Gordon Mockles

I’m genuinely fed up of being intolerant and cynical but the club under Kat then Gao have that effect on you. I can’t abide lying and I hate cowardly, hollow promises from wimps who can’t face those they lie and stitch up. It’s bad enough with our politicians. We don’t need it at our football club too. F**k that. You don’t ignore or, worse, constantly lie to your paying fan base. You don’t fo that. It’s pathetic. I could smell it a mile off. So, rather than plain ranting, I thought I’d use their own words against them. As we do to expose our politicians, quote and remind the time wasting con artists the magnitude & fall out of their string of broken promises. I simply can’t tolerate it anymore. Under this regime, it’s been broken promise after broken promise and, frankly, I’m astounded our fans have remained patient or continued to find positives, no matter how far fetched. One thing we all share is our love for the club, for football, no matter how frustrated this situation finds us. All I want to do is go back to St Mary’s and watch a decent match of football with the hope of winning the odd game. This owner needs to go and we need some intelligent leadership, financially and professionally, stating the obvious. I see it as a positive that Gao wants to sell - if true which seems plausible by his ineptitude & mute, disinterested & decimating chairmanship - but, as the independent article suggests, we are in a complicated and volatile position. That doesn’t bode well for the immediate future because we need player transfers and coaches and scouts and an assistant manager & a football director & decisive and positive action NOW. I can’t see that coming following this latest revelation in the news article. It seems survival this year is becoming longer and longer odds with each passing week. They say miracles happen at Christmas but I can’t see even Father Christmas bailing us out of this one unless Father Christmas comes from the Middle East and is a football fan and kind benefactor with more money than sense. Quite frankly, that kind of ridiculous pipe dream sounds more like something that you may read in a local newspaper.

If fit, he would walk straight into our midfield. He’s totally lost his way mentally but on his day, he is a class act. Shame as we could have done with him back. He could have made all the difference, combined with a CB and full back in January.

I have no idea whether it may be the head of recruitment or director of football. Smart money is hoping it is a player trading role. Walsh’s strength. It will be suicidal if they don’t sign players in January and the club representative who spoke to the telegraph did suggest so but the club tend to promise anything to appease fans and, to date, have still not delivered on a single promise which renders all their subsequent statements as meaningless. The club have already gone back on their telegraph article platitudes. They categorically stated a DOF would be installed before the international break which has arrived and passed. In fact, The Telegraph assurances by the club (noticed they never give the source so no one can be held accountable) were: “A new senior recruitment figure who will occupy a similar position to the departed director of football operations, Ross Wilson, will also arrive before the next international break”. Assurance no. 1 Also, “The new director of football has been identified and will be expected to work with the scouting network in finding a profile of quick, high-energy players that suit the Hasenhuttl style. The partnership with Hasenhuttl is expected to be along the lines of that between Graham Potter and his technical director at Brighton and Hove Albion, Dan Ashworth, formerly of the Football Association”. Assurance no. 2 “Currently in 18th place, in January they will address the most pressing problems that they have at full-back and centre-back. There is an acceptance that the club do not have the right profile of player in every position to suit Hasenhuttl's pressing-style game.” Assurance no. 3 I just hope we don’t have the weekly member of the playing (or coaching) staff reading a contradictory, Surkov style script in the Echo later this week when they monitor further fan discord in the aether of social media. We do not need another naive, transparent, expectation lowering bullsh*t u-turn article to justify another chapter of inaction due to the club making insincere promises. Better known as lies. Fans have had enough. Positive action. No more prevaricating. No more words. Action. I had hoped part of the “major restructure in the last 12 months” was replacing 100% of the key staff we lost. Instead, none have been replaced (I don’t count pushing untrained, inadequately qualified staff (in situ) as a suitable replacement as our league position suggests). You get what you pay for. Let’s also replace the infernal and inherently irritating slogan #WeMarchOn with #BringAmbitionHome

That’s an interesting video and I think Leicester may have looked at us but made a big difference in learning from our mistakes and our main flaw. They avoided acting as a feeder club as no-one will win anything by selling your best performers to competitors as the Saints and Liverpool disparity so evidently proves. They cherry picked our best players and won the CL & look set to win the league. We replaced our best players with crap and sit at the bottom of the league. Our model or strategy is fundamentally flawed and until we recognise that and adapt, we will continue to struggle. We need to hang onto our key players and not sell anyone’s soon as they hit form. If they can overcome that hugely over bearing issue then they might actually rebuild that good spirit we carefully cultivated & brought up from league 1 and the Championship. You won’t get player respect and good spirits by being seen as selling off all your talent. It will leave the remaining players feeling bewildered and disillusioned and I believe that was the contributing factor to the start of our demise. That and total neglect and incompetence. Along with many and hardly earth shattering news but I have heard it is Steve Walsh that will be appointed.

