They often say that possession is nine tenths of the game, but in Southampton’s case, that’s not completely accurate.
The Saints have made a disappointing start to their first season back in the Premier League, after winning promotion from the Championship in the 2023/24 league campaign.
Russell Martin’s side are 18th in the top-flight standings after five matches, and with just one point to their name to date, it’s safe to say that there’s room for improvement at the earliest of opportunities, as they look to avoid dropping back into the second-tier of English football after just one season.
It’s also worth noting that Southampton’s only point so far this season came against fellow newly-promoted side Ipswich Town, as the Tractor Boys snatched a late point courtesy of Sam Morsy, to make Southampton wait a little while longer in search of their first win in the Premier League this term.
Southampton gave us an early indication of their style of play in the Championship when Russell Martin took charge of the club.
The possession-based style is something that Martin has looked to implement on the teams he’s managed so far in his career.
That possession-based style worked effectively in the second-tier of English football, with the Saints averaging 65.5% possession in their matches in the 2023/24 season, which was the most of any team in that division.
Leicester City came closest to them with an average possession of 61.6%.
Both teams went on to get promoted into the Premier League, and it’s unsurprising to see Martin sticking with what he knows can prove successful in this Southampton team.
The Saints also completed the most passes in the Championship in that promotion-winning campaign with 28,747 passes completed, which was over 2,000 more than Leicester who were again in second for that statistic.
Jan Bednarek had a 95.4% pass completion rate for Southampton last season, and with the likes of Jack Stephens, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Flynn Downes also being in the top-ten for pass completion in the Championship last term, it’s clear to see that Russell Martin has the players suited to his style of football.
Southampton haven’t been shy in continuing to play out from the back whilst in possession.
They’ve got the fourth-highest possession in the Premier League from their opening five matches this season, with an impressive average of 60.2%, with only Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Brighton & Hove Albion having more possession so far this term.
Southampton are second to Manchester City when it comes to completed passes, which could hint that they’re not moving the ball on as quickly as other teams in progressive areas of the pitch.
Jan Bednarek is clearly key to Southampton’s possession-based style, with passing stats showing the central defender has completed the second-highest amount in the Premier League this season with 437, only beaten by Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji.
In fact, Southampton have Flynn Downes, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Jack Stephens inside the top-20 for completed passes in the Premier League, which is hugely impressive for a team that are considerably lower in the table than other players featuring in the top-20.
However, you also have to look at the flip side of these statistics, as if Southampton aren’t getting the positive results to show for their possession-based style of football, then the pressure will grow on Russell Martin.
The Premier League is an unforgiving league, and the press from certain teams will cause the Saints plenty of problems, and some will argue that it could do more harm than good when it comes to trying to play out from defence when in possession.
Only time will tell as to whether it’ll be a success in the top-flight, but the early warning signs are there as they’re winless in their first five matches of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
