NewYorkSaint

I asked my friend Claude, and looks like she agrees with the majority opinion here... Nonetheless I predict that if they pull off promotion, and/or an FA cup win, the tide of opinion will change quite rapidly... No one should be judged solely by their worst mistakes -- unless they never learn from them. Over to Claude... Sport Republic: A Performance Assessment Background: Sport Republic is a British sports investment firm founded by Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft, financed by lead investor Dragan Šolak. Wikipedia Ankersen was previously instrumental at Brentford, serving as Co-Director of Football from 2015–2021 and overseeing their promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 74 years. Southampton Football Club The pitch was compelling: apply Brentford's data-driven, value-finding model across a multi-club portfolio. The Portfolio — Club by Club Southampton (acquired January 2022, 80% stake): This is the flagship and where the verdict is harshest. Their first full season of ownership ended in relegation from the Premier League in May 2023. Wikipedia They bounced back through the Championship playoffs in 2024, but were effectively relegated from the Premier League for the second time under Sport Republic on 6 April 2025 with seven games remaining, becoming the earliest team to suffer relegation in Premier League history. Wikipedia Now back in the Championship for 2025–26, they currently sit 6th, in the playoff places, with 17 wins, 12 draws, and 10 losses from 39 games. FootyStats But even that has been turbulent — Will Still was appointed as manager before the season, then sacked after sixteen games with a 25% win ratio, after which Tonda Eckert, the U21 coach, was appointed as head coach. Wikipedia The managerial churn has been extraordinary. Since Sport Republic took over, Southampton have gone through Hasenhüttl, Nathan Jones, Rubén Sellés, Russell Martin, Ivan Jurić, Will Still, and now Eckert — seven managers in roughly three and a half years. According to fan analysis, Southampton's Premier League record under Sport Republic stands at: Played 77, Won 12, Drawn 14, Lost 51. Medium That is a catastrophic win rate of roughly 16%. Total spending has exceeded £241 million in recent seasons Medium, making the return on investment truly dire. Göztepe (acquired August 2022, 70% stake): This is actually the bright spot. The club were promoted to the Süper Lig at the end of the 2023–24 season and finished eighth in 2024–25. Wikipedia This season they're doing even better — Göztepe currently sits in fifth place with 46 points from 27 matches, having conceded only 20 goals, matching Galatasaray as the least scored-against teams in the league. Fakta For a newly promoted club, that's a genuinely impressive trajectory. Valenciennes (acquired July 2023): A disaster. The club were relegated to the Championnat National (French third tier) at the end of the 2023–24 season Wikipedia, just one season after Sport Republic took control. Key Criticisms Managerial decision-making is the most damning indictment. The problem hasn't been that they've been making changes; the problem is the way in which these changes have been made. Football365 The Nathan Jones appointment was widely panned from day one — bringing in a direct, aggressive coach to manage a squad built for possession football. They repeated the same error with Ivan Jurić, who also plays fundamentally different football from what the squad was assembled for. Medium The gap between philosophy and execution is stark. They talk about data, analytics, and the "Brentford model," but data is usually only as good as the people using it, and in a modern football club that requires all parts of the operation to be functioning as they should. Football365 Brentford succeeded because the entire operation was aligned. At Southampton, there have been constant internal tensions and high staff turnover. Fan relationship has broken down almost completely. According to fan pundits, the relationship between the owners and the fans is "totally broken," with supporters having "no faith" in the ownership to make the right decisions. FootballLeagueWorld What They've Done Right To be fair, a few things deserve acknowledgment. Financially, Southampton have been reset rather than dismantled — no dividends were extracted, the wage bill was responsibly cut after relegation, and infrastructure investment has continued at St Mary's. Saints Marching They've invested over £200 million into the club. GRV Media The money has been there — it has just been poorly deployed. And as noted, Göztepe's rise from the Turkish second tier to a top-five Süper Lig position is a legitimate success story. Grading Relative to Other Ambitious Multi-Club Owners I'd place Sport Republic in the D+ to C- range — toward the bottom of the "ambitious but underperforming" tier. Here's how I'd frame the spectrum: The gold standard (A/A+): City Football Group (Manchester City), who built a global empire with sustained on-pitch dominance. Red Bull's network (Salzburg/Leipzig) is another model of coherent, aligned execution. Solid performers (B/B+): Brighton's Tony Bloom, who mirrors what Ankersen says he wants to do — data-driven recruitment, clear identity, patience — but actually executes it. Atalanta's ownership model in Serie A is similar. Mixed bags (C+/B-): 777 Partners (before their collapse), Pozzo family (Watford/Udinese/Granada) — flashes of success mixed with instability and relegations. INEOS at Nice/Manchester United are still early in their story. Where Sport Republic sits (D+/C-): They have ambition, investment capital, and a credible theoretical framework. But the execution has been poor to dismal at the flagship club. Two Premier League relegations in three years, with record-early relegation the second time, is almost unprecedented for an ownership group that was actively spending. The Göztepe success prevents them from being a complete failure, and the financial stewardship has been responsible rather than extractive. But the core promise — applying Brentford-style intelligence to a bigger platform — has simply not materialized at Southampton. Below them (D/F): Truly destructive owners like the Oystons at Blackpool, Hicks & Gillett at Liverpool, or recent examples like Reading's Dai Yongge where clubs face existential financial threats. The fundamental problem is that Sport Republic tried to replicate the Brentford model without recognizing that Brentford's success depended on patience, alignment, and cultural buy-in across the entire organization — not just clever data. At Southampton, they've lurched from one approach to another, undermining their own signings with incompatible managerial appointments, and have burned through goodwill at an alarming rate. The question now is whether the current Championship campaign — and the promising FA Cup run — represents a genuine turning point or merely another cycle of brief optimism before the next collapse.

