Why Nigel Adkins Should Survive ‘El Sackico’ Regardless of the Result

Yesterday we witnessed the Premier League’s basement battle; Loftus Road played host to two sides with just one win and one clean sheet between them so far this season. Conventional wisdom tells us that QPR manager Mark Hughes and Southampton’s Nigel Adkins could not be far from a decisive meeting with their chairmen, and a further loss for either in the game dubbed ‘El Sackico’ was touted to be that one disappointment too far.

I’m here to tell you that in this case I do not subscribe to ‘conventional wisdom’, or to any wisdom, for that matter, which suggests that the best course of action for Southampton Football Club would be to remove Nigel Adkins from his post.  Subsequently, I decided to write the bulk of this piece before a ball was kicked in west London – to my mind the result is practically immaterial given that Adkins’ influence at the football club far transcends a couple of months of disappointing results. (Although I must admit, eventually I found it too tempting not to make reference to such a thoroughly satisfying away victory to help illustrate my point.)

“Every game in the Premier League is a big game”, said Adkins in his press conference this weekend, downplaying the significance of yesterday’s fixture; “I’m pretty sure that come Monday both managers will be in situ.” For those not well versed in his ‘Adkinsisms’, his display of confidence and calm might be seen as a vain attempt to put up a united front at the club before what was undoubtedly their biggest game of the campaign so far. Those same observers might also have argued that Southampton’s early-season results increasingly render their manager’s position untenable, but I can only presume that those onlookers do not know enough about the man, the job he has done and the difference he has made. His media-persona remains unchanged from his very first day on the job, and the message is made explicit time and again: ‘We are together as one’. I hope and pray that Chairman Nicola Cortese lives up to his employee’s mantra.

When Cortese moved to bring Adkins to the club in September 2010, Southampton were sitting near the foot of the League One table and struggling to score a goal, let alone win a game. Many fans were disillusioned following Alan Pardew’s abrupt dismissal; bemoaning what they perceived to be yet another piece of gross mismanagement from the Saints’ hierarchy that, they thought, had resigned them to another underwhelming season in League One. Put simply, what the football club desperately needed was a healthy dose of positivity.

Step forward, Nigel Adkins – positivity personified. Scunthorpe’s physio-turned-manager may not have been the obvious choice for the position, but scarcely two seasons later Cortese’s decision was fully vindicated; the club has risen two divisions and Saints fans have been left with some of the finest memories their club has ever supplied them with.

Considering Southampton’s meteoric rise under his stewardship and the relatively small part of this season complete, it is all the more difficult to believe that media speculation over Adkins’ position has been ongoing for some time now. Four points from the opening eleven games - and the mounting media scrutiny that will always accompany such a record - has provided the Liverpudlian with his greatest professional challenge to date, but nothing has suggested to me yet that Adkins is not up to the task.

Those who speculate that Adkins must be on borrowed time in his job are entirely caught up with the superficial. Much like the fallacy employed by those who gaze out of their window at the rain and sigh “So much for global warming, eh?” they fail to grasp the bigger picture, or recognise the general trend.

In this case, the general trend is that over the past few seasons we on the south coast have been treated to a superb brand of football; exciting, dynamic team displays where opportunities are manufactured through neat, swift interplay. A brand of football where we constantly threaten from well-worked set-plays and have rediscovered a winning mentality. It might be raining just now, but Adkins’ has been a decidedly sunny regime.

Adkins’ overarching principles of positivity and unity are the reasons why a couple of bad weeks, or even a couple of bad months, should not tempt Cortese into a change in management. The club is geared to this philosophy from bottom-up; Adkins’ Southampton is a long-term project with long-term aims. When the manager need not fear for his job on the back of a disappointing spell then real progress can be made. This means support for the club’s manager that does not waver on the back of a bad start to a league season. I have bought into Adkins’ Southampton; the Adkins years have rekindled my love for the club and I would like to think he can take us onto the next level or two, before the inevitable parting of ways.

Equally valuable is the fact that the feeling is clearly mutual; anybody who saw his post-promotion interview in April will have been left in little doubt that Adkins possesses true affection to the club. I think back to Saints managers from the recent-past and I struggle to remember another who is so vocal about his pride in his job title.

Of course, Adkins the manager is not without his faults. It has been argued that he has been over-loyal to certain members of his squad, placing too much trust in them to make the step-up to the Premier League, to the detriment of results. His substitutions this season have also been brought into question as the Saints surrendered leads in home games to Manchester United and Fulham. I would argue though, that any new manager in the Premier League can be expected to make a certain number of mistakes in just the same way that a young player might take some time to adjust to a new level of the game before ultimately flourishing. He has earned our trust, and his clear potential deserves our persistence.

Yesterday’s clash exemplified the unity of club that Adkins values so dearly. While the home fans were on their players’ backs from the start, the travelling army of over 3000 roared their support for their side and their manager; positivity clear for all to see. The Saints played fearlessly; when their lead was halved early in the second period it would have been easy to abandon the incisive, aggressive passing that had been serving them so well, but instead they took their game up another gear and barely allowed QPR another kick. The entire occasion - from the fans to the players and management  - was an impressive endorsement of the manager's style that happily also lends support my argument: Adkins’ relentless positive energy is taking hold at St. Mary’s, and it is too valuable to throw away so carelessly.

None of this is to say that Adkins’ previous successes should grant him impunity; the club requires Premier League football but I stop short of saying ‘at any cost.’ Should Cortese act too rashly then we might just be giving up too soon on a real gem of a manager. It is my hope that it is nothing more than a vocal minority in cyberspace who have lost faith in Mr. Adkins, and that behind closed doors Cortese is making plans for Nigel for many years to come.

Three from Eight

Before the opening day I picked out eight potential relegation candidates, three of which Southampton must finish above to survive the drop. With the opening skirmishes of the Premier League season complete, what have we learned about the other relegation candidates?

Norwich

The Squad post-window– The summer saw an unwelcome resignation from manager Paul Lambert followed by a transfer request from star striker Grant Holt – hardly an ideal recipe for continuing the great progress made at the club in the past three seasons. However, new manager Chris Hughton has recruited well, strengthening the defence with Bassong and Turner and snaring Robert Snodgrass from Leeds. He adds these to a squad made up mainly of lower division players come good. Surman, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Howson, Jackson, Morison, Barnett and Bennett – these were progressive signings made by Lambert who all played their part in the club’s upsurge from League One strugglers to Premier League surprise package.  But now that the man responsible for the resurrection has departed, all the symptoms point to a textbook case of – say it quietly – second-season syndrome.

Whether this comes to pass or not remains to be seen – Hughton performed commendably in the Premier League with Newcastle – but the side’s winless start to the season has done little to allay fears that Norwich City might come down with a bump this year. The momentum from successive promotions saw them thrive in their first season back in the top division, but now –with the ‘feel-good factor’ subsiding– the real work starts for Norwich City.

 The manager – Chris Hughton has undertaken one of the most difficult jobs in the division at Carrow Road. It seems strange to say after three of their best seasons in decades, but Norwich’s is a squad that, without the right guidance, could very well see last year’s wide-eyed enthusiasm crushed. Hughton is undoubtedly a talented coach, but is relatively inexperienced as a manager at the top level and will do well to stop Norwich from slipping into trouble.

The prospects – Five-goal defeats to Fulham and Liverpool have set alarm bells ringing, but they performed well when snatching a point from Tottenham in September. Much depends on whether Grant Holt can reproduce last season’s form having successfully manipulated himself new contract from the club, as his only competitors, Simeon Jackson and Steve Morison, may not provide sufficient firepower themselves. A real worry for Hughton will be that several of the Liverpool’s goals this weekend were entirely self-inflicted– Norwich must rid themselves of this soft touch if they are to steer clear of trouble.

