Football Season Guide

Southampton had one of the most infamous seasons in their history. The “Spygate” scandal which saw them become the first ever team to be kicked out of the play-offs overshadowed everything before it. Will Still’s stint as head coach feels like a lifetime ago. The youngest manager in Championship history at the time was sacked after just two wins from his first 13 games in the league. Still made a very talented squad look ordinary at times. The club ended up giving an even younger man the reigns in Under-21's coach Tonda Eckert and he ushered in a transformation that almost beggared belief. Saints went on an astonishing 18-game unbeaten run to storm into the play-offs with real momentum. In fact, only Pep Guardiola’s star-studded Manchester City ended a 20-match undefeated streak across all competitions, which included dumping eventual Premier League champions Arsenal out of the FA Cup. It ended up being far too good to be true when young intern William Salt was caught spying on Middlesbrough’s training sessions before the play-off semi-final. Southampton won the battle over two legs on the pitch but lost the war and were denied a place in the Wembley showpiece by the EFL. The investigation revealed that Eckert had orchestrated the entire scheme which included spying on other clubs throughout the season. Not only were Saints kicked out of the play-offs, but they will start the upcoming campaign with a 4-point penalty. Eckert has also since been charged with misconduct and has yet to receive his punishment, which could include a ban. Despite costing the club fortunes from a possible promotion, owner Dragan Šolak has decided to stand by Eckert. There were also reports of a potential mutiny from the players and legal action being taken against the club over missing out on increased wages, but that has also died down. Indeed, it appears most of the squad are still fully behind Eckert, which suggests that his triumphs weren’t all down to cheating and there is a very talented coach there. The German has a cold dead-eyed demeaner that seems ideal for coping with the kind of vitriol that is set to come his way and he could even use it as fuel to rev the players and supporters up into a siege mentality. Some of Southampton’s best business in the summer transfer window has been with players that were already there last season. Canadian striker Cyle Larin and goalkeeper Daniel Peretz were massive hits after arriving on loan in January. Both have now joined permanently. Larin will take on extra responsibility as the club’s main centre-forward after Ross Stewart’s departure, but he has a superb supporting cast around him withthe likes of Leo Scienza, Finn Azaz and newly-arrived Lewis Dobbin who was Preston’s top scorer last season. The defence and midfield also remain strong areas. Other than Stewart, there haven’t been any major departures at this stage and the club have mostly cleared out the deadwood. If the squad remains together both physically and mentally, they could be a force to be reckoned with.