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.
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