5 Takeaways From Southampton vs. Sunderland

Southampton faced Sunderland this afternoon at St. Mary’s Stadium, grinding out a 1-1 draw. After another disappointing result, here’s what we’ve learned.

The fans were grumbling as they filed out of St. Mary’s this afternoon, and with the dismal result it’s hard to blame them. The Saints found chances, but they weren’t good ones, and weren’t taken advantage of. The defence looked harried at times, solid at others, but conceded a penalty for the second straight week. Southampton welcomed back Jay Rodriguez in spectacular form, but his first goal since 2014 could only salvage a draw.

Overall, it was a decidedly below-average performance. But of course, every game is a lesson and after this week’s match, here’s what we’ve learned.

Jury’s still out on the 4-4-2 diamond

For the third straight week, Claude Puel opened with his favoured 4-4-2 diamond formation. The results were, in a word, predictable. Puel likes the formation because, as he explained, “it’s important to keep control of the game.” That’s certainly true, and the possession stats from the last three outings would indicate that the formation works in that regard. But football is a game of goals, not possession, and so far the goals haven’t been coming.

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There have been more than a handful of Southampton fans who have expressed distaste for the diamond, basing their assessment perhaps on Roy Hodgson’s use of it with England this summer as well as recent Saint’ results. For me, the jury is still out. A 180-degree change in tactics takes some time to adapt to, so I’m willing to give it til the Arsenal match on 10 September. But it might be time to start thinking about trying something different if need be.

Jay Rodriguez is back (and needs to stay here)

A good definition for irony might be “the striker you assumed was damaged goods and were going to send on loan coming on in garbage time and salvaging your result.” After missing almost an entire season due to injury, nobody expected Jay Rodriguez to do much of anything in the early going. Bringing him on at 0-0 late in the game was a move that smelled more like “let’s get him a shift in” than “necessary tactical adjustment.”

It turned out to be a fortuitous move though. After going down 1-0 it was J-Rod, the unlikely hero, who was able to turn Jordan Pickford and slam one through his grip to save a point. Marquee goal aside, Rodriguez looked good for the duration of his shift, flowing with the play and taking a few smart cracks at goal.

If Southampton are still planning on sending him out, they may want to rethink that decision. It’s a long season ahead, and depth is going to be key going forward. Unless Haller ends up coming, Rodriguez should stay put and be a serious consideration for more playing time.

Ryan Bertrand is desperately missed

I want to like Matt Targett. Truthfully, I do. At 20 years old he’s done an admirable job filling in at left back through these past three games. He’s always game to go bombing down his wing, willing to run himself ragged doing so if need be. Point is, the kid’s got heart, and he’s going to go places in the Premier League.

But he’s no Ryan Bertrand, and might not be the best fit for this position in this formation. For a presumably defensive-minded player, Targett likes to get up the pitch a lot. The past two games this worked out alright. This time out, though, he seems to have forgotten his primary role in defence. As a result, Steven Davis found himself shifting over from the midfield wing to cover the left back. This breaks the diamond, and the whole system breaks down after it.

Bertrand is expected to be back for next match vs Arsenal and from there on out, so this should be the last we see of Targett in the left-back spot for awhile. That said, I think there’s possibly a case to try him on the wings as a midfielder; the upcoming EFL Cup tie is as safe a place as any to try it out.

Dusan Tadic belongs up front

I said it last game and I’ll say it again this game: Tadic’s numbers from last season do not automatically qualify him to play as a number 10. Claude Puel, apparently, didn’t get the memo as Tadic started out at the tip of this diamond this afternoon. Fortunately, we can count on Southampton’s players to make the necessary adjustments, and Tadic ended up split out wide up front with Nathan Redmond playing in the 10-hole.

The result was the closest to the active, fluid sort of play up front that Southampton have seen all season. Tadic on one end and Charlie Austin on the other (and occasionally switching places with Redmond) created a disrupted back-line for Sunderland and gave the Saints plenty of chances to build in attack. Going forward, Puel should take notes on Dusan Tadic’s performance this game versus the prior two, and make the decision as to where the Serbian international can really thrive.

Jose Fonte had a bad, really bad day

Sigh. I’ve written enough about Fonte to fill a chapter in his eventual Southampton-authorized biography once he retires, but today there’s no praise for him. Giving up a penalty is hardly a way to thank your team and your fans for a sweetheart contract, but alas, that’s how it went.

Between hacking down Jermain Defoe with all the grace and precision of a tap-dancing gorilla and generally looking out-of-position for the majority of the game, today wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the club’s captain. It seems there are two Jose Fontes: the one that helped Portugal win the Euros, and the one we saw today. Last week, we paid for the former. Let’s hope he shows up next game.