saint1977

Yep, agree with you and Daft Kerplunk, the problems go a lot deeper than the manager but he has lost his way as well. I’m not expecting them to go Newcastle or City overall but the club sorely needs a big injection of funds - and it can be done under FFP now with the wage bill more under control to turnover - to sort the first team top to bottom. The whole point of the takeover was to pull away from the Gao restrictions, debt through the pandemic and then go back to sustainability like we did 2014-17 in a better position. Sadly, I think JWP will be off but there needs to be another £50m at least on top just to compete to stay up next season, let alone getting near the top 10. I agree with you both that I don’t want to hear about being relaxed or a plan or self-sustainable yet. That can wait for summer 2023 when fresh investment has poured in and whoever is manager has a young but pacy, energetic and physically strong squad that can be built on more incrementally and yes, that will mean some high profile sales as it always has for Saints. Which is absolutely fine, but summer 2022 has to be urgent, it has to be balls out or I do not see a future for the club as a presence at the top table for the foreseeable.

Agree with most of this, we don’t 100% agree on Ralph unless he got a big transfer warchest to rebuild the squad completely Palace style, which it needs. Only way is if JWP is sold for top money to City, Pool or MU, and then there’s not even a pulse left and he is replaced by several ‘potential players’ at £11m or similar fees and Derby’s PL points record goes. If the club is relegated next season the value gets wiped with the debt so it will be unsustainable anyway. Better to have a bit of a go in the summer if they do want Ralph to stay and clear out bar JWP, KWP, Rom, Livra (injured and they would have sold him if not), Salisu and Perraud (limited but gives a shit, at least competes). Hard to blame Lyanco too much either and fine for 4th choice CB. Then the owners can get back to sustainability in 2023/24 having bought some players who improve, getting up the table so more place income and giving the few decent ones now a chance to shine and gain value eg Salisu and KWP. The club were able to buy Salisu because of the extra place money after Project Restart. If they aren’t able to break the shackles this summer and repair Gao and Les’s legacy, hasn’t Semmens basically fucked up again? When he admits there were more lucrative options available. TV deals still huge yet comparatively spending less on transfers than under Lowe FFS. Other areas of the club might need to be trimmed back very hard to focus on first team and academy. Crocker is in for a busy time because about 13-15 first team players can go. They might work out better in a different environment with pace and strength around them, physically and mentally, but no good for SFC right now. Some of them eg Ely, Bednarek and Diallo might get buyers, others at a lower level eg Tella, others eg Theo no chance. WTF was the club thinking there? That’s £75k per week you might as well burn on a beach KLF style. That’s sackable whoever sanctioned it because it was obvious Theo was declining rapidly after his injury last season. The only other way is if Rasmus has a 2014 summer window on a smaller budget and everything comes off (very unlikely). Something has not been right at the club since the Cup game and I don’t know what it is. It emerges as something lethargic and rotten on the pitch though. STH sales are going to be well down.

Look at the positive and professional attitude shown by Brentford at Everton despite adversity, much of which was totally unacceptable (sadly Everton will stay up) https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ivan-toney-everton-brentford-racism-26971846 No being on the beach for them - pride for their fans, club and the competition. They may have a more difficult second season as is often the case but refreshing to see, as a contrast to the pathetic capitulation and attitude shown by SFC since March.

Bigger goal for Leeds, I think they’d had it if they lost today. In Burnley’s hands with the midweek game at Villa but recently got rinsed by them at home. Newcastle home last up, but would be in Leeds’s hands at Brentford if Burnley don’t get anything at Villa Park. Everton will beat Brentford and seal safety, cue the press beating their tadgers about Frank Lampard.

There’s loads of it, two linked articles on the Echo site, the Sun and various other tabloids.

TPA is the same thing as the Tory Party - look at the sheer flow of staff from one to the other. TPA is effectively to the Tories what the academy is to SFC. Not funded by taxpayers either - Tory Billionaire donors and overseas oligarchs. What the likes of Matthew Sinclair hate is the fact that public support for railway renationalisation for example remains strong https://fullfact.org/economy/do-public-want-railways-renationalised/ I’ve recruited a lot of times over the years from all sectors - Banking, NHS, Telecoms, travel industry, professional sport, academia, Tory and Lib Dem party workers, civil society eg CAB, local government - and the vast majority have been great because they have been picked on their skills, experiences and successes. The small number of duds have been from a range of sectors as well. A lot of the posters commenting simply don’t have the level of recruiting experience across different sectors I’m afraid. Not surprising when there is such an ignorant and thick set of cabinet ministers in this government. Boris’s comments in the Mail today are hilarious about WFH - I know people who worked in the London Mayor’s office and he has the focus and concentration levels of a goldfish. Half of the fucking civil service posts since 2016 have only been added because of THEIR poxy Brexit (has JRM found any actual benefits yet - he was asked to start looking 18 months ago) and in particular their disorganised Brexit that left the UK woefully short of preparation and skilled negotiators. Notice as well how the fat oaf is now walking away from the NI protocol he agreed to in his ‘oven ready’ deal. A range of frontline workers saved this nation during the pandemic peak but you just knew this dreadful government would turn on some of them after clap for carers etc, worse conditions for delivery drivers with cost of living through the roof.

