Pwoite

Miovski

I missed the second anniversary of Sport Republic's purchase of our Club, but a few days past that occasion, is it now time to re-evaluate their performance, contribution and impact? Nine months ago the standing of SR reached an all time low. Relegation, a season with three managers, a squad in disarray, players underperforming and potential financial implosion beckoning. Now, a little more than halfway into the following season and we are riding high in our division; have a squad firing on all cylinders; a manager who has won over a disbelieving fanbase; a director of football who quietly, anonymously, has ploughed a very successful course, and an unbeaten run beating anything achieved for over a century. So, is this great planning, good luck, or a combination of both? Have the cards fallen fortuitously, or has there been clever sleight of hand behind the scenes? If we go back two years, we had a manger who was running out of ideas, and a squad that was a patchwork of poor deals, cheap solutions and uninterested personnel. With hindsight, SR failed to react quickly enough, allowing the situation to drag on, in terms of the manager, for nearly a whole year. Yes, we liked Ralph, certainly initially, and enjoyed his enthusiasm, but the directors should have seen that the players were divided, and that he had largely lost the dressing room. Things weren't much better in the board room, and the laissez faire policy towards allowing the Southampton board to continue to run the club was also showing signs of cracks. Again, reaction was too slow. In terms of the transfer market, new players had been brought in, and certainly money was spent, but with a manger in decline and senior players increasingly apathetic, with a captain not strong enough to pull it all together, the impact of the purchases was less than had been hoped, and many failed to fulfill potential. Then came last January. Panic. A disastrous choice of new manager, and last minute acquisitions who failed to fit in or provide the expected lift. The inevitable happened. Then came the clear-out. Board, manager, players. Not all was entirely planned, or wanted, but some was financially necessary and the rest strategically so. In came Wilcox, shortly followed by Russell Martin, who was greeted with an air of disappointment, incredulity or surprise. Parallel with this there were changes and appointments to a number of senior positions within the club, and, it has to be said, a steady stream of departures. An indifferent first month, a disastrous second, then it all started to pull together. Several key players went, including JWP and Tella as the transfer window started to close. My suspicion, based on no inside knowledge whatsoever, is that the club were quite happy to see James leave. great guy, terrific front man for the media, and incomparable for free kicks, but what else? As a captain, he seemed too weak. As a defensive midfielder, too ineffectual, particularly without Romeu alongside. Nathan Jones played him further forward, where he seemed more at home, but others were potentially seen as more natural in that role, so under Seles he became more defensive again. Now, we seem to have an effective manager, a united squad, positive support from the stands, and an ever upwards progression. Have Sport Republic played a blinder, found the DoF we needed and a manager who can get unity and success, and did all those moves in September actually form part of a master plan to get rid of the bad eggs and the expensive but ineffective soufflés? My opinion, for what it is worth, is that it was probably 80% planning, 10% circumstance and 10% luck. However, the result has to be that SR have partially, maybe largely, restored their reputation, but more importantly, our club, together, has turned it round.

Yes, but who was Allen Tankard? I don't remember that name, though Google suggests he carved out a career in the lower leagues. Guess he had Frannie occupying the berth he wanted.

It would be hard to believe the Club hasn't got a replacement, lined up, in the wings, ready to drop, but there again, no club would accept a deal from us solely on the grounds that we might, or might not, sell Che Adams. equally, those clubs, if they are listening to offers from us, are listening to similar offers from other clubs, and on occasions, what the likes of Hull offer can be more enticing than what we can. Still, the last three windows, SR have delivered a striker every time, so what could possibly go wrong!!!!! Summer '22 - Mara Winter '23 - Tall Paul Summer '23 - Stewart Recipe for .........

Interesting point about our loanees. I'd presumed we would never see any of them again, and that whether or not announced, every one of these players would be sold in 2024. If we did get promoted, something we increasingly need to consider, who might we expect to return to the first team squad? ABK would certainly strengthen it. Not sure about Perraud. Who else?

I think that horse has bolted!! Cheap, one year deal, costing us buttons. There might be another deal coming after McCarthy is moved on.

