david in sweden

..maybe..... but I think a lot of people are blinded by what shines out of the Sun's back page ......

I really haven't followed this story from the beginning, but the point 6 regarding the " relationship " between Lallana and Reed seems some what overblown. I am prepared to believe that Les Reed knew more about behind-the-scenes activity at Board level than Lallana did, and didn't see fit to tell all. They may have had an exchange of views, and AL didn't like the response he got. ..or maybe he just didn't like being put in his place by one of his bosses? Many peoples' opinion of Les Reed seems to have been "coloured" by some of his previous actvities, but a lot of tasks are pretty shi**y, and sometimes you get some of it on you. He's certainly come up smelling of roses at SMS. IMHO Les Reed (a comparatively anonymous figure in the early years) must have learned something from Cortese, and when the aforementioned left - Les seemed well-prepared to take up the challenge. I think that Les' performance in the last few months has been quite excellent. From the first interview with RK, he seems to have found the right man, and there doesn't seem to have been too much wrong with the " list " that they both shared for possible signings, as has been shown in recent matches. Like him or not..... Les Reed has done an outstanding job at a very difficult time for the club. I've nothing against Lallana (who'd been with the club well for 14 years). I admired his skill and performance as team captain, but I think he still has a lot to learn about diplomacy in the football world. We've all had to work with people we don't necessarily see eye to eye with, but must learnt live with them, and there was obviously a clash of personalities...but it doesn't make Lallana right - and Reed wrong. (For my money anyone who knows how to put Steven Gerrard in his place - can't be all bad).

REALLY ?.....and that surprises you? Did you expect total transparency when asking such questions?. I think most people accept that transfer deals, and Boardroom decisions are kept under wraps until the time they want to announce. Rumours abound, but it's the club who do the signing and deals. Any journalist worth his salt knows when to speak out and when to keep quiet, if he is to be trusted by his sources and still keep any degree of credibility.

Interesting ..but I ask myself...what is the difference now?.... when we were all so pleased with last season's finish and all the players seemed content ...UNTIL Pochettino jumped ship. Looking at the squad at the end of MP's first season, we still had about half of the successful L1 side at the club. All pals together, had all come a long way and must have thought they'd never see the Prem. KD (though no longer first choice ), Fonte, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Lambert and even Puncheon. In addition; Clyne, Steve Davis, Rodriguez, Hooiveld and Yoshida had been there a year also. Very cosy. Survival was assured. Everyone (well almost) seemed to like everyone else, they'd all got bigger contracts ... but was there just a taste of self-satisfaction and perhaps even, apathy coming in?. Was everything.... a little too cosy, but shock, horror ...suddenly many were off to pastures new ....but wait...we had the stability of the senior players; KD, Fonte and Steve Davis to steady the ship when the new arrivals came, and the new captain (read manager) wasn't a Captain Bligh either. So what is different?...well obviously Ronald Koeman has found a way to balance the side with a proven strategy and he has a Plan B....and (unlike the others deserters) the new recruits all seem to have something to prove and talk only about " the team "... and not the next club they want to move to. We can only hope the new regime continues to build on the lessons learned from the old, and although we do owe much to Nicola Cortese, Alan Pardew, Nigel Adkins ,(yes)... and Mauricio Pochettino... it does seem that the new ship has been well-and-truly launched and really... is a happy ship.

......and another very good report, too. Liked his use of stats. (comparing clubs, stadium size, population etc) . A bit more interesting than the " 5 wins in the last 6 " type of typical media comment. Think the guy writes well and I look forward to reading many more such positive articles from someone who appears neutral and obviously doesn't wear " rose-tinted, top-four type " glasses.

typical of the panic..... " let's sack the manager and then win the title next season " mindset. When they bought in (AVC /ACV or whoever he was), he ditched all the British players and bought in all the big foreign names, without realising that the majority are /were only good in their own country and that Prem.football is another planet. Sherwood turned the boat around and brought back the home-growns, but had lost Bale. Too bad. If Levy had any real nous ..he would have kept Sherwood a bit longer, but (unfortunately for Sherwood)....his diplomatic skills weren't nearly as good as the results he got. He was too outspoken when telling it how it was....and now Spuds are deeper in the mire. Am I sorry ?.....Am I ****.:lol::smug:

