What Leeds, Everton and Southampton need most

Leeds, Everton and Southampton were the three lowest finishers in the Premier League who didn't go down. What do they need this summer to ensure they have a better campaign next season?

The 2022/23 Premier League season is fast approaching. It's 52 days until kickoff, so teams should be in full 'find what we need' mode.

Some teams have done exactly that. Tottenham have had a very productive summer transfer window so far, while Manchester City and Liverpool have both added big pieces to their already commanding squads.

But for most teams, it's not that easy. They don't have that money to spend and instead have to buy wisely, only getting players that they really need for their team.

Today we are looking at three teams who fit that bill - Leeds, Everton and Southampton. These are the three teams to finish the lowest in the league that wasn't in the relegation zone. So 17th, 16th and 15th.

We'll look at what didn't work for them last season and what they should target for improvement this summer.

 

Leeds

Leeds' main problem this year wasn't on the pitch, but off it, as they had an injury plagued year that affected them badly. They had the second most setbacks in the season with 41 injuries that resulted in one or more games missed, as reported by Ben Dinnery on Twitter, who is a Premier League Injury Analyst.

One of the biggest absences for them was their number nine, Patrick Bamford. He is their primary goal scorer, and totalled 17 goals in the first season Leeds returned to the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Bamford struggled with injury issues all year, meaning he only played nine games and scored just two goals. In his place, Raphinha stepped up to be top scorer with 11 goals, and Jack Harrison was second with eight. 

Two fine totals, but the problem is, neither really fills in for that number nine role. And with Raphinha looking very close to leaving, Leeds will need more attacking help in case this sort of situation happens again.

Defensively, Leeds seems to be sound. The ranked number one in the league for tackles (858), dribblers tackled (373), pressures (7,078), successful pressures (2,118), and tackles + interceptions (1,485).

The problem is, while that does seem impressive, they do let themselves down in some elements. Namely, the fact that they are joint top for most errors that led to an opponent shot (14).

And that really let them down this year, as it meant their goalkeeper, Illan Meslier, had a whole lot to do over the season. Meslier is a good, young keeper with a lot of potential, but he didn't have a good year by statistical standards.

He played every minute of Leeds' campaign, and in doing so, he conceded the most goals (79), which is the most by a margin of 17. He also had the worst clean sheet percentage (13.2%), having kept five clean sheets all year.

We'll give him some credit, though. While he had the fourth worst save percentage with 65.6%, bear in mind that he faced the most shots on target and as such made the most saves in the league.

So, Leeds' priorities should be on getting another solid goal scorer, especially if they lose Raphinha but mainly so they don't suffer so badly should they encounter injury setbacks again. In fact, they'd be best off getting in reinforcements in every position, just in case.

 

Everton

The red part of Merseyside is enjoying a great level of success and is sure to get better with Liverpool's most recent signing. But for the blue side, things are looking pretty dire. After a promising season the year prior, they fell backwards this season. They fell really hard. 

Everton's season was actually very similar to Leeds' in the sense that they suffered with injury setbacks, too. Remember how it was said Leeds was second for most injuries that resulted in one or more missed games? Well, it's Everton who takes that top spot with 42. In fact, over the last two seasons, no team in the Prem has suffered as much as Everton in terms of injuries.

But it's not just that where they are similar. Offensively, they were missing their number nine, Dominic Calvert-Lewin. DCL missed 11 games during the season, and only managed five goals. In the previous two season, he scored 16 and 13. Without him, Everton didn't have their main scorer.

Richarlison did step up, scoring 10 goals, but that's not enough to really rely on. Plus, like Raphinha, there's also a chance he too is on the move this summer. The you look at who Everton currently have for goals, so we look at who is next on their top scorer list, and funny enough, it's DCL with his five as well as Demarai Gray, their winger, also on five.

So some more attackers are definitely needed for the Toffees. But what about defense? Again, they were remarkably similar to Leeds. In every stat where Leeds were number one, Everton were number two. They even had them beat in tackles won, with 477 to Leeds' 473.

And Jordan Pickford in goal had a lot to do, like Meslier. He conceded the third most goals (58), but faced the fourth most shots on target (167) and saved the sixth most shots (114).  

Everton and Leeds were in the same boat last season - struggled because of injury issues. So the targets for the Toffees this summer should be the same as Leeds; get some more attacking help, and sure up in basically every position.

 

Southampton

This one may end up as a rant from a Southampton fan, but this team has so much to work on.

Let's start with the attackers. It's all well and good getting Championship strikers who scored 20+ goals in the campaign prior. But relying solely on those sorts of strikers, as well as one young loanee who had never played a single Premier League game, is pretty dumb.

Che Adams is a good player and is slowly getting more and more comfortable. But he only nabbed seven goals this season. That is two less than he had last season. Granted, he missed eight games, but the point is still there - Southampton need better. Armando Broja was good, but for a short amount of time. His six goals feel like they came in that one stretch in the middle of the season than that was it. And then there's Adam Armstrong, who simply doesn't play the way that the team is set up.

But that's not a problem. The way he plays is how we should play. He likes making darting runs through the defence, and all he needs is a ball through to him. James Ward Prowse is a good passer who is capable of playing those sorts of balls. Che Adams is fast and strong, so he can play that way, too. But instead, Ralph Hassenhuttl insists on playing a wide game, getting the ball onto the wings and hoofing it in the middle. Problem there is, Saints don't have tall strikers, so it never worked.

Then there is the wide players. None of the Southampton wingers are consistent enough to warrant a starting spot game in game out, and none of them seem fully capable of playing that style of football. So instead, it is the wing backs who have to work overtime on the attack and defence.

Speaking of the defence, the wing backs are solid, but in the middle, shaky. Mohammed Salisu can be a fantastic defender on his day. He was second for tackles + interceptions in the league, fourth for tackles and interceptions individually. But he was also joint first for most errors that led to an opponent's shot.

Jan Bednarek lined up alongside him the most, and he too often feels like a placeholder defender, in the team for now until Southampton get someone better in. Saying that, he did finish at the top of the league for interceptions, alongside Declan Rice, with 95.

Then the other defenders, Lyanco and Jack Stephens, simply aren't good enough to warrant extended time in the starting lineup.

But the biggest issue for the Saints now is goalkeeper. Fraser Forster is already gone, off to Tottenham. Alex McCarthy fell out of favour and for good reason, he completely fell off. His contract is up at the end of next season and it more than likely won't be renewed.

Willy Caballero was a stand in for two games when both Forster and McCarthy were out injured, but at 40 years old, they should not be looking to make him permanent. And finally, there's Harry Lewis. Never played a single minute in the Prem, he even only played five games in the Premier League 2. So putting him in between the sticks would be a terrible idea.

In short, Southampton need improvements everywhere if they want to survive next season. 

Rant over.