I’m surprised more hasn’t been said about size and physicality. We are a small, lightweight team. All very well bringing in a set piece coach but without more aerial presence it is useless. We wasted most corners on Friday.

The one, huge, disadvantage of WHU is that the he will be taking the position of Declan Rice, a fans' hero, and unless he plays as well as the English midfielder, the crowd will be on his back. Without Rice, West Ham aren't that great a squad, and their recent season partially proved that. A few back results and the fans will be baying for blood, and if could be James'.

Ralph was 2022, so it would have to be Martin and two more, and even that is going some for SR.

I think Sully is an inexperienced version of Redmond, with similar lack of end product. Tall Paul unimpresses, and I know the counter arguments about service. Edozie is too light weight. And there is as much chance of Lavia staying as me getting a call up for England!

I can't believe we are discussing MLG on this thread, at this time. For possibly the first time this season we have had a match when the players were really responding to their manager, put themselves on the line time and time again, rode their luck but made their luck, and came away with three points. Selles might lack experience, he might be slightly tarnished by working as number two to The Stale One and The Mad One, but he has seized his opportunity. He speaks well, inspires, brings confidence and got a result. Bring in someone new, be it Big Sam or Jurgen the German, and it would take weeks, and games, to even get to know the players, never mind work out how to get the best from them. We don't have that time. So, let him earn his tripes, then, if it has gone well, give him a three year contract. If yesterday was a flash in the pan, well, he's still a better bet than Lampard!

I understand that Tella has a car waiting. Not to bring him to Southampton, but at Southampton to return him to Burnley, in the unfortunate instance of him being called back!!

I wonder to what extent losing the deadwood is part of the SR thinking. I’m guessing they aren’t expecting too much income from any of the players we might be happy to lose, and we will be lucky to move most of them on considering their current wages. Therefore I can see a lot of loan deals or wage assisted deals, or possibly cancelled contracts, just to get the squad size down. Equally, most of these players might prefer to sit out their contracts with us, rather than take an almost inevitable drop in league status, depending on their age and ambition. Apart from the obvious first team squad we see mentioned as potential leavers, how many younger players, who were on loan last season, are in similar situations? Ramsey, Vokins, etc…… Not seen mention of them at all, and not aware any of them went on the Austrian tour, though I might be mistaken.

Thoroughly approve of all this buying early and before we sell, and impressed by the business, but for everyone coming in, and keep them coming, it potentially moves another towards the revolving doors. As well as the Djenepos and Walcotts and Redmonds, plus one/two/three centre backs, plus Forster and Long, we have half a dozen players who were out on loan last season - Vokins, Ndululu, Ramsey, etc..... plus, probably, Smallbone who are all taking a piece of the wage bill. (Although in some cases, a very small piece!) I'm guessing that clubs looking to buy know we want rid, and effectively it becomes a fire sale of damaged goods, hence the risk we get two thirds of bugger all in transfer fees, and the closer we get to the end of the window, the less the value of the deal. I suppose there is no way around this, but it might mean very little income, just reduced salaries, is the end product.

My suspicion is that we will bring in two new keepers, and that once that happens McCarthy will be off. however, should that plan go awry, we have an insurance policy and some experience we can fall back on. Alternatively, bring in two, keep Alex, see how the new boys shape up, and look to get rid of one of them in January.

Interestingly, £13m of that potentially disappears on July 1st, giving power to the war chest over the summer. However, whilst that funds wages, it doesn't fund the purchase. Looking at the numbers, one sees why the Club wants to do another Livramento type deal. Equally, does one presume from this that everyone else is on under a grand a week? If that's the case, I'm guessing, a lot of the B team aren't picking up much more than the average national wage. Even Harry Lewis, a 'genuine' first team squad player, just about, is more than making a living, but not exactly building for his retirement.

I can't see why Ralph isn't blooding some of these youngsters on the bench, even if he is reluctant to play them. With eight outfield players getting named every game, there are always two or three who are very unlikely to be called upon. Sure, always have the 'spare' central defender, but do we need to have Smallbone and Diallo, and if Djenepo is Ralph's answer, I hate to think what the question might have been! So, let's get two or three experienced in first team match days, rather than shunting along those unlikely to be in stripes, (or whatever brave option is adopted), next season.

