacked the cutting edge going forward, with Graziano Pellé missing a golden opportunity to level the scoring in the 67th minute. A teasing low delivery was fired into his path by left-back Ryan Bertrand, but the Italian striker failed to latch onto the ball and a last-ditch clearance away by defender Chris Brunt ensured West Brom kept hold of their lead.
French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was unlucky not to get himself on the scoresheet after having two goal-bound efforts narrowly wide. His first was an inswinging free-kick, which swerved past all of the players in the area and trickled beyond the post. His second meanwhile, was a stinging drive which was well saved by Ben Foster, just minutes after the ‘keeper was booked for time-wasting and warned about his future actions.
The hosts were inches away from doubling the lead with ten minutes to play; former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher had a half-chance from close range but his powerful effort fired wide over the bar and into the crowd behind the goal.
Pellé had another chance to end his goalscoring drought of four matches in all competitions with a goal-mouth scramble, the ball trickled towards his path but his follow-up was weak as Foster was able to smother the danger in the end. Ideye was seen hobbling painfully in the closing stages, and the physios treated him accordingly before he was replaced by Chris Baird to try and hold out for a 1-0 victory.
The fourth official signalled for four minutes of stoppage time to be added on, and The Saints continued to press attacking-wise; but West Brom held firm and secured a valuable three points in a hard-fought game despite a late charge seeing Eljero Elia‘s decent strike fired wide of Foster’s near post into the stands. The stats will have frustrated Ronald Koeman and his men no doubt, given the fact that they were heavily dominant but could not turn their dominance into goals in the match. 11 shots, just TWO on target and no goals. West Brom meanwhile had: seven shots, three on target and one goal, courtesy of Berahino’s stunning strike early on.
The result means Southampton lose ground in the top four race; staying in 5th place just a point above Liverpool and two above Tottenham – both of which have a game in hand over The Saints. Manchester United (50) and Arsenal (48) are above them in 3rd and 4th places respectively.
Mo and Sports 