23/24 Championship Rebuild
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As a football club, we need a huge summer reset, and there is no better time for it than going down. This will give us a chance to make huge monumental changes that will go down in our history as either one that sets us up for the future or failure. An example of success is the recent story of Burnley FC and these are some of the examples that paid off in their straight bounce back to the Premier League.
-Selling players
-Style of play
-Manager
-Shrewd recruitment (Low value x High quality)
-Loan in Premier League talents
-Re-united the fanbase and created quality home form and atmosphere.
These are all aspects that I believe are very easily replicable for Southampton to do under the right supervision in the incoming new Director of Football Jason Wilcox and I will relate them all to Southampton and how this can be done at St Mary’s Next season
The first point I made was selling players
Now this is not just the deadwood in Southampton's case because quite frankly we wouldn't get a Freddo for half of them, this is more selling players that won't want to be here.
I have made a chart/spreadsheet of our depth and highlighted players to keep, sell, and loan.
As you can see we have quite a large squad but in the championship, I believe this is vital to reset you have to change
Doing this means selling but selling for the right price is crucial this will sadly include losing:
James Ward-Prowse -£55m
Romeo Lavia - £60m
Armel Bella-Kotchap - £30m
Kyle Walker-Peters - £18m
Mo Salisu - £15m
Duje Caleta-Car - £10m
Mislav Orsic - £5m
Che Adams - £20m
Nathan Tella - £25m
In MY opinion, this would generate a minimum of around £200m + from player sales alone! which in the championship is a gargantuan budget and would fund a rebuild like no other, we wouldn't even need to spend all the cash because then we would lack cohesion in the team due to too many signings.
The next two points intertwine with each other.
Style of play and manager.
Burnley completely revamped their side with a change of style of play going from Sean Dyche and counterattack to a Fluid attacking possession-based side in Kompany.
Kompany has completely revamped this Burnley side with a change in formation to the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and using the worldwide use of the 3-2/2-3 building shape which has become a staple in possession-based sides as of late (Barcelona and Arsenal.) I believe Southampton will revert to either a style that is similar to Burnley, Or they will go to what Sports Republic (Rasmus Ankersen) Seems adamant about playing is a 3-5-2
Let's look at the fans 'favoured' option first. One name that jumps out first is if Middlesbrough isn't promoted and it's Michael Carrick. This excellent option turned relegation-threatened Middlesbrough into a fluid attacking style of football and a force to be reckoned with.
Carrick has been very similar to Kompany building in a 3-2 with his fullback pushing into the front 4/3 and the RB slotting into the right centre back creating an asymmetrical shape and looking to overload and find the spare man. This is similar to the 'Barcelona' style of play and helps find spare men to create and overload.
Another manager that lines up similarly is FK Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen. He also uses the 3-2-5 and loves to overload, patterns like passing into the forward and him laying off to the side which draws in the opposition press and creates space and an overload
Someone who I believe would be a wildcard but an option I like and has great 'player pull' would be
That man would be Patrick Vieira
In my opinion, he was very harshly sacked at Crystal Palace, and with no big summer investments in an ageing squad and a very tough run of games, he got stuck with injuries and a stale old midfield that needed a total rejuvenation in the summer. I believe he would build a rapport with fans, use his ‘player pull’ and build us a great long-term project. Using a 4-3-3 another fluid attacking football style would suit us and a team like us in the championship
Now onto the 3-5-2 / 3-4-3
A rogue option could be young and upcoming manager Francesco Farioli.
He is 33 years old and has been likened to Brighton manager Roberto Di Zerbi and plays a 3-4-2-1 which would suit the Sport Republic ‘idea’. Although as suggested in this https://t.co/ueSLx56KPd article. (read for more info on Farioli) They have used up to seven formations this year building up in a 4-2 or a 3-2 structure using a ball-playing keeper like young Gavin Bazunu. Although he has been criticised for his tactics causing sloppy goals to be conceded as he is set in his ways of build-up, however when effective it's a sight to behold. He has taken Alanyaspor to their record-high league position.
