Changing managers mid-season always comes with a degree of risk. Can your squad adapt quickly enough to life under a new head coach? Will the new man in charge be able to put his stamp on the team without the benefit of a full pre-season?
But, with Southampton appointing Nathan Jones as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s successor, this feels like a case of ‘evolution’, rather than ‘revolution’. A continuation of Hasenhuttl’s work, rather than a case of tearing up the blueprint.
“(Southampton’s) key cornerstones are high-intensity, fast movement with and without the ball, and a lot of focus on attacking quickly in transition,” EFL expert Ali Maxwell told the Not The Top 20 podcast following Jones’ move from Luton Town to St Mary’s in November.
“Now, Nathan Jones’ teams certainly play with intensity, especially without the ball, and tend to attack quickly and directly as well. So, I don’t think it’s a big removal from how Southampton play.”
Nathan Jones’ Southampton want Ryan Fraser from Newcastle United
Southampton’s interest in Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser meanwhile, via the Northern Echo, offers an indication as to what Saints supporters can expect from Jones’ team. Fraser, one of the Premier League’s most effective wide players during his time at Bournemouth, shone during his first spell on the South Coast under Eddie Howe; The Cherries using his speed and dribbling ability to hit opposition teams hard and fast on the counter.
Jones’ Luton side, meanwhile, averaged the third-lowest possession per game stats in the Championship prior to his November exit (WhoScored). Numbers which highlighting the Welshman’s preference for quick-fire counters rather than sustained ball control. Jones’ Luton relished pressing high and forcing mistakes.
In 2021/21, as the Hatters finished in the play-offs, they posted the lowest possession numbers in the entire division. Presuming Jones plans to utilise a similar approach at St Mary’s, it is not difficult to imagine where Fraser fits in.
The Scotland international could, perhaps, be a man reborn under Jones, a la Harry Cornick at Kenilworth Road. Cornick, a dynamic, jet-heeled forward, hit double figures for the first time in his career under the one-time Brighton assistant in 2021/22; thriving in Luton’s fast-paced, counter-attacking system.
‘Creative, natural talent’
“What I like is that he is a little pocket dynamo,” former Scotland ace Charlie Nicholas told Sky of Fraser during the 2018/19 season, in which only Eden Hazard mustered more than his 14 assists.
“He is quite an old-fashioned type of player. What he does understand is when he gets the ball and is allowed to run at people and be expressive. That is when he is at his finest. It is nice to see a Scot with this kind of creative, natural talent.”
Fraser has struggled for form during his two-and-a-half-year stint at Newcastle. But, at the age of just 28, the one-time Aberdeen prospect still has plenty of oil left in the tank. Perhaps it will take a return to the South Coast, and a fresh start under Nathan Jones at Southampton, for Fraser to rediscover his inner-Hazard.
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