Welcome to my first Football Manager story! I will be managing Southampton, which is my favourite team, and will be doing my best to replicate the amazing start we’ve made to the season in real life. I will be playing as current manager Ronald Koeman. I hope to focus on playing an attractive style of football, bringing in quality players who can positively impact the team, and also continuing the excellent conveyor belt of young stars coming through the youth academy. I hope you enjoy reading it, and of course I would appreciate any feedback on how I can improve my writing!
Koeman Ruthless in Staff Upheaval
Ronald Koeman has made his intentions clear by bringing an influx of new staff members to complement Southampton’s already talented backroom.
Koeman has added quality to his scouting team by bringing in no less than four new scouts. The first is Kit Carson, who was hired for his tactical knowledge. "Kit is very talented, and will mostly be used for opposition reports, which of course can prove to be highly important when choosing tactics and lineups." Koeman has also recruited Welshman Gwyn Williams, Spaniard Lluis Lainz and Englishman David Hamilton. The club has confirmed that the contracts of both Rod Ruddick and Chris Welman have been terminated.
Sky Sports News interviewed Koeman about his changes to the scouting team.
“I’ve been here for a few weeks now. I felt I needed some time to assess the staff here, and work out there strengths and weaknesses. Southampton have a very strong foundation and the board and I spoke about how we could build on that. We knew we have a very talented Chief Scout in Paul Mitchell, but we thought perhaps the scouting team was a little lacking in some ways, and so we bought in some new members. Chris and Rod left the club on good terms, and I wish them well for the future, but I felt we needed to inject some new blood into the backroom."
Southampton Football Club have also announced their plans to improve their training facilities. Southampton already have excellent facilities and a top youth academy, but this shows that the club really want to move forward. Following the sacking of Steven Greaves, Frankie Hunter and Sammy Lee, Rene Meulensteen and Craig Madden have been recruited.
Rene Meulensteen, previously of Manchester United and Fulham, is now a Southampton FC coach.
“I discussed the state of the training facilities with the board. It was obvious to me that they were already exceptionally good, but we are always looking to improve. We will have one of the best training facilities in the country, and alongside our fantastic youth academy, we will be in a great position. I want the fans to know that we are ambitious and we want to continue to grow.”
The improvements are set to be completed by October 2015.
Southampton Confirm Two New Signings
Southampton have today announced the signings of both midfielder Manuel Iturra, and centre back Eder Alvarez Balanta.
Iturra joins Southampton from Spanish side Granada, for a fee believed to be around £3.5m. The Chilean, who is 30 years old, brings a wealth of experience to the Southampton squad, having earned 34 caps for his country. He can play both as a central midfielder and a defensive midfielder, and Koeman will be looking to him to lead the younger players.
Manuel Iturra joins from Granada.
“Manuel brings invaluable experience to the side, and he is an excellent player who I have a lot of respect for. I will be looking to him to be a leader for some of the younger players, and as well as being a fantastic player on the pitch, he can also be role model off of the pitch. I firmly believe that having good characters in the dressing room is vital when building a successful squad, and Manuel fits the mold of players we have here at Southampton.”
Eder Alvarez Balanta joins from Argentinian side River, for around £4.9m. He is only 21 years old, but has a lot of potential, and should fit straight into the relatively young Southampton defense, which consists of Nathaniel Clyne, Ryan Bertrand, Toby Alderweireld and Jose Fonte, with Maya Yoshida, Florin Gardos and Matthew Targett currently on the fringes. It remains to be seen whether Koeman will be looking to sell either Jose Fonte or Maya Yoshida, as Gardos has only recently joined the side. Yoshida looks more likely to go, with Fonte having been handed the captain’s armband after Adam Lallana was sold to Liverpool.
"Eder is obviously a player with a lot of talent, and I am looking forward to seeing him develop at Southampton. He is still young at only 21, and he will fit into the squad straight away."
New Saints signing, Alvarez Balanta.
Iturra and Alvarez Balanta take Southampton’s total signings for this season to 10 – joining Graziano Pelle, Shane Long, Sadio Mane, Dusan Tadic, Ryan Bertrand (loan) Florin Gardos, Toby Alderweireld (loan) and Fraser Forster. They were signed following the departures of Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert.
One In, Two Out for the Saints
Southampton have bought John Flanagan from Liverpool, and sold both Maya Yoshida and Steven Davis this week.
Flanagan, who is just 21, primarily plays right back, but is also competent playing left back. He joins Southampton from league-runners up Liverpool, for a reported fee of £7.5m. Sky Sports spoke to both Ronald Koeman and John Flanagan in a press conference held at St. Mary’s Stadium.
“I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to play for Southampton,” Flanagan said. “It’s a fantastic club that is known for it’s youth academy, and that’s one of the reasons that I was so keen to sign. I want to develop as a player and there is nowhere better than Southampton to do that. I’m still young, and I believe that this is the best step I could take at this point in my career.”
“John is a great player with a lot of potential. As you know, we already have a young, English full back at Southampton in Nathaniel Clyne. However, after the departure of Calum Chambers, Nathaniel had no competition. We scouted for a player who would fit with the philosophy of the club, and John seemed a perfect choice. He is also young and English, and can put pressure on Nathaniel, which will drive them both to be better players.”
When asked if he thought Flanagan would get enough playing time, Koeman seemed unfazed. “Of course he will. I don’t buy players just to sit on the bench. I buy players to have an impact, and I believe John can have a positive impact on the team straight away. He has a brilliant attitude and is prepared to work hard.”
John Flanagan is a graduate from Liverpool’s academy, and has moved to Southampton for a reported £7.5m.
