Sky Sports pundit believes Southampton still one of stories of season, despite defeats
Saturday 6 December 2014 08:00, UK
Jamie Carragher has his say on the subplots surrounding Sky’s live Monday Night Football - in this column, the Liverpool legend speaks of his admiration for Southampton and assesses Louis van Gaal's resurgent Manchester United ahead of the clash at St Mary’s.
Southampton's blistering start to the campaign has been nothing short of breathtaking. Consecutive defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal however appear to have knocked the Saints down to earth and, for the first time this season, have really questioned their top-four credentials.
But with Manchester United coming to town on Monday night, Carragher sees no reason for doom and gloom on the south coast...
How important is Monday’s game for Southampton, especially after two defeats in a row?
CARRA SAYS: I think Southampton will be looking at Monday’s game – along with the last two against Man City and Arsenal - as bonus games really. No one was expecting Southampton to get anything from these three games but on the other hand you don’t want to lose three on the bounce. I watched their last two games and in the City game, from start to finish, City were much better.
But I watched the Arsenal game and they were very unfortunate, not just because of Alexis Sanchez’s late goal but they had an excellent chance to take the lead through Graziano Pelle early on and overall they played well, they never really looked in too much trouble. They went down to 10 men because of the injury to Toby Alderweireld and they suffered with that but they definitely deserved a draw and if they put in a similar performance at home I think they’ll give United a really tough game.
St Mary’s has been a really tough place to go to for a few years now – initially, while under Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton took some big scalps. Ronald Koeman has come in now and done a great job but they are yet to really beat what you would call a top team, the sort of side that you would class as a higher quality. From Tottenham and Liverpool away at the start of the season they have always come up short even though they played well, they never really took a big scalp and I think Monday presents a perfect chance for them to claim that elusive win against a big side.
Do the injuries to Morgan Schneiderlin and Toby Alderweireld, coupled with the two defeats to City and Arsenal, show that Southampton lack the strength in depth to mount a sustained challenge for a Champions League spot throughout a busy festive period?
CARRA SAYS: We’ve always said from the start that Southampton’s first XI will give anyone in the league a game. I’m a big fan of theirs, they’ve got great pace, strength and ability in the team they’re organised. They’ve got a lot of things going for them but where they can’t match the big teams is in size of squad and quality of payer in reserve and when they do have injuries it will tell. They’ll be missing Schneiderlin, who I think is a fantastic player, Alderweireld come off the other night and he’s a good player as well so when they do get injuries that’s the problem for the so called ‘lesser’ clubs.
It’s tough for everyone who plays games that close together over Christmas but it’s whether they can keep players fit. And that’s the same for a lot of teams really besides the top teams as most of them don’t have the numbers or quality in reserve. Southampton are very good team. It’s not a flash in the pan what they’ve done this season.
Southampton have been one of the stories of the season. It’s not a flash in the pan what they've done this season. They’re a good team and if you beat Southampton, whoever you are, you've done well because they give everyone a run for their money.
They’re a good team and if you beat Southampton, whoever you are, you’ve done well. It was only the City game really where someone looked a class above them but we're talking about champions who’ve got world-class players and that can happen to anyone. Southampton have been one of the stories of the season so far and if you do beat them it’s a big scalp because they’re a very good team.
Monday Night Football sees Manchester United travel to Southampton on the back of four consecutive wins in the league. How impressed have you been with the United’s form?
CARRA SAYS: United are in great form in terms of results and obviously they’ve got injury problems as well so you’ve got to give them massive credit. When you look at the Arsenal game, people say they didn’t play to well to start with but to go the Emirates and get a win with the team they had out was fantastic. If you look at his record in the big games he’s done quite well. Obviously they drew with Chelsea, where they played well and got a decent result, they beat Arsenal and against City they were well in that game until they went down to 10 men so as I said they’ve had a lot of good results of late but it going to be a tough game now going away to Southampton.
Are you surprised by where United find themselves in the table after a turbulent start to the campaign? How would you assess the start Louis van Gaal has made to life in Manchester?
CARRA SAYS: A lot of money has been spent at Manchester United, even under David Moyes with the arrival of Juan Mata in January and then Van Gaal in the summer. There’s a lot of top players there so, considering they have had no European commitments, for them to be in the top four around Christmas would be the minimum you would expect. They’ve got the advantage that Liverpool had last season in having no European football but on the other hand they have had a lot of injury problems so all in all I think Louis van Gaal has had a decent start. If United were any lower than where they are now I think there would be a few more questions asked.
United have been poor at the back at times this season, so how important have the performances of David de Gea been in propelling them into the top four?
CARRA SAYS: He’s been brilliant. He’s arguably been the best goalkeeper in the league so far – I’d probably just edge towards Thiabut Courtois because of his size over De Gea - but in terms of performance no one has done better than him. He’s obviously had more to do than Courtois, who has a better defence in front of him and gets more protection, but De Gea has not only been one of the best goalkeepers but maybe one of the players of the season. If you think back to how he was when he first came – he’s filled out, got more experience and he’s looking like a great acquisition by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Can United do the unthinkable and challenge for the Premier League title?
CARRA SAYS: What this season? No chance! United won’t challenge for the title this season but with the money that’s rumoured to be spent in January, or in the summer, you would expect them to be up there challenging sooner rather than later. A couple a years ago under Sir Alex Ferguson they were champions and the drop has been quite big - going from champions to missing out on Champions League football. The main aim of the club is to just qualify for the Champions League again and I am sure if they achieve that this season, the aim will be to challenge for the title next season. With the money they have, and who they’ll look to bring in, you would definitely expect that.
Watch Southampton v Manchester United live on Monday Night Football. Coverage from St Mary's starts at 7pm, Sky Sports 1HD
