Sunderland gear up for Southampton clash as Black Cats aim for EFL Cup run to escape Premier League gloom

Sunderland manager David Moyes believes progressing in the EFL Cup can help the Premier League's bottom club find form.

The Black Cats, who visit Southampton in the fourth round, have taken just two league points from the 27 available since Moyes took charge.

"I want to get through in the cup, I really do, but if possible I'd like to probably leave out John O'Shea, Jermain Defoe and Steven Pienaar," said Moyes.

Saints boss Claude Puel says record signing Sofiane Boufal will not start.

The midfielder, signed for £16m from Lille in the summer, is recovering from a knee injury and is likely to make his third substitute appearance of the season.

Puel's side have lost just once - to Inter Milan in the Europa League - in nine matches but will again be without the injured Shane Long, Ryan Bertrand, Matt Targett and Cedric Soares.

• Read: Stress can lead to Sunderland injuries

Sunderland reached the final of the League Cup in 2014 then managed four wins in their final six matches of the season to retain their Premier League status.

Asked whether he thinks a similar run in the competition will kickstart the Black Cats' league form, Moyes replied: "Yes, I think it can.

"But our league position means that I do have to be careful with some of the players, and especially while we haven't got a lot to select from."

Despite completing Saturday's defeat by West Ham, full-back Patrick van Aanholt and midfielder Jack Rodwell are expected to be absent with minor injuries.

Sunderland host Chelsea in Saturday's early kick-off while Southampton have an extra 24 hours to recover as they entertain Arsenal on Sunday.

Match stats

• Sunderland equalled their record defeat at Southampton in 2014, losing 8-0. They have lost to Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Watford by the same margin since being formed in 1879.

• That scoreline is the only time in the past 16 meetings between the clubs that a victory has been achieved by more than a single goal.

• Sunderland are the only team in the top five leagues in England yet to win a game.

• Southampton have conceded just three goals in nine matches.Sunderland manager David Moyes believes progressing in the EFL Cup can help the Premier League's bottom club find form.
  The Black Cats, who visit Southampton in the fourth round, have taken just two league points from the 27 available since Moyes took charge.
  "I want to get through in the cup, I really do, but if possible I'd like to probably leave out John O'Shea, Jermain Defoe and Steven Pienaar," said Moyes.
  Saints boss Claude Puel says record signing Sofiane Boufal will not start.
  The midfielder, signed for £16m from Lille in the summer, is recovering from a knee injury and is likely to make his third substitute appearance of the season.
  Puel's side have lost just once - to Inter Milan in the Europa League - in nine matches but will again be without the injured Shane Long, Ryan Bertrand, Matt Targett and Cedric Soares.
  • Read: Stress can lead to Sunderland injuries
  Sunderland reached the final of the League Cup in 2014 then managed four wins in their final six matches of the season to retain their Premier League status.
  Asked whether he thinks a similar run in the competition will kickstart the Black Cats' league form, Moyes replied: "Yes, I think it can.
  "But our league position means that I do have to be careful with some of the players, and especially while we haven't got a lot to select from."
  Despite completing Saturday's defeat by West Ham, full-back Patrick van Aanholt and midfielder Jack Rodwell are expected to be absent with minor injuries.
  Sunderland host Chelsea in Saturday's early kick-off while Southampton have an extra 24 hours to recover as they entertain Arsenal on Sunday.

  Match stats

  • Sunderland equalled their record defeat at Southampton in 2014, losing 8-0. They have lost to Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Watford by the same margin since being formed in 1879.
  • That scoreline is the only time in the past 16 meetings between the clubs that a victory has been achieved by more than a single goal.
  • Sunderland are the only team in the top five leagues in England yet to win a game.
  • Southampton have conceded just three goals in nine matches.

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Southampton FC's Eric Black 'filmed offering bribe advice' in sting

Saints bosses vow to investigate the allegations made after a Daily Telegraph reporters posed as Far East businessmen

Premier League side Southampton has said it will work closely with authorities after it was claimed assistant manager Eric Black offered undercover reporters advice on how to bribe officials.

The Daily Telegraph has released footage which it claims shows Black discussing how staff at other clubs could be induced to pass on information about players for money.

The club issued a statement saying they had been made aware on Thursday that manager Claude Puel's number two would feature in an article on Friday as part of the paper's ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in football.

Saints bosses said they had requested to be sent details of the story, but that the Telegraph had not shared any information.

"We have today contacted The FA and The Premier League, and intend to work closely with both bodies on this matter when the facts become clear," a club spokesman said.

"Southampton Football Club is fully committed to investigating any situation that directly or indirectly relates to our club, employees or the wider community."

The meeting between Black and the reporters, who claimed to be representatives of a Far East company looking  to invest in English football, was reportedly arranged by Scott McGarvey, the football agent who set up the meeting that led to the the end of Sam Allardyce's England tenure.   