And yes, Levy is a moron. Nuts decision. I think that’s a rash decision but spurs do have a massive sense of entitlement. They deserve to win nothing.

That brought a tear to my eye. My Dad used to sing that all the time. We played the Alfie Boe version at his funeral *sniff*

That is funny. The chap Wotte used to come sit/chat to us fellow residents in the bars at ocean village and he never got a round when it was his turn. The tight ****. His football knowledge seemed shockingly weak or fairly basic and always got the impression he hung out Poorvliet to dry to better his own career. Just an instinct. Old news now and both were way below our level, appointed by a mindless moron who thought he knew best (such was his unbridled arrogance). Fits the bill ideally! ;o) Crocker would be a good shout. The youth teams are a mess. I was excited about Ramello Mitchell and the Austrian centre back but under our current state of disarray, no-one will likely blossom from that festering cauldron.

Yes. Everyone left. It's just Ralph left.

None of what you say is clear and logical. Not everyone’s information evolves from the Internet. In fact, most info I read on the Internet is utter b*llocks, here being no exception. “Have a crack at reading all the words and understanding them”...LMAO You just can’t help being a patronising c***. I bet you’d argue with your own shadow. Gao is a terrible owner and needs to go. End of. Or do we have to be in league one for you to eventually wake up and smell the coffee. Some people defend the indefensible. I just find it bizarre that so-called Saints supporters can support or defend this joker chairman when it was quite clear from the outset that he was bad news. Still, you go ahead and keep tapping your Calculator in the club accounts office since you seem to know the inner workings and our wage bill and budgets and work out it’s not a sensible investment. Remind everyone about the choices of a chairman owning a football club when we are at the foot of the championship & ignore the obvious logic & maths that 2 or 3 key players now (ideally defence) could galvanise a squad and be the difference in maintaining PL status & the circa 150 million in television revenue. Of course, it isn’t the Chairman’s obligation to spend that money but he owns a feckin’ football club that is supposedly meant to compete. That’s the old fashioned idea of owning a club anyway. To succeed and win things. #GaoOut

Why do you think Ralph was bargain basement, low ambition? I realise most of your comments are laced with sarcasm. It’s just that the club potentially targeted the Preston guy because he worked with the lowest budget in the league which doesn’t set the world alight for ambitious and confidence into rebuilding our decimated club. I suppose different supporters have different sets of standards.

Get over it quickly as it’ll only get worse! Lol

I think that was money already in the club. Gao hasn’t invested a penny according to reports.

The basis of your arguments have a no obsession with making a return much like our lack of signing players was because of the wage bill. To own a PL club is not necessarily a profitable venture. It’s become a toy, like a billionaire’s train set. I don’t think fans wanting a club to compete is remotely the same as entitlement, as your patronising tone incorrectly suggests. The owner is an easy scapegoat. FFS. I don’t think there’s any reasoning with you if you make such ridiculous statements like this. Gao has starved our club of funds and in turn, forced us into 3 relegation fights. The worst part is, the board haven’t learnt from their mistakes and worse still is that Gao seemingly has utter contempt for the fans by not even having the respect to lay out his plans for the future and his intentions for the club. I find this a disgusting act of ignorance & disrespect. The poor little scapegoat! He’s done so much to earn respect. Wake up!!!

You seem unable to ever accept reality if it is contrary to your own opinion but you seem to be assured on the club finances and wage capacity. Tell me, are we still maxed out and unable to add any new players to the wage bill in January? According to feedback from people within the club, Davis is not first team coach calibre. I’m unsure how he actually got a position. Actually, no I’m not. Promote from within to prevent spending money. I only think Ralph is still here because Gao won’t pay him off. I trust the the better judgement of people working in football or do you have inside knowledge in the coaching set-up, like you do with the club’s accounts? Are you still defending Gao? #GaoOut

Agreed. Starving us of funds is just bringing the quality down and down and down with every staff exit. The squad has been asset stripped to barebones and television money deep in the coffers of the share holders I assume. The club said Gao would not take money out of the club which was perversely put in the media as a terrible idea to appease the fans. Like that’s comforting news. Merely another expectation lowering exercise but seeing as everything the club say has been proven to be pretty much a bare faced lie, I can only assume that the shareholders take some profit. It may not be much but we haven’t seen much reinvested. I’m just flummoxed as to why he actually bought the club. Surely it must be for real estate or getting money out of China or some financial loophole I don’t have knowledge of. #GaoOut

Exactly. I got shot down for making assumptions about the owner & lack of quality in the team that were deemed cynical & I was told this team was top 10 material & heard the most tedious bizarre defences for Gao from the club accountant experts but my doubt is proving more accurate than their criticisms of me and now look. The critics have gone deadly silent. Irrespective, it’s the Southampton way. Deluded optimism or spiteful chastisement unjustly aimed at the wrong people. No-one knew Gao was potless so to say such comments in hindsight is utterly ridiculous.