Interesting question. If he returns to Chelsea, as seems likely, then what have we gained. Yes, a few key goals, and points, and it would be worth seeing quite how much they amount to, and in January Armando was on fire. Since then, well, what? They are the positives. On the downside, he has taken a place that could have gone to Adam Armstrong, to further his potential, or Long or Tella or even someone from the B team, that would have increased their experience, skill and value. As a result of Broja's presence, AA has become a lonely, forgotten squad member and his career has been set back, perhaps irreversibly. Longer term, has the club truly gained?

Or Shilton?

I cannot disagree with the sentiments posted or the priorities highlighted. Indeed, even those who are told where the door is, if not yet actually shown it, but the one thing missing from the debate is who might emerge from our junior ranks into potential first team players. Also, no one ever mentions Smallbone. Admittedly, Will has had wretched time with sickness and injuries, but does he have a future role? Equally, with the exception of Small, no 'prospects' get mentioned. Clearly the next few months are potentially huge for Simeu, but there are some youngsters starting to get rave reviews, and if this is genuine talent, we must ensure their paths aren't blocked. But, if this real talent, or just short term hype? So, looking at our 'best' eleven, if we could agree one, we have three camps: Broja, Salisu - secure or replace like for like Romeu, JWP, Tino/KWP, Lyanco, Adams - maintain, ensuring a good, probably young, player is covering Keeper, right back, No 10 - upgrade I know that's only ten positions, but it leaves that flexibility to play Diallo, Armstrong S, Tella, third central defender, Redmond, depending on the opposition, which has actually been working well for us over the last few weeks.

This was the old Liverpool policy from thirty years ago. Buy someone in, embed them, get them thinking and behaving, and playing their way, then gradually introduce them into first team matches. The Liverpool team isn't virtually unchanged for three years, and there are a few, particularly in midfield, such as Oxlade Chamberlain, who could well be moved on. I can see this deal working for both parties, providing he is that good.

It simply a fire-fighting situation.

So if Anjorin goes through that will be four deals in little over six months with Chelsea. There are two ways of looking at this. Either it suits Chelsea to see their best youngsters getting game time, and there is a buy back clause so that no one ever truly escapes the net, or, they get pretty sick to death of all their talent being stolen. I strongly suggest the former. It is all very well going to Locomotiv or Arnhem for game time, but it isn't the Premier League. It doesn't provide real experience of what the parent club's players are living with every week. However, a top club, well run, and just an hour away down the M3 from Cobham has some appeal, especially if you can bring these prodigal sons back again once out of nappies and competing at the highest level. Of course, such an arrangement to develop talent, if formalised, would surely be illegal, but a sale, or loan, with a buy back option...... It could really work well for both clubs. Chelsea get their finest brought onto the big stage and apprenticed elsewhere, thereby showing future generations that there is a real opportunity to succeed, whilst we get top young players, filtered and developed at no cost to us, to replace our own, rather stuttering, youth development programme. Sure, we lose the players after two or three seasons, but we do that anyway. That is the Southampton Way. And, we get good players, and sell them on for good money.

So, would this be a loan with an option to buy? Can't see the point if it isn't, as it blocks the progression of a squad player, for little longer term gain. However, if Ralph can turn his game around, and the asking price isn't too high, then great. Certainly a step up on Minamino.

Great point, but, as fans, will we ever know? If a young gun asks to leave, how can we tell he stayed an extra season, compared to what he might have done prior to the takeover.? I think you might be right, players chasing a bigger pay day might find the differential between what we can now offer and the 'big six' is less than it was, and some will stay longer, and those staying should encourage others to also stay, but we all know, ultimately, that there are very few MLTs around who spend all their career at one club. So, at some point Salisu, Livramento, Diallo will all move on. I guess, if we can keep each for a season longer, through higher wages and the new regime, it has to be good news, and might also make us more attractive to new recruits.