Is Russell Martin JUST Kompany 2.0?
Russell Martin faces a daunting battle to keep Southampton Football Club in the Premier League this season. Before a ball was kicked, many pundits and fans had already ruled the Scotsman out of being able to deal with the new step up in quality of the top flight, likening him to the former Burnley manager, Vincent Kompany. But is this comparison fair, or just a lazy stereotype of the Saints boss?
In the 23/24 season, all three newly promoted teams (Sheffield United, Burnley, and Luton) were relegated back down to the Championship, showcasing the difficulty of keeping a squad in the league with limited player pull and/or funds. Martin’s Saints will face this uphill climb this season.
Vincent Kompany, former Manchester City captain, shares many similarities with Russell Martin. Both managers like to keep possession of the ball as much as possible, both obsessive with retaining the ball and playing out from the back.
Kompany, 38 years old, is now surprisingly managing European giant Bayern Munich, despite his poor efforts at keeping Burnley in the Premier League. Vincent’s Burnley were poor with the ball (23/24), only averaging just over 1.1 big chances created per match. The obsession with keeping possession is clear to see here, with Burnley averaging 432.82 passes per match. Despite keeping the ball so much, Burnley averaged 2.05 goals conceded per match, showing their poor adaptation to the Premier League. Kompany may come good yet, but his efforts with a smaller Premier League team exposed his tactical weaknesses.
“I will be called naive a million times; we’ve been written off by everyone before the season’s even started. We’re going to need to surprise everyone and to be us more than ever, and that includes you guys (Saints fans). There will be some tough moments, and I’m not naive to that.”
RUSSELL MARTIN AT THE BBC RADIO SOLENT FANS’ FORUM
Most pundits would prefer to see Russell Martin as just another Kompany, but he is actually a smart tactician. In Southampton’s 23/24 play-off campaign, the Saints boss switched to a 5 back, adding defensive solidity that the team did not always enjoy in their Championship campaign. Switching formations and making minor tweaks to tactics meant the Saints were the strongest out of the four play-off candidates. Martin’s back 5 may continue the same defensive solidity seen in the Championship play-offs, enhancing his team’s ability to stay up.
One issue Martin and Southampton have in their way out of a relegation battle this season is PSR, Product and Sustainability rules. They were brought in to try and make a level playing field in terms of transfers, but some believe it makes it more difficult for promoted clubs to spend.
The rules state that clubs are only allowed to lose up to £35m per annum, £105m over a three-year period. However, due to Saints’ EFL status in 23/24, this investment is limited, meaning their loss limit for 24/25 is £83m.
In the 22/23 relegation season, Saints lost nearly £75m, including a net spend of £94m on transfers. Most of this was wasted, meaning Southampton have made a loss on their assets, for example Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana, who have all seen a drop in their transfer values.
In 23/24, Southampton received £142 million in net transfer revenue; however, the club missed out on over £100m in TV rights.
This is according to @TheStatsSaint on X.
This limits Russell Martin’s ability to make bigger ‘marquee’ transfers, therefore the club will not be able to lose any more than £83m, so a sell-before-you-buy system has had to be driven across to the Saints fans.
This also shows how Ipswich have been able to spend nearly £100m (so far) in the 24/25 transfer window, on their Premier League return after their 22 year absence.
Compare this to Burnley, who spent over £93m, a club who did not sell their main assets once being relegated back down to the Championship, allowing them to spend freely once they achieved promotion back to the promised land.
Russell Martin’s Southampton share many similarities to Kompany’s Burnley side of 23/24, but the assumption that this will be a similar story is lazy. Martin is a tactician, who kept the core of his team from the Championship in place (unlike Kompany).
The real issue is the battle against PSR and making smart signings who may bring a profit to the football club. Time will tell if Martin is ready for the huge step up to the Premier League. As a Southampton fan myself, I fully believe he is a man ready for the challenge and will be seen as one of the great up and coming British managers given time. Watch this space!
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