One target I believe would be near impossible is the recently sacked Graham Potter. The apparent Southampton fan and the former player has been linked and had some links to us that I believe is false but he would be an option. With Brighton, he built in a 3-4-3 using two very attacking dribble-heavy wing-backs allowing a free-flowing front 3 creating but sometimes not scoring which has been a problem at Chelsea too. This is a statement move for Sports Republic and one that would almost certainly pay-off
One more manager to suit the 3-5-2 is Royale Union Saint-Gilloise manager Karel Geraerts. He plays with an attacking 3-5-2 system and has got RUSH to the Quater-finals of the Europa League beating Union Berlin 6-3 in the Rof16 on aggregate who are currently 3rd in the Bundesliga.
Now onto Recruitment. Including premier league / high-quality loans.
This is going to be less suggestion-based and more areas that could be used to select the players Signing wise I believe we need a 6, a centre half and a winger but a potent winger if Nathan Tella leaves us this summer.
With the 6 I believe we should sign someone who has shown they have the qualities but also the youth side to them and this for me would be Matt O’Riley from Celtic although this season he has been playing European football our project could be a convincing one and a tempting one for someone who may want to play premier league football this season he has shown his talents for the green side of Glasgow and would bolster our midfield.
The winger I believe we should sign is Carlos Borges from Manchester City he has shown a tremendous talent for the Citizens in the u21s and with Jason Wilcox having links I believe it's a no-brainer. He currently has 20 goals and 9 assists in 22 appearances in the premier league 2. With his combination of speed and strength and his excellent creating and finishing abilities, he would be top of the list to sign and it would have to be done early in the summer to push interest away.
Another signing we have been linked with is Macedonian forward Bojan Miovski. The 23-year-old currently has 16 goals and 2 assists in 33 games for Aberdeen. The 6ft 2 striker has been excellent in his debut season in the SPFL. He is a poacher in the box with great finishing and is also capable of running in behind but his finishing inside the box is his greatest asset and he is a striker that Southampton should certainly go for and purchase in the summer.
The full-back and centre-back are one I believe isn't a must but is up for discussion. I think we should follow the recruitment strategy as in the championship a reset would help but we would also need quality in the experienced players also getting players the coach wants not just for the sake of it.
Burnley made some great loan signings in Nathan Tella, Jordan Beyer, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ian Maatsen. These four have proved vital in their title charge and key fixtures in Kompany’s side.
For Southampton, some loan options could be David Datro Fofana from Chelsea. The 20-year-old forward has struggled for game time at the Blues and has shown significant potential and promise in the two games he has played not scoring but showing good movement along with pace and power. The Ivorian was signed from Molde FK in the winter window with Chelsea trying to pinch the top European talents to build a team for the future similar to Southampton but on a larger more financially backed scale. Fofana in the Eliteserien had 18g/a in 24 games and for a young forward although a lesser league this is impressive showing his tall stature with a combination of speed is a deadly asset for any team. A loan for the youngster would be an amazing deal for all parties involved.
A further option could involve Liverpool youngster Fabio Carvalho. As reported by Fabrizio Romano the Portuguese youngster is likely to leave Liverpool this summer with a permanent move or a loan move as options. The 20-year-old scored 10 goals and got 8 assists in the Championship last season with 2 goals in 4 starts in the premier league this season playing in an attacking midfielder role or as an inside forward which suits either style of play with adjustments. If we could get the Portuguese youngster on a loan-to-buy option he could offer great support for the squad and even be a starter and then develop further with us if we bounce back immediately which is the obvious plan for any relegated premier league side but it's hard to do effectively.
With all these last points concluded. This is how I believe we will line up next season and this squad certainly can achieve promotion straight back to the premier league next season. With the combination of speed and technical qualities in the attack and a solid defensive line with Simeu, I believe ready to make the step up. More signings will be needed but as a base, this is the path I want to see us follow. The loan signings mentioned haven't been included because I am unsure whether they will happen they are just ideas. In terms of the manager, I am very unsure who the manager will be but I have some faith that Sport Republic will learn from their mistakes and appoint the right man to take us back to where we belong. The use of our academy will be vital next season with starlets like Dom Ballard and Kami Doyle should be pushing for game time next season so whatever manager gets brought in must understand our academy and return ‘the Southampton way’.
The final point on the list was creating an atmosphere and a rapport to take on the league. Going down will benefit SMS and the atmosphere, no more day trippers and fans who show passion and desire to watch the team succeed. Next season we have to create an excellent atmosphere inside the ground get behind the players and push them to success.
Thanks for reading all views are my own if you have an issue comment what you would change.
We will return….