No doubt they've deserved a lot of the hostility expressed by the fanbase these past couple years. They took some big risks - for example gambling on untested young managers who offered analytically smart strategies, and pushing a multi-club strategy that would have been cool if it had worked, but... it didn't. Not to mention a kind of panicked recklessness in some of the player purchases, resulting in a bloated, unmanageable squad. And yet, I wonder if history will judge them a little differently. It's not like they've learned nothing from their mistakes. The appointment of Johannes Spors looks inspired at this point. The squad has trimmed and supplemented with genuinely spectacular talent (Scienza, Azaz, Peretz), and that strategy of backing untested, but super-smart young managers? Well, that too is looking pretty different now. They never pulled the purse strings tight shut. They've always retained their belief in Southampton's potential... and if things transpire the way they might in the rest of this season, that faith could finally get rewarded with a longer return to the big leagues. So far all the plaudits for the current amazingness are going to Eckert and the players... But SR undoubtedly contributed. Anyone willing to join me in giving them a tentative thumbs up?

Can I say it now?

Also, can I just say, I love Larin. Would love to see him part of the club for a long time....

This is stunning. We're in a different league from them. And next year, I think, we will be.

One wild card. Our away fans. They're amazing. I was at the Fulham game and was blown away by what they brought. Completely out-sung the home crowd. As our collective confidence grows can't help but think that can be a factor tomorrow. With tired muscles, players will need all the boost they can get.

My ESP skills failed to account for a blind referee!!

Ross Stewart will score on a Scienza assist before 15 mins are up. Mark my words!!

really hard to manage this game. Wrexham is genuine 6-pointer... and follows just 3 days later.At least Downes will be fresh for that game. But others will involve some careful decision making. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ross and Scienza held to start at Wrexham. They could be on the bench for Arsenal, but I think Eckart will do a little holding back... Here are my estimates: - odds of beating Arsenal with full team: 15% - odds of beathing Arsenal with slightly less than full team: 10% - odds of playoff place if we beat wrexham: 75% - odds of playoff place if we lose to wrexham: 50% If we get a playoff place, our chance of promotion a good 40-50% If we beat Arsenal, our chance of winning the FA cup <25%. Value of FA Cup vs Premier League. Financially nothing, emotionally maybe better... But all in all, a smart strategy is to aim for near maximum team power on Tues not Saturday.

Best parts for me: Azaz class... he just continues to get better... Larin looks sharp and hungry, signs that Fellows is coming back to better form... and Edozie! wow... Oh, guess I'll take Charles' wonder-strike too. If the word languid was invented for anyone, it's Charles.

It is just exhilarating watching this game. Here's my takeaway. Even missing our two best players, we're a better team than Coventry. Whisper it with joy: Premier League, here we come!

V disappointing half. the worst part was Scienza's injury. I don't think we'll see him for at least a couple weeks. Tonight, I'm going for a turnaround. 1-3 with goals from Azaz, Larin and <drum roll> Tom Fellows. And yes, I did grow up reading roy of the rovers comics.....

Ah, cancel that... it's a deprioritized, but it's there.

I thought this was supposed to be on Sky...? It's not showing up on my feed.

Huge difference in quality between the teams... And we have a powerful bench a-waiting. Football can always break your heart w a bad run of the ball... but we really deserve this one. I'd love to see Larin get another.

I kinda like it. gives 3 and 4 a significant advantage over 5-8, which they prob deserve. 5 and 6 still get the benefit of playing at home... I remember thinking while at Wembley on that magic day that the playoff winner had a far BETTER season than those automatically promoted.... More broadly, it's good to give more clubs more to play for for longer into the season. If it were just top 3, hope dies early for many. But this is quite a clever system, giving graduated advantage the higher you place.... but still giving hope to a lot of clubs. In fact most clubs for most of the season can have a pathway to finishing at least 8th. So yeah... I'd vote for this.

Thank you, universe.

Trying to imagine if there's ANY way back here. Archer and Jander off for Stewart and Wood. One goal back and then Leicester manage to do their usual and pick up a red card..... C'mon universe. Give us something?!!

incredible how a single 3-second moment completely changes the narrative of the entire game... and maybe the season. Oh Cyle... we are so happy you've joined us.

Really hope Downes is OK... He's been such an important player last few games.

I expected him just to be tall, strong header of the ball, but the highlights reel shows a lot more...

Great to have Bree back. Matsuki two stunning back flicks. Hoping Stewart can stand up for half an hour at the end... And would like to see Fellows in action. We can do this!

Actually, I'm a Brit, spent early childhood in Southampton, which is why I'm stuck as being a Saints fan for life, despite the guarantee of agony on a regular basis. Baseball's OK. Football is what is actually worth dreaming about... I just prefer excitement to hatred.

I love you too...

I'm a passionate Saints fan but truly struggle w the level of hatred on here for Pompey. Football's tribal, yes, but this is more like cannibalism. Some secret facts about their players, managers and supporters: they have DNA. Their hearts beat and they sleep and wake up every morning just like you do. They have jobs and kids and dreams. My personal vote... determined rivalry yes, disgust and loathing... really?! not needed. I just want a pulsating game - and yes, a memorable saints victory.