A spokesman for Black said: "(Mr Black) does not recall Mr McGarvey making suggestions that football officials should be paid during transfer negotiations - this was not the purpose of the meeting so far as our client understood it. 

"Any suggestion that he was complicit in such discussions is false."

Allardyce was been filmed apparently trying to broker a £400,000 deal and telling businessmen how to evade strict rules on third-party ownership - a practice banned by FIFA since May 2015.

The 61-year-old apologised, saying he was "extremely sorry" and was leaving the country to reflect on his "huge error of judgement".

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NEWCASTLE AND SOUTHAMPTON INTEREST GROWS FOR CASTAIGNOS

Newcastle and Southampton’s interest in Eintracht Frankfurt star Luc Castaignos has grown, according to Spox.

The Dutch 23-year-old has recently had interest from Portuguese side Sporting CP, who were told that they would need to pay at least €3 million euros. Newcastle andSouthampton were linked, but these rumours seem to have grown in recent days.

Castaignos is a striker that joined Frankfurt from Dutch side FC Twente last summer, where he scored 37 goals in 94 league games. In the Bundesliga he has struggled slightly, making only 16 league appearances while scoring four goals.

Eintracht Frankfurt struggled last season in the Bundesliga, finishing in the relegation play-off position of 16th. They had to face FC Nurnburg over two legs to decide their survival, which they won overall.

Newcastle weren’t so lucky, they were relegated to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League last season. Southampton are in a better position, finishing sixth last season and qualifying for the Europa League, but have the likes of Shane Long and Charlie Austin at their disposal

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Transfer report: Joe Allen heading for Liverpool exit as Sevilla, Southampton and Swansea eye £11m-rated Wales midfielder

The 26-year-old is popular with the Anfield faithful and starred for Wales at Euro 2016 as they made history by reaching the semi-finals.

But Allen has only 12 months left on his contract with Liverpool and has not been offered a new deal.

Reds boss Klopp is now understood to be ready to cash in on Allen this summer as he looks to reshape his squad.

Swansea, who sold the player to the Reds for £15m in 2015, are keen to re-sign their former star.

Southampton are also understood to be showing an interest, while Spanish giants Sevilla are monitoring his situaton having been impressed by his performances in France this summer.

Liverpool are believed to have slapped an £11m price tag on Allen's head.

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Why Southampton Have To Sign This Euro-Bound Midfielder

According to the German publication Kicker, both West Ham United and Southampton hold a firm interest on Werder Bremen midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic. The Austrian international is seemingly unhappy at the Bundesliga side and has fallen out with the manager Viktor Skrypnyk if the report from Kicker is to be believed. Werder Bremen somehow managed to survive in the Bundesliga on the final day by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 but it was a close call and the midfielder is looking for a step up in his career which he deserves.

Either Southampton or West Ham United will be a big step up for the Austrian international who will be representing his country in the upcoming Euro 2016 next month. Both clubs have Europa League football to offer the 28-year-old and Junuzovic will be eager to play in the competition for the first time in his career. Southampton have to act quickly to beat West Ham for the Austrian midfielder's signature.

Junuzovic is blessed with an impressive versatility which makes him capable of playing in a range of midfield positions. The 28-year-old is predominantly a central midfielder but can also be deployed as a number 10 or a left winger. The Austrian is a free-kick specialist, be it direct or indirect. Southampton currently have the services of some quality wide players like Tadic, Mane and Jay Rodriguez. The Saints do have decent depth in the middle of the park as well with players like Ward-Prowse, Clasie, Davis, Reed, Romeu, and Wanyama although the last one could be heading towards an exit.

Junuzovic is likely to be deployed as a number ten at St. Mary's if a deal materializes between Werder Bremen and Southampton. The Austrian is just 5 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in and might struggle to cope up with the physical game of the Premier League if played as a number eight. He will do much better just behind the striker with his creativity and vision.

The 28-year-old Austrian playmaker is blessed with a very good technique and eye for a pass which can split the tightest of defence. We have mentioned before how good the Austrian's set-piece duty is. Another strong area of the midfielder's game is his tenacity. Junuzovic works very hard for the team and covers every blade of grass.

Junuzovic had a strong season in Bundesliga last time out with 4 goals and 14 assists from 33 games in all competitions and he deserves much better that a relegation-fighting side

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Forget Leicester City, Southampton and Everton are a better bet for future Premier League success according to new management index

Newly-crowned champions Leicester City are more likely to mimic Chelsea's collapse than retain the title next season, according to a new report on the management quality at Premier League clubs.

Claudio Ranieri's side may have redefined what was previously thought possible, but similar-sized clubs hoping for long-term success should instead look to Southampton and Everton, according to a report published today from Organizational Maturity Services LLP (OMS).

