Living On A Prayer | Southampton

[James]

Thanks for checking in!

Take my hand we’ll make it I swear

Southampton is a port city as well as the team being called the Saints.

Let’s goooooo! I actually play with this team too so I’m finally familiar with some of these guys. Fun squad! Looking forward to it

Nice! The roster is interesting for the first season. Not quite sure where I am going to take it.

we ready

Thanks for the comment. Just going to square away a couple of articles and get some games going.

[James]

Pochettino Returns to Southampton in Major Hire for Saints
Rob Stock -- Southern Daily Echo

Mauricio Pochettino is set to make a sensational return to Southampton as manager for the 2022-2023 Premier League season. The Argentine coach, who previously led Southampton to their highest ever Premier League finish of eighth place in the 2014-2015 season, is highly regarded by fans and is seen as the perfect candidate to lead the club forward.

Pochettino left Southampton in 2014 to join Tottenham Hotspur, where he enjoyed a hugely successful five-year spell, leading the club to the Champions League final in 2019 and establishing them as one of the top teams in the Premier League. However, after a difficult start to the 2019-2020 season, Pochettino was sacked. Now, after a stint in Paris Saint-Germain, Pochettino is returning to the club where he made his mark in English football.

Southampton is looking to rebuild after a disappointing 2021-2022 campaign in which they narrowly avoided relegation. Pochettino is known for his ability to develop young talent and play an attractive, attacking style of football, and Southampton fans will be hoping that he can bring those qualities back to the club.

The news of Pochettino's return has been met with widespread excitement from Southampton supporters, who are looking forward to seeing their team play with the attacking flair and confidence that was a hallmark of Pochettino's previous tenure. Many believe that Pochettino is the man to take Southampton back to the upper echelons of the Premier League and restore the club to its former glory.

With Pochettino at the helm, Southampton will be looking to build on their strong foundation and push for a place in the top half of the table. The Argentine coach will be keen to make an immediate impact and get the team playing to the best of their abilities, and the club's fans will be hoping to see some exciting, attacking football in the 2022-2023 season.

Overall, the return of Mauricio Pochettino to Southampton is a hugely exciting development for the club and its supporters, and everyone will be looking forward to seeing what he can achieve in his second stint at St. Mary's Stadium.

[Captain Canada]

Lets get it started

[James]

Lets get it started

[James]

Premier League
August 13, 2022 - #SOUvBOU
Vitality Stadium — Bournemouth, England




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SOU - 0 / 0 // 0
BOU - 0 / 0 // 0
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Southampton Opens Premier League Season with Goalless Draw at Bournemouth
Southampton FC began their Premier League campaign with a goalless draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on a rainy afternoon. It was also the first match in charge for Southampton's new manager Mauricio Pochettino, who returned to the club after a successful stint at Tottenham Hotspur.

The match was tightly contested, with both teams creating chances but unable to find the back of the net. In the first half, Southampton's Che Adams had a header go just over the bar in the 33rd minute. Bournemouth's Ryan Christie also had a good effort in the box, but it was parried away by Southampton keeper Gavin Bazunu.

The best chance of the match came in the 54th minute, when Adams got into the box for Southampton but was denied by a great save from Bournemouth keeper Norberto Neto. Adam Armstrong was unable to capitalize on the rebound, putting it into the side netting.

A foul in the 72nd minute allowed for a Bournemouth free kick, but Adam Smith's effort was saved by Bazunu.

In the 77th minute, Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse picked up an injury and was substituted off in the 85th minute for Ainsley Maitland-Niles. No further information is available on Ward-Prowse's injury at this time.

Bournemouth's left back Jordan Zemura was named the match of the match with an 8.0 rating, putting in a strong performance defensively and going forward. Zemura was a constant threat down the left flank, and his overlapping runs provided an extra attacking option for Bournemouth.

Overall, it was a closely contested match between two evenly matched teams. Southampton will look to build on this result as they continue their Premier League campaign under Pochettino's leadership. The team will also hope for a quick recovery for captain James Ward-Prowse, whose injury will be closely monitored in the coming days

Match Events
36' - Injury: G. Sensei (BOU)
77' - Injury: J. Ward-Prowse (SOU)

Man of the Match
LB Jordan Zemura, Bournemouth: 8.0 Rating, 21-23 passing, 8 interceptions

[mvp]

Love the recap hopefully JWP’s injury isn’t serious

[James]

Love the recap hopefully JWP’s injury isn’t serious

Thanks, and one can only hope. It's our best player and captain.

[James]

James Ward-Prowse's Injury Against Bournemouth a Minor Knock, Expected to Be Full Strength Against Tottenham
Rob Stock -- Southern Daily Echo

Southampton FC fans will be relieved to hear that captain James Ward-Prowse's injury sustained in the team's goalless draw against Bournemouth was only a minor knock. Ward-Prowse returned to training today and is expected to be fully fit for the team's next match against Tottenham on August 19th.

Ward-Prowse's injury will be closely monitored in the coming days, but it appears that he will be available for selection for Southampton's new manager Mauricio Pochettino, who will face his former club in the matchup.

The midfielder has been a key player for Southampton, and his leadership and experience will be valuable as the team looks to build on their opening result and improve in the Premier League.

[James]

Premier League
August 19, 2022 - #TOTvSOU
Saint Mary's Stadium — Southampton, England




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TOT - 1 / 0 // 1
SOU - 0 / 0 // 0
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Southampton Fail to Capitalize on Advantage
In only his second match back in charge of Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino faced up against his former club Tottenham at Saint Mary's Stadium.