Club has backed him strongly in public but also rumours on here that the club want to revamp the coaching staff. Whilst RH has put up with the lack of transfer funds, I can’t see him being comfortable with new staff that the club would have the final say on selecting, he’s had virtually 100% autonomy in a way that is rare now. So more transfer funds but less control might not be as attractive hence scenario three would be the most likely grapevine for those betting patterns.

Decent shout if a reasonable fee which Newcastle might let him go for as good servant there. Bednarek clearly unhappy so selling him could be a straight trade elsewhere financially and Salisu gets a CB partner who gives a shit. Would enable heftier investment in the 10s area although Redmond, Ely, Tella all need to move and Theo into coaching.

I get the academy is vital to the club’s DNA and great to see the age teams flying again but it’s become an old boys club which also wastes a lot of £££ at times. Theo, Ramsay, N’Lundulu, Vokins and Valery. Only the latter really played beyond October but that’s a lot of money to waste. Tella needs to move on this summer as well, I like him but 23 now and one goal and one assist at first team level? Obafemi is an example of moving down but moving forward. Redmond and Ely need to move on as well, Theo coaching role and 2x new first team 10s. Little faith it will happen I’m afraid.

I doubt the bit about Forster, certain I can be without being ITK that he’s going. Turned down lower terms earlier in the season, has had a better season than the last 3 or 4, and could pick up £70k p/w sitting on a CL bench for 2 years. Has been awful value since the second extension but the Arsenal display probably ensured survival. Rest of it matches what’s come out of other outlets - GK needs to be 1st choice but probably won’t be, CB yes but need to shift Bednarek Valery, and Stephens, and attack well state the flipping obvious. No mention of a DMC or a couple of 10s which are also absolute minimum purchases. I can’t see anything other than relegation by a Derby County/Norwich margin unless those positions have much improved starters with pace and power to give JWP, KWP and Oriol half a chance of competing in games without having to do 2 or 3 players jobs because the player in front of them should be playing in the Championship eg Redmond, Ely, Theo, any of them really. The only outfield players we have who consistently deserve to grace a Southampton shirt are the three above eg WPs and Romeu plus Salisu when he can be bothered, plus Broja who is Chelsea’s. That combined with a manager who leaves the back door open every game. Why he didn’t learn from the Arsenal where they shut down the space is beyond me.

Agents and parents are a nightmare mix with young players these days. The reason you see so few 17 year olds playing regularly in the top flight compared to the 1980s and 90s is the power and speed of the game. He might stand out in u18s but the only youngsters I’ve seen make an instant impact and sustain it are Shaw and Rooney who were not far off the physique of a 25 year old at that age. JWP did break through but took a few years to sustain an impact and only really became a top player last 3 years arguably after bulking up a bit/more aggression added.

It also aligns with last season and Romeu breaking his leg at Leeds. If the takeover is to have any impact whatsoever, there needs to be the opportunity to get another 6. Also would be good to have an option to play Romeu and a new 6 away from home. Sell Diallo, good little player but the only option for him staying is if the manager leaves, doesn’t work in a 2. Still not sure what type of midfielder he is, probably box to box, but categorically not a DMC or 6. I’m not sure RH’s system works consistently outside of CL clubs but if the club are determined to stick, then some decent investment needs ponying up to get the pace and power all over the squad RH’s system needs plus sadly cashing in on JWP. The worst scenario that leads to 20th place next year is RH and the same powder puff players and lack of support for the few performers eg Oriol, JWP, KWP.

He’s a free agent which the club tend to like. Jokanovic probably another option although that’s maybe a lazy suggestion by me given our owner is also Serbian. Why didn’t Favre join Palace in the end? Leeds’ manager Jesse Marsch was the sort of appointment I could have seen the club going for otherwise, a pragmatic and younger Ralph. Rudi Garcia will probably come up again but that would have been post Ronald if at all. Can’t see him dropping to join Saints.

