Saint86

If he gets them promoted this season I think a lot more clubs will be looking at him. Would be a very respectable one club run in football manager, let alone the real world.

There are some really disappointing names on that list.

The owners have provided cash injections to fully underwrite the losses, so as a business they're basically debt free, and they're within the loss PSR rules. The following is for the 23/24 reporting period - so not this season, although i would imagine they're fine after a year in the prem. https://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/49240/town-accounts-show-�39.3m-loss-and-turnover-increase-by-71-per-cent Town's accounts for the year to June 2024 show a total loss of £39.3 million and turnover increasing by 71 per cent to £37.3 million. The loss, an increase of 116 per cent on the previous year (£18.17 million), was wholly expected in the season in which the Blues, newly risen from League One, climbed into the Premier League at the first attempt with £16.3 million of those losses promotion costs. Without those promotion costs, bonuses etc, the increase in losses is reduced to 26 per cent. The entire loss was covered by cash injections by the owners of £39.2 million with the club having no external debt, aside from the £391,000 in loan notes issued in the years following the club’s spell in administration just over 20 years ago. The 71 per cent increase in turnover to £37.3 million - £21.8 million the previous year - was led by league, retail, commercial and ticket incomes. 
As was the case last year, Town have published their Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) position - Financial Fair Play limitations - with eligible losses £34.9 million over three years and the threshold £39 million, giving Town headroom of more than 10 per cent. EFL per season losses are £13m per season (giving the £39m limit). After a year in the premier league, they can replace one of the £13M per season loss limits with a £35M (premier league) loss per season. So their allowable losses at the end of this current season's reporting period will be £61M. I also doubt whether they'll have made much of a loss this season with a largely EFL squad and premier league monies. So with owners that are seemingly prepared to underwrite losses, i would imagine they can spend a shit load of cash by championship standards with minimal concerns over balancing the books. Conversely, saints made a profit of £5M last season due significantly to transfer sales - and within that paid down our debts by a significant amount (think it was like £20M or something). I assume we'll have done the same again this season re the debts. But like it or not, Ipswich are gonna be spendy spendy for the championship i suspect next season (subject to the owners continuing to back them), and unless Dragan wants to back saints, i doubt we'll match them.

I wonder if we'd go totally left field and check out Dave Challinor at Stockport... Rasmus and co are always going on about untapped potential... Challinor has managed for 14 years across 6 divisions and he's never finished lower than playoffs, so there must be something there and he seems destined to get to the championship sooner rather than later. He's taken Stockport from 9th in the national league to the verge of the championship in 4 seasons in that time... Look how much money Wrexham have spent to do similar... I'd say he's got at least got a comparable pedigree to McKenna had before Ipswich's championship promotion season (especially given their league 1 bankrolling). Would be a ludicrously ballsy appointment for sports republic and a hell of a gamble for saints generally... But I reckon he's one to watch for the next few years to see where he gets to. Also, from a Saints / SR perspective, he's already had some successes and bettered selles this season in league 1, so that probably rules him out of being "unrealised potential" 😆

Depends if they lose McKenna to a prem side, which could happen. They're bankrolled to the hilt by their ownership group unfortunatley, right on PSR loss limits last season and the owners paid all that off to keep them debt free. Its a very good job for McKenna.

For comparison, here is a selection of Bournemouth's business over the past 2 seasons, Huijsen (19 years old) cost 15M euros, Kepa was a loan, Kluivert (24years old) was 10M euros, Alex Scot (19) signed for 23M euros. Similar Southampton signings, THB (22years old) 23Million euros, Ramsdale (26) for 21.5M euros, Fynn Downes (25) for 18M euros, Fernandes for £15M euros. In themselves, these aren't bad signings comparatively. Bournemouth also spent nearly 40M euros on evanison for example, whereas we spent 17.5M euros on Archer... The issue for me is that we got relegated and had to sell sell sell to meet PSR restrictions (we got relegated and turned a £5M profit). But the squad is now threadbare with regards to depth for premier league, and far worse than the last squad that got relegated. Players like those listed above were required, and we'd have struggled to make significant savings on them. The issue is where we've tried to build squad depth across a large part of the team with bargain basement players (BBD for 8.5M euros, Sugawara for 7M euroes, Wood and Edwards for 7M total (not in themselves bad buys for the future, but not for this year). In a lot of ways, saints were damned if they do, and damned if they don't - yes, these players aren't good enough - but trying to get good prem players for the sums of money they cost was always going to be a hard ask. In that vein, there were also some bad loans and freebies (cornet, Gronbaek, Fraser, taylor) etc. Although Lesley hasn't been too bad in the end. Having no real DoF at the club meant were always destined to be up against it recruitment wise, in what was a compacted and crucial summer window - and that is on Sports Republic!