The warm August night got off to a hot start when Tottenham almost got onto the score sheet with a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg shot bounced off the right post. Heung Min Son picked up the first card of the match after receiving a yellow card after a poor tackle in the 22nd minute.

Southampton caught a tough break in the 28th minute when James Ward-Prowse was fouled after winning a tackle in the Southampton box. The referee did not blow the whistle and Southampton was left out of position which allowed Tottenham to slot the ball to Harry Kane who was able to easily put a left-footed shot into the back of the net.

The first half was rounded off with a shot by Hojbjerg in the 31st minute that clear the bar and kept the score 1-0 at halftime.

The second half was a struggle between both teams with neither making much progress. That was until the 74th minute when James Ward-Prowse won the ball in the Southampton end and made a nice move to make a sliding Dejan Kulusevski take him out from behind. The result was a prompt red card by the referee to Kulusevski and an advantage to Southampton.

Ward-Prowse made use of this space in the 80th minute to attempt a shot but just like Hojbjerg's shot earlier it was too high and flew over the bar. The best chance of the night for Southampton came in the 83rd minute when Che Adams received the ball and got free on the right side of the Tottenham box. However, the angle was too tight and the attempt by Adams was parried away by a great effort from Hugo Lloris.

Southampton was unable to capitalize on their advantage and the match finished 1-0 for Tottenham. Southampton won the possession battle 56%-44%, and Tottenham had 6 shots to Southampton's 5.

Kyle Walker-Peters had the best night for Southampton. Walker-Peters was 21-27 passing with a 7.6 rating and kept Heung Min Son in check, who had the lowest rating of all of Tottenham's attackers.

Mauricio Pochettino will take his squad away to Blackpool for thier first match in the Carabao Cup as he still searches for his first win in his second stint at Southampton.

Match Events
22' - Yellow Card: H. Son (TOT)
28' - Goal: H. Kane (TOT)
74' - Red Card: D. Kulusevski (TOT)

Man of the Match
ST Harry Kane, Tottenham - 7.9 Rating, goal, 30-34 passing, interception

[James]

Carabao Cup Round 2
August 23, 2022 - #SOUvBLP
Bloomfield Road — Blackpool, England




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SOU - 1 / 3 // 4
BLP - 0 / 1 // 1
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Southampton Attack Wakes Up
After 180 minutes of football, Southampton fans might have felt nervous as their club had failed to register a goal against their opponents. This was clearly not expected by a Pochettino-led team. However, in their second-round, Carabao Cup match against Blackpool Southampton was able to start to get their attacking prowess back in order.

The match once again started with Southampton's opponents getting an early shot on goal but Blackpool's Charlie Patino was unable to convert his effort in the 3rd minute as it was blocked by Southampton's keeper Alex McCarthy. Southampton then turned up the attack with attempts by James Ward-Prowse, Moussa Djenepo, and Che Adams failing to hit the mark in the 10th, 24th, and 27th minutes. Blackpool's Jordan Lawerence-Gabriel drew a controversial yellow card in the 38th minute. A two-footed tackle on left back Romain Perraud went to VAR but surprisingly it was still ruled a yellow card.

Southampton finally got onto the scoresheet after a foul gave them a free kick just outside the opponent's box. Ward-Prowse expertly curled in the 22-meter effort which struck the post and hit the opposing goalkeeper, Daniel Grimshaw, in the face as it went in. Ward-Prowse would have another chance in added time in the first half when he was able to get a diving header in on a crossed ball but Grimshaw was able to parry the ball away for the last significant action of the first half.

Southampton's Adams received a yellow card early on in the second half in the 57th minute for a poor attempt on goal where he rolled afterward and took out the opposing keeper. Blackpool began to gain momentum and capitalized on it in the 61st minute when Ian Poveda received a pass in the box and took advantage of the Southampton defense to level the game at 1-1.

Southampton did not take long to respond and a through ball to Che Adams was headed over to Moussa Djenepo in the box on the counter which he easily slotted past Grimshaw to give Southampton the 2-1 advantage. Southampton did not look back after taking the lead. Stuart Armstrong added his first goal of the season in the 71st minute when Djenepo slotted a cross to him in the box and he was able to easily bend it around the keeper for the 3-1 advantage. Finally, in the 85th minute center-back, Mohammed Salisu was able to take advantage of Blackpool's failing to clear the ball after a corner and passed the ball into the back of the net to give Southampton their final goal at 4-1.

Southampton gave a really strong performance against the weaker side with 57% possession to Blackpool's 43%. Southampton registered 19 shots to Blackpool's 6.

One additional note is that Southampton played a rotated squad with an upcoming Premier League match against Brighton in a couple of days. Tino Livramento started this match right back and picked up a knock in the second half but finished the match. There is no known status of his condition at the present moment. If he ends up out it will be a loss of depth for Southampton but they will still have Kyle Walker-Peters as their regular starter who put in a fantastic effort in the last match against Heung-Min Son and Tottenham.

Match Events
34' - Injury: J. Thorniley (BLP)
38' - Yellow Card: J. Lawrence-Gabriel
42' - Goal: J. Ward-Prowse (SOU)
45' - Yellow Card: I. Poveda (BLP)
57' - Yellow Card: C. Adams (SOU)
61' - Goal: I. Poveda (BLP)
65' - Goal: M. Djenepo (SOU)
73' - Goal: S. Armstrong (SOU)
77' - Injury: T. Livramento (SOU)
85' - Goal: M. Salisu (SOU)

Man of the Match
LM Moussa Djenepo, Southampton - 8.5 rating, 1 goal, 1 assist, 24-28 passing, 4 key passes