Can Southampton Finish in the Top Four?

2014-11-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

As Southampton's supporters witnessed the nightmare of their team, which had finished in 8th place in the Premier League in 2013/2014, ripped to shreds in the summer through the sale of several of their best players, you couldn't blame them for being concerned.

By early August, with defender Dejan Lovren, striker Rickie Lambert, and attacking midfielder Adam Lallana sold on to Liverpool, left-back Luke Shaw sold to Manchester United, and right-back Calum Chambers transferring out to Arsenal, the prospect of relegation seemed to loom large for the Saints.

With Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino leaving for Spurs, the club appeared to be going through it's most traumatic period since the dark days of League One.

Prior the season starting I tuned into BBC's 606 Phone-In show to hear an interview with Southampton's new Chairman Ralph Krueger. Coming to the club after a long spell in North American and European hockey, the Canadian seemed from the outside to be an odd choice to take up such a post at the football club.

In light of what had occurred that summer, Krueger was predictably skewered by Saints fans and neutrals a-like who called into the show. Some even suggested that it was a "Fire Sale" and that the club didn't care if they got relegated.

Krueger, for his part, displayed a quiet confidence in the face of such a strong backlash and told caller after caller to have faith in new manager Ronald Koeman. He suggested that the club would bring in replacements for the players that had left and he believed that there was talent in the youth ranks that was ready for the step up to the first team.

Despite his positive outlook many, myself included, remained unconvinced. But then something incredible happened.

With the club bolstered by the signings of Dušan Tadić from Twente, Sadio Mané from Red Bull Salzburg, Hull City's Shane Long, Toby Alderweireld on loan from Atletico Madrid, and best of all Graziano Pellè from Feyenoord, the club has roared to their best-ever start to a top flight season.

Southampton haven't been scraping results either, rather they have pulled themselves to within four points of league leaders Chelsea by playing terrific attacking football.

Under Ronald Koeman, they have become one the best sides to watch in the Premier League and many neutrals are now hoping that they can stay in the top four.

In the years since the Champions League was expanded to include four sides from England, the usual suspects for qualification into the biggest competition in club football has been made up of a small number of teams. For years it was Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal that consistently locked down the qualifying spots, with Manchester City's new riches later forcing out Liverpool, and outside of that it was only Tottenham and Everton occasionally threatening to force their way in.

This season though with Manchester United still struggling through their post-Alex Ferguson transition, Liverpool in a mess after the sale of Luis Suarez, Arsenal dropping silly points, and Manchester City nowhere near as good as they were last season, the only one of the big clubs that's assured of finishing in and around the top of the league is Chelsea.

So if Southampton can maintain their current form, even allowing for one rough patch at some point, this season may be the best opportunity for the club to break into the Champions League.

Looking at the Saints schedule after a match with Aston Villa at Villa Park, they then have matches against Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal in consecutive weeks. It's a tough run of matches, but if the club can come through that relatively unscathed they should be in great shape heading into the New Year.

For Southampton to make the top four, after the trauma of last summer and being only a few years removed from League One and Administration, this would certainly rank as one of the greatest single season accomplishments of the Premier League era.

8 Great Southampton Youth Academy Graduates

2014-10-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

In an English Premier League awash with money provided by, mainly, rich foreign ownership now, one club has fought the trend and continually developed their own stars.

Throughout the history of Southampton FC, the club has been famous for bringing through their own talent from the youth ranks and giving these players first team opportunities.

Although quite a few of these players have moved onto bigger clubs, their contributions whether on the playing side or by bolstering the Southampton coffers via their outgoing transfer fees have been key to the club's success.

The following are a few of the more notable players The Saints have brought through into their first team over the years:

1 - Mick Channon

Making his debut for Southampton in 1965, Mick Channon would go on to score 185 goals over two stints with the South Coast club. Channon was a part of The Saints 1976 FA Cup winning squad, who upset Manchester United by a score of 1-0 at Wembley. The future successful racehorse trainer also made 46 appearances for England, for whom he scored 21 goals.

2 - Matthew Le Tissier

Debuting in 1986 at 18 years old, the supremely gifted midfielder Matthew Le Tissier went on to score 161 goals for the club, including converting an incredible 47 of 48 penalties. Despite offers to go to Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea, he snubbed both clubs and played his entire career for his beloved Saints.

3 - Alan Shearer

Making his full debut for Southampton at 17 in 1988, Shearer would break the legendary Jimmy Greaves record for the youngest player to score a top division hat-trick, as he put away three against Arsenal in a 4-2 win in his debut at The Dell. Shearer would move on to Blackburn in 1992, where he would win a league championship, before eventually going home to Newcastle after a star turn for England at Euro '96. Over the course of ten years at St. James' Park he would become the Tyneside club's all time league and cup record goal scorer with 206 in total. He also bagged 30 goals in 63 England appearances.

4 - Theo Walcott

Making his first appearance for The Saints at 16 in 2005/2006, Walcott would within a few months be sold on to Arsenal for £5 million, with the fee rising to £13 million based on appearances. Coming through the youth side as a striker, he was moved out to the wing by Arsene Wenger and has had a stop-start career thanks to injuries. Despite this, Walcott has made nearly 200 appearances for Arsenal in eight years and has been capped 36 times for England. One of his career highlights, so far, was a memorable hat-trick for the Three Lions away to Croatia in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

5 - Gareth Bale

Beginning his career as a left back, Bale broke into the first team at the age of 16 at the tail end of the 2005/2006 season. With a reputation for marauding attacking play down the left, and deadly free kicks, Bale was bought by Tottenham for £7 in 2007. After a slow start at Spurs, Bale was moved further up the pitch and would go on to become one of the most exciting attacking players in England. Thanks to his inspired play, he would win the PFA Players' Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2013. In the summer of 2013, the Welsh winger was sold for a world record £85 million to Real Madrid and would help the club to the 2014 Champions League crown.

6 - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

By making it into the first team at only 16 years and 199 days in 2010, Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second youngest player to make a first team debut for the club after Theo Walcott. After only one full season at St. Mary's, in which he was named in the League One Team of the Year for 2010/2011, 'The Ox' was sold on to Arsenal though for £12 million. The exciting winger, who is somewhat similar in style to Walcott, was a surprise inclusion for England's Euro 2012 side and has won 18 international caps to go along with his 64 first team appearances for Arsenal.

7 - Luke Shaw

Joining the Southampton Academy at the age of 8, Shaw worked his way through the youth ranks before making his debut for The Saints at age 16. By the time he had made his debut clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City were already showing an interest in him. Southampton was able to hang on to him though for a couple of seasons as he was first a part of the side that stormed to promotion to the Premier League and then helped the club consolidate their position in the top flight. Along the way he was named as the left back in the PFA Team of the Year for 2013-2014. Shaw would end his breakout season by earning three international caps for England. In the summer of 2014, Shaw was sold to Manchester United for £30 million and thus becoming the world's most expensive teenage footballer.

8 - Adam Lallana

Starting his youth career at Bournemouth, Adam Lallana would move over to the Southampton Academy at the age of 12 and would make his first team debut at 18 years old. Coming into the side at time when Southampton were struggling in League One, Lallana lit up the third tier and finished the 2009-2010 season with a total of twenty goals in all competitions. The first Saints midfielder since Matthew Le Tissier to score twenty or more goals in a season. Lallana would help the club progress out of League One, through the Championship and finally back into the Premier League before departing for Liverpool for a fee of £25 million in the summer of 2014. To date, Lallana has also made 11 appearances for the senior England side.

FOOTY FAIR