SaintJackoInHurworth

Until now I have sat on the fence and been wary of just criticising everything that the board are doing, arguing that while they have made mistakes, I am sure they genuinely want to achieve the best for the club. While I still believe that to be true, what is happening has now convinced me that they are just completely clueless and incompetent and something needs to change quickly. Enough is enough. We cannot sell all of our best players and hope to achieve anything other than a season in which our Premiership safety is seriously at risk and with it the very money that has been raised from these sales. The board are a complete and utter joke - even Rupert Lowe had more sense than this and that is saying a lot as the guy was a complete idiot. I am sad to say it but it may soon be time to draw together the collective fanbase of this club and protest until Krueger and Reed are sacked or sold into slavery, Katherina offers the club for sale and Cortese comes back with another buyer to save this sinking ship. Liebherr, Krueger and Reed OUT!

Considering so many people on here wait with avid interest for every word that Guan shares, I'm surprised that this post has received such little attention. I guess the problem is that everyone just assumed that Guan was talking about this article in the Express: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/492137/Arsenal-set-to-beat-Liverpool-in-16m-bid-for-Southampton-ace-Calum-Chambers However, Guan clearly stated that it was posted by the Express 'today' (i.e. Sunday) whereas that particular article was actually posted by the Express on Saturday! Besides, an article about Chambers leaving is hardly anything different from what is being reported elsewhere so why on earth would that be a leak from the club? My guess is that Guan was actually referring to this article in the Express which was posted on Sunday: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/492185/Ronald-Koeman-ready-to-splash-50m-on-new-look-Southampton Now, if that is a leak from the club, then it is far more interesting, if not wholly related to this particular thread (though it does make reference to Chambers, thus potentially confirming that the club may indeed be leaking confirmation that he is on his way). And since I, like Guan, only get two posts (though unlike Guan don't claim in any way to be ITK!) my own personal opinion on the probable sale of Chambers and the state of SFC is much like that expressed by others: * I don't understand why we aren't just saying 'no'. * I believe he will be worth far more in a year or two than he is now. * I believe it further adds to the perception that we are selling the crown jewels of SFC. * I believe it will adversely affect the attitude of potential transfer targets who will be less likely to join what may now appear to be a sinking ship. * I think the communication by the club is shocking. * I think the club is lacking a clear strategy or vision. * I suspect that KL does not have the business prowess of her father - if I remember correctly, didn't the MALI group of companies which her father set up fail under her leadership? However... * I don't for a moment believe the club is selling because it is in massive debt. I am good at maths and know a bit about business. With 80-something million pounds of TV and Premier League revenue for finishing 8th, all of our current debt was wiped out and I don't think our future debts to pay off Ramirez, Osvaldo, etc. are really that much and would be more than covered by our revenue at the end of the coming season. * I also believe/hope that RK is a good manager and will hopefully be able to mould our new squad (if we are to make several new signings) into shape successfully by Christmas at least, if not sooner. Yet... * I do fear that we could become the new Norwich - signing a load of new players who fail to impress and struggling as a result. If we become the new Tottenham - having the same issue but nevertheless, staying around fifth in the table as the previous season - then I would accept that!

I would place them in this order: * Monk * Poyet * Lambert * Bruce * Pardew * Allardyce * Irvine * Redknapp * Pearson * Van Gaal * Koeman * Dyche Beyond that I do not anticipate any other managers will face any chance of being sacked.... * I think Poch will be very successful at Spurs and the fans will eventually get behind him. * I think Rogers will continue to do well at Liverpool, though they will possibly be less successful than last year having lost Suarez. * Mourinho is a cult hero at Chelsea and a great coach for them. * Pellegrini will continue to taste success at City - no-one else gets near to their in-depth squad quality! * Martinez had a great season last year and Everton are a patient club. Even if they are not as successful this time they will be slow at sacking him, unless they descend to being relegation fodder. * Similarly Stoke's successful season last time will ensure Hughes is given plenty of time Stoke, who rarely sack managers. * Finally, Crystal Palace will be delighted with their run-in to the season and will not rush to sack Pulis even if they don't do as well this time out.