Martin played good football badly. He will likely develop though, and he may prove ultimately to be a top level manager. Time will tell whether we'll ultimately regret binning him off. He was not keeping us in the premier league however, and the decision to sack him when we did, with no clear plan in place was a poor one. Either we should have done it far far far sooner, or we should have committed to him knowing we'd be in the champ anyway. What we actually did was just an almighty mess.

In addition to these figures, they've also just posted a £19.4M loss for last season (2023-24), which means the latest rolling 3 year loss is £201.6M. If they don't get some kind of sanction this season or next season PSR is dead in the water. The joke of it is we ripped the squad totally apart to raise money and make a £5M profit last season.

Leicester's rolling 3year loss is in excess of £200M... even if they hadn't been relegated they'd have had an allowable loss of £105M - i'm not sure what the year in the champ reduces that down to. I know they get away with cheating, but surely they're in for a points deduction on arrival? On top of that, if Vardy is still there he'll be 38next season, and they've tied a load of older "past it" players on to long contracts (they gave vestergard a 3 year deal aged 32 ffs). I think they're actually in trouble, especially if they finally get done for cheating.

Most of the goals against came in 6-7 matches, most of which were in the first few games when we had huge player turnover and a complete change in playing style to "martin ball". Outside of those games, we averaging just over 1 goal against per game. Baz was doing alright, even with the suicide football in front of him. The bigger issue now is that rather than having a year to develop, he's had a year out with a nasty injury that will certainly have impacted his sweeper keeper play (which was one of his main strengths). Subject to what manager/style Sports Republic bring in next, i think its quite possible Baz won't have a place at saints beyond the summer regardless (i'm sure many will rejoice at that).

Is it reasonable to condemn Selles for the mess he inherited at Saints in an awful relegation season? And isn't assistant manager to manager quite a common career progression? Within it there will be both good and bad examples... Top of my head i am pretty sure there are some very prominant examples of assistants/coaches that managed it at the same club: Zidane, Mourinho Eddie Howe Liverpool have a bit of a history of this - Bob paisley and Joe Fagan Joachim Low - successfully made this transition both at international and club level Also, didn't Di matteo win both the champions league and fa cup as chelsea caretaker? 😅 Outside of that, there are plenty of managers that have gone from being an assistant manager to a manager... two fairly quick/prominent examples in recent history would be Maresca and Arteta...

If Ralph is available and interested, he is the best name mentioned so far. Sadly I think there is no chance of him coming back to work under sports republic. Would like to see him with a competent DoF behind him. He had us competitive in the prem with an absolutely horrendous squad and nearly kept us up, I'd have no concerns over him getting us promoted out of the 2nd tier with one of the strongest squads in it, and similarly - he knows exactly what he needs to stay in the prem when building his side.

At least we won't be the sole worst side in history.

2 awful ex saints defenders, and they blow a 2 goal lead in extra time 😂

I can't imagine only counting the JPT win as the last un-caveated sense of happiness as a saints fan in recent times. That's sad 😰. The club almost went out of business, so yeah, that JPT win was a great day out sure, but the 2 years that followed it were fantastic (only saints fans could lambast a manager for not winning the championship as a newly promoted side 🤣😂). I loved when we had Poch, i loved when we had Koeman. I remember vividly the game away at Chelsea (October 2015) where we went to the bridge and comfortably beat Chelsea (who still had the likes of Hazard, Cahil, Terry, fabregas, oscar, and Willian) as a moment when i realised what a special side we had that year - and as it turns out, the best saints side i've ever watched. And that in turn led to European football and another Wembley visit under Puel (which we should and nearly did win - if only there had been VAR). Even the dire seasons that followed had their moments. Another one i can remember vividly was Gabbi's goal away at Swansea that essentially secured our survival. My eldest was only a couple of months old at the time and i half developed a superstition that we weren't conceding a goal when he was in the room... so needless to say i woke him up when gabbi scored 😂. And then the play off final win last season was fantastic - something i was able to then take my eldest to. And somewhere in amongst all that was Lambert's first touch headed beauty of a goal vs Scotland - which i think is the loudest i've ever cheered any goal ever. Good times come and go. This year has been shite, the next few years might be shite for all we know, or we could win the league next season... but whatever happens, saints will come again. And the worse the pain in the interim, the better the rise will be that follows - no pain no gain... look at us in 2009, luton in recent years, Wrexham... fancy Bradford might be about to begin their own little journey as well.

Another goal last night starting against nice in 7th (level with Lille in the champions league places and 3 points of second). Would have been an ideal player to keep for the champ, probably CHDAJU as well. The fact we've loaned him out for free was pretty stupid. The fact there has been no mention of the agreed fee / any sell on clause doesn't bode well either. I wonder what will happen if we get Rosenior as manager.