In a ranking of how well Premier League clubs are run, OMS LLP place Leicester in the bottom half of the table, below Southampton, Arsenal and Tottenham but above last season's champions Chelsea.  

The rankings are based on a clubs' organisational maturity; their ability to build long-term, sustainable success and how well they get their human capital - from star players to supporters - working to the same goal.

"The one thing we look for in an organisation is coherence in terms of what their purpose is and what their strategy is," explains OMS LLP managing partner Stuart Woollard.

"Leicester haven't got that at this point time, there's no evidence of a coherency through the systems which knit together to ultimately put a team out on the pitch.

"If they were to lose Mahrez and Vardy, what would that do to their team? It's similar to Liverpool two years ago when they should have won the league but didn’t. In the time since they’ve struggled, they did not have the management systems in place to ensure that success was sustainable and they fell away.

OMS LLP argue Manchester United's demise is a result of poor organisational structure and misguided priorities (Source: Getty)

"If you look at Chelsea, they’ve had an absolute disaster of a season after winning the league. They're a very good example of a highly immature organisation where there’s a serious failure to understand that human capital matters to success. There’s no coherency around their strategy, there’s dysfunctionality across the organisation, particularly when Mourinho was in charge. And consequently things have gone very wrong very quickly."

In contrast, Southampton demonstrated the underlying strength of their organisation after losing a host of first team players and manager Mauricio Pochettino in 2014 by finishing a position higher and picking up four more points with new boss Ronald Koeman the following season.

Woollard describes the Saints as understanding "the link between all the human capital which connects their organisation."

He adds: "It's not just the workforce, the players, the scouts, the academy. It's the suppliers, their sponsors, it's their fans. It's everybody connected to the organisation. They're all a source of value."

Similarly, Southampton and Everton are singled out in their chasing of long-term football excellence whereas teams such as Arsenal or Manchester United are more geared towards the bottom line.

Read more: Southampton sponsor Veho named Premier League's best for fan engagement

"Arsenal are actually run very, very well in conventional City-type terms," says Woolard. "All the structures, all the systems are very conventional in terms of how they’re managing the organisation to create financial value.

"But Arsene Wenger has embedded so much of himself into the way Arsenal play on the field, all the structures that have been put in place...if he leaves the club, there’s a real risk of losing that continuity.

"Manchester United did not put the systems in place to ensure that risk was minimised in the case of Sir Alex Ferguson's departure. Now they’re looking for an individual to come and rescue them and put them back to where they were."
nguon:  www.cityam

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Southampton's Shane Long wants strike partner Graziano Pelle to endure ANOTHER goal drought

The Italian went 13 games without a goal dating back to November before netting against Stoke, and Long wants another dearth - albeit for country rather than club

Shane Long is delighted strike partner Graziano Pelle has ended his goal drought forSouthampton.

But he will be happier still if the Italian has another dry spell on June 22.

That is the date of the Republic of Ireland’s final Euro 2016 group game, against Italy in Lille, when Long will be head-to-head with Pelle.

“Graz went a bit dry for a month, so it’s good to have him back,” he said. “It’s big for us and it’s big for him.

“He’s looking forward to the Euros. He’s got a good shout of doing well out there, even though I hope to shut him up in the last game in the group!

Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff

Up and running: Pelle headed in to open the scoring for Southampton

“We haven’t really spoken about it yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s massive and we’ve three games where we’re going to have to dig deep to get results, but there’s a long way to go before that. I want to do well at club level and go into it on a bit of a roll.”

Pelle’s double were his first goals since November 1 and he puts them down to feeling fully fit after picking up a knee injury in December.

In pictures - Stoke 1-2 Southampton:

“I’m really happy,” he said. “Part of my goal was to be fit again, and finally in the last game I was feeling better. Now it feels like I’m back. But that’s the life of a striker.”

The surge in Pelle’s confidence was obvious when he headed Southampton in front and after going 855 minutes without scoring, he only had to wait 19 minutes for his second.

Long hopes he can keep hitting the back of the net to boost Saints’ hopes of European football. “It’s nice to have that confidence back in him because he knows deep down how good a player he is.

Appeal: Southampton will expect to have Mane's red card overturned

”He just needed to get one to kick on and hopefully it will be a good finish to the season for him and us,” he said.

Southampton also want Sadio Mane to be in run-in and will appeal against his dismissal and three-match ban. Referee Lee Mason showed him a straight red for a challenge on Erik Pieters, wrongly thinking he had led with his elbow.

It came in stoppage time and Stoke were beaten by then after a first-half horror show, which stunned centre-half Philipp Wollscheid.

“It’s hard to find words why that happened,” said Wollscheid. “There was no difference in how we prepared for the match, so it’s really hard to say. It shouldn’t happen, but it has. It’s hard to explain, there are no words.”

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