The atmosphere at St Mary's was quite bleak at the beginning of the current season after the Saints lost some of their best players to bigger clubs in the league. The team was labeled as being a 'crisis club' with others ridiculing them as ‘Fire-sale Southampton’.
Newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman on the other hand was seen tweeting a picture of an empty training ground which signaled that the Dutchman did not have many players at his expense. Fast forward to almost three and a half months from then and Ronald Koeman's side is doing better than Adam Lallana's Liverpool, Luke Shaw's Manchester United as well as Calum Chambers' Arsenal. The trio along with Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren were sold for a staggering £93m.
But instead of panicking and foolishly wasting money something top Premier League clubs including Tottenham and Liverpool are guilty of, the Saints planned their purchases and all of their signings have performed terrifically so far. The duo of Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic in particular has been phenomenal and the success of the club so far is very much down to both the players. Pelle has registered six goals and two assists in his debut Premier League season so far, whereas Tadic has been equally impressive with six assists and a goal in the league.
Ronald Koeman deserves the plaudits and has had a massive part to play in the club's success. His sales were astute whereas he planned his buys and addressed areas which needed improvement and also kept hold of players he thought were important to the club. Pelle had been previously scouted by the club who was seen as a successor to the ageing Rickie Lambert whereas the club was destined to part company with Adam Lallana sometime or the other owing to the fact that he has been the stand out player at the club for quite some time. The offer made by Liverpool was too good to be ignored whereas in Tadic the club signed an able replacement.
The club prides itself in developing world class players and even though it has lost some its academy products in the summer transfer window all of Matt Targett, Harrison Reed and Sam Gallagher have bright futures at the club whereas James Ward-Prowse has all the qualities of a potential world beater. Even though the club lost a potential star player in Calum Chambers, they have a readymade replacement in the form of Nathaniel Clyne who has arguably been one of the best defenders in the league this season.
His other signings include the likes of Toby Alderweireld who is a known quantity in Europe and has impressed since joining from Atletico Madrid on loan. Whereas in goal Southampton have one of the country's finest shot stoppers in Fraser Forster who has definitely improved the team for better.
In addition to the aforementioned signings the club has successfully managed to keep hold of players it needed. Morgan Schneiderlin in particular was hotly linked to a move away from the club and even publicly expressed his disappointment when denied one. However the club's insistence to keep him has paid dividends with the Frenchman having produced a series of consistent performances.
Southampton have performed admirably so far and have been unfazed despite of being in a transitional period. They have silenced all their critics who placed doubts on whether the club will be able to maintain its place in the Premier League next season by making their best ever start to a top flight season.
However on Sunday they face arguably their stiffest test yet as they go against the defending champions.
Even though the Citizens are not in top form they are a very well built side and are more than capable of bringing an end to Southampton's six match unbeaten run.
The Saints have a difficult run of fixtures which will see them face the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United in consecutive fixtures. Results from these games will show if the club is ready to rub shoulders with the big boys and whether it can potentially finish in the top four by the end of the season.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Southampton 0 - 3 Manchester City
November 30, 2014 8:30amSt. Mary's Stadium (Southampton, Hampshire)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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