Probably a rehash but hope it's true. While I agree this is not the position in which we are weakest, Banega at his best looks like a quality prospect. Hopefully, Koeman may be just the right man to bring out his best again and at £6m he could prove to be a steal. Also, with all the extra cash we have from the Lallana and Shaw deals, we have a great opportunity to create greater strength in depth across the whole squad and this could be just one part of that. With that greater strength in depth we will be better placed to compete in the cup as well as the league - and maybe eventually in European competition too.

Rod Wallace Wizard

Hysterics

I think this is where the confusion is for you lot that like to sing about P*mpey. It's not that we don't hate them - most of us most certainly do. I certainly do myself most of the time, though I can't speak for Steeleye; that's up to him. My hatred of them goes back to living with a skate for a year while at uni. He was a mate until it came to football - but as soon as football came into the equation he was a complete and utter tosser. I have also seen documentaries about that idiot 'Big John' or whatever his name is and the bile that comes out of his mouth is enough to make anyone hate them. However, it is in no small part because of my hatred for P*mpey that I don't like to sing about them. You see, it's not that we don't understand the hatred, it's just that we: 1. Hate P*mpey too much to want to hear them even mentioned. 2. Hate the thought that P*mpey fans are getting enjoyment from the mistaken belief that we are worried that they could beat us if we were to play them now. 3. Love Southampton a million times more than we hate P*mpey. 4. Hate the fact that many fans can't sing about Saints without mentioning P*mpey as though they were still in a position to challenge our status as the 'only one team in Hampshire' (a song that I DO approve of!). 5. Have this sneaking suspicion that some of the anti-Skate songs are actually promoted by P*mpey fans trying to get one over on us (so they would think). 6. Get a greater rush of joy every time Saints win (even if P*mpey happen to win) than we get from them losing when we lose (even if it does give a crumb of comfort, especially when it edges them closer to the bottom of the table). 7. Have the sneaking suspicion that some fans would rather we were in the same division as P*mpey, at whatever level that might be, than that we challenge at the upper end of the Premier League. 8. Feel that singing about P*mpey is a kind of flattery for them, whereas we would rather laugh quietly at them every time they lose and loudly at them every time we win. So, these are a large part of my reasons why I would rather we stopped singing so much about P*mpey and sung far more about Saints.

Who are Pompey? Why sing about them? Are you talking about that nothing of a club that once made the mistake of believing they were the best team in the south but are now an irrelevance in the lower leagues? Who cares about them? I don't understand why people would prefer to sing about them than about Saints. If that's the case for some, then they should go to their matches instead of to watch Saints. Or to summarise: for flip's sake let's sing about Saints not about some tinpot lower league irrelevant lame excuse of a football club!

I notice that Schneiderlin has not returned to training to join up with the squad in Belgium - presumably because France remained in the World Cup until the Quarter Final stage. When would we expect him to be back? I'm guessing next week - from Monday 21 July. Anyone know for certain?

6.06pm

Personally, no matter what is being offered for Lovren I would want to keep him... at least until we can sign two quality centre backs to replace him and improve our defensive options (a left back or two would be good too!) If we did then sell Lovren I would want £25m at least, with extra payouts on top for international appearances, qualification for Champions League, reaching a Cup final, making 50 appearances, etc. and a 25% sell-on clause.

Last year there was a long-ish thread about us potentially signing Banega, but it didn't happen. However, in the past year his fortunes have dipped, so if Koeman has managed him before he might have some influence to get him here. IMO he would be a great addition to the squad.

