A staggering 43% of Southampton’s clean sheets this season [7] have come in the last four matches [3].
In the eight games before this, Tonda Eckert’s side conceded a whopping 11 goals.
So why are the Saints suddenly keeping the ball out of their own net – is it down to tactical tweaks, or new personnel at St Mary’s?
In this four-game period of retribution, one thing has stayed consistent for Southampton – the change in formation from a 3-4-3 to a 4-2-3-1.
Without the ball, in the opposition’s third, Tonda Eckert’s team has deployed a 4-4-2 formation, full-pressing sides that also play a back four. This man-to-man approach suits Southampton’s higher-quality players in the Championship, but also means that little emphasis on tactical intricacies is needed.
It’s not anything special, but it has been an effective change.
Saints midfielder Flynn Downes has been revitalised in a new role – helping initiate Southampton’s press, making aggressive jumps and joining the two central attacking players.
In 2023/24, Southampton under Russell Martin were such a brilliant team, heavily down to Flynn Downes dictating the side in and out of possession – and his current role has many similarities to this.
A role that requires intense physical effort to close down space rapidly and, if the press fails, to recover back into position, Downes really suits the box-to-box profile Southampton need – and is arguably the best in the Championship at this.
Southampton Head Coach Tonda Eckert: “I think it’s that resilience that we’ve been talking about. We’ve made a huge step forward because we conceded one-set piece on an away game, for the rest we have four clean sheets in a row. That’s very important moving forward.”
In possession, there aren’t too many elaborate details, but Southampton are finally putting the right player profiles in the right positions.
For too long, players like Finn Azaz, Tom Fellows, and Flynn Downes, to name just a few, had been playing in more unorthodox positions.
The team now, is creating natural triangles, leading to smoother passages of play and higher chance creation.
Tom Fellows, a player not involved in this passage of play, took up a high and wide position, removing a Watford defensive number as the Saints looked to overload one side, whilst having Caspar Jander as a midfield outlet in case play was switched.
Overall, Tonda Eckert has made small, subtle tweaks that work – for now.
Whilst Southampton have made tactical changes, new players brought into the side have helped make a much stronger team unit.
Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, who joined on loan from Bayern Munich in January, has played in five league games for the Saints and has the highest save percentage in the Championship [78.6%]. The Israeli has conceded just three goals and looked like a much more reliable option in goal than predecessor, Gavin Bazunu.
While Irishman Bazunu was a decent passer out from the back, Peretz keeps balls out of the net – and has already prevented a total of 1.31 goals in his short time on the south coast of England.
At fullback, James Bree and Welington are more defensively astute than Ryan Manning and Tom Fellows, who were struggling to fully control the whole left and right flanks by themselves in the 3-4-3 setup.
In a new system that has both full-backs and wingers, these players are responsible for smaller segments of the pitch – lightening their personal workload and maximising space for the team.
Centre-backs Jack Stephens and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are showing how much easier it is for them to defend in a pairing, rather than a back three. A back four is simply a more natural shape to defend in.
With Flynn Downes becoming the heartbeat of the team once again, picking up the ball from deep, and defending high, the Saints look like a much more comfortable Championship team that knows their responsibilities.
While Tonda Eckert hasn’t revolutionised or invented any new footballing philosophies since changing to a back four, Southampton are a much more solid side overall. Not blowing teams away, nor conceding goals aplenty, but looking like real Championship play-off contenders.
