Last Friday, the feel good factor swiftly returned to Villa fans. They got to watch their team sweep aside a decent Leeds side in front of a rocking Villa Park.
The next task is to keep the momentum going as Emery looks to build on 13 points from 6 games. Nathan Jones relegation threatened side will be looking to prevent that in what promises to be an interesting game.
I spoke to Saints fan Dan Hargraves of The Saints View to find out more about Southampton’s season so far.
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After 5 consecutive league defeats under new manager Nathan Jones, things are starting to look up. Southampton are on a 3 match winning streak, which includes a win over Manchester City. What obvious changes has Jones made?
“Saints have become more flexible under Jones. We’ve alternated between a back five and back four set up, having two strikers or one. Granted, it’s only just looking like it’s working but there have been great signs in the last couple of games. In terms of similarities to Ralph Hasenhuttl, the pressing. He wants Saints to be aggressive and win the ball high up the pitch, like Hasenhuttl did.”
James Ward Prowse is often the player most Villa fans worry about when playing Southampton. He always seems to be able to ping in a free kick. Are there any other players that Villa fans should be afraid of?
“If you catch Che Adams on a good day he can be a handful but I would say Romeo Lavia has been one of our best players this season. There are certainly similarities to Boubacar Kamara in the sense that he wins the ball deep but is also a good ball carrier and can spot a pass. The kid has just turned 19 and will have an excellent career.”
Southampton are currently sitting rock bottom of the league. However the bottom three are all on 15 points and a win could see them reach as high as 13th. Are you confident about your chances of survival?
“The last handful of matches have certainly encouraged me that we can survive but it all comes down to who we recruit in the remainder of the transfer window. A prolific goalscorer is an absolute must.”
Finally what’s your score prediction?
“Villa have looked good under Emery and we’re in good form but do have a cup semi final three days later. I’ll go with a conservative 1-1”
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OPPOSITION FOCUS | NATHAN JONES: A RISK WORTH TAKING?
When Southampton got thumped 4-1 by a high flying Newcastle side earlier this season, discontent grew amongst supporters. The Saints had only scored 12 times in 14 games and were slowly slipping further and further into the relegation zone. Fans were losing patience and ultimately, so did the board. Hassenhütl had been sacked and Southampton needed to act quickly.
Southampton had two options. Go for an experienced manager like Dyche to ensure safety. Yes, the football may be awful but at least they’d have a manager who knew how to get them out of trouble. The other option was to do it the Southampton way. Take a young manager with lots of potential and give him a chance to shine in the Premier League. Of course Southampton did it the Southampton way. Enter Nathan Jones …
Nathan Jones has worked his way through the ranks of the EFL, learning from each stage. Jones spent time as a coach/assistant manager at clubs such as Brighton and Hove Albion and Charlton Athletic. Jones spent time learning under managers such as Houghton, Hyypia and Garcia. After three years at Brighton, Jones decided to test himself with the top spot. League 2 Luton Town, a club Jones had a short spell with as a player, took the risk on and 2 and a half year contract.
Much like Southampton are now, in 2016 Luton were in trouble. They were dangerously close to dropping out of the football league. They needed something different. Nathan Jones was that something. Luton picked up 11 wins out of 21 that season which left them comfortably mid table. In his second full season in charge of Luton, Jones had secured automatic promotion to League One.
Jones had mastered League 2 in his second full season of management. Impressive. However League One was going to be entirely different; surely? Nope, Jones smashed League One taking Luton to a second place finish by January. This sort of record does not go unnoticed by other clubs though. By 2019, Nathan Jones left Luton to test himself in the Second tier of English football with Stoke City.
This wasn’t as successful as Jones might have hoped. The Welshman was heavily backed by Stoke having signed ten new players to the team. Things didn’t work out and Jones was sacked just ten months after being appointed. Jones would return to Luton to continue the project he has started. The results picked up but once again Jones left Luton to test himself at a different level. This was a level he had never worked at and one that would truly test him. This was the Premier League. This was Southampton.
After a difficult start to his tenure, things have started to look up for Jones. However it still remains to be questioned. Is Nathan Jones good enough for the Premier League. The answer will become clear in the coming months.
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MY PREDICTION
Things were not pretty last time out against Leeds but the important thing is we found a way to win. That felt like a turning point in Emery’s reign as previously Villa have never managed to play badly and win. This is only a positive and with good vibes surrounding Villa Park, I feel like we can only build on them. Southampton will make it difficult as they are desperate to grab points but I think Villa will have too much. I’m predicting a 2-0 Villa win!
AUTHOR | ELLIS BURNETT
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