By Nick Mabey.
As we head into the third international break of the season (only two to go, both in March), it’s been quite a four-week spell for Saints since the last one. We’ve played five games, winning four and – importantly given our earlier travails – suddenly become a more solid, better-organised team. We find ourselves sitting 4th in the league and things are certainly looking up. Whereas the previous two international breaks were preceded by disappointing results, this time we can bask for thirteen days in the glory of three points earned against a very strong West Bromwich Albion side.
When did international breaks become such a thing? They seem to have established themselves as punctuation marks within seasons. Moments where managers, players and fans take a breath and reflect. The whole concept seems to have snuck up on us this millennium. Some cursory research has failed to establish when they became such a staple part of each season’s rhythm. What is clear is that, with the globalisation of the game, internationals have a significant impact on the squads of most teams in the top two divisions.
In the case of Saints, ten players from the first team squad will be disappearing this week to represent England under 20s and under 21s, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Poland and Argentina. We also have internationals from Spain, France and Ghana on the books, who were not called up this time. I get mixed feelings about this. Pride at the players I support being recognised internationally. Concerned at the prospect of valuable players getting injured while away. Bored on the weekends when there is no league football. Happy to have a week off.
For clubs and their managers, it is often a chance to have a bit of a reset. Injured players get a little more time to recover without missing games. Coaches can work on aspects of the game that need attention. Even grounds staff can have some time to repair over-used pitches. Some players time minor surgery for these breaks, others use them to have a mini-holiday.
There were no international breaks when I started watching Saints in the 70s. Internationals were squeezed into midweek and, in the case of Southampton, generally involved releasing 1-2 players, almost always English, so that they could play a home international against Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Channon in the 70s and Le Tissier in the 90s stand out in the memory because there were so few. Southampton’s most successful side, the 1984 league runners up, contained four internationals (Shilton, Armstrong, Williams and Wright), which was a golden period.
Since those days, teams have become diverse in terms of nationality, international sides have played more games and the whole calendar mysteriously became regular and predictable. During a more recent golden period, from 2012 to 2017, Saints would often find virtually the whole squad away on international duty and sent to far off places often for two games. I struggled to keep up with it all and reserved most of my pride for those representing England. Who can forget the time our whole forward line – Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez – got called up in 2013 for a home match against Chile? (I had to look that last bit up).
As for this break, I can’t say I’m very excited about Malta at home and North Macedonia away, with no Saints players to cheer on and England already having pretty much qualified. I am an England fan and can get very excited and over-hyped when the time is right, but these weeks are also a break for me from the stress of Saints games and the traumas of fantasy football squads. I’ll keep half an eye on Alcaraz, Bednarek, Stuart Armstrong, Bazunu et al but will be mostly hoping they come home safe.
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