Premier League Weekly: Southampton should be aiming to be the best of the rest

Southampton's Ryan Bertrand (Getty Images)

TOTTENHAM and Manchester City grabbed the headlines in midweek with stunning Champions League performances to beat Real Madrid and Napoli.

As the Premier League returns, the big matches come on Sunday as City entertain Arsenal before Chelsea face Manchester United. That leaves a Saturday for some of the lesser clubs to shine. This week, PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKLY focuses on a club who should be striving to be the best of the rest.

Should Saints be targeting winning the Second Premier League?

AFTER only ten games, the Big Six are already in position. Even with 28 games of the season to go, everyone can safely assume that the door has been bolted shut. No one else is going to break into that cosy club at the top. There is very little between the other 14 clubs in general, but they will all have to find their natural position between seventh and 20^th.

One of those will win the second Premier League, and maybe even claim a spot in Europe for their troubles. Everton should have been in that position after spending more than £140 million in the summer, but they have been woeful and are looking for a new manager to help them climb out of the bottom three at present.

Burnley currently occupy seventh spot and have made an excellent start to the season with just two defeats in ten, and some eye-catching results. But does anyone expect the Clarets to remain that high? It would be even more unlikely if they lose their manager Sean Dyche to the vacant role at Everton. That’s why their opponents tomorrow, Southampton, should be the team targeting that seventh spot.

Virgil Van Dijk tussles with Brighton’s Glenn Murray (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

Their last three seasons read seventh, sixth and eighth, so the Saints should be aiming high. But their return of just three wins and nine goals from their opening ten games feels below par given the squad at their disposal. With a little more freedom and a touch less conservatism, Mauricio Pellegrino’s team should be good enough to be the best of the rest.

Look at their players. Centre-half Virgil van Dijk, full-backs Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand, midfielders Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina. All are coveted by teams higher up the food chain, which suggests they are doing something right. Southampton fans know they have good players and it’s why they got frustrated under Claude Puel last season and have been a bit underwhelmed so far this campaign. Too many Premier League clubs outside the top six are conservative and play safety-first football and spend nine months looking over their shoulders. The Saints can and should be better than that.

Their policy of selling their best players for big money has been heavily criticised in recent seasons, but they continue to scour the market well and have good league finishes. We have seen in other leagues how the likes of Porto, Sevilla and Lyon constantly have to evolve with a flow of players in and out but they continue to be successful and there is no reason why Southampton can’t be the English equivalent.

Stat of the Day

59.2 – The average number of points over the last ten seasons accrued by the team finishing seventh in the Premier League, which equates to roughly 1.55 points per game.

Player of the Day

WHEN Bournemouth last visited Newcastle in March 2016, Matt Ritchie helped put the final nail in Steve McClaren’s coffin as Newcastle manager with an excellent display and a big assist in a 3-1 win for the Cherries. It was to be McClaren’s last game in charge before he was replaced by Rafa Benitez. But it was a significant one for Ritchie as Benitez came back in for him that summer as he began his rebuilding job in the Championship. The £12 million that Benitez shelled out to bring him from the South Coast to the North East has been handsomely repaid.

Newcastle attacker Matt Ritchie in action (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Ritchie was a star performer last year as Newcastle won the Championship and he contributed fully with 16 goals and ten assists. His importance to the Geordies has been maintained in the step back up to the Premier League. Half of Newcastle’s ten goals so far have been supplied by Ritchie, including in all four of their victories. With not much money to spend, Benitez needed some of his Championship winners to step up, and Ritchie has certainly done that.

What’s more, Ritchie’s place at Bournemouth has never fully been taken. The likes of Ryan Fraser, Jordon Ibe and Marc Pugh have all had spells out wide, but none have offered the consistency of Ritchie. With the Cherries stuck in the bottom three, maybe Eddie Howe wishes he could have his old winger back in his ranks when he sees him lining up against them at St James’ Park tomorrow.