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The Koeman Touch
Thursday, 22nd Jan 2015 14:30

Ronald Koeman's leadership at Southampton Football Club is being dubbed "The Koeman Touch" in reference to the plaudit bestowed upon Horatio Nelson.

Most people in England will have heard of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson and will be aware that he was killed in 1805 after his greatest triumph The Battle Of Trafalgar, but what many won't be aware of was that Nelson was not just admired for his ability to blast a few Frenchman off the high seas, but for his leadership and more importantly his leadership style, this was dubbed The Nelson Touch and conveyed that Nelson was more than just a mere Admiral who could win battles.

The Nelson style of leadership was about paying attention to detail and making sure that every man knew not just his duty but what to do in any given situation, he did that by placing his trust in his officers and men and being able to do so meant he could keep his strategies, certain in the knowledge that his subordinates would support one another in achieving the overall objective and be confident enough to use their own initiative when required.

But it was more than that he knew his men and they loved him for it and that created a spirit that won battles like Trafalgar.

A lot of parralels can be drawn between The Nelson Touch and what is being known as the Koeman Touch, like Nelson Koeman trusts his men and they in return seem able to adapt easily to all types of system changes whether that be at the start of a match or during it and this seems to be the key to our success.

In recent weeks this has been more apparent, our players seem to know what they have to do at any given time and we are now affecting a style of play that due to its adaptability makes it difficult for other teams to get to grips with.

But it is more than that our players now seem to love playing, Koeman trusts them to improvise when needed and we are no longer the predictable team we were last season when we were either very good or very bad.

So The Koeman touch is evident in every aspect of this football club whether its signing players on the field, training or preparation, Koeman pays every attention to detail, but makes it simple, no longer do we over elaborate like a year ago with multiple passes that looked good but ultimately saw too little end product, now we know when to press the trigger, at Newcastle that was very much the case, both goals came out of the blue, and both were almost identical in their execution, get the ball and catch them on the back foot.

The Koeman Touch was never more evident in the joy of the goalscorer at St James Park, Eljero Elia clearly feels that Koeman is giving him anew lease of life and the first thing he did was run to his manager, already with less than an hour in playing time Elia had realised what Koeman is building at St Mary's is special and wants to be a part of it.

So long may the Koeman Touch flourish and let us hope that it doesn't end at Wembley Stadium in May when at the very moment we lift the cup there is a French Sniper in the rigging.

Photo: Action Images



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davepid added 17:49 - Jan 22
Steady Nick. There's a fair chance he was a Pompey fan.
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Chesham_Saint added 20:13 - Jan 22
Nelson, a pompey fan? Norwich surely?
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FrankSaint added 20:31 - Jan 22
The nelson touch is also known in military schools as Commander's Intent and The Strategic Corporal :-)
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