Lol Doubtful. At Preston he probably at least had a budget. Even if minuscule. Gao won’t give him a penny. #GaoOut

Can’t even manage to attract a small time appointment from a championship club with no budget & fairly low stock, no offence to Preston. Our stock is probably lower now. What a joke. I would’ve liked to see someone of Ilk, like Wenger or some rated German talent. Fat chance. We will get some bargain basement, low ambition addition who will be totally out of their depth, which will perpetuate our lack of investment and maintain our huge slump in form and continue our demise in quality across every facet of the club. I’ve had enough. #GaoOut

Because they don’t have a tightfisted, asset stripping Chinese Chairman in charge who misled the club as to his intentions to own a PL club. I’m guessing he’s using it as leverage for real estate or just as a mechanism to get his money out of China. Irrespective of the reasons, the guy needs to go...yesterday. You just know that the promise about the January signings in the Telegraph article is a lie. More hollow words in a naive attempt to keep the fans sweet only they club have lied countless times since 2017 and the fans have had enough. We have been way too patient (I wasn’t and I was shot down for it by the now silent critics). We now ignore all dialogue, what little there is, actions Gao. ACTIONS. The words from the club have now been rendered meaningless. We demand action. Show some intent or explain why you bizarrely bought a PL club. You haven’t even given a mission statement in over two years Gao, such is your contempt to the fans. Explain your intentions. All I can ascertain by your neglect & Great Wall of silence is your intentions are not good for the club and people, hence the media blackout. #GaoOut #GreatWallOfBullsh*t

Next you’ll be talking about the club struggling to pay agent fees and charges...

What world do you live in? Would you still defend Gao next year in the championship? How much does it take for you to wake up and smell the roses rather than the feeble club PR to justify their total neglect? Gao has not invested a penny since we bought the club in 2017. Lander & Gao allegedly told Kat and the PL otherwise. They must’ve been laughing on the other side of their faces Oh no, We haven’t bought anyone because we have such a high wage bill with this huge array of senior pros that we can’t afford anyone else. Wake up! We are due a director of football next week and then high energy defenders in January. Wait for the contradicting articles. Quincy Promes. Les’ replacement 12 months ago. A contradiction about January signings has already started via the increasingly tedious weekly SFC staff spin comedy column they run in the echo to amuse us. That last one from Ralph about not signing in January and contradicting the club was side splitting funny. The cheeky monkeys! Do you seriously believe all this sh*t they purport?

Well said. Sad but true. I hope the f**kers who criticised those giving Gao a hard time from the outset are reading all these comments as they’re strangely silent. It’s the lying and constantly contradiction in articles that get to me. I think Gao or their PR team have watched too many Adam Curtis documentaries and they think they’re Vladislav Surkov with all their conflicting information. It’s not clever social engineering. It’s utterly infuriating and all you are doing is alienating your fan base and you will end up with an empty stadium and no club or a Chinese language school or casino set up instead of a football club #GaoOut #GreatWallOfBullsh*t

Well said. Sad but true. I hope the f**kers who criticised those giving Gao a hard time from the outset are reading all these comments as they’re strangely silent. It’s the lying and constantly contradiction in articles that get to me. I think Gao or their PR team have watched too many Adam Curtis documentaries and they think they’re Vladislav Surkov with all their conflicting information. It’s not clever social engineering. It’s utterly infuriating and all you are doing is alienating your fan base and you will end up with an empty stadium and no club or a Chinese language school or casino set up instead of a football club #GaoOut #GreatWallOfBullsh*t

I meant the echo and the club comments, if that wasn’t clear Enough pointless writing and worrying about the club. We are f**ked. I love football but I’m fast getting ground down and disenchanted by the pathetic way our club is run. Selling any form players to anyone, joke owners but what repels me most is the social engineering and massive amount of lying just up offer lip service in a weak attempt to maintain gate receipts. Much like modern politics. No sense of care. I’m sick of it. Until Gao invests or leaves, they will not get another penny from me. #GaoOut #GreatWallOfBullsh*t #WeMarchBackwards

I think when you read the laughable & hugely disingenuous context of the daily Echo weekly wipe, no fans take any of those articles even remotely seriously. I’m just sad that this deceitful tosser duped everyone. I believe Kat thought she was going right and who wouldn’t want a multimillion pound investment? We are often too quick to judge and abuse those that may not deserve it, such is the SOUTHAMPTON way. #WeMarchOffTheEdge #GreatWallOfBullsh*t