If Ings scores at the return of Villa v Burnley then he’s basically kept SFC in the PL 3 years in a row. I’d keep AA on, nice finish earlier, just offside. Issues are at the back, Brentford could have a hatful, Diallo is clearly a box to box midfielder or on the right side of a 3, he’s not a fucking DMC. How can these morons for a manager and coaching staff not see it? As bad as Pellegrino at the moment. Reliant on other results, hopefully Arsenal and Chelsea do the business v Leeds. Sadly, bye bye JWP to help fund with new investment a Crystal Palace summer 2021 scale squad overhaul, and hopefully some players and characters we can follow with a little bit of hope and hint of pride.

Time to do it - Thank you Ralph and you’ve managed under some very tough circumstances but this latest run cannot be excused by injuries or squad depth, he’s frustrated and the players have totally lost any sense of guidance under him. This thread is only for suggestions on names for the new manager. There’s already a thread about Ralph and the discussion can carry on there about whether he should go, although it would take complacency and laziness of Les Reed proportions not to act after this latest non performance. Players are limited but clearly not lifting a leg for him. Who should the caretaker be for Leicester and Liverpool? Bounce might see cause an upset at Leicester and still need a point at least from somewhere. Some experienced managers available - Benitez etc, and I’d overlook the Everton experience, that would have been like Lawrie at Fratton, never going to work. Knows the league and can seal up the back and midfield. Contacts to get some quality loans to help with the total squad rebuild. If Forest don’t win the play offs, Steve Cooper my top choice. Knows how to manage a younger squad and Forest were on a horrible run and reverse momentum when he joined, he could revive SFC. He might want to stay at a big club and get them automatic next year though with full houses at the City Ground.

I start with the caveat that I’ve not lived in Soton for 20 years but there are many familiar faces amongst the councillors. What I found was that there were decent individual members who could work cross party and others who were siloed to their little fiefdom and didn’t give a toss about the city area as whole. The dynamics within the parties were terrible so you effectively had six or seven parties in effect within the cabinet. Hence there’s never really been a single voice as there’s been in other areas who do attract investment, well before the levelling up agenda. All of 3 main parties have led the council at different points but none have made significant inroads into issues which haven’t changed since I did live there - transport, education, skills agenda, regeneration (West Quay has been a mixed bag) and inward investment, which has traditionally under-performed. Soton Uni is losing significant student numbers every year recently which is a big economic risk. The light rail transport system if the authorities had the courage to go for it, would have helped, like Newcastle and Sunderland have with the metro, but a Solent version.

Having met the likes of David Willetts recently through work it was a stark contrast to the utter Brexit imbeciles Boris has stuffed his cabinet with. Very bright, engaged, flexible, good ideas. Instead, the public went with populism and instead we have Dorries, Dowden, Raab C Nesbit, Rees Mogg, Patel and Truss - and even the likes of Sunak have found to be a fraud. Anyone voting for that lot needs to give their head a shake. Whether people agreed with Thatcher or not, she had ministers with the calibre of Ken Clarke, Kenneth Baker, Heseltine, Howe and Hurd. Only a couple of joke ones eg Currie that belong in the current shower. OK night for Labour but I’ve never rated Labour or Tory councils. Best councils in the areas I’ve lived in are always Lib Dem, keep it tidy, invest in the right places and work well with independent members. Andy Burnham would wipe the floor with the Tories at national level, don’t know how long he has to go as Manchester Mayor? Ditto, Andy Street West Midlands Mayor would revive the Tories - 1x million better than they have. The Cat - Fareham elected Braverman with a thumping majority so can’t be surprised they’ve voted for more garbage.

Have you seen his injury record? We’ve already got Walcott as effectively a non player on big wages.

Was a rumour online before the total collapse in the team’s form March onwards that Napoli were looking at him and Salisu. Will be on the thread for one of those players at the time, can’t recall who posted it at the time.

I wasn’t expecting a sudden injection of large funds but for the same model with a bit more investment (which was mentioned several times by all parties) to be flexible and not 1 in 1 out as strictly as Gao. With the current parlous state of the club, fine to be fully sustainable 2023/24 onwards but it does need some proper funding this summer and a debt reduction/payments plan which at the basement £100m price point should have been obvious. Unless they are happy with being in the Champ 2023 onwards I guess? JWP is the last golden asset with immediate potential to sell like VVD was with Gao. Salisu maybe if he signs a new deal. Livra’s ACL has messed their plans up a bit this summer then. Hopefully we get a pleasant surprise but if there’s no new investment at all then 2023 will be the season the PL music stops and SFC is one of the three without a chair. I could live with aiming for 17th in the 1990s when we needed to stay up for a new stadium and the Dell was reduced to only 15k. Its their asset now anyway and they can do what they want with it, I’m sure there will still be 30k there next year to watch the 4222 getting over-run every week. Millions are getting their homes and lives destroyed in Ukraine, football isn’t that important by comparison.