There have also been two departures from the club this week, in the form of central defender Maya Yoshida and attacking midfielder Steven Davis. Yoshida left the club for a fee of £3.3m, having been bought by Crystal Palace, and Davis went to Swansea for a deal worth a reported £4.9m.
Maya Yoshida is a Japanese international, but was deemed surplus to requirements by Southampton’s Ronald Koeman.
Southampton have also given midfielder Jack Cork and right back Nathaniel Clyne new contracts. Both put pen to paper on 5-year deals, and supporters will be glad to know that two of their best players are tied down for a while yet.
Pre-Season Round Up
Player of Pre-Season
Nathaniel Clyne
Provided some excellent assists and looked threatening down the right flank throughout all the games. Unfortunately, suffered a groin strain and is out for the first game of the season, but I hope he can kick on afterwards.
Really liking this story so far! Hope u do well against Arsenal!!
1
Hey mate, excellent start to your story, the writing is really good. Southampton are a club I really like so I hope you can replicate their success like in real life! 
@Saints_Forever: Thanks! I hope so too 
@Walter: Thank you so much!
@Walter: Thank you so much!
August Review
Overall, it’s been an excellent month. We’ve gone unbeaten, scored 9 goals, and kept two clean sheets. We’re sitting in third, and picking up seven points from nine is fantastic, and I’m especially pleased with the result against Arsenal, as they’re a good team who I’d expect to be challenging for a Champions League place, if not the title. The only negative would be the number of injuries we’ve suffered with. Lloyd Isgrove is out with a torn groin muscle, Toby Alderweireld with a groin strain, Shane Long with a broken ankle and Sadio Mane with back strain. Isgrove and Alderwiereld should be back within the month, although Long and Mane’s injuries are longer term.
Player of the Month
Dusan Tadic
Dusan has had an excellent month, covering the most distance in the whole of the league, having the 2nd highest shots on target ratio in the league (behind Graziano Pelle) and he’s simply put in such good performances that I couldn’t give the award to anyone else.
Congrats on ur results for the first month! Keep it up!
Schneiderlin Pens New Southampton Contract
Morgan Schneiderlin has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal worth a lucrative £14,000,000.
It comes as a surprise to many football fans, as during the summer transfer windows there were rumours that Schneiderlin was unhappy, and could be on his way out of the club. The midfielder, who was called up to the France squad earlier this week, joined the Saints in 2008 for a fee of £1.2m from French side RC Strasbourg Alsace, and has been a staple ever since, helping guide the team to back-to-back promotions.
Morgan Schneiderlin spoke exclusively to Sky Sports:
“This club is where I’ve built my career. The fans here are fantastic, the staff are brilliant and I have really enjoyed working under Ronald Koeman so far. At the start of the transfer window there were enquiries from some teams and I did ask to speak to them if they came forward with a good enough proposal. The manager told me that if a club did come forward that I would be allowed to talk to them, but no clubs did come forward.”
“I’ve looked at the signings that the club have got in and I’m so impressed. We’re playing some of the best football I’ve experienced in my career and I’m enjoying playing with my new teammates. Dusan, Graziano, Sadio… they’ve all been fantastic. I’m glad that I decided to stay, and it really looks as if we can continue to develop this season.”
“I’ve signed a new deal because I want to prove my loyalty to this club. I wouldn’t be where I was today if it weren’t for everyone here at Southampton. I would never have been called up to play for France, and I would never have gotten to go to the World Cup either if it weren't for Southampton. I’ve made some of my best friends here too. Jack (Cork), Jose (Fonte)… We’ve played together for over five years. Jack signed a new deal recently and that really made me think that I should too. There are good things happening here. Some players – Adam (Lallana), Dejan (Lovren) – they left us for ‘bigger’ clubs. But I’ve decided I want to stay here and make Southampton a big club. The past five years have been the best of my life and I don’t know why I ever wanted to leave. Southampton is my home.”
Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana all left Southampton to join Liverpool in the summer.
Schneiderlin referenced both Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren in his interview. They both left for pastures new in the summer, heading to Merseyside to work under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, along with Rickie Lambert, a Southampton icon. Ronald Koeman released a statement on the club’s official website this morning to give the fans more information.
“I am very happy that Morgan has signed a new contract. He is one of our best players, and it is vital that we keep our best players. That is why I also offered new contracts to Jack Cork and Nathaniel Clyne. With Morgan, there was interest from other clubs because of his fantastic form last season, and so we had to wait a little while. However, I know that Morgan is delighted about signing his new deal, and we can now focus on football again!”
Lallana Responds to Schneiderlin Dig
Earlier this week, Sky Sports interviewed Southampton midfielder Morgan Schniederlin after signing a new contract. During the interview, Schneiderlin spoke about former teammates Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren, saying they had chosen to move onto ‘bigger clubs’ and seemingly questioning their decision. Today, Lallana has taken to Twitter to hit back at his former teammate.
In response to comments made by a (former) teammate: I left Southampton because it's (sic) wanted Champions League football and...
...Southampton couldn't offer that. The club doesn't have big enough ambitions for me. Don't accuse Dejan, Rickie and I of 'jumping ship'...
...when you would've done exactly the same if you could. It's not our fault no club came forward, stop trying to make us out as bad guys.
It remains to be seen as to whether Schneiderlin will further the spat, or even if Rickie Lambert or Dejan Lovren will get involved.
September Review
Player of the Month
Morgan Schneiderlin
Morgan has been a rock in the centre of our midfield this month, playing in key passes and generally being a consistently excellent performer. I’m glad we were able to hold onto him in the summer despite interest from other clubs, and he was rewarded with a new contract. He’s proved he’s worthy of it with his performances this month.
You are reading "Marching In".
