The modern school of thought among coaches is that they typically prefer to refine Plan A than move to Plan B.
Coaches want to double down, strengthening their overarching style as opposed to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
In many cases, Plan A tends to be associated with heavy possession and playing out from the back. This, though, is causing an increasing schism between ideology and footballing pragmatism — whether coaches should stick to their virtues or forsake what they had believed in.
Do managers now get more credit within football for staying true to their values even in the face of failure? An example you could point to is Vincent Kompany being rewarded with the Bayern Munich job last summer following relegation with Burnley.
The decision-makers at Sport Republic, which owns Southampton, have acknowledged that their aim is to shadow the City Football Group (CFG), spearheaded by Manchester City. This extends to how the multi-club ownership group operates and its development of youth. However, from a footballing perspective, Southampton decided to replicate City’s heavy possession-based style following relegation from the Premier League last year.
Back then, Jason Wilcox, now at Manchester United, had been appointed from City as Southampton’s director of football and hired Russell Martin as manager. Tellingly, the other candidate was Enzo Maresca, then City’s first-team coach and now head coach at Chelsea. Whether it was Martin or Maresca, dominating the ball would become a prerequisite, a complete gear shift from the high pressure of former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Martin’s appointment was vindicated in his first year. Southampton averaged 65.5 per cent possession and won promotion via the play-offs — yet there was a nagging sense that they would carry similar hallmarks to Burnley upon returning to the top flight. Following their 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth on Monday night, Southampton are winless in 19 Premier League matches, stretching back to March 2023.
The criticisms of Martin’s dogmatism were laid bare in the first half. Bournemouth and Southampton have two of the youngest squads in the league but Martin’s team carry a sense of naivety. Nine of the starting XI against Bournemouth were summer signings but Martin needs more than time with his players — he also needs all of them to have unrelenting faith to play his way.
For the first quarter of an hour, Southampton carried the poise of a team that seemed close to clicking. Martin would bark at his full-backs to take quick throws and moan when goal kicks were not taken early enough. Southampton were building out from the back with five deep players against four Bournemouth attackers, theoretically creating an overload.
Building in a strikerless 4-2-2-2 shape — comprising two attacking midfielders dropping between the lines and split wingers Maxwel Cornet and Ryan Fraser — Martin wanted to have extra numbers centrally, helping the defence play out. Southampton had five strikers on the bench and no central defenders. Illia Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi were the only Bournemouth players to register more passes than goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (56).
The pass network below demonstrates how frequently Ramsdale found the ball at his feet, with all roads on the graphic leading to the goalkeeper.
When Bournemouth would trap Southampton’s defenders in one area, Martin would shout, “Play back around,” asking players to keep passing out of the press. Ramsdale often stood 10 yards out of his area, operating as a quasi-defender.
Yet the early promise entirely dissipated through Southampton’s chronic lack of street smarts. It was alarming how much Marcus Tavernier’s quick free kick surprised them, shown by midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu facing the opposite direction rather than delaying a swift restart. Martin insisted after the game that he had warned his players about Bournemouth quickly taking set pieces.
Evanilson’s finish greased the wheels for Southampton’s collapse, with Bournemouth scoring twice more in the first half and leaving Martin’s style, unfading until the very end, under scrutiny once more. The away end booed at half-time but were otherwise patient, given they were staring down the barrel of one point from six matches.
Antoine Semenyo scores Bournemouth’s third goal inside the opening 45 minutes (David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Improvements were made in the second half but the horse had already bolted. Three substitutions at the break were an admission of the disconnect in attacking areas, with Martin reverting to a more familiar 4-3-3 shape. Regardless, the philosophy did not change. Ross Stewart, ostensibly a traditional No 9, kept dropping into midfield and Ramsdale would only play long when there was no short option.
“The first setback we have in the game, they score,” said Martin. “The players go in self-preservation mode and I hate that from my team. Dump the ball on each other, throw hands up at each other and I’ll never accept that from my team. It’s impossible if you’re not going to fight. Whatever team I picked and whatever formation I picked, if we showed that character, it really doesn’t matter.”
At surface level, the in-possession metrics look good. Southampton have the league’s fourth-highest average possession (60.2 per cent) and an 86.9 per cent pass-completion rate, mirroring what they registered at Bournemouth. It is the second-highest behind defending champions City.
However, Martin’s stylistic demands mean their time on the ball is dominated by short, safe, unthreatening passes. Before Monday, Southampton completed an average of 49 passes before shooting, the second most in the league.
Russell Martin didn’t like what he saw as his team were humbled at the Vitality Stadium (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are the antithesis of Martin’s Southampton. They averaged the second-most ball recoveries last season, built on high-pressing and forward thinking upon revivals. They thrive in chaos whereas Southampton need control. When the game state changes and goals continue to be shipped, the conviction players require to play out under pressure and to remain precise is impacted. And as Southampton are enduring, emotions appear more volatile.
Bournemouth enjoyed the schadenfreude and poked fun at their south-coast neighbours. The match-up suits them, knowing they do not have to play well for large periods as long as they punish the space Southampton leave on turnovers. In the four games Bournemouth have played against Martin’s sides — including at MK Dons and Swansea City — they have scored 15 goals.
Martin is a highly rated coach and has admirers at other Premier League clubs. He is well-liked internally and has been impressive in transforming the intangible aspects of the club, including a cultural off-the-field transformation, where the first-team environment is far happier than before his arrival.
Yet there will be questions about how long Southampton can pursue their Plan A when nights like these occur. More broadly, has modern football reached a point where a distinctive style of play is viewed more favourably than immediate results?
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
