Southampton FC billed themselves to American audiences in their NBC documentary The Southampton Way as the “Green Bay Packers” of English soccer. Their commonalities come not from any common style or methodology, but from a small town’s relationship with a team that outsizes its population and probably means a little too much to locals.

But at least Southampton still exist. Their biggest rivals, Portsmouth, went into administration twice in two years in 2010 and 2011 during the height of Premier League ownership raid, were relegated three divisions, and started the 2012 season with no professional players. 

Southampton themselves were in the First Division just three years earlier. Instead of panic buys, their response was to build as close to a think tank as there is in world football, starting with the appointment of Les Reed as Head of Football Development in 2010. Reed has overseen the transformation of a club ahead of the curve in its focus on its use of analytics in scouting, and most famously, their emphasis on developing pacey, skillful youth players from Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, and on. 

The NBC documentary was also part of Southampton’s newfound marketing approach, with former NHL head coach Ralph Krueger appointed as club chairman last spring. He emphasized a goal to increase Southampton’s presence in America, hence the analogy to the underdog yet beloved Packers.       

The club’s worldwide ambitions were different 18 months ago. Italian Nicola Cortese was the chairman, and Argentine Mauricio Pochettino his manager. Along with Brendan Rodgers, Pochettino is the symbol of a modern Premier League manager: both in their early 40s with a dogmatic desire for possession and pressing. 

We know what happened since: Cortese left his position at the start of last January. Pochettino left for Tottentham, and we know the rest. Luke Shaw was signed away to Manchester United, and Calum Chambers followed St. Mary’s graduates Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Arsenal. Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert went to Southampton’s wealthier spirit animal club Liverpool. 

The Continuation Of The System

It was a player who wasn’t allowed to leave Southampton last summer who most represents the success of this season. Morgan Schneiderlin took to Twitter to express a broken trust at not being able to follow Pochettino to Tottenham.

Koeman gave Schneiderlin two days off to clear his head and return to the side. The 25-year-old responded with the best season of his career, anchoring Koeman’s midfield with an 89% passing accuracy to add to his disrupting play. The situation illustrates the best of Koeman as a manager: his ability to relate to players combined with a keen eye for talent.

Not to say that Koeman lacks tactically (he did play in Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona think tank lead alongside Pep Guardiola). In fact, Louie van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation for the Dutch National Team during last summer’s World Cup, with two fullbacks recklessly bombing forward to create numerical advantages in midfield, was inspired by Koeman’s formation at Feyenoord earlier in the season. 

Surely then, Koeman would look to implement this formation at Southampton like van Gaal continues to try at Manchester United. On the contrary, he’s largely kept with last season’s shape, making a slight adjustment to a 4-3-3 to better suit Dusan Tadic’s playmaking skill from the wing. The possession numbers are down from a league leading 58.6% last season to 53% this season. Instead, they added variety in the attack with Tadic creating chances with his crossing. Defensively, they’ve conceded less shots than last season. But the partnership of Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama at midfield remains the foundation.

Koeman’s flexibility foreshadows the role of future Southampton managers. They won’t be called upon to shape a philosophy (the board will do that), but instead be seen as a caretaker, to make sure that tactics are up with modern times, and most importantly, keep peace in the dressing room.

Koeman's Future

Southampton reinvested the $130 million they received from the summer haul through signings ranging from the Eredivise (Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pelle) and Premier League journeyman (Shane Long, Fraser Forster, and Ryan Bertrand).

As we discussed with Inter Milan, the winter transfer window brings more subtleties than blockbusters. Koeman again displayed his shrewd eye with the loan signing of Dutch winger Eljera Elia. A prodigious talent who was named the Dutch Player of the Year in 2009, Elia broke out in the 2010 World Cup before his career stalled with failed moves to Juventus and Werder Bremen. 

It was the low risk, high reward chance that only Koeman, and perhaps van Gaal, would see out with their intimate knowledge of the national side. With his pace and dribbling from the wing, Elia is a thoroughly modern player that Southampton demands. And indeed, Elia has said he would “run through a brick walls and fire” for Koeman.

But Koeman’s (and every Southampton manager) most important role is to continue promoting the long line of Southampton youth while balancing his value signings. 23-year-old Nathaniel Clyne is getting calls for the national side and 20-year-old James Ward-Prowse is slowly turning into a lineup regular. Then others, like 20-year-old midfielder Harrison Reed, 18-year-old midfielder Jake Hesketh and 19-year-old left back Matt Targett, have made their first team debuts under Koeman’s watch.

The future hangs over Southampton, for better or worse. It’s a constant reminder that becomes a part of supporting a small market team that fans all over the world can relate to. The rumors continue for Schneiderlin to move to Arsenal or Tottenham, of Clyne to Liverpool, and even of Koeman himself moving on to Barcelona.   

And while Kruger relates Southampton to the Packers, their emphasis on finding value through scouting and analytics makes the Oakland A’s another easy comparison (luckily, the Premier League has no playoff system for this style to “not work” in). Add to that a savvy manager, and they may end up mimicking the success of a certain NBA team from a small town in Texas.