* I went away on holiday just over a week ago excited about the appointment of Koeman. * I returned today disappointed to learn of the departure of Shaw and expected impending departure of Lallana, having hoped that Koeman's appointment may have averted their departures. I also learn of continuing rumours about other players, which concern me greatly. As I read all about this it worries me that our support is so divided about all these things - surely there is a 'middle way' that all can accept? There have been many things in the last few months about which we are all concerned, but I hope that despite all the changes we will be able to move on from it all to reach even higher than we have done so far. So, what are the things about which we can all agree? Let me suggest a few: * We are all sad to see star players leave the club - especially when they leave to play for other Premier League clubs. * We are all anxious about the time it may take for a new player to settle in at a new club - especially when they come from abroad. * We are all hopeful of Saints having the same success with unheard of foreign signings as some other PL clubs have had (e.g. Newcastle, Wigan, Swansea, etc.) * We are all also hopeful of seeing further new stars emerging from our academy. * We were all disappointed to see Poch leave but on the whole we are hopeful that Koeman will turn out to be a great new manager. * We are all grateful to the Liebherr family for saving the club a few years ago, whether or not we are entirely sure about the decisions that Katharina has made in the past few months. * We were all delighted with how the club performed in the league overall last season and would probably have expected and accepted far less at the start of the season. * We would all love to see Saints win something and to qualify for European competition. So, whether you feel skeptical about everything that is going on or you are one of the eternal optimists determined that everything that is happening will all actually turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to us, let us find some grounds on which we can all agree and let us move forward TOGETHER... supporting Saints all the way with a loud OWTS and COYR(&W!)s. So.. what are your suggestions?

While we are talking songs: Koeman Come On, Koeman Come on, Koeman Come on, Come on! He wants to be in our gang, our gang, our gang! He wants to be in our gang, oh yeeeeeaaahhh! PS Evidently he is better with kids than the writer of that song!)

Don't think anyone has mentioned Shearer yet!! Also Garry Monk started his career at Saints, completing his football apprenticeship with us. To enter the discussion about who counts, I would say that an academy/youth set-up graduate must have played a part in the youth/academy set-up. Therefore, Arsenal could not claim Walcott or Oxo as graduates as they were bought as members of the first team squad. On this basis we would need to be clear which players were part of the academy/youth team set-up and then became first teamers - is this true of Lallana? Scheiderlin? Best? Blackstock? McGoldrick? I would guess that in each case the answer is yes, whereas Schneiderlin, for example, was brought in as a first team player so wouldn't count. One slightly left-field addition to the conversation is Nile Ranger, who was a reject of the Saints academy but later did graduate to play in the Premier League with Newcastle. So, the question is, do you count him? You could ask similar questions about Kevin Phillips too. So, in terms of a list of names: Bale, Walcott, Oxo, Surman, Best, Ranger, Lallana, Shaw, Chambers, Ward-Prowse, Gallagher, Reed, Baird, Blackstock, Bridge, Cranie, Dyer, Oakley, Hughes, Phillips, Shearer, Gazzanigga, LeTissier, Benali, Maddison, Kenna, McGoldrick, Jon Gittens (played a couple of PL games for Middlesbrough!), Tisdale, Lancashire, Moody, Scott McDonald (one appearance in the PL with Southampton!). I'm pretty sure all of those played vfor us at both youth and PL level. I think that is a fairly comprehensive list, but care to add any I have missed. A few players I'm not sure about: Banger - did he play for the first team between 1992 and 1994? Ray Wallace - did he ever play in the PL? Wikipedia suggests that he did but does not evidence it; Isgrove - Was he on the bench at the start of the season? I think he probably doesn't count as even if he was on the bench he has not played in a PL game yet.

OK - until now I've been firmly among those who would like to see Yakin here, though it's now looking quite possible that he could end up at Galatasaray. Realistically, I suspect we will see Koeman appointed some time next week. However, the talk about Tuchel has got me dreaming fantasies!! lol Allow me to explain why...! * Tuchel has also adopted a style of play very similar to MoPo - as has been well-documented on this forum. However that is not all... * Tuchel has worked at Mainz using the "differential training" approach developed by Professor Wolfgang Schöllhorn of Mainz University (see this article for example: http://www.soccerissue.com/2014/06/08/remember-theres-strength-in-uniqueness/) * Mainz have come from nowhere to being a top side in Germany using both of these. Now, this is where it gets especially interesting (or where the happy pills start to take me of into some unknown realm of fantasy!)... * Croatia are also using the "differential training" approach to ready themselves for the World Cup (see http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/11/croatia-niko-kovac-park-bus-brazil-world-cup-2014) * Dejan Lovren plays for Croatia, but rumours have today surfaced suggesting that he has handed in a transfer request... (seeing where this is going yet?!) What if... * Croatia stun the world by beating Brazil tomorrow and go on to have a blistering World Cup... * Dejan Lovren finds himself falling in love with the "differential training" method. * Southampton appoint Tuchel... Putting it all-together.... might this result in the following fantasy-dream scenario... * Lovren is so excited by Tuchel's appointment (and what that will mean in terms of style of play and coaching methods) that he withdraws the rumoured transfer request and * Lallana and Shaw become convinced by both Lovren and Tuchel that they should stay and * Saints with Tuchel as our manager convince some great, up-and-coming, talented players to sign for us and * We end up finishing in the top 4 next season, above both Liverpool and United! Anyone care to dream the dream with me?!!! lol

