Eleven games into the season and a glance at the Premier League table shows the unsurprising likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United in the top five. In the midst of them all, though, are third placed Southampton. After this many games last season Saints were just one place off the bottom, with only one win and just 5 points. This year they sit happily in a Champions League position, just three points off top club Arsenal and above both Manchester teams. A 4-1 trouncing of Hull on Saturday meant that this is now Southampton's best ever start to a top flight season, beating their form in the 1983-84 season when they went on to finish second. The mid-1980s were the last, and only, time that Saints could be considered genuine title contenders. Back in 1986 they had three players in the England squad in the build up to the World Cup: goalkeeper Peter Shilton, centre back Mark Wright, and pacey forward Danny Wallace. This week, for the first time since then, they once again have three players with England call-ups: centre forward Rickie Lambert, who already has 2 goals in 3 England caps this year, captain Adam Lallana, and pacey forward Jay Rodriguez. So where did it all go right for the South coast club? How did a team that were in lowly League 1 just three years ago and seemed among the favourites for relegation last year become one of the early front-runners now? Here are five reasons for Southampton's excellent current position.