..if any of our fans reacted that way - they'd be ejected by the stewards....

don't worry yourself about a few wrong words, Dr.Kucho....we got the message perfectly...and for your info... there are quite a few people on here who can't spell properly in English, too. I heard the (Koeman) comment about our training programme once before. He criticised the (Pochettino) method of " all-out running and total ball possession ". Yes our players are super fit, but (RK) said it was a waste of energy and we should concentrate on shorter bursts of activity. I think fans recall those frustrating games last season when we had 60+ % possession, and 30-40 passes yet couldn't get the ball into the box and finished up 10 yards further back than where we started. Now, we still rely on max. possession, but to a lesser degree, and are better at winning the second ball, and crowding out opponents. For interest, we have only had more then 60% in two games this season, away at West Ham(64%) and last Saturday v. Stoke (62%) and even won games v. Newcastle and Arsenal with less than 50%. Last season.... we had more than 60% possesssion in 22 (of 44 League/Cup games). We had maximum possession (over 50%) in 20 of those games, but without actually winning the game (that is, we lost or drew). In two games (both v. Aston Villa), we had over 70% possession ... yet lost 2-3 at SMS and barely scraped a 0-0 draw at Villa Park. so whilst there is logic in the theory, " when we've got the ball, the opposition have to get it ", some of our performances under Pochettino proved that first-time passing wasn't always accurate, or creative. Koeman's logic seems to be that players are 100% involved in shorter bursts during a game, and play a pattern that they all understand and using the whole width of the pitch, whilst others (not in the play) find better positions when waiting to become involved in the next move. It remains to be seen.. if we can keep this squad.. " super fit and injury-free " as most seem to agree that the new additions to the squad are in no way " worse " than those who left it. Both Lallana and Lambert (for all their excellent skills) both had their limitations, and that perhaps...even Lovren looked better alongside Fonte than he does alongside Skrtel. Luke Shaw looks ..like he did last season ...but clearly doesn't have the understanding from the MU players around him, who don't know/understand his playing style. Koeman is obviously happier with his squad now, and his buys... and I look forwad to seeing the (exciting) additions we may be getting in January. Our current League position obviously makes us a more attractive propositon for any incoming players than we may have looked ...in early August.

Whilst I don't disagree with your analysis of the above-mentioned , it seems that when making your list....you ignored, or perhaps didn't think about Ted Bates. who took Saints out of Div.3 (L1)....and upto Div 1. (Prem.) in six seasons in the early 1960's......and he did it without " Liebherr type investment " being available. When Lawrie McMenemy (yes a GREAT manager)....took over from him, we were relegated in the first season.

I couldn't agree more with you on that statement. You expect successful teams to have enthusiastic fans - even boastful - but I never met a Spuds fan who wasn't obsessed with the 70's " Glory Glory days ", and has ignored their non-history ever since.

Maybe Mauricio Pochettino should come into this thread, as he was the first to desert and started the fall-out in the summer. After yesterdays' result, I was glad for Pardew, but not one iota's sympathy for the Argentinian. He made his bed, now he might die on it. Signs of the Spuds mindset that I observed on an earlier thread. They were far more reliant on Bale than they ever knew, and the resulting expediture (7 players) gave them one or two bargains, who are often out of place in a side composed of lazy, overpaid prima-donnas who are used to ignoring managers and leaning on their big contracts. If Pochettino is to improve this side, he must do better than the midtable placement he has just now, and if we beat them at White Hart Lane in April ......he may not survive until next season.

would be interesting to hear from that guy who threatened to burn his newly-bought season ticket in the summer.... but the answer to the OP is YES...on both counts. Players in...... and players out ..