Reading

The squad post-window - Reading made several low-profile yet astute signings from the division they won last season before adding more high-profile names in the form of Fulham’s Pavel Pogrebnyak, highly sought-after following his short-term stint at Craven Cottage last season, and Newcastle’s Danny Guthrie. The Russian Pogrebnyak scored a fine header at Stanford Bridge in his second game, but hasn’t yet added to his tally. Mariappa’s arrival provides competition for Pearce and Gorkss at the back and supplies much needed Premier League experience, although his last appearance in this league came in 2007. One man with plenty of experience is Ian Harte, but his startling lack of pace has already been exploited this season and his place lost to the returning Nicky Shorey.

Gunter and McCleary have as yet failed to nail down starting places following their moves from Nottingham Forest, while similarly Danny Guthrie has lost out in midfield to those players who earned Reading their promotion and recently tweeted that he was working hard to adapt his style of play to suit his manager’s philosophy.

The manager - A mixed bag on the transfer front so far, then, but McDermott’s preference for the slow evolution of his squad is in keeping with his calculated management style. The former scout is unafraid to make tough decisions, having quickly dropped last season’s star performer Adam Federici after two errors in as many games, replacing him with young Englishman Alex McCarthy.

The prospects -After five games Reading find themselves without a win, but they can count themselves unlucky not to have recorded their first against Newcastle this weekend after Demba Ba equalised with his hand and the visitors somehow survived a late onslaught. This was a welcome improvement from the disappointing defeats to West Brom and Tottenham that preceded it, but Reading fans know their side need to start putting points on the board if the pre-season relegation favourites are to prove the bookies wrong. Should goals from Pogrebnyak fail to materialise it is difficult to see where Reading’s threat will come from.

Wigan

The squad post-window – Make no mistake - Wigan lost three key players this summer. Victor Moses, Hugo Rodallega and Mo Diame all joined other Premier League clubs, and it will be another severe test of Roberto Martinez’s abilities to conjure up the required wins to beat the drop come May. The losses of Moses and Rodallega, Martinez will hope, have been dampened by the arrival of Aruna Kone and Ryo Miyaichi, while Ivan Ramis comes in at centre back. The combative Diame will be a real asset for new club West Ham, but Wigan will have to rely on the skills of McCarthy, Watson and McArthur to plug the gap. They possess a fine goalkeeper in Al Habsi and showed wonderful resolve in last season’s winning run - however I fear that this season’s squad is a weaker version of the one which barely survived last year, and to repeat the trick is a tough ask for Wigan Athletic.

The manager – Martinez has performed miracles on a budget again and again for chairman Dave Whelan when written off by pundits, so it would be foolish to do so again this year. However, it is certainly one of his toughest tasks yet to survive in a Premier League finally rid of three sides who could be relied upon to struggle year on year – Blackburn, Wolves and Bolton. He is undoubtedly as experienced in relegation battles as any other manager in the league, and this will stand his side in good stead.

The prospects – Wigan recorded their only win so far at St Mary’s in what can only be described as a ‘smash and grab’ display, and have otherwise struggled in a challenging run of fixtures that included Manchester United and Chelsea. They would have hoped to pick up more points, however, from home ties with Fulham and Stoke and have yet to threaten a clean sheet. They face West Ham and Swansea in their next three matches – the kind of games Wigan need to perform in if they are put space between themselves and the bottom three.

Aston Villa

The squad post-window – The Villa squad is a strange mix resulting from the club’s being in a state of transition. N’Zogbia, Delph, Hutton, Given and Bent were big-money signings from a bygone era at Villa Park, when the owner Randy Lerner was more willing to throw his money around. In Sunday’s 1-1 draw with rivals West Brom, though, Delph was the only of these to start the game as Paul Lambert is tasked with producing results using young, hungry replacements. The well-established names that failed under Alex McLeish last season have found that their starting places are by no means guaranteed; Guzan has displaced Given in goal – a surprise to many onlookers – while Benteke and Agbonlahor left no room for England international Bent. Lambert will rely on the ability of his collection of promising youngsters, such as Ciaran Clark, Barry Bannan and Marcus Albrighton, to steer his side away from trouble.

The manager – This is a brand new managerial experience for Paul Lambert who has been tasked with inspiring a disillusioned fan-base with a largely unproven squad. At Norwich, he took up the reins with the club seemingly at its lowest ebb, slowly building up a head of steam that endeared him to supporters. The situation at Aston Villa is quite different, though, as Lambert will have to balance the blooding of new talent with the appeasement of his star names. His arrival at his previous jobs signalled an end to the bad times, but Lambert’s task at Villa will test his adaptability if nothing else, as Aston Villa have conceivably a little further to fall just yet.

The prospects – Villa’s inconsistent start has seen solid performances at Newcastle and at home to Swansea, but also a second-half capitulation at Southampton and a toothless display at West Ham. Highly paid stars may have misfired last season, but Lambert does not suffer fools gladly and I just can’t see them failing to get themselves together over the course of the season. If Bent stays fit and in favour Aston Villa will find goals aplenty, something that not all their relegation rivals will be able to match.

QPR

The squad post-window – Where to start? Robert Green replaced Paddy Kenny, but he now finds himself playing second fiddle to Julio Cesar – an eyebrow-raising acquisition from Inter Milan. Other high-profile signings were Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung and Fabio, Stephane Mbia, Junior Hoilett, and Jose Bosingwa. This continued investment in the playing squad suggests the board have more faith in Mark Hughes than they ever did in Neil Warnock, who could only dream of a strike-force including the likes of Zamora and Cisse. In other news, perennial troublemaker Joseph (don’t call him Joey) Barton has relocated to France.

The manager – Mark Hughes has undoubted pedigree and has never failed to make a positive impression in a Premier League job. In fact, for this reason I was loathe to assign them the tag ‘relegation candidates’ back in August, but their nightmare start – capped off by a terrible 2-1 home defeat to West Ham on Monday – forces me to reconsider. Hughes finds himself in the familiar position at the helm of a club whose hierarchy have a notoriously itchy trigger finger. He didn’t let the pressure get the better of him at Manchester City, but ultimately failed to deliver what was asked of him and was sacked. Now, with a mini injury crisis in defence and a squad low on confidence, Hughes finds the pressure is back on to first save his job, and then QPR’s season.

The prospects – Something tells me that QPR will be this season’s relegation red herring. The firepower served up by Zamora, Cisse, Johnson and Hoilett, should be enough to get them out of trouble, and once the injuries subside and signings gel Rangers should be looking at a low mid-table finish. They will want to rediscover the winning touch sooner rather than later, however, as no squad with Taarabt, Wright-Phillips and Dyer in midfield is will be a model of consistency.

West Ham

The squad post-window – The Hammers added Mo Diame, James Collins, Matt Jarvis and most notably Andy Carroll in the transfer window, strengthening their side in all areas. An Allardyce favourite Jussi Jaaskelainen has replaced Rob Green in goal and has experience on his side, but it should be remembered that he was considered second best to Adam Bogdan at Bolton last year, one of the league’s least consistent keepers and has already conceded soft goals. The significance of Carroll and Jarvis’ signings may be huge as the season wears on as they are always likely to cause opposition defences all kinds of problems but Carroll may still return to Liverpool in January, in which case West Ham must rely more heavily on Carlton Cole – hardly music to the ears of the Upton Park faithful.

The manager – Allardyce’s style of play, though much maligned last season, has always secured results at this level and, in any case, the criticism hardly seems to worry him. He even branded his own supporters ‘deluded’ at times last year as they told him that their side traditionally ‘play on the floor.’ Andy Carroll is, in many ways, the perfect Allardyce signing; unfussy and unapologetically direct – Carroll will be a nightmare to defend against and will certainly suit the Allardyce’s style better than Rodgers’ at Anfield.

The prospects – West Ham have made a very fine start indeed, taking advantage of a favourable fixture-list to pick up maximum points against strugglers Villa and QPR. More significant, however, is their demolition of Fulham in Carroll’s one and only appearance before injury. The signs were that West Ham are finally comfortable playing the ‘Big Sam Way’, and if that kind of form continues they needn’t worry about relegation. Should Carroll be taken back to Anfield and West Ham start to struggle the fans might resume hostilities with their manager – though any such troubles seem an awfully long way off as they sit 7^th in the table.

