The New, New, New Manager Thread

He reached the Champions League semi final with Lyon not Nice, still quite impressive though.

He was pretty much a failure at Lyon. They had been French Lg1 champions for eight successive years before he was appointed, normally finishing around 15 points clear. In his three years he managed second, third and second and was then fired.

I am beginning to think the board got lucky with RK..he didn't play to the strategy so we don't really know it works do we?

This appointment will show us whether it does...

There really are some Saints fans that have an over inflated sense of our place at the top table.

We will likely never be in a position to keep our players due to our size and stature. Many players joining us from abroad will see us as a stepping stone to bigger and better (more money) things.

Whether we like it or not the likes of Liverpool will always be attractive to players as they have a storied history and are a truly big, global club whereas we are not....even if we are better than them at this point in time.

It is frustrating losing players on a regular basis - but that means we are doing something right. And lets face it, our squad is probably the strongest we have ever had .

I am very happy that we live within our means and that we are getting stronger year on year. We are doing things the right, sustainable way. Seven/eight years ago we were close to going out of business because of the club doing exactly what so many posters want us to do now.

Puel - not a big name but so what? We have an eye for finding the right fit for our club. I think Koeman will not be as successful at Everton: our whole club is based around the same goals so Koeman was good for us and we were good for him. Doubt he will have that same structure at Everton.

As for people complaining we are only interested in making a profit - cobblers! We are a well run, sustainable club and everything we have made from sales appears to have been reinvested (fees and wages) so what is the problem?

N

There really are some Saints fans that have an over inflated sense of our place at the top table.

 

We will likely never be in a position to keep our players due to our size and stature. Many players joining us from abroad will see us as a stepping stone to bigger and better (more money) things.

 

Whether we like it or not the likes of Liverpool will always be attractive to players as they have a storied history and are a truly big, global club whereas we are not....even if we are better than them at this point in time.

 

It is frustrating losing players on a regular basis - but that means we are doing something right. And lets face it, our squad is probably the strongest we have ever had .

 

I am very happy that we live within our means and that we are getting stronger year on year. We are doing things the right, sustainable way. Seven/eight years ago we were close to going out of business because of the club doing exactly what so many posters want us to do now.

 

Puel - not a big name but so what? We have an eye for finding the right fit for our club. I think Koeman will not be as successful at Everton: our whole club is based around the same goals so Koeman was good for us and we were good for him. Doubt he will have that same structure at Everton.

 

As for people complaining we are only interested in making a profit - cobblers! We are a well run, sustainable club and everything we have made from sales appears to have been reinvested (fees and wages) so what is the problem?

You don't know that the model works? MoPo was not appointed by this board.

RK was but didn't do what they wanted and ignored the youth and the black box bringing in players he identified which improved us from a position of collapse.

Lots of manager have just turned us down and we have gambled on one who may be the next remi Garde and be gone by Xmas.

We will have to wait and see..for me this appointment and the players sales will tell us the truth about the way we are run. In a years time if we have finished top ten I will congratulate the board on a sustainable model for running a club.

Reckon the announcement has been delayed until after Mane has gone.

 

Great time to be a Saints supporter.

Yep. I'm pretty excited about the coming season aren't you? New manager, new players coming in and European football. Great time to be a saints fan.

N

 

You don't know that the model works? MoPo was not appointed by this board.

RK was but didn't do what they wanted and ignored the youth and the black box bringing in players he identified which improved us from a position of collapse.

Lots of manager have just turned us down and we have gambled on one who may be the next remi Garde and be gone by Xmas.

 

We will have to wait and see..for me this appointment and the players sales will tell us the truth about the way we are run. In a years time if we have finished top ten I will congratulate the board on a sustainable model for running a club.

What you Think NC found him all by himself with no input from Les Reed....

What you Think NC found him all by himself with no input from Les Reed....

We will never know will we?

All I am saying is this is the real test. People seem very complacent that this board can pick the right manager and replace leaving players but RK didn't follow the plan did he? So this season we will know if it does or does not work.

