Think you've bagged Koeman, I know you've got mixed feelings but he's a solid choice. I was surprised he'd go to Everton, because he'd been pretty firm about staying and clear about finishing his contract here. My guess is that in the end we never offered him an ambitious, or expensive enough, offer. All the Soton club talk has been about ambition, building a good structure in terms of player development, recruiting, partnerships etc. to push for Europa League every season, but I guess in the end even what we pitched to Koeman wasn't ambitious enough.
So that's the good part, I think he'll be more forward thinking than you would guess. I know there's talk of him not taking you to the next level, but I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Bear in mind he's got a lot more to work with at Everton, in terms of transfer money and squad depth/quality, and I guess in the end that's why he's likely to join you.
So what do you get with RK?
He's been solid for us, Saints fan alike will tell you that he's got a strong tactical head, he likes to play good, positive attacking football but is also very capable at making us better ogranised, good at defending etc. We noticed a difference between Pochettino and Koeman, Pochettino seemed to just out-attack the other team, constantly pressing and stretching the squad, with attackers high up the pitch and defenders sitting back a little. It was a good tactic, we scored a lot but the defensive drill wasn't there as much. Koeman introduced much better organised defense, it was really under RK that the whole 'defending starts from the front' line began to come out much more strongly. That's why he favours players that are willing to track back and help out. It's no surprise that the good success story of this season has been Shane Long with his workrate at hustling defences and coming back to help defend. Koeman is versatile, if you remember season before last he switched formation when we were having a real lull in the season, I think we actually played Everton in that game (with 5 at the back) and won. He did a similar thing last season, playing back 5 for a few games. He didn't trust our right back, Cedric, at defending, and he didn't trust Cuco Martina, our backup RB, for anything at all really. So he played back 5, Bertrand playing as a centreback, for a while. In other words, he really isn't afraid to change up the system and play players out of position. That can be good, because Bertrand has excelled in that role, it can also be bad, for instance playing Yoshida (CB) at RB for several games where he made heinous mistakes. He definitely favours defensive midfielders, hence why last summer we got in Romeu, Clasie etc. Both are defensive, Romeu arguably moreso although Clasie has a reputation of being a tough little guy. This was in a season that we kept Wanyama, as well. So defensive midfield is a big thing. He really doesn't appreciate small nifty attackers. Juanmi, bought last season, and Ramirez (returning from loan) hardly got a look in. Obviously they just weren't up to the physical standard of the premier league, although it could be argued that he just isn't that keen on this kind of attacker. Mane is pretty strong, even though he goes down easily. So he's defensive minded, but he also likes good play. His standard formation for us has been 4-2-3-1, with a big CF up top. Bear in mind Pelle is a favourite of his, as is long, both are good in the air although Pelle's workrate is at times questionable. Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Mane have also been a key part of the saints set-up this year. Make of that what you will as regards qualities he favours. He left Dusan Tadic on the bench for a lot of the season, even though he has been outstanding season before last and made good showings last year as well. Set pieces are a big point for him. Yoshida, but more prominently as season went on Cuco Martina, replacing Cedric as first choice RB, was an indication that he likes height in the box, and expects the RB to play closer to his own box, rather than out wide, allowing players on the wing, such as Tadic, JWP etc. to track back to the corner flag to be defending crosses.
He seems to be a good people manager, and several players have come out to say they enjoy playing under such a well renowned defender of his experience. He speaks several languages, which probably helps. However, don't be mistaken in thinking that all our players were his idea. Pelle, Tadic, Romeu, Van Dijk had already been touted (probably by Paul Mitchell, now at Spurs as head of recruiting) before his arrival. Mind you it's difficult to escape the Dutch nationality/played in Eredivisie links. Now that the rumours of Koeman leaving are starting to snowball, some stuff has come out about maybe his relationship with some players not being 100%, and that certain individuals were going to be happy that he's gone. I don't know how true it is.
It's true that we're sad to see him go. He comes across as a real nice bloke. But without wanting to finish on a low, it must be said that I don't want Saints successes over the past two seasons attributed to him (i.e. that you can be tempted to think, "he's taken them to their highest ever league finishes"). We have an excellent club structure, scouting and player development system, and our management (aside from notable high profile fiasco's including this one, Alderwiereld transfer and any-other-SFC-transfer-rumour) seem to be very steady and capable. In other words, he's had good people around him. We seem to find that not an insignificant number of players/managers who come here tend to have a wobble when they leave, or collapse completely. The former is understandable, the latter could be down to the club structure making them appear much more capable than they are. I'll leave that there.
Koeman can bring out the best in some of your players, and he'll love having a diverse squad that can provide different playing styles/options. In other words, expect that he'll want to have a fast striker, a big CF, a tricky player like Deulofeu (is that how you spell?), wingers, players who can play as either full back or centre back, etc. He likes to have diversity so that second half he can change it up.
Listen, I know these are rumours and you and me both are anxiously waiting any announcement...but good luck, hope this provides some interesting food for thought. Get back to me if you've got any questions - happy to try and answer!
swisstiss got a reaction from Hegemon92 in Ronald Koeman