Swansea

The squad post-window – In some ways, the Swans are in a similar position to Norwich City – a promoted club who have paid for their first-season success with the loss of their celebrated manager to a bigger side. Brendan Rodgers’ continental approach, however, looks set to continue under new boss Michael Laudrup with the signings of the talented Michu, de Guzman and Hernandez. The latter is a like-for-like replacement for Scott Sinclair, lost to Manchester City in the close season. Other significant absentees are Joe Allen, who followed his manager to Liverpool and fullback Neil Taylor, who broke an ankle in the opening weeks. However, they have retained the services of Michel Vorm – one of the League’s top performers last year, and overall Swansea look in better shape than Norwich to replicate the success of 2011-12.

The manager – In Michael Laudrup Swansea might just have found the right manager at the right time. Having delivered relative success with some of the smaller clubs in La Liga in recent years, and whilst employing the kind of tactics Swansea fans have grown to love under Rodgers, Laudrup seems like the perfect fit for the forward-thinking club looking to establish itself in the Premier League. This may be his first job in English football but the Dane has more than enough experience to suggest he is up to the task.

 The prospects – Swansea made a flying start with five and three goal wins in their opening two games, but have since failed to recreate that form in defeats to Villa, Everton and Stoke in which they failed to score a single goal. Michu’s start has been encouraging, but his role is not that of an out-and-out striker and the Swans will need to find alternative goal sources or they may struggle. Danny Graham will be required to weigh in with goals, while Ashley Williams must rediscover his form from last year to keep the defence steady at the other end. The fixture list looks steadily less charitable in the coming weeks, and they will hope to pick up maximum points from two home games to Reading and Wigan before then.

West Brom

The squad post-window – West Brom and new manager Steve Clarke went about their transfer business quietly this summer, picking up Ben Foster in a permanent deal and Lukaku on loan from Chelsea while suffering no notable departures. In truth, the core of Albion’s squad is not vastly different to the one that Roy Hodgson successfully steered to safety in 2011 and earned the England job with in 2012.Long, Lukaku, Odemwingie, Gera and new signing Rosenberg all compete for striking positions, while El Ghanassy and Yacob join the increasingly influential James Morison in midfield. Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley have forged a fine partnership at the back, and it is this stable foundation upon which West Brom manufactured a top half finish in 2012.

The manager – Steve Clarke’s name has been linked to Premier League vacancies for years, but the highly rated coach’s appointment at the Hawthorns is his first managerial post. Often the step-up from assistant to manager is a difficult one – just ask Terry Connor – but Clarke has a fine reputation in football and has more than done his time in the number two role. At a club like West Brom, though, the first target will always be to pass the 40-point barrier, and should Albion begin to struggle Clarke’s reputation will quickly count for less and less.

The prospects – Albion have started the season in impressive style, picking up maximum points from home games to Liverpool, Everton and Reading without conceding. Should that kind of form continue the Baggies will have little to worry about, and at present it appears that Clarke has taken to management like a duck to water. It would be unwise to completely rule out a reversal in fortunes given that Roberto Di Matteo struggled with a similar squad two seasons ago, but with the Baggies already accumulating eleven points all the signs point to another mid-table finish.

Saints Profit from Lallana’s Slow Burn

Adam Lallana’s rise from promising League One youngster to potential England international at Southampton is the result of a very happy set of circumstances. The south coast club first saw Theo Walcott, then Gareth Bale, and most recently Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cherry picked by England’s elite while they languished in the second tier, unable to offer their stars the chances to perform on the big stage. So noticeable were the talents of those three, and at such young ages, that Southampton could never have hoped to hold onto them whilst not in the super rich Premier League. The club cashed in on its prize assets.

The happy circumstances surrounding Adam Lallana, then, have been that his quality was not clear enough early enough to tempt any sizeable offers from his admirers, and by the time it was, Southampton’s upward momentum had seen them arrive in the Premier League themselves.  

Three seasons ago, with Southampton readying themselves for a season in League One, few football fans would have been aware of the young player who had provided brief glimpses of brilliance in what had otherwise been a torrid few seasons for the club. Lallana’s time spent in an oft-beleaguered and inevitably relegated side appears to have served him well; his industry and determination were plain for all to see as his side battled away at the Etihad Arena in this season’s first game, where he also took up the captain’s armband. But after the Swiss takeover of the club in 2009 Lallana was expected to leave the role of gallant loser behind him and set about fulfilling his undoubted potential.

Then-manager Alan Pardew recruited Rickie Lambert to spearhead the side’s attack in League One and it was he who scored many of the Saints’ goals that season, but non-casual observers will have noticed that the stand-out performances at St Mary’s could so often be found at left midfield. For two years Lallana’s trickery troubled the right-backs of League One as he slowly added more and more to his game; increasingly there was an ‘end product’ - the holy grail of the promising wide player – to match his dizzying skill.

Pardew’s one and only season in charge of the Saints ended in disappointment, his side narrowly failing to overturn their ten-point administration penalty and reach the playoffs. His replacement Nigel Adkins was clearly well aware of the potency Lallana added to his side; he spoke at length of the importance of keeping his winger free from serious injury and was quick to withdraw him when his troublesome groin problems resurfaced. This strategy paid dividends when Lallana was able to play a key role in their run of fourteen wins out of the final seventeen matches, taking a place in the team of the year in the process. But perhaps ‘winger’ is not the right term for of player of his kind; the right-footed Lallana often drifts infield to join in with his side’s intricate build-up play but is equally adept using his wrong foot to float crosses to his forwards – a combination that continued to unsettle defenders on his return to the Championship.

The threat posed on the flanks by Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain, as well as the not-inconsiderable contribution of Lambert, saw the Saints surge to promotion at the second time of asking, and perhaps the headline grabbing of his two teammates provided a smokescreen behind which Lallana could quietly go about his business. That summer saw the departure of Oxlade-Chamberlain to Arsenal for a reported £15 million, but in truth the youngster had sat out the majority of Southampton’s devastating end of season run through injury, and the Saints had developed a reliable winning formula in the shape of Lambert and Lallana’s neat interplay.

That formula continued to serve Adkins’ side well a division higher as Southampton proceeded to notch up a record 21 straight home league wins, and Lallana’s eye-catching performances swayed many a game in their favour. His trickery and guile were once again overshadowed by the goalscoring exploits of a certain colleague, but fittingly it was Lallana who a sealed second successive promotion with the fourth goal in the decisive final day victory over Coventry. That was his thirteenth strike of a campaign that saw his performance improve markedly with the platform of Adkins’ fitness regime.

The start of the 2012/13 season has seen Lallana finally begin to receive concrete personal accolades to add to the endless plaudits. Adkins appointed him the team’s captain prior to their Premier League return, and while the Saints have lost their opening three fixtures there are reasons to be optimistic as they pushed first champions Manchester City, and then neighbours United, all the way in thrilling encounters. Next came his first international call-up, albeit in the wake of a string of injuries to England regulars, further illustrating his growing reputation in the game.

Adam Lallana’s time at Southampton FC has, until this point at least, been to their mutual benefit. A delicate balance has been struck in the past three seasons; neither has Lallana outgrown the club or the club Lallana. Unlike some of the academy prospects that were whisked away before they had a chance to make any real footballing contribution to the club, his steady growth has perfectly matched that of his team. When Southampton were the sleeping giants of League One, his potential was being slowly recognised. When the club continued their march up the football league he became hailed as one of the brightest talents outside of the top flight. And now, with the Saints finally back in the big time, their new captain finds himself in the thinking of Roy Hodgson and England.

It has been more than then years since the great Matt Le Tissier hung up his boots, and this is easily the closest we have come to unearthing a new Mr Southampton.

Southampton Lack the Steel to go with their Cutting Edge

Southampton treated the Sky audience to another entertaining encounter at St Mary’s this afternoon, but once again played the fall-guys in what was ultimately Robin Van Persie’s day.