And that is the beauty of "propaganda football" in a nutshell.

What?!?! No one blames him surely? He was still a colossal waste of money on wages, transfer fees, agents fees, and signing on fees. But that isn't on him.

Revisiting this for where the team is now.... Potential line up next season: GK = Bazunu (or Ramsdale - if by some miracle we keep him), Lumley and Maca as backups. RB = new 1st choice, Bree ------- KWP sadly gone, and I would also assume Sugarwara will be sold given there have already been rumours, but if he stays thats adequate for the champ with a non Martin style of football. LB = Manning and Wellington, Larios -------- Charlie Taylor to leave? CBs = One of Stephens/Bednarek/THB to remain (the others to leave I would guess), Edwards and Wood, new CB signing, Sanda (squad) ------ ABK will be gone for sure. CMs = Downes, Shea Charles, Smallbone, Aribo (can see one of smallbone/aribo potentially leaving, but would keep both unless a good deal can be made). CAMs/Wingers = Edozie, Fraser, hopefully we keep one of Dibling and Fernades for the year, suspect this area needs strengtehing tbh, even with the goztepe loanees --------- Sulemana to surely leave Strikers - Archer, AA, Onuachu (I would personally keep all 3 of these, unless we can get an upgrade or good money in with which to strengthen) -------- stewart to leave on loan. Have no idea what the Matsuki / Juan's long term strategy is... so will just leave their names here in limbo land... In terms of what i would call the safe/definite sales... Sulemana and one of dibling/Fernandes should hopefully bring in about £50-60M for 2 of them. Maybe we'll get about £10-15M total for bednarek and ABK? Maybe... THB would land us £20-25M if anyone actually wants to buy him (i cant see he's impressed enough to warrant the outlay). £5-8M total for sugawara and taylor? If we sell him, £25M for ramsdale. Onuachu we've struggled to shift every window... i would just keep him at this point, far more effective than Che was. Would like to see him played with 2 pacey / clever players running off him.

People can't have it both ways on Martin. 1.) He was a manager who was going to play his style of football for his own sake, regardless of what it meant for his club's performances. 2.) His style of football was flawed, giving away far to many chances to the opposition albeit at times we were very pleasing on the eye. I would say we got away with it in the championship last time because we had one of the best squads. The end. I would probably give him an average score for promotion. 4 teams could have gone up in 3 spots, and he got the last of those spots. Fair play - and thank you to him for a great day out at Wembley and a season as a whole. But equally, if we hadn't got promoted you could only view last season as a failure. He then showed in the premier league that he was going to refuse to change, and that he would quite happily continue losing with his style than to adapt and try to grind out points. Similarly, last season there were warning signs of this attitude, where we were shocking and didn't make any kind of change. In summary then, i think the people that highlight martin as a sign of great recruitment are incorrect. Neither Wilcox nor Martin were great appointments, they were average. (Jury out of Wilcox frankly - not left a great legacy, our recruitment last year was suspect re building for the prem, his manager couldn't hack it in the prem, and he pissed off the first chance he had). What i will say for Sports Republic, is that Wilcox demonstrated and acknowledgement that they were out of their depth and needed an experienced person to head up the recruitment side of the club. Lets hope Spors will prove better than average and that he'll stick around - its badly needed. Also not convinced Rohl is going to be the best man, but he's done a decent enough job at Wednesday, and he was Ralph's deputy during a decent period. Can saints afford another philosophy manager though? Or is it time to be realistic and get someone like cooper, get promoted, get established, and then start faffing around with styles and philosophies (aka Brighton).

https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-unpaid-wages-transfer-ban-5069571 After 2 months non payment, the players can give notice and a payment deadline, and then terminate their wages. Anyone know if the same thing applies to managers / coaches? That deadline is today, and as of yesterday there were still players that hadn't been paid according to that article anyway. If the club really do want Rohl then Juric is a dead duck going into the summer. Rohl is for certain leaving Wednesday after his interview on the weekend - therefore we really should make that move and get him in before the end of the season (assess the squad / plan for the summer). Wednesday sound like they are in dire straights and would surely bite our hand off for any kind of financial compensation if they're struggling to pay wages which will give them a prolonged transfer embargo... its a no brainer on that front. All of which will only increase the noise the longer Juric is still here. I.e., maybe he's the preferred manager for SR going into the champ?

I could be wrong ofc, but i think Wednesday have missed the pay deadline on 31st March, which makes 2months pay, which means staff/players are free to leave?

How many teams promoted out of their league? They're only 2 points of 4th?

Hate to break it to you, but that will have been a fairly common appearance this season...

Hasn't played football in a year, so ofc he scores. Game changed from when Dibling came on and Sulemana went off, we lost all threat from the pace/power of Onuachu/sulemana. Palace have pushed up since then.