How Good Are Southampton?
by Tom Pham
After his £12.5m ($19.9m) signing with Southampton during the summer, Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama claimed that he “believes one day Champions League football is achievable at Southampton.” Most fans knew that the midfielder was just simply trying to encourage his teammates and fans; none of us expected Southampton to actually challenge for a Champions League spot, especially considering they were struggling in League One in 2010-11 and were 18th in the Premier League last November. However, as the saying goes, we should only judge a team after ten games, and Southampton are passing that test with flying colours. Southampton are sitting comfortably in fifth, with 19 points, only six behind league leaders Arsenal, and one behind second-placed Chelsea. They are tied with Tottenham and Everton and are 2 points above champions Manchester United.
Southampton’s league form has been nothing to scoff at, gaining a convincing win at Anfield against Liverpool on a Dejan Lovren header, a credible draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford and a string of clean sheets and solid defensive performances, the only recent error being Asmir Begovic’s freak goal at the Britannia Stadium, only the fifth goalkeeper to ever score in the Premier League. St. Mary’s has become one of the most intimidating places for away teams to travel to, where the Saints have only conceded one goal this season in five games. This begs us a simple question, what has propelled Southampton to such an impressive start to the season?