With just three minutes remaining of the ninety Southampton were within touching distance of a wonderful victory to get their campaign up and running, but a quickfire double from Van Persie robbed them of even their first Premier League point. The Saints failed to clear a late corner, Valencia sent a precise cross to an unmarked Ferdinand and when his header rebounded off the post Van Persie was on hand to sweep home. Perhaps a more experienced Premiership outfit would have done more to shut up shop after conceding late, but Manchester United needed little invitation from Southampton to come forward in search of a winner. In stoppage time, Van Persie beat Fonte to a Nani corner and glanced a perfect header past a helpless Davis.

It had taken the Saints a good ten minutes to get hold of the ball at the start of the match, but when they did they put it to very good use. Schneiderlin strode forward and supplied Puncheon on the right, and his cross picked out Lambert at the back post who rose above Rafael to head past Lindegaard. St Mary’s was in raptures, dreaming of another famous victory over United that would be their first for nine years.

Those dreamers were snapped back to reality, though, when Van Persie capitalized on Clyne’s slip to ruthlessly volley past Davis for the first of his three goals on 23 minutes. If this was the signal for Southampton to let the white tide wash over them, the home side hadn’t read the script. The Saints competed with unabashed resolve; Davis, Schneiderlin and 17 year-old James Ward-Prowse effectively stifling the United midfield with neat interplay and telling interceptions. Save for a headed effort from Evra, comfortably repelled by Davis, Southampton had little more to worry about in the opening period while at the other end a Lambert strike flew wide.

In the first half Southampton's focus had been to contain the visitors, but they began the second by creating openings of their own. Lallana and Puncheon provided a constant threat from the wide areas while Lambert was barely marshalled by Vidic and Ferdinand. Ten minutes into the second half, Lambert peeled away to the left-hand side and lofted a perfectly weighted cross into the path of Schneiderlin, who headed into the bottom corner. Once again the Saints were in front, and this time they looked intent on extending their advantage; Lambert narrowly failed to find Ward-Prowse after breaking the offside trap, and Puncheon’s drive was well kept out by Lindegaard at his near post.

While the Southampton attack was holding up its end of the bargain, though, the defence never looked likely to hold out until the final whistle. Too many passes were going needlessly astray in dangerous areas, and while the first of these from Davis was not punished, the second drew a rash challenge from Hooiveld who felled Van Persie in the area. Luckily for the goalkeeper the Dutchman’s penalty was weak, and St Mary’s celebrated Davis’ save as if it were another goal.

But undoubtedly the pressure was growing, not helped by Adkins’ withdrawal of Lambert and Lallana, and with minutes left came United’s double sucker-punch.

Wigan’s late goal last week sparked a mass exodus from St Mary’s, but this one saw the crowd rise to its feet to show their appreciation for what was an excellent attacking display that more than worried Manchester United for long periods. Their side sits at the bottom of the league, but were handed an unenviable fixture list to start their season and should not worry unduly about their lack of points (or point) at this stage.

What is of concern, though, is that the Saints look far too likely to capitulate when put under extended periods of pressure from the opposition. The lack of any established Premier League quality in defence may or may not be the undoing of Adkins’ side this season, only time will tell, but what is plain to see is that as of yet they have been far too easy to score against. The addition of Ramirez and Mayuka supply Adkins with a wealth of striking options, but it looks more and more likely that the Saints' best hope of accumulating the required wins this season will be to outscore the opposition, rather than to shut them out.

Saints' First Real Premier Test Sets Alarm Bells Ringing

Wigan Athletic’s trip to St Mary’s provided a sobering indication of what is to come if Southampton lack of transfer activity stretches past Friday’s deadline. Adkins’ side started brightly enough, but a lack of quality in the final third halted their forward momentum and ultimately allowed the visitors to leave with all three points despite rarely threatening the Southampton goal.

Franco Di Santo latched onto Maloney’s through ball early in the second period and drilled his shot into the roof of the net to put the visitors in front, leaving Fonte trailing in his wake. Fonte was later robbed of the ball on the half-way line, with his side having committed men forward, and Kone easily beat Davis when one-on-one. These defensive lapses, though, are not the ominous element of Saturday’s display to which I refer. Rather, it was the coming to fruition of niggling pre-season doubts over the course of the ninety minutes that fuelled the air of worry that had enveloped St Mary’s by the final whistle.

The new season has seen Adkins’ side move from a traditional 4-4-2 formation to the increasingly popular 4-3-3, using two wide forwards to support Rickie Lambert as the central striker. What was made clear on Saturday, however, was that the Saints lack the personnel to effectively undertake their new game-plan. Jay Rodriguez, Saints’ record £6 million signing from Burnley, was forced onto the left hand side rather than his favoured central striking role and struggled to provide either any threat from the touchline or when running in behind Lambert. And to Lambert’s right: Guly do Prado. The Brazilian endured a difficult afternoon in an equally unfamiliar role and repeatedly failed to stretch the Wigan defence.

Early on, Lallana, who looked perfectly comfortable in his central midfield role, had stretched Al Habsi into a fine save when he let fly from 20 yards. But in truth, Southampton failed to create clear-cut chances as the half drew on, and Di Santo’s sucker-punch was indicative of the visitor’s growing comfort as the game progressed. After the opener, Adkins persevered with his formation for a further fifteen minutes or so, before reverting to 4-4-2 in an attempt to present new dangers to Wigan’s backline. The tactical switch, though, meant Wigan saw more and more of the ball, and Southampton’s desperation grew. Hooiveld was deployed as an extra forward and his header that landed on Al Habsi’s crossbar was the Saints’ final chance to draw level before Fonte’s mistake handed Wigan a second.

Within seconds of Kone’s clincher the stadium was half-empty, the Saints fans resigning themselves to a losing return of Premier League football at St Mary’s. Elements of Southampton’s play had been encouraging; the ball retention in the first period denied Wigan any meaningful attacks, and the midfield trio of Schneiderlin, Davis and Lallana look well equipped to play at this level. Now, the supporters can only wait and hope that Cortese and Adkins make significant progress in their transfer dealings before time runs out to pep up their uncharacteristically benign attack.

Southampton Reintroduce Themselves to the Premier League in Thrilling Loss to City

Newly promoted Southampton travelled to the Etihad Stadium expecting very little from their opening day clash with the Premier League champions. While they ultimately left with no points to show for their efforts, the Saints will take great heart from a second half that saw them strike two goals past Joe Hart in ten exhilarating minutes.

The first of the day’s surprises came from the Southampton team sheet, with Nigel Adkins starting Guly do Prado ahead of talisman Rickie Lambert, and handing a league debut to 17 year-old James Ward-Prowse who accompanied Schneiderlin and Lallana in a central midfield three. Adkins later justified his decision to start the enigmatic Brazilian as a strategy to save his Lambert’s energy for the vital latter stages where he might find more space, and that he did, but not before Southampton’s starting eleven were pinned back in their own half for the majority of the first period.

The home side’s best opening arrived in the sixteenth minute when some slick city build-up play coaxed Hooiveld into a mistimed tackle on Tevez in the area, but Kelvin Davis kept out Silva’s tame penalty. Minutes later Tevez found himself with time and space in the box but Davis easily dealt with his shot.

Just as it was beginning to look like the Saints’ luck might just hold out until half-time, they were undone by some clinical attacking play by the champions. Nasri was afforded Championship-level time on the ball and his threaded pass was given a Premiership-level finish by Tevez whose accurate shot beat Davis at his near post. There were hints of offside, but Southampton could hardly argue that City didn’t deserve their half-time lead.

Given the one-sided nature of the first half, Southampton’s task looked ever more mountainous as the second half started in a similar vein; Silva struck the crossbar while Guly, Puncheon and Rodriguez struggled to make any inroads into the City half. That is until the first of Adkins’ substitutions when Rodriguez made way for last season’s Championship player of the year in the 55^th minute. Immediately Lambert’s range of passing and intricate link-up play with Lallana enabled Southampton some time on the ball, and a grasp on the match. Within three minutes of his introduction Ward-Prowse and Guly worked the ball to Lambert on the edge of the box, and the striker bent a superb first-time shot past Joe Hart to spark joyous celebrations from the Saints fans.