We will never know will we?

 

All I am saying is this is the real test. People seem very complacent that this board can pick the right manager and replace leaving players but RK didn't follow the plan did he? So this season we will know if it does or does not work.

Unless we just happen to get lucky. Again.

Unless we just happen to get lucky. Again.

It won't be luck..if we finish top ten this year the model works.

God I'm bored with all the crying and bed wetting going on.

I'll be back when the summer is over I think. Just in time for the bed wetters to find something else to cry about

God I'm bored with all the crying and bed wetting going on.

 

I'll be back when the summer is over I think. Just in time for the bed wetters to find something else to cry about

We have just had a vote where people preferred myths over facts and it's the same on here. It's tedious on here.

He reached the Champions League semi final with Lyon not Nice, still quite impressive though.

I know that, I didn't mean with Nice.

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I think some people on here need a holiday and spend some time with actual real life people

Ben arfa anyone?

Ben arfa anyone?

No I'm full thanks.

God I'm bored with all the crying and bed wetting going on.

 

I'll be back when the summer is over I think. Just in time for the bed wetters to find something else to cry about

We have just lost one of our more succesfull managers as well as a very exciting young attacking player and our midfield powerhouse.

You can throw around the term bedwetter all you want, this is just very disheartening.

We have just lost one of our more succesfull managers as well as a very exciting young attacking player and our midfield powerhouse.

 

You can throw around the term bedwetter all you want, this is just very disheartening.

totally with you and all the other posters that dont agree get over it its a fans forum for expressing our thoughts and support for our team/club.

I love being a Saints fan. I love the unpredictability and the fact we aren't (weren't?) arrogant enough to consider year on year improvement a failure. The fact that we pluck relatively unknown players (and sometimes Managers) from obscurity and get a couple years of enjoyment out of them before they move on. We now appear to be financially stable, our track record over the past 5-6 years is the envy of the majority of clubs. We will NEVER be a "big" club, although we may mix it with the "big boys" from time to time. Maybe I am just a realist, but I enjoy ALL of that. Southampton will never be a big city, and if you hadn't noticed, it's only the big city clubs that have a sustained period of success. Do you think Leicester will regain their Premiership title even if they do manage to keep all their players? I can guarantee that the complainers on this forum would still be doing the same if we had won the league because they would be moaning that we hadn't spent 100 million and weren't going to win the Champions League next year..... Lol

Sammy Lee and Dave Watkins are more than capable of getting pre season training underway.

Sammy Lee and Dave Watkins are more than capable of getting pre season training underway.

Watson is in France with the England team.

totally with you and all the other posters that dont agree get over it its a fans forum for expressing our thoughts and support for our team/club.

Absolutely right. However it is also disheartening to have to wade through post after post of utter tosh about:

'The board don't know what they are doing'

'It's all Les Reeds fault'

'We have no ambition'

(Repeat until you lose the will to live)

This is football - players and managers move on. Sometimes we don't want them to but it's a fact of life in the modern era. Every club at the top of the game work very hard to ensure that the impact of this happening is minimal, Saints are no different.

Our club has a policy of not talking about transfer business. They stick to this policy no matter what which inevitably means that the media simply make stuff up about our club because they have no other information to go on.

Is it frustrating? Yes it is! I didn't want Koeman, Wanyama or Mané to go but they have. The only shock was Koeman and I was over that within a day because life moves on. I believe that my club is working very very hard to replace all three and I also believe that sitting there crying about it and slagging the club off is incredibly negative, unhelpful and very dull.

It would make sense to announce a manager when the new sponsorships kick in on 1st July. Right now the new team will be briefing players (when they return) / staff / making training plans etc

Wonder how the sponsors are feeling having signed up before the manager and two of the top players left? Was clever of Les to get that and the season tickets sorted first

Watson is in France with the England team.

and Sammy can't reach the cones shelf

Wonder how the sponsors are feeling having signed up before the manager and