FlashFocus: Substance over style could lead Southampton to Premier League survival

It could have been oh-so different.

Winless in their first eight games in the Premier League, and bottom of the table, a 12-centimetre white bar kept them in the game against Everton.

That difference could have caused defeat, a raucous cacophony of boos and a trip to the job centre for the man in the dugout.

However, as Beto hit the woodwork with a header, Southampton picked up the ball and netted through Adam Armstrong, giving them the three points the Saints had been craving since August.

This sliding doors moment has given the South Coast club some much-needed hope, but life in the Premier League is cut-throat. Another 'relegation six-pointer' greets them on Saturday as they visit Wolves, before games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea to come at St Mary's - meaning points will be hard to come by.

Southampton's style this season under Russell Martin - managing in England's top flight for the first time - has come under fire for being too passive and too slow. It was a staple during the side's promotion campaign last season, and Martin is vociferous in his philosophy, something he knows he is always under the microscope due to his lack of adaptability.

“It's to try and control the game - or as much of the game as possible with all the variables in football,” he said of his style when he joined Southampton. 

“To dominate the ball as much as we can, to be the aggressor with the ball and without it.

But is he showing signs that he could be changing?

Possession and patience. That is Martin's mantra and Southampton are extreme exponents of this. 

Slowly does it

Across the Premier League so far this season, the Saints are fifth in the league's average possession stats with 55%, they are second in passes backwards behind Manchester City and have two players in the top 10 for passes completed. One of those is Polish centre-back Jan Bednarek, one of Southampton's longest-serving players of the current batch having signed back in 2019 who has had a renaissance under Martin.

He has the most passes of anyone in the league with 822 from the opening nine games from the heart of a back three. He is the start of the attacking moves when they need time to get set, whilst he also moves the ball around the backline to find gaps in other sides' pressing play.

It wasn't always this way for Bednarek. Under previous stewardships, his passing was not used in this way as he played in back fours, where his traditional defending attributes were used more.

Those sideways and back passes frustrate the home faithful, but they are crucial as Southampton plot their way through teams.

It's an admittedly risky tactic with six errors leading to goals already this season, all from different individuals and all from defensively-minded players.

It also can leave them making fouls to cover up their mistakes; they have the joint-second amount of yellow and red cards in the league, something that has cost them points, most notably against Leicester at home.

Martin is happy to take these risks on the path to success, but so far, in the Premier League, there hasn't been much of it.

Stormy waters

Frustrations have been rising since August with the performance on and off the pitch in Southampton.

Just one league win will not help with that, but some annoyances started before then. Player recruitment was seen as panicky at the end of the transfer window with Maxwel Cornet and Lesley Ugochukwu coming in at the deadline - they have made six league appearances between them.

Four of the starting XI in their win over Everton were new summer signings, but Martin has struggled to settle on a concrete starting lineup - flip-flopping between trusting his 'Championship side' and the new recruits. In some press conferences, he has openly admitted to picking the wrong players.

This indecision, along with results, has reportedly led Serbian owner Dragan Solak to question whether Martin is the right man for the job behind the scenes.

Speaking after the club's promotion in May, Solak said: "I'm glad that we had this sporting success. We'll try to capitalise on it, but we'll continue working on our long-term projects to make Saints a real, stable, forever Premier League club."

However, sources close to Flashscore have indicated that the ownership group of Southampton are not too worried about relegation back to the Championship as the club is relatively stable financially, and parachute payments will give them a helping hand if the worst does happen.

That will be a better pill to swallow for all fans of the club though; no-one is cheering for their team to be relegated from the top tier and they will be looking to Martin as well as the players to be able to turn it around.

Changing tides

What can Martin do then to keep on improving before his side becomes stranded at the bottom of the table?

To look at history paints a grim picture with the obvious comparison to Southampton's plight being that of Burnley.

They, like the Saints, arrived into the 2023/24 Premier League season hoping to play expansive football with possession at the heart of it.

This did not work. Burnley would finish the campaign in 19th position with five wins to their name and manager Vincent Kompany was criticised for not straying from his philosophy - although it did help him land the Bayern Munich job, so every cloud.

Martin is at least showing signs that he may be willing to adapt more than Kompany.

In the victory over Everton, his two main attacking threats - Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong - played in a more compact fashion, allowing Southampton to move the ball quicker whilst providing the likes of Mateus Fernandes support when driving with the ball.

In August, when they were defeated 1-0 by Nottingham Forest, those two frontmen of Armstrong and Ben Brereton Diaz were poles apart on each wing, struggling to link up in the contest.

Creating that narrower attacking approach gives more licence to Southampton's wide players such as the young Tyler Dibling, who has come through Southampton's famed academy.

At just 18, he has broken onto the scene this season with dynamism, directness and a willingness to drive at defenders. He already has his first Premier League goal, coming against Ipswich Town, and is fast becoming a player that the Saints need to have in their starting lineup.

If they are to succeed this year, Martin's management will be pivotal to make sure Dibling gets the right amount of minutes to make an impact, whilst also not burning him out given his young age.

That direct approach should also be seen as something for Martin to learn. At times, the methodical play should be parked for passes that can split defences or have them running back to their own goal.

This alongside more clinical finishing from a team that has underperformed its xG so far would go a long way to grinding out more results as the season progresses.

For much of Southampton's 139-year history, they have been the biggest club on England's south coast. Arch rivals Portsmouth have been in the doldrums for some time, although they now play in the second tier, but Brighton and Bournemouth have now usurped the Saints with progressive, entertaining and quick football, leading to bigger revenues and marquee transfers.

This took time though, with both sides battling for safety before flourishing into Premier League stalwarts. Southampton would do well to learn from the lessons of these two clubs rather than staying stubborn in a season where survival is paramount.