(in recent interview) sounded as though RK wanted to see out his contract rather than thinking about the Holland job ...again. Maybe a bit of Euro success might convince him to stay even longer..... With Wenger as the longest-surviving Prem. manager (now reaching 65) you can wonder how other clubs will carry on when they don't have the SFC type organisation. The majority of Prem. sides ..desperate for success (which in some cases means only "survival ") sack managers after 6 bad games, and then hand his replacement a few million to squander on life-saving signings... one wonders what on earth they have for a long term plan, or if they even have one. The original " Cortese strategy " may still be in place (in some form), but it seems a good sound structure that will outlast many clubs'... if properly maintained. Perhaps it took some time to see our Academy really flourish, but it's a fair bet that many " so-called top clubs " are some years behind us in that area, and even those who have a properly-organised system don't seem to be able to exploit it. The appointment of Ronald Koeman shows that when we head-hunt a manager we are replacing an important cog in the machinery... and not the whole engine. Long may it continue.

Les Reed (appointed by Cortese) really does seem to know his stuff. Despite the bad press and stupid remarks on this site about his past " failures ", he does seem to have landed on his feet at SMS. Having watched those few interviews he's done, I learn more and more about the impressive set-up at SFC, the scouting network and the all round support group that the players have at their disposal. .....what a good job he didn't decide to " jump ship " when Cortese left. Look forward to seeing who on his /RK's next shopping list in January. (I think there's a few quid left in the transfer kitty.)

tsh, tsh ....it's the ref.who makes those sort of decisions......

of course, he likes being a manager, and he's not working for nothing but IMHO Championship is about his ideal level. The teams, he had (Lallana Lambert etc), were exceptional and he ran them like clockwork. The Prem. was a different battle and (with hindsight)..... it's better for us that he went when he did. I still like him, but he needs to change his mindset in order to manage at the highest level. As long as he keeps them in the top half he's safe .....for a while.

......and Tottenham 18th.....

No problem. Targett is still too young / inexperienced to be on the move to a " big club's bench ", and he won't go to a lower level club. Besides they all understand that we need two good alternatives for every position.

He has such pace that he's sure to win a few penalties during the season when he gets inside the area, and without doing it " the Victor Moses way ".

.......don't you mean ......WHEN?

I'd go with your selections, too but Koeman loves to play his regular players every time, so he might not change anything. The away fixture will be very different than the home, but there's also no danger of losing 3 points, so we can afford a few changes /experiments. An extra CB (Gardos) on Crouch should work... and Wanyama as DM will also add strength to the midfield. Shane Long needs game time, so maybe rest Tadic for an hour, then sub.him on. In theory we can win this one, too. especially as Hughes won't want all his first-teamers playing 3 times in a week.

I don't know how you would calculate percentages, against an entire playing staff? , or how one counts how many Academy boys U16-U21 are actually with us at any one time?... but here are some rough stats. Based on lads who were; either selected to start a first team game; (League or a cup match) OR who came off the bench at sometime and can reckon first team match minutes. 2009-10 : 3 2010-11 : 3 2011-12 : 4 2012-13 : 5 2013-14 : 4 We are used to those " known successes ".... JWP, Shaw, Chambers, Gallagher, but players like Reed, Isgrove and Reeves had a number of subsequent apps. since their debut games. A number of others made fleeting appearances and have since moved on, but still more who never made it to the first team have found new clubs and play regular League football ....albeit at a lower level.

interesting comments from Les Reed's presentation (featured on here recently) when he said that "some clubs" think it's good if they get 1 or 2 graduates to a first team debut, who might go no further. It use to be the case that Academy " drop-outs " ended up in the Conference South or Southern league level. Not so today. A quick reflection on former Saints' Academy lads in recent years who have made a League career (albeit not always in the Prem.) is really quite long. There are many good players who rarely made it off the subs. bench for a Prem. club.... yet do well... at a slightly lower level. Those sort of decisions are hard to make on the day, but it's often the start of a career and not the end of it.

......doubtless because RK needs a " YES man " ....who also knows how to say " NO " at the appropriate moment. Big brother is watching:scared:

Is this a new face in the press corps?. Nice article. I liked the tongue-in-cheek humour (examples quoted above), and a fresh appraisal our new side that has gelled well, whilst not spending £100+ million Jonathan Liew wrote from a neutral's perspective, and didn't follow the media tradition of downgrading " smaller clubs " in favour of praise for a Liverpool side who salvaged a 0-0 draw at home to Hull ! more please.