Back came City, winning a corner and forcing all eleven Saints players in the own penalty area, which makes the speed and precision of their counter-attack all the more impressive; Lallana anticipated Rodwell’s pass and his break to the halfway line was quickly supported by Steven Davis, another substitute. He returned the ball to Lallana in the box before brilliantly dispatching his captain’s lay-off into the far bottom corner.

The game was turned on its head and, with just twenty minutes remaining, the Saints might just have dared to dream of an improbable opening day scalp. The speed and ferocity of City’s response would surely determine the outcome, and sadly for Southampton the response was indeed swift. Within four minutes Southampton failed to deal with a corner and the ball eventually fell to Dzeko, who swept home from six yards. Given the circumstances of City’s final day triumph last season, a palpable sense of inevitability preceded their winning goal. With more than ten minutes still remaining, Danny Fox’s poor defensive header teed up Nasri who found the top corner and, just in case they had been in any doubt, Southampton fully understood the challenge they face this season.

The Premier League the Saints have rejoined is a very different animal to the one they left in 2005. The standards have been raised; the relegation battles will be harder fought and mistakes more readily seized upon. However, this Southampton Football Club is also unrecognisable from seven years ago. They have left Manchester with no points to add to their tally but their second half display will have left the league in little doubt that a new Southampton - with fresh enthusiasm, intent and impetus - have arrived. 

Lambert, Adkins and Lallana Make History as Southampton Romp Past Coventry

One of my most striking memories of Southampton’s recent past is of a home game to Nottingham Forest in December 2008. I sat and watched a team of misfits, too old or too young, being overrun by a positively average visiting team. I remember watching Forest score their second goal of a two-nil win, and Kelvin Davis turn to retrieve the ball from the back of his net. I remember him shaking his head. No belief, no real belief that the football club was on the right track either in the game or in general. I remember looking around the stadium, only half-filled with the depressed and the downtrodden, and thinking, to put it bluntly, ‘this is shit.’

It is a true measure of what has happened in the four years since, then, when I say that that moment in 2008, that relegation in 2005 and the heartbreak in the 2007 playoffs were all worth it. On Saturday April 28^th 2012 Southampton returned to the Premier League in style, demolishing Coventry City in front of the BBC cameras in a performance that showed the entire nation what the club has now become.

Positivity, not nervousness, filled St. Mary’s from the very start of the game. Coventry had started brightly, forcing a chance when Gary McSheffrey found space in the box, but his shot was brilliantly clawed away by Kelvin Davis. The Saints, though, never really looked back after they took the lead on the quarter-hour.

Fonte strode out of defence with the ball, releasing Guly down the right, and his cross was met by Adam Lallana’s volley. Sharp’s predatory instinct’s did the rest as he diverted the shot past Murphy and the ground erupted. The celebrations had barely died down when Southampton doubled their lead; a Danny Fox corner was met by Fonte for his first goal of the season, his header just evading the defender on the goal line. If the noise that greeted the first goal signalled unbridled joy, the pandemonium that ensued after the second was the sound of collective catharsis.

The Saints were now in complete control, exemplifying everything that had got them into this position in the first place. Schneiderlin, in what I predict will be his final game outside of the top-tier of English football, dominated the midfield almost single-handedly. A record crowd created the most enjoyable of match-day atmospheres as they roared their team on to finish the job, as well as directing a few choice words to their dear south coast neighbours, whose relegation was confirmed last weekend.

After the break their team did finish the job. Another Fox corner fell to Hooiveld who capped off a prolific season with another tidy finish. The players ran to the crowd, sharing the ecstasy of celebration and savouring the best moment of their careers. The party had begun in earnest by the time Lallana ran onto Lambert’s knock-down and sparked another crescendo of noise – Southampton’s seven-year Premier Division exile was over.

At the end of the game I joined the obligatory pitch-invasion and wandered through the joyful hoards towards where the players and management were celebrating in the Chairman’s box. I remember looking up and watching Nigel Adkins and Rickie Lambert conduct another rendition of ‘Oh When The Saints’ from their adoring fans. And I remember thinking, to put it bluntly, ‘this is absolutely fantastic.’

Davis’ Career Arc Nears a Fitting End as the Saints Travel to ‘Boro

Today Southampton FC stand three points away from a long awaited return to the Premier League. The club has been through some turbulent times and many changes since they relegation from the top tier in 2005, and perhaps only one man at the club fully appreciates the significance of what might be achieved at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, this afternoon – Kelvin Davis.

Davis was recruited by George Burley in the summer of 2006 as the club aimed for a top-flight return at the second time of asking. His transfer was part of a £7m spending spree, but in a season that failed to live up to its billing, his signing was perhaps the most heavily criticised. After a successful stint with Ipswich, Davis had been given a chance in the Premier League with Sunderland, but his one and only season on Teesside was an unmitigated disaster – the team breaking the record for the lowest ever points total for the Division.

His first season at St Mary’s did little to justify Burley’s faith in the keeper; numerous errors cost Southampton any real chance of automatic promotion and he eventually lost the number one shirt, only returning to the side as they crashed out of the playoffs to Derby.

The spending that had funded Davis’ transfer soon caught up with the club, and they were unable to muster another challenge for promotion the following season, instead barely hanging onto their Championship status on the final day of the season. Once again Davis had lost his place in the team, and his days at St. Mary’s appeared to be numbered as it was suspected that the financially stricken Saints might try to recoup at least some of his £2m fee.

Instead, a new-look management team looked to Davis’ experience to help guide a startlingly young squad through increasingly unstable times at the club. Ultimately, the Saints ended the season relegated and in administration, but Davis’ fine displays in a struggling side perhaps meant more than he could have known at the time. His vastly improved form had instilled new confidence in him from the stands, and the supporters' newfound appreciation for their captain made all the difference as he opted to stay on in League 1 rather than jump-ship, ironically, to West Ham.

In the wake of exciting new ownership at St. Mary’s, Davis said he was determined to see through the task that he been brought to the club to achieve – promotion to the Premiership. That seemed a long way off when the club kicked off on minus ten points in England’s third tier, but the club’s transition from perennial underachievers to football-league tour de force has been swift. Less than three years on, and Southampton are on the brink of an improbable return to football’s top table under the stewardship of Nigel Adkins.

Davis has been vital in the transformation and his position as fans’ favourite was further enhanced after his astonishing performance won his side three points at Leeds in March. The club captain was mobbed by his teammates at the final whistle at Elland Road, and Davis’ reaction showed exactly what success this season would mean to him.

The denouement of Kelvin Davis’ own personal journey could well coincide with Southampton’s Premier League redemption. He, more than most, deserves a second shot at the big time.

Reading Show the Value of the Art of the Half-Chance

Another sell-out crowd at St Mary’s was left frustrated by their team’s failure to convert dominance into points last night, and nobody can deny that, at this stage, it is points that are very much the order of the day.

Adam Le Fondre’s introduction with just under half an hour remaining proved to be the decisive moment in an encounter that effectively decided the Championship title. His two late goals not only all but sealed the Royals’ return to the Premiership, but also served to highlight what it was that was missing from Southampton’s performance. There was no lack of strategy, endeavour, inspiration or skill, but Southampton failed to make their opportunities count, especially in the first half when they laid siege to the Reading goal.

Adam Federici, whose outstanding performance at Brighton in midweek earned Reading an unlikely victory, once again proved to be a difficult obstacle for the opposition to pass. In a first half almost entirely controlled by the home side, Federici’s display was vital just to keep the visitors in touch at the break, let alone in the lead. But in the lead they were on twenty minutes after they took advantage Southampton’s first real error in possession. Danny Fox’s overambitious cross-field pass was intercepted, Jose Fonte was caught underneath Kebe’s precise centre, and Jason Roberts was left to head past Davis from close range.

This was hardly fair on the Saints, who had started the game like a team determined to make this their own night to remember. Reading were finding Lallana’s trickery difficult to contain, and his deflected strike drew Federici’s first real save – the Australian getting down smartly to turn the ball round the right post. Next, Butterfield’s inviting cross was met by Lambert’s flying header, but it was just too close to Federici who made another fine stop.

