St. Mary’s erupted as Jay Rodriguez converted a penalty, scoring his first goal since a serious injury kept the England star out of action for over a year. A joyous moment for the striker who we saw so cruelly carried off after damaging his cruciate ligaments against Manchester City in April 2014.
However, his not-so-joyous Saints side were struggling to overcome Danish champions FC Midtjylland in their Europa League qualifier – and look to be suffering the dreaded European hangover.
Though it is early on in the season, and Ronald Koeman’s men undoubtedly have the quality to improve, a long season gets even longer with added European games, and can have an impact on a team’s form. Swansea, Newcastle and Everton have all suffered a similar fate, and the Saints are barely bucking the trend.
Perhaps English football’s most heart-warming story starts at St. Marys. Their rise up the divisions has been meteoric, largely built on the barn storming success of the club’s academy, along with some fantastic signings. Competition on the continent is another level though, and certainly plays into domestic form.
A sluggish start to the season was overlooked on the opening weekend, as the Saints marched to a 2-2 draw with Newcastle – and they quite frankly should have won the game. Manchester United target Sadio Mane should have sealed all 3 points for his side, despite a dodgy opening 60 minutes or so.
The following week saw a 3-0 turning over against Everton, another side who suffered this Europa League curse. Despite a straightforward victory over Vitesse Arnham in the previous qualifying round, it is fair to say Koeman’s side haven’t really got going so far.
We should not doubt the potential of this side, who have lost key players before replacing them with ease. It is important to remember they were touted as relegation fodder this time last year, and look how they dealt with it.
Three unconvincing results in a row will not ruin the good work put it by everybody connected to the club over the past few years, but does go some way to further the idea that participation in Europe’s second competition does more harm than good.
The gruelling Thursday-Sunday schedule, often travelling to the furthest corners on the continent can stutter a team rhythm, causing the vibrant Everton and Swansea teams of the past to skip a beat.
Southampton, of course, have it in them to travel to Denmark next week and utterly wipe the floor with their opposition. The journey to Europe has been remarkable for the club and its fans, and they surely would like to see it continue for as long as possible.
There seems to be two options in how to deal with it. Either take the continental approach like Sevilla and make it your priority. Or take the Slaven Bilic approach and treat it like an open training session
Oddly, Southampton probably have more in common with the La Liga side than West Ham’s new boss, having built a rise to the upper echelons of the top tier on academy graduates and bargain buys. Perhaps they can emulate Los Rojiblancos.
In this country, we seem to view the Europa League as a curse. The Saints are currently falling foul to it, and picking up some poor results. However, if one team are ever to lift the gloom surrounding the competition, Southampton could be as good a shout as anyone.
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