Southampton received many plaudits last season and rightfully so. The team finished eighth in the Premier League and overcame a fight against relegation in the previous season to finish a very comfortable twenty-three points above the relegation zone which happened to be the same amount of points they were behind fourth placed Arsenal, something which demonstrates the trouble free season they enjoyed. There were many star performers amongst the team including the likes of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Dejan Lovren amongst many others whilst Mauricio Pochettino impressed in his first full campaign in charge.
With all of this in mind Southampton should be set for another comfortable season but you must have been living in a footballing cave if you've failed to notice the exodus that has taken place at St. Mary's with all of their biggest successes having left them already with more likely to follow.
The new manager of Southampton is Ronald Koeman and one can only wonder whether he was fully aware of just how many players he would be losing. It is to be expected that a mid table team that punches above its weight is likely to have its top players picked off by 'bigger' clubs but to lose almost the whole of the team is unprecedented and Koeman will have to start from scratch and most likely with very few additions to the squad - the loan signing of Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand is a pretty good indicator of how far the club will stretch this window.
For all the depressing talk though there is a silver lining and it comes from Koeman's last job at Feyenoord wiith whom he had to start from scratch and build a new team based on their strong youth system. When he came to the Dutch club they had just finished tenth in Eredivisie and were facing a major upheaval but in his three years in charge he steered them to the runners up spot twice and third on the other occasion.
Koeman won't be able to get Southampton to such a high position but the club have brought him in with the hope that his recent pedigree will prevail and it's important therefore that the man they have hired is now supported and not undermined by more departures.
Southampton have got promising young players coming through who could be given a chance to come into the team and shine now that some of the stars have left.
Sam McQueen for example is a player who is just nineteen years of age but was part of the same academy team that included Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers who have now gone to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. McQueen signed a new contract in June and who knows, if given the chance, he may be the next big star to come through - you may not have heard of him now but the same would be true before some of the club's past young players shot onto the scene. Koeman has snapped up Dusan Tadic, a player who was an integral part of FC Twente's team and a goalscoring threat from midfield and if the manager gets the chance to dip into Holland again he may be able to do some good business having had a watching brief of that league's best talent for the last three years.
Overall, I think that what has happened at Southampton is disappointing to see in the way that their best players have been stripped away but the club has always been about bringing new players through and that is what will obviously have to happen now. As a result of this rebuilding process we will kick off not really knowing what to expect from the team in terms of where there strong and weak points will lie but they played some wonderful Football at times last year and if Koeman can replicate that, but above all keep them safe, then all of their fans will be happy. This season is about transition and will be a challenge but I think Southampton have the right manager to ensure the club comes through it unscathed. 2014-15 Prediction: 13th.
