The season is over. At the beginning of the season the expectations for my (deliberately) young squad were low. The board would have been delighted if the side had finished in the top half. Similarly in the cups. In the Europa League they just wanted my Saints team to get into the group stage, while quarter finals would be more than good enough in the league cup and FA Cup.
It is safe to say that those expectations were exceeded.
Vastly exceeded.
I love the league cup. It provides those opportunities for the young players that I am so desperate for. Many boards don’t think it is that important. I disagree. I want kind draws and lots of games.
The draw could have been much kinder. No home games until the second leg of the semi final. The draw could have been much harsher. No “big teams” until the semi final. Unfortunately there would be no trophy as the team who dished out my worst league loss of the season (4-0 away) once again came out on top. We were 2-1 up but once again City had too much for my Saints.
The other competition that is vital to developing these young players is the Europa League. It turned out to be a vital competition for Jay Rodriguez. At the start of the season my planned first choice forwards were Pelle and Austin. Jay Rodriguez scored a few in the early rounds, but it was more that Charlie Austin suffered a season ending injury in a Europa League tie.
The early knock out rounds allowed for rotation with AZ and PSV the opponents. Liverpool and Schalke far more taxing. I expected to knock out Liverpool as my league form was excellent while theirs was poor. Schalke was a bigger concern, with their immense list of young talents. Fortunately for Saints those talents were not on song as Ox saw them off at home. Away from home Schalke battered us, but a penalty knocked in by Pelle made it difficult for them. Saints, Europa League finalists.
There have been more exciting finals. I didn’t care. Dusan Tadic had delivered a first trophy. I am always desperate to win the Europa League. Simply because I just don’t know when the team will play in it again. Hopefully never. Other competitions come along every year, but the Europa league, that can be a rare thing.
Two finals for this young Saints side. One win and one loss. Tremendous performance. Anything from the FA Cup would be a bonus.
A third final. A second trophy.
The stats suggest that it was a close game. The first half we pounded Chelsea. The second half they pounded us. Ox netted a brilliant solo goal, Chelsea did not have a response. Three finals. Two trophies. Like the Liverpool side of 2000/1 we fulfilled every available fixture. Just what was needed to get the minutes into the young players legs.
Of course every team is guaranteed 38 Premier league games. How did the Saints league season pan out in such a competitive league?
The league was too competitive. Everyone beating everyone else allowed a team that had a statistically good season to have a legendary season. The Saints finished 9 points clear. In other seasons 81 points might only be good enough for 2nd or even 3rd. Not this time.
A treble.
Unsurprisingly individual awards followed. Along with a great deal of interest in the players. In January the players were being hunted by the big clubs, but none of them made any offers. Now they circled round Rodriguez, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, van Dijk, Pelle, Hause and Iorfa. Some of those I wouldn’t mind selling, at the right price. Though maybe not the players one might expect.
The one I do not want to sell is Jay Rodriguez.
The numbers may not be Messi or Ronaldo like but his goals were vital. Other players made contributions. Pelle scoring 23 in all competitions, the same as Ox. While Tadic and Mane scored 17 each. With Rodriguez there was that air of the fairy tale, a player who had been in England squads before a horrible injury.
Here was his glorious rebirth.
Heartwarming.
This project was not supposed to be about rehabilitation. The aim was to develop the young English players. So how did they do?
Jack Butland (23)
Jordan Pickford (22)
Butland established himself ahead of Pickford. He is statistically superior (though not significantly) in most areas. Next season the objective must be for Pickford to play more than 25 times in all competitions.
Joe Gomez (19)
Calum Chambers (21)
Chambers and Gomez were both excellent. In fact Gomez was magnificent. He is a player that I might struggle to retain.
Dominic Iorfa (21)
Kourtney Hause (21)
Iorfa just did not play enough games. Even when adding the 4 games he had on loan at QPR. Hause had a good number of games. A similar number next season will be satisfactory.
Harry Maguire (23)
While Maguire is not a part of the group of young English players who played in the summer of 2017, at 23 he is certainly a young English player. He established himself as first choice centre back alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Ben Chilwell (19)
Matthew Targett (20)
Neither player made much of an impact. The form of Ryan Bertrand effected both of them. Targett suffered a bad injury. One of these two will have to go out on loan next season. With this many players who are good performers at full back it will be really tough for Walker-Peters and Jonjoe Kenny to make a mark.
Nathaniel Chalobah (21)
Lewis Cook (19)
Lewis Baker (21)
Of these three Lewis Cook was the biggest success. Chalobah’s numbers look disappointing but post January he was on loan at Hull where he played another 20 games. Lewis Baker could never get into the side. He went on loan to Birmingham in January, playing 18 games.
James Ward-Prowse (21)
An established first team player, but still a young player. Like Oxlade-Chamberlain I don’t think of him as a youngster. At the end of next season I expect him to be the Saints captain.
Will Hughes (21)
Nathan Redmond (22)
Jack Grealish (20)
Will Hughes was only available for the last 2 months of the season because of the awful injury he picked up at Derby. Both Redmond and Grealish were in similar positions. Always in the match day squads, not always first choices.
Demarai Gray (20)
Sheyi Ojo (19)
Josh Onomah (19)
These three deserved more. Gray always found himself slightly behind Redmond and Grealish, who were slightly behind Mane and Ox. Ojo and Onomah were interesting as no one would take them on loan as anything better than back up players. So they stayed at the club.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (23)
A brilliant season. Twenty three goals. Eighteen assists. Ten man of the match awards. He also scored goals in the big games. Nigh on perfect.
Cauley Woodrow (21)
Adam Armstrong (19)
Armstrong started the season as a back up forward but I felt he would be better served on loan. He joined Burnely, playing 20 games and scoring 5 goals. Cauley Woodrow became the back up forward. I would be surprised if he can ever become anything more than that, especially with Solanke and Lookman waiting for their chance.
The agenda will not change next season, more games, more games, more games.
To get the kids those games I have to sell, but also keep the squad strong. The first to go was Virgil van Dijk. Bayern Munich came in. Eventually I took £24million up front and a further £14 million in add ons.
Then I did something strange. Having said Iorfa and Hause need games and that I would sell van Dijk to get them those games, I signed Eric Dier for £30 million. Dier is still only 22, he is a young English player. Centre back is just too important a position and Iorfa and Hause too big a risk as first choices.
The bids started to come in. Bayern made an offer for Mane, but only a fraction over his market value. Then Barcelona made and offer for Tadic, again just over his market value. Juventus came in for Tadic as well. I rejected their bids but I would definitely accept higher offers. Stoke were relegated, meaning Xherdan Shaqiri was available for below market value. I put in a £15 million bid for a player who can fill both Tadic and Mane’s positions.
It was not just the players who the offers were being made for.
Following the Euros Allegri had taken the Italy job. Luis Enrique then took the Spain job. The favourite for Enrique’s old job at Barcelona, with 3-1 odds, was me.
No interview was forthcoming. Interest cooled. As did the interest in the players. No further offer came in for Mane or Tadic. Shaqiri signed. Thus, going into the new season I find myself once again with an over stocked and unbalanced squad.
Time to open the out door.