Then came Roberts’ sucker-punch, but Southampton’s assault on the Reading goal didn’t let up; Lallana’s audacious chip forced another save before Lambert was just unable to get over Fox’s cross in the six-yard box, directing his header over the crossbar.

Southampton were finally rewarded for their pressure early in the second half, and even then it took a deflection to beat Federici. Lallana found Sharp in the penalty area, and his instant lay-off fell perfectly for Lambert whose strike flew into the roof of the net via the knee of Gorkss.

In truth, the Saints never really took advantage of their return to parity; Reading’s resolve, if anything, was strengthened as they pressed the home side ever higher up the pitch, denying them the freedom of possession they surrendered in the first period. The chances were drying up as Lallana was well marshalled by the Reading backline, forcing the home side to rely on hopeful crosses from Butterfield and occasional darting runs from de Ridder. One such cross did find Lallana as he made a run across Cummings, but he couldn’t direct his header on target - another half-chance squandered by the Saints.

Adam Le Fondre has made a habit of snatching late goals since his arrival from Rotherham, and he was the perfect man for Brian McDermott to turn to in the circumstances– Reading’s was a game plan that depended upon the ruthlessness of their forwards when the time came. When Dean Hammond dallied on the ball with twenty minutes remaining, the substitute might have just felt that the time had come.

With the Saints defence backtracking desperately to halt Kebe’s progress into the penalty area, Le Fondre timed his run to the edge of the box perfectly to meet the winger’s pullback and fire a first-time finish into the top corner. McDermott says his striker was ‘born to score goals’, and his second goal in injury time further showed off his poacher’s instincts. Fonte’s back-header was too weak to reach Davis and Le Fondre rounded the ‘keeper to finish.

The Royals’ smash-and-grab win was their fourteenth in their last sixteen outings, an incredible feat that deserves to culminate in promotion. Whether the Saints can join them in the Premier Division depends heavily upon how they react in midweek – a trip to Peterborough to try to secure the first of two wins that would see them out of West Ham’s reach. They need to rediscover their finishing touch, and fast.

Why strikes from Arteta and Scholes signal a different kind of victory

This impartial observer is delighted at yesterday’s football action. Manchester City have dropped a further three points behind their city neighbours United in the race for the title.

I am impartial. No honestly I am, I don’t support Manchester United. But I do want them to win the league this season rather than Manchester City. In the past I have also celebrated their beating Chelsea to the title. But this evidence is circumstantial – I arrive at my conclusions for reasons other than a premeditated pro-United bias.

Many of these reasons have to do with the lack of respectable alternatives to Sir Alex’s men. This season, despite Tottenham’s lofty intentions, Arsenal’s resurgence and Chelsea’s budget, Manchester City have supplied the only serious challenge to United’s crown – and that challenge now hangs by a thread. I hope that what follows helps to shed some light on why it is that I believe Sunday’s results are a good thing for the league, and a victory for football.

Manchester City’s 2008 takeover, they told us, marked the dawn of a new era in the Premier Division; a new force had arrived on the scene and they had very serious ambitions to dominate the English game. After eighteen months or so of failing to make any real impact on - or even announce themselves as participants in - the title race, City’s hierarchy opted for a change in management. Mark Hughes was replaced by Italian scarf-wearer Roberto Mancini, who declared that City’s first title challenge would commence after a further summer of multi-million pound additions to the playing squad.

That particular assault on the title failed to materialize and Mancini had to settle for 3rd place, close enough to his superiors’ pre-season targets to warrant another shot at the title. They began this season in blistering form after adding the likes of Aguero and Nasri to a squad that already contained a plethora of ‘big-names’. Their home form was faultless, and team after team succumbed to the devastating technical ability of Silva, Aguero and Balotelli - most notably United themselves in a humiliating 6-1 decimation at Old Trafford. Yet the squad’s real strength is its depth.

For every player in the starting eleven a wonderfully expensive replacement can be seen waiting on the bench and several more not even included in the match-day squad, depending on the manager’s squad rotation system. And this is what both my distaste for the club, and, in my opinion, the club’s own eventual failings in the league this season can be traced back to.

There is an artificiality to Manchester City’s Premier League strategy that just doesn’t sit well with the football purist in me. When a squad is put together this hastily, and systematically, it lacks an organic quality that you will see in all the great sides over the years. Their players have arrived, almost exclusively, in the last two seasons in a strategic overhaul of the club’s playing staff.

But it doesn’t extend just to the playing staff. The training ground and academy have been radically redeveloped, and even the appointment of Mancini struck me as ticking boxes in a boardroom master plan. Continental coach? Tick. Wearing a blue and white scarf? Tick. Manchester City is an organisation, a project, a pseudo-club.


City’s identity is difficult to pin down. Were Arsenal, Tottenham or even Chelsea to win the league, I would at least know who I should be pleased for. They have players and management who are so deeply ingrained that they are almost part of the very fabric of the club. Terry and Lampard embody what it is to be Chelsea, Wenger and van Persie are the same to Arsenal. No such comparison can be drawn for Manchester City.

All of this is why it gave me such pleasure to watch Mikel Arteta hit a late winner at the Emirates yesterday. A football club with a bit of tradition is going to win the league this season. Scholes has almost become a tradition in of himself, and his excellent goal to see off QPR further vindicates his return to the side.

Arteta’s late strike perhaps signifies the revival of another football club that values tradition.

Arsenal’s woes of two months ago suddenly look very far away. The calls for Wenger’s head look more foolish by the day as his side plays with a fresh impetus and determination. The significance of Arsenal’s recovery will only be truly tested next season, but for now their form is highly rewarding to watch.

The history books will show that Easter Sunday’s fixtures resulted in victories for Manchester United and Arsenal, but I know better: football was the winner there.

In the Lap of the Footballing Gods

I had intended to calm down and reflect upon today’s events before putting finger to keyboard, but after several hours of staring into the middle-distance – haunted by the horrifying, paralysing, gut-wrenching images that I now suspect have permanently scorched into my retinas – I think I may as well write this now, because I may never fully get over what happened today.

Improbably, unbelievably, yet undeniably, the South Coast Derby bragging rights have once again been snatched away from Southampton in a cruel twist of fate; overwhelming euphoria was sucked out of me and replaced by a sickening feeling in my stomach – all in the space of a second.

A ridiculously sweet strike from David Norris in the 93^rd minute silenced what had previously been a stadium absolutely rocking. Flares were going off, some fans were on the pitch, but most importantly, I had thought, Pompey would be going home with their tails between their legs knowing that they had surrendered us a massive three points. Instead, they were the jubilant ones and I sat with my head in my hands for a good ten minutes after the final whistle.

These are the margins, the highs and lows of football as dictated to all of us Believers by the footballing Gods. 

Southampton dominated the first half this afternoon. Billy Sharp broke the deadlock with a neat finish to spark the first of the day’s wild celebrations. Soon after, however, Chris Maguire arrowed home a shot off the underside of Kelvin Davis’ crossbar. Saints threatened again through Lallana, Lambert and Hooiveld, but somehow the scores were level at the break.

Portsmouth ‘keeper Ashdown made two superb saves to keep the home side out early in the second period; first he kept out Lallana’s stunning volley, next he reacted brilliantly to stop Fonte’s close range header. It seemed as though Southampton would continue to turn the screw until the pressure told, but as the half wore on it was the visitors who were growing into the game. Perhaps it was the absence of Morgan Schneiderlin, withdrawn after a vicious early challenge from Varney, that affected the Saints, but they were no longer in control of the midfield, or the match.

Frustration grew amongst the fans as Southampton’s play looked more and more aimless; Lambert – clearly not fully fit after missing last week’s trip to Blackpool – carried little of his usual threat, while Guly’s performance was so lacklustre that his substitution was called for and then applauded by the home fans. With just minutes remaining, Lallana was sent through by Fonte but inexplicably decided to try to round the ‘keeper rather than shoot. He ran the ball out of play and went over Ashdown’s dive, almost apologetically appealing for a spot-kick.

