The new "Premier" League season will start on August 13th, which means that there are only 5 days left until the start of the English championship. As the competitions draw near, Eurofootball.com will provide you with an overview of all twenty "Premier" League teams. This time, we will review the previous season of the "Southampton" team, which finished in 6th place in the league.
"Southampton" History: The team was founded in 1885 and will play their 18th season in the "Premier" League. Their best finish in this league was the 6th place. They will be playing in the "Premier" League for the fifth consecutive season. Last year's season: The 2015-2016 season was the best in the history of the "Southampton" club in this league. Despite starting the season in 13th place after 20 rounds, they managed to climb to the 8th place by earning 39 out of 63 points in the last 18 rounds. Changes after the last season: After two successful years with the team, coach Ronald Koeman decided to leave "Southampton" and join the "Everton" team. He was replaced by Claude Puel, who had previously worked in the "Ligue 1" championship in France. The team suffered the biggest losses in the attacking line after the last season. Forward Sadio Mane moved to "Liverpool" for 41.2 million euros, while forwards Graziano Pelle and Juanmi left for China and Spain, respectively. Pelle moved to "SD Luneng" for 15.25 million euros, and Juanmi, who had few opportunities last season, moved to "Real Sociedad". However, the club not only sold forwards in the summer – they also said goodbye to holding midfielder Victor Wanyama, who moved to "Tottenham Hotspur" for 14.4 million euros. The two most important newcomers for the team are young, but already experienced players. Winger Nathan Redmond, acquired for 13.5 million euros from "Norwich", played in the "Premier" League last season, while 21-year-old midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gained experience in the "Bundesliga" championship in recent seasons. "Southampton" paid 15 million euros to "Bayern" for the Danish player. Players to watch: Cedric Soares. After winning the European Championship with the Portuguese national team, Soares was among the top three players in "Southampton" last season in both interceptions and passes won. Although he lost his starting spot in the team towards the end of the season, his successful performance in the European Championship should bring him back to the starting eleven, and his acquired experience should help him shine even more this season. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Hojbjerg arrived at the youth academy of "Bayern" at the age of 16 and made his debut in the main Bavarian team after only a year. Although he did not manage to establish himself in the team, and spent the last two seasons on loan to "Augsburg" and "Schalke", he managed to play 55 matches in the "Bundesliga" during those years. Known for his defensive abilities in Germany, Hojbjerg will have a serious challenge trying to replace the departing Wanyama, but the player's potential led "Southampton" to spend 15 million euros on him, hoping for his further development and successful performance in the "Premier" League. Nathan Redmond. Although "Norwich" did not perform as desired last season and fell out of the league, Redmond was one of the most standout players in the club. The Englishman, who directly contributed to 9 goals, often stood out with his individual runs, so it's no wonder that this player caught the attention of several "Premier" League clubs. Ready to give the player a chance, "Southampton" has shown its ability to work with young and talented players many times, so Redmond has every opportunity to shine even more next season. Strengths of the team: Team play. Despite having several individually talented players, the team's success was based on team play. In the 2015-2016 season, "Southampton" players were among the least successful in one-on-one situations with opponents and ranked near the bottom of the league in attempts to dribble. Although they were not very good at playing one-on-one and successfully completed 59.8% of their attempts to play a pass instead of trying to play one-on-one, this approach brought the team good results. Aerial duels. Last season, no team in the "Premier" League could match the "Southampton" team in aerial play. Not only did they win the most aerial duels per match on average, but they also shared the first place in scoring head goals with "West Ham United", scoring in such a way 15 times. Although two of the five best players in the league in aerial duels have left the team after the season, they should continue to be among the best in the league in this component of the game. Ability to properly replace departing leaders. This summer marks the third in a row when the team has sold several of its leaders. However, it seems that this does not affect the team's performance at all - each of the last few seasons they have improved their results, finishing last season in their highest position in history in the "Premier" League. This year they will have to look for players who could replace the departing players, but the experience of recent years shows that they have no problems finding new players who can successfully fill the void. Interesting facts about Southampton: In the 2010-2011 season, "Southampton" competed in the third division of England, but for two consecutive years they finished in second place in both the "League One" and "Championship" championships, earning the opportunity to compete in the "Premier" League; The most notable trophy won by the club was the FA Cup in 1976; Since the team's return to the league in the 2012-2013 season, when they finished 14th, they have improved their result every year. After a year they took 8th place, then 7th, and last year 6th position in the "Premier" League; Despite selling their leaders for large sums every year, they are not a team making money in the transfer market. Since entering the "Premier" League, in five years their net transfer balance is negative - they spent 4.6 million euros more on acquiring players than they received by selling their footballers; For the last four years, "Southampton" has acquired at least two players each summer who cost them more than 10 million euros; The last two coaches who worked in the "Southampton" team each moved to strive for victories in other "Premier" League clubs. Mauricio Pochettino moved to "Tottenham Hotspur" a couple of years ago, and Ronald Koeman will work at "Everton" since this summer; Terry Paine has played the most matches in the "Southampton" team - 815. The most goals were scored by Mick Channon, who scored 228 times.