Regardless of what Glover is like, the timing doesn’t suggest excitement or any sense of shift in aspirations from the takeover which keeps people in key posts engaged. Looks like more of the same from the last 5 years and wheels coming off Sports Republic.

Very unprofessional decision - so £100k+ a week in wages at least with Theo as well will go out on players playing or barely. It’d be nice to employ some of my friends at my work on big wages to have a beer with and tell me what I want to hear but I make decisions based on business rationale, what people will contribute compared to what we need. Reminds me of Joe Root not taking Broad or Anderson on the WI tour because he allegedly can’t handle hearing different ideas to his own - piss weak leadership and same with SFC. Long wasn’t good enough in the division below and now 12 months older. Let that sink in. Fans need to grow backbone and call Semmens, Crocker and the owners out when they plead poverty about missing out on key transfer targets. Then there’s the coaching wastes of spaces and wages too. As a minimum, I was expecting the new owners would shake up the parochial cosiness and complacency since Koeman left up and kick some arses out to change the culture to be a darned sight more hungry and proactive. Looks like Sports Republic are just Gao Mk2 - no communication with the fans and no funds judging by this moronic decision. Semmens again. I don’t give a toss if they are buying a Turkish 2nd division club with gates of 4000 for 50p or a club in the Slovenian Evostik League, the club at the head of your so-called network is a total shambles at first team level, the manager is resembling Pellegrino levels of ineptitude - the Prat of the Alps - and it needs circa £200m in investment and debt restructuring asap. It was only the price of a Man City player to buy SFC for a reason. I’ve already resigned myself as have many fans to JWP moving to a CL club - he deserves it - but every penny must be used to bring 3 starting quality players into the club. Not on more squandered money to your ‘good lad’ who has scored at a rate of one goal in ten over the last 8 years. I mean, most on here would run around like a headless chicken and have the odd goal fluke in off our shins for a fraction of the cost if that’s what the Prat of the Alps wants.

Brilliant from Pickford, especially the first save after Mount hit the post. Everton won’t go down, they will win their remaining home games even they don’t seal 3 points today. Whilst useless away, superb energy on the pitch and a raucous crowd behind them, we’ve forgotten what that’s like, no wonder the managers and players keep getting away with being pathetic at SMS. If any Everton player wasn’t visibly giving 100% today they’d be getting hell. Saints players and the manager need a bit of fear as well as the backing when they are trying harder to keep them more honest. Poor from Havertz when free. Tuchel isn’t taking it easy today even though Chelsea not quite on it. Mina antics pathetic but look at his organisation and geeing up though. When’s the last time we saw that from any SFC players?

It’s been little different to Gao so far - not much communication whatsoever, no sense of momentum and no sense of fresh investment. No sense of how the debt will be addressed either. Missed opportunity to freshen up the squad in January and make their mark. The manager isn’t helping them - selections like starting with Long which seem like they are being made for the sake of it, dreadful form, work ethic gone and seems to have lost the confidence of the players eg both Armstrongs, Broja, Salisu, Bednarek, Forster, Romeu. Not that the players are all that but the recent displays are reminding me of Pellegrino. That sacking was left too late - the owners have lost their honeymoon but can clear some of the apathy with a change of manager and see if there is a bit of a response in the next couple of games. Ralph is not the man to oversee a rebuild, better off like we were with Ronald with a name who has contacts to bring in some smart deals in. Especially if the new owners are as skint as Gao was (which seems to be the case). Theo can take charge as caretaker for now. They need to sort out SFC first, find a new manager, investment in the squad and new coaching team, stabilise and then look at network clubs. It’s like trying to build a housing development with the showhome burning down otherwise.

It’s a total joke. Any PL club who gives Long yet another contract next season after an average of one goal every ten games or so for them by their mid-30s either needs to part company with their manager and/or find owners with clout to fund the club properly. Semmens has messed up big time if that’s the case. AA looks well short of this level but at 10 years younger better to be sure before you dump him rather than play a has been. Long’s done his job over the years of pressing and getting the occasional one off goal but just desperation today starting him again, didn’t even play well at Brighton. Delldays - sadly I this this may be case. Looks like Semmens picked the wrong ownership option, if Long’s getting a new contact what’s the difference with Gao? Pity Rangnick got the Austria job. Toussaint - we’ve already got one ‘good senior lad’ in Theo, Crocker’s mate. If the owner has anything has anything about they’ll block Ralph and Crocker on any extension for Long