As the game entered stoppage time Lallana whipped a corner into the near post, a flick-on sent it across the six-yard box, and Billy Sharp poked it past Ashdown and into the bottom corner of the net. Indescribable levels of jubilation swept the ground not once but twice as the referee overruled his assistant’s flag and awarded the goal. Four minutes were added, but Portsmouth looked spent; they had never seriously threatened all game and it would take something very special now to deny Southampton a wonderfully significant Derby-day victory.

To my disbelief, they found that something special. In the dying embers of stoppage time, Norris struck an unstoppable volley past Davis and the day’s, and possibly the season’s, complexion changed.

An appalling way to spend an afternoon, I’m sure you will agree. But I think, as I read smug and premature comments from supporters of teams affected, that I see some light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, of course! There are other football matches, still.

I have only one day to wait until my next foray into the realm of the emotional rollercoaster – Southampton’s bid for promotion. Crystal Palace away, a travelling contingent of just under 6,000 Saints fans, and no better way to spend Easter Monday. A win there and I might, just might, bring myself to forgive the footballing Gods for the unspeakably unjust events they conjured up today. I may not understand Their judgements, but I have a little faith.

Not Called 'Pay Up Pompey'

When I was just a little boy,

I asked my mother: ‘What should I be?

Should I be Pompey? Should I be Saints?’

Here’s what she said to me:

This is where I originally planned to list all of the areas where Southampton Football Club is superior to Portsmouth Football Club. I intended wittily describe their slide to the bottom of England’s second tier, whilst occasionally mentioning that the Saints occupy a position quite different to theirs – the polar opposite of, or ‘antithesis’, if you will. (1^st).

But I’m not going to do that, it would be gloating. Plus it would take hours. The above paragraph is all the gloating you will get out of me, not just because Southampton are by no means guaranteed promotion and Portsmouth relegation, not just because it would be excruciating to read and reflect badly on my character, but because, really, its just not funny. 

Instead I intend to qualify the following comments: Portsmouth FC deserves everything that is happening to it. Some of their fans deserve it, too. Sympathy should be reserved for what is probably a small sub-section of their support.

Yesterday I watched Adam Lallana notch two goals in a routine win against Barnsley. He’s the star player in a team with Premier League aspirations, but when I first saw him break into the side in 2008 things were very different at St. Mary’s. Southampton were in complete turmoil; overspending post-relegation meant that a very questionable management pairing had to cobble together a very questionable team from free transfers and a few largely untested youth players. Lallana was one of the bright sparks in a thoroughly depressing season that culminated in relegation and administration – the cost-cutting measures had only postponed the inevitable.

But there were cost-cutting measures. They led to short-term misery for supporters, consigned to watch a team of kids and has-beens being battered and bullied by Championship opponents, but at least the club did something to try to allay their financial troubles. The same cannot be said for Portsmouth.

While Southampton were approaching their lowest ebb in 2008, Pompey were celebrating an FA Cup win at Wembley. But I can’t have been the only one looking at their team sheet around that time and wondering: ‘How?’ Peter Crouch cost £11m (eleven million pounds). David Nugent (who has subsequently found his level at Leicester City) cost another £6m. ‘How is it’, I wondered to myself, ‘that Portsmouth Football Club, with their small attendances and diminutive stature, can afford the likes of David James, Sol Campbell, Glen Johnson and Jermain Defoe?’ The correct answer is the obvious one: they couldn’t.

No ‘benevolent benefactor’ is benevolent enough to bankroll that kind of business plan. In 2010, they became the one and only club to enter administration while in the ultra-lucrative Premier League. Several owners came and went, none with any real intention to rid the club of its crippling and escalating debts. They were relegated and required stabilisation in the Championship.

However, at the beginning of the 2011/12 season, once again I found myself perplexed by their transfer strategy. While Southampton made do with likes of Paul Wotton on a free to stave off financial disaster, Portsmouth spent £2m on Erik Huseklepp. Six months later they are back in administration and find themselves desperately loaning out their high-earners (including Huseklepp) to reduce the club’s running costs, scrabbling for every extra week to find an owner willing to take on what is clearly a monumental task.

The truth is that the club deserves to be at the bottom of the Championship. It deserves to go down to League One, and it probably deserves to spend a good few years down there, too. Like a criminal sent to prison for taking something that was not his, Portsmouth FC should be banished to League One for winning the FA Cup with players it had no business in signing.

But what is a football club without its fans? How sorry should I feel for them?

Pompey are on the verge of liquidation, just as Southampton were in 2009. I remember that looming fear: that my Saturday afternoons might be empty – no football. That prospect presents an unspeakable horror, I’m sure you will agree, to any football fan. Whether or not a Portsmouth supporter deserves to be faced with the possibility of switching allegiances to AFC Portsmouth depends, I suspect, upon the manner in which they received their success in the years just described.

I feel for those supporters who tempered their celebrations while the plaudits were rolling in as little as three years ago. They must have recognised that the unprecedented spending would eventually catch up with them. Many of the occupants of Fratton Park are probably very decent people who recognise that inter-club rivalry should extend no further than the football field.

But I don’t feel for those who revelled in every step of the Saints’ misfortune, on and off the pitch, from 2005-2009. I still remember their haunting chants as they contributed to our relegation in 2005 and their poisonous vitriol as they celebrated at Wembley in 2008 while we fought for our future. Those fans need to take the rough in the same manner as they took the smooth. Those fans lauded over their neighbours as the good times rolled in, and they can’t now turn around and condemn the running of the club that brought them that success. They need to accept that what has happened was an obvious consequence of a short-sighted strategy endorsed by their smugly exuberant support.

Southampton FC would be diminished as an entity without the prospect of a ferocious South Coast derby. Every failure and every success would be less intense without the thought of our South Coast neighbours looking on. I hope they survive to do their time in League One, the South Coast derby preserved, the natural order restored.

‘As You Were’ after the Tussle at the Top

Neither Sam Allardyce nor Nigel Adkins gave the impression in their post-match interviews that they were particularly pleased with a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night, but I suspect that behind closed doors both might have congratulated themselves on a job well done, or at least a setback averted.

Allardyce’s side may have lead for almost an hour at Upton Park but from the moment Matt Taylor was dismissed in the first half the Irons were second best, as you might expect, to their league challengers. Adkins, on the other hand, might have begun to wonder if it was to be ‘one of those nights’ until Jos Hooiveld levelled with fifteen minutes remaining.

In the end, a draw was probably a fair result. The Hammers were straight into their opponents from the off, allowing Southampton no time to settle. Carlton Cole was holding the ball up well, while Vaz Te and Faubert looked like they had the beating of the Saints full-backs. The first chance came after just forty-five seconds; hesitancy in the visitors defence gifted Vaz Te an opportunity at the edge of the area, but Davis denied him his first West Ham goal with a stunning save to his right.

If that was a warning sign, Southampton were slow to heed it. Within five minutes Davis was called into action again, saving at the feet of Cole before Reid fired the rebound over the crossbar. Noble and Collison had taken control of the midfield, and it looked as though West Ham had been rewarded for their superiority on twenty minutes. A quick free-kick found Noble in the penalty area, who went to ground under a challenge from Sharp.

To call the contact minimal would be an overstatement, and Sharp reacted furiously, running over to confront Noble. Former Portsmouth favourite Taylor took exception to Sharp’s vociferous protests, pushing the Yorkshireman to the ground and receiving the obligatory red card, much to the delight of the Saints fans. Noble dispatched the spot-kick, but the complexion of the game was changed.

Within minutes Southampton had begun to dictate play; Adkins had made the switch to a diamond midfield, and Lallana was finding space in behind Lambert and Sharp. They should have levelled on the half hour when Lallana’s shot was parried by Green into Sharp’s path, but he somehow conspired to direct his shot straight at the prone ‘keeper with the goal gaping. Minutes later Green could only watch as Lambert’s free-kick beat the wall, but whistled just past the post. Green also made a fine low save from Lambert's placed effort.