If we went for something like that I would be very happy - this would be a 'proper' Saints kit. If they go with another all red kit I will save my money for the third season in a row. I suppose in that sense it's win-win for me either way!

Are we selling him? Source?

Thought I'd resurrect this old thread as if Lallana left I think Banega would be exactly the quality of player we should be looking at. Even if Lallana stays, I think Banega could add an extra dimension to the squad. However, it looks like Sunderland could be about to sign him, which is quite a shock! Surely if they can afford him, we should be throwing in some interested remarks to agents, etc. to make sure he doesn't sign for them before we have appointed a new manager just in case the new manager also thinks he is the sort of player we should sign?!! Links here: http://talksport.com/football/sunderland-closing-ps8m-deal-valencia-midfielder-14060293943#pCYDIK29kOTp0UXs.99 PS Surprised to note that he didn't make the Argentina squad - I wonder if he now regrets that he didn't sign for us last year!

I guess I find myself drawn both ways in the debates about our board. However, I'm an optimist when all's said and done and hope that while there may have been some mistakes made by Krueger, Reed and KL they still have chance to turn it all around. As for the issue of money, if I understand it correctly we are currently due to pay about £25 in transfer fees and about the same for the training ground developments. However we are also receiving about £80m in payments as our portion of the TV deal money and other reward money. Together with money anticipated next year that means that £50m is well within our means if payments are scheduled correctly. Sent from my C1505 using Tapatalk

You've all forgotten about our star striker Mayuka! The line-up must therefore be: ........................Boruc......................... Chambers....Fonte....Yoshida....Targett ..............JWP..............Cork.............. ........Ramirez..................Davis.......... ..............Gallagher....Mayuka............. I assume that Rodriguez will either still be injured or will be signed by Sunderland or Stoke.

I think the big difference is that Cortese and Poch wanted to qualify for the CL, avoiding if possible the Europa League. My big frustration with Poch last season was that as soon as it became clear we could not qualify for the CL, he (and by extension the side) lost interest and our form took a major dip. He even came out in the media if I remember correctly and stated that he did not want to participate in the Europa League. It seemed this also meant that he didn't want us to qualify by reaching the FA Cup final, with the result that we were woeful against Sunderland in the cup match (much to my horror as I was at the match!) I hope we still desire to eventually qualify for the Champions League, but will now be prepared to make qualification for the Europa League as a stepping stone to this. We obviously need to be realistic that it is a big step to qualify for the Champions League, but we also need to recognise the amazing success of both FC Basel and Atletico Madrid, which has shown that not only can a small club qualify for a tournament like that, but it can do very well in it with the right commitment.

