When he made his move from Swansea City to Southampton last summer Russell Martin was already regarded as one of the smartest young coaches in British football, renowned for producing innovative ideas and fluid, possession football.
Despite his growing reputation as a talented coach, results did not always match performance levels in South Wales, or at his previous club MK Dons.
Was he too idealistic? Could he marry his philosophy with long-term winning football?
Well, during a stellar 2023/24 campaign at St Mary’s, culminating in promotion via the playoffs, Martin answered those questions, proving beyond doubt he can achieve success playing his way.
Major surgery
The 38-year-old inherited a relegated side that was low on confidence, low-scoring, and low on quality in possession.
Perhaps also confused from working with three different first-team head coaches in seven months, all with differing tactical ideas, Martin had to quickly set about forging a clear identity that would connect with his players.
Inevitably, several influential performers departed, like talisman James Ward-Prowse, but after challenging his squad during pre-season to embrace new ideas they arrived in the Championship, a side reborn.
From a 4-3-3 base, right-back Kyle Walker-Peters was asked to regularly invert into central midfield, creating a box of four.
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was now a ball-playing custodian, playing crisp passes into central midfield from higher positions or restarts.
And every individual was required to be comfortable on the ball, able to receive passes in tight areas.
His new possession-based style was implemented so quickly that Southampton broke a Championship record on the opening weekend of the season, completing 477 first-half passes at Sheffield Wednesday.
By the time the full-time whistle blew for a 2-1 away win, Saints had completed 931 successful passes and enjoyed 79.9 per cent of possession.
This was a far cry from the 44.1 per cent they had averaged in the Premier League in 2022/23.
Martin’s tactical revolution was in motion.
An appetite for industry
Tireless off-the-ball running is a feature of Southampton’s play under the former Norwich City defender.
They created the most shot-ending high turnovers (82) in last season’s Championship, showing the value of pressing with aggression inside opposition territory.
Pleasingly for Martin, they also had the best Passes per Defensive Action (PPDA) stats.
This metric shows how many passes teams restrict their opponents to before disrupting a move, and Saints boasted the division’s lowest average.
This was a reflection of how hard Martin had his players working whenever they were out of possession.
In a sign of how crucial pressing and off-the-ball endeavour is, all three promoted teams featured highly in these rankings.
Most Passes Per Defensive Action 23/24
| Team | Total PPDA |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 10.4 |
| Leeds | 11.1 |
| Leicester | 11.1 |
| Stoke | 11.2 |
| Ipswich | 11.3 |
Passing with purpose
Martin’s philosophy has always been built around controlling matches with the ball, and his new charges quickly learned how to wear opponents down through patient possession.
Playing through the thirds, often in moves that included the goalkeeper, they were by far the best passing side in last season’s second tier.
Creating triangles and overloads through positional rotation, Southampton often had a bamboozling effect on their Championship opponents.
The sheer volume of moves that featured at least 10 passes set them apart from everybody else at that level, forcing rival teams to spend long spells chasing the ball.
Top Championship teams for passing 23/24
| Team | 10+ pass sequences | Build-up attacks |
|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 1,035 | 263 |
| Leicester | 875 | 202 |
| Leeds | 697 | 150 |
| Hull | 680 | 123 |
| Middlesbrough | 599 | 130 |
Tellingly, Southampton did not play safe sideways passes as a matter of course.
As a team they had the most shot attempts and goals scored from open-play in last season’s Championship
When it is on to make a progressive forward pass, Martin encourages it, and because fitness levels were so high, the player on the ball almost always had options and runners to find.
The ex-Scotland international took over a shot-shy side that had scored less than a goal per match when finishing bottom of the Premier League in 2022/23, so the way he reinvented Saints as a potent attacking force was eye-catching, despite the drop in level.
Most Championship open-play goals 23/24
| Team | Open-play goals |
|---|---|
| Southampton | 68 |
| Ipswich | 67 |
| Leeds | 66 |
| Leicester | 65 |
| Middlesbrough | 56 |
| Norwich | 56 |
Sticking to principles
There were a lot of individual errors early in 2023/24 because of Martin's radical changes to their tactical approach.
His 'keeper, back four and midfield all experienced problems playing out from the back, losing the ball in dangerous areas.
On occasion, this cost them important goals.
At that stage, during a period when his players needed to respect and accept the changes he was making, Martin resisted the temptation to change.
Never wavering from his beliefs, Southampton continued to take risks inside their own half in the hope of playing through the thirds to progress upfield.
Gradually the players became more comfortable with what their manager was asking from them, and their faith in his approach soared.
Unbeaten between late September and mid-February, playing a brand of industrious, attacking, fluent possession-based football, Southampton were formidable.
A willingness to adapt
Martin’s reputation as a brilliant coach who improves individuals has grown following promotion, but so too, has his stock as an intelligent tactician.
In three of Southampton’s last four matches (their final league fixture, the playoff semi final first leg and playoff final) he switched from 4-3-3 to either a 3-5-2 or 3-4-2-1.
Martin's favoured formations 23/24
| Formation | No. of matches used |
|---|---|
| 4-3-3 | 34 |
| 4-3-2-1 | 8 |
| 4-4-2 | 3 |
| 3-5-2 | 2 |
| 3-4-2-1 | 1 |
| 5-3-2 | 1 |
No-one expected this change, but in two matches against a dangerous Leeds United side, he used three at the back and sacrificed possession.
Southampton's season average of 66.1 per cent, a division-high, was reduced to only 43 per cent in both matches against Leeds, including the playoff final.
It was a move that reduced Southampton's risk of being vulnerable to counter-attacks, and it solidified a central defence that was not the quickest in terms of pace.
We also saw Saints pass out from the back on fewer occasions against West Bromwich Albion and Leeds, two of the Championship’s strongest pressing teams.
These astute changes highlighted Martin’s awareness and acumen.
Moving forwards
It will be fascinating to see if Southampton’s playoff success will influence Martin’s tactical outlook against top-flight teams.
While he will want to continue with the possession-based philosophy that has worked so well for him, realism will tell Martin that they may not be able to dominate opponents with anywhere near as much authority at the highest level.
Considering his team conceded 54 open-play goals in the Championship, the fourth-most, a balance may need to be struck when trying to play out from the back.
Southampton can't to gift goals to Premier League sides, so we may see fewer risks taken, and possibly a more frequent use of three at the back.
My sense is that Martin may follow Thomas Frank’s lead at Brentford.
The Dane altered the Bees’ style of play after promotion, focusing less on possession.
Frank also adopted a match-by-match attitude towards the system of play, using 4-3-3, but switching to 3-5-2 when they played the strongest Premier League sides.
A dose of pragmatism could be a necessary evil as Southampton seek to reestablish themselves as a top tier club.
No matter what he chooses to do, Martin has certainly proved his tactical credentials and earned the full buy-in of his squad.