The second half took on a similar pattern; Schneiderlin and the newly-introduced Jason Puncheon dropping deep to receive the ball and setting up attack after attack, but they found West Ham’s resolute defence, in the form of Tomkins and Faye, difficult to breach. Lallana drilled a shot narrowly over the crossbar before Hooiveld directed his header high and wide, and the match just looked to be slipping away from the Saints when they finally found the equaliser that their play merited. Fox’s floated free-kick was headed down by Lambert, and Hooiveld poked home from close range for his second goal against the Hammers this season.

Suddenly West Ham attacked with new purpose, sensing perhaps that trying to see out the final fifteen minutes against an invigorated Saints side wouldn’t be a wise move. Substitute Maynard tested Davis after he was gifted the ball in the area, but the rest of the match played out largely without incident.

The result, coupled with wins for a resurgent Blackpool and third-placed Cardiff City, leaves the race for promotion tantalisingly poised. Southampton will be buoyed by a further game unbeaten and will head into their encounter with Derby County at St Mary’s in good spirits – their promotion push looks back on course after a difficult few months, but a lot can change in fifteen games.

On this showing, West Ham’s steady but relentless progress looks unlikely to falter badly enough to deny them promotion; you sense that the footballing sacrifices made by Allardyce in terms of style of play may be the very things that deliver the fans promotion at the first time of asking. How well this will sit with the Upton Park faithful if results aren’t delivered in the Premier League, however, remains to be seen. If their reaction to the Saints’ fans rendition of ‘Football, you used to play football’ is anything to go by, the footballing philosophy might have to change sooner rather than later in East London.

Nigel's Big Day

Imagine the life of a football manager: You speak almost exclusively in metaphors. Your responses to interview questions consist of perhaps four stock answers, each including a different quote from Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’. You have achieved fantastic success at your club in a short period of time. Recently that success has lead to increased pressure. That pressure has started to affect team performances. League position is under threat. Your side’s home form, at one time devastating, is in danger of becoming something of a mental block. You suffer a further home defeat in a depressing FA Cup replay, afterwards giving a frank and brutal assessment of your team’s display. Next you face a side with eight wins on the road this season.

The crowd will be nervous. They will be looking for any signs of your players ‘bottling it.’ They have been let down before; they are haunted by a past littered with systematic disappointment. They must be reassured. They need leadership as much as the players do. You write your programme notes. They read more like a rallying call. You use the word ‘positivity’ seven times.

This game is massive; it really isn’t just about the three points. You need to win well. You need to send a message, to turn a corner. This is where league titles are earned. They are earned when the goals aren’t flying in, when the opposition keeper plays a blinder. They are earned when doubt has entered the minds of the players. It is your job to remove that doubt, then they can play without fear.

Your players don’t let you down. Your players step up to the plate; Adam Lallana is majestic, Rickie Lambert is faultless, Jack Cork justifies his transfer fee. The crowd are behind the team from the start, you sense they got the message. They know they have a part to play. Lallana heads the opener, the crowd respond again. The doubts are suddenly less prevalent. They remember now; they remember that when their team plays like this they never look like losing.

The chances are flowing now. Lambert almost doubles the lead, but Grant saves well. Billy Sharp makes his debut, and he adds something different. He has touch and vision. He forces a second goal on the half hour, and now there is breathing space. Now you can play. The players are comfortable on the ball. They pass Burnley to death.

When the opposition finally apply pressure your defence is strong, stronger than it has been for weeks. Fonte dismantles attacks and starts his own with efficiency and finesse. Hooiveld wins the headers, he shows you what you have been missing in the last three games. The pressure subsides. The chances start to come again. Somehow Grant saves from Lallana. Somehow Connolly is ruled offside. Somehow the referee doesn’t give a penalty.

But time is almost up now. Your team show no signs of ‘bottling it.’ They pass and they pass. This is exactly what you needed. When the final whistle blows you feel a message has been sent. Now the fans know, the players know, you know that you have the resolve to finish the job. Now you know that when you travel to Upton Park on Tuesday night you can do some damage. They won’t have liked seeing this, on their way back to London from a game postponed at Peterborough.

You go in to see the players and reiterate the need for focus, for stoicism but most of all for ‘positivity.’ In your post-match interview you say ‘positivity’ four more times. After all, ‘a leader leads by example not force.’ (Sun Tzu – ‘The Art of War’.)

Bought or Made?

In an age where every other football fan reckons he could do a decent enough job of managing his own team given half a chance, there are very few universally accepted truths in the game. Originality of opinion is respected to such an extent that fans might find themselves absent-mindedly informing their friends that they’ve ‘always really rated Gareth Barry’ or ‘never understood why Jack Wilshere gets so much hype.’ But some footballing truths transcend the realms of the ad hoc ‘reckon’ or the hastily constructed belief-system. When it comes to things that just don’t need saying anymore, ‘Alex Ferguson has done a very fine job at Manchester United’ is right up there with ‘’Inception’ is quite a decent watch’ and ‘Piers Morgan should disappear down a very deep hole, preferably lacking a 3G signal, lest he tweet his way back into our lives.’

You must forgive me, then, for spending a few minutes explaining what I believe to be some of the more interesting characteristics in Sir Alex Ferguson’s incredible 25-year stint at Manchester United.

To be successful as a football manager you have to win games, obviously. To be a really successful one, you have to win games that you had no right to win. Alex Ferguson has got this down to a fine art. At the risk of sounding like a Clive Tyldesley voiceover (and someone please stop me if I start talking about that night in Barcelona), Sir Alex has installed an all-encompassing attitude, an overarching philosophy at Manchester United; the team that he sends out will exhaust every possible route back into a match before they accept defeat.

As I have said, pointing out that Alex Ferguson has created something very special at United just doesn’t need doing. Trying to pin down exactly how he has done it, though, is a little more interesting. Generations of United players, team after team of them, have been winners. It’s just what they were; if they lost out on the league title one season, they would make it incredibly hard to deny them of it the following year. Robson, Keane, Giggs, Schmiechel, Neville, Cantona, Scholes, Cole, Stam, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo; these players didn’t lose very well. For some of them, winning with United lasted the length of an entire playing career, but others came and won for just a few seasons.

But a question remains; does Sir Alex buy winners, or does he make them? When he singled out Roy Keane as the man to dominate the centre of midfield at Old Trafford, he clearly spotted football ability, and plenty of it, in the tough-tackling Irishman. But he must have seen more than that; a grit, a determination, a will to win that would take him just a little bit further in the game than the others. Identify and accumulate enough of these characters and you find that you begin to breed a professionalism, an excellence in attitude, at your football club. Keane was not the first to carry and personify the winning tradition at United; Bryan Robson typified it too, while Giggs and Scholes have been the architects of many a comeback over the past seventeen or eighteen seasons.

So perhaps Ferguson’s genius lies in his identifying the right targets and making them his players. Well, that’s half the story. To attribute all of those league titles just to signing good players would be doing the Scot a disservice. Some may be born winners, but this doesn’t explain everything that has gone on at Old Trafford. When Ferguson paid Molde £1.5 million for a little heard-of 23 year-old Norwegian by the name of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1996, you could hardly have said that Ferguson was making his team out of ready-made winners. Solskjaer went on to score possibly the most famous goal in the club’s history in the 1999 Champions League final (sorry, couldn’t resist) - a season that, above all others, demonstrated that thing that is United, that je ne sais pas that has had them see off every major challenger to their dominance of the English game over the past 20 seasons.

Even then it was accepted: this is just what Manchester United do. Fast-forward thirteen more incredible seasons and you see Ferguson’s men somehow engineer a comeback from 3-0 down at Stamford Bridge. Some of the old winners are still there - Giggs and Scholes were instrumental in the latter stages – but new ones are picking up the mantle and running with it. Javier Hernandez draws striking comparisons to Solskjaer in both his style of play and uncanny knack of snatching late goals. Phil Jones, whilst injured for this latest display of defiance and character, is already being spoken about as ‘one of those players’ that Ferguson can build yet another team around.

Manchester City lead the title race going into the home straight of the league season, but as Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool will tell them, they will have to be good - very good – to shake off Sir Alex Ferguson’s team of winners, bought and made.