OK, we are all disappointed to see Pochettino leave, but I thought it would be interesting to look at it from a different perspective. Basically, it could be argued that since we cam under Liebherr ownership each manager we have had has been better than their predecessor (although some may feel there is a case for saying that Pardew was better than Adkins and of course he was only the second manager in our history to lead us to silverware!) So... Pardew steadied the ship after liquidation and led us to win the Football League Trophy, but he was unable to get us promoted and while under his leadership we played great attacking football, we were defensively poor and woefully inconsistent - especially at home. Adkins, unlike Pardew was able to get us promoted, both from League 1 and the Championship, but, arguably, he never really got the best from some of the players in his care and we struggled for consistency at times - especially in the EPL. He did, however, build a great unity among the squad and was able to even get some of our more prima-donna types to want to play for us (e.g. Puncheon). Poch was able to take it to the next level, developing an ethos that brought the best out of the players and demonstrating that some of those players are very good. He was particularly good (most of the time) at giving opportunities to younger players to find their way into the first team if good enough. He was not so good at dealing with discord and with prima-donnas (e.g. Osvaldo, Puncheon, Ramirez, etc.) He was also less than committed to getting Saints to win in the cup competitions and in driving them on to qualify for the Europa Cup and sometimes allowed complacency to slip in when playing lesser opposition. If that has been our progress over the past few years, then what if we could now get a manager who will take us to another new level? Perhaps someone who can maintain the same winning ethos, but will also be committed to winning at every opportunity - so that we try to win the cups and we are prepared to play in the Europa Cup if we cannot qualify for the champions league? I don't intend to analyse the potential candidates for the job as that is being hotly discussed elsewhere, but I hope that we can push on to the next level whoever we appoint. Now is the time for Katharina, Les Reed and Ralph Krueger to show their ambition for the club. Nice words from Krueger are fine, but the suspicion that Poch has left because of a lack of ambition from the club and a lack of commitment to keeping our best players will not go away until a good manager is signed and those players (or most of them at least) are retained. My hope is that we can continue the trend that Cortese began in terms of employing an increasingly high standard of manager. COYR!

I'm a bit surprised at some of the opinions on here - evidently Malky Mackay is now a rubbish manager despite having managed to take a poor Cardiff team to mid-table obscurity until the Cardiff club owner decided to scupper things. I'm not saying he is the right man for Saints if Poch goes, but who knows? He could prove to be an inspired choice if he were appointed. I am also surprised at the number of people keen on Laudrup - he hardly achieved much at Swansea, taking them down from showing signs of establishing themselves as an upper mid-table club to becoming a club at risk of relegation. As for De Boer, I always a little wary of the big name managers and if he is not good enough for Spurs, perhaps he is not good enough for us?! Nevertheless, I agree that a big name manager like that could convince some of our players to stay.

I'm actually quite shocked at the response to this post. Don't shoot me... yet!! Firstly, I don't agree with Richmond that you can at his stage round on Liebherr and criticise her as he has done. As people have pointed out there are many good things for which we can express major gratitude to the Liebherr family. Now is the time for watching, waiting and hoping, not rash petulance. Nevertheless, there are many here criticising Redmond who, if they are honest, have made more than their fair share of rash petulant criticisms of the club. Secondly, I can understand to some degree Richmond's frustration at the thought that just as things were looking really very good we may have lost the manager that has put us into such a great position as we now find ourselves (though much credit has got to go to many others including our academy coaches). I challenge anyone to honestly say they aren't wondering whether if Cortese were still here, Poch wouldn't even be talking to Spurs (with the exception of the ITKers who always know everything and should be worshipped for their incredible insight). In short, though Redmond may have spoken far too rashly, I'm sure we ALL feel very saddened at the likelihood that Poch will leave and a little frustrated that the unbelievable dream that we have been having could be under threat - the dream that we maybe had an owner, director and manager who all shared the fans aspirations; the dream that maybe, just maybe, we culd, like Atletico Madrid in Spain, rise up to challenge the elite of English football. For that reason, I'm suggesting that maybe we can cut the guy a bit of slack and let's wait and see what happens and hope and pray that this Krueger guy will have more of a clue about football than we suspect and that the dream might not be over - that Katherina may actually be making right decisions, that Cortese may have been pushing the club to get somewhere far faster than was realistic and that those in charge of OUR club do still have aspirations to achieve more than mid-table mediocrity. In short, I am saying that Redmond has been rash in saying what he has said at this time, but such rashness is perhaps the result of an aspiration that I hope we all share - that Southampton FC will continue to push onwards and upwards and to become a force to be reckoned with in English football. Now is neither the time for rash statements, but nor is it the time to round on a fellow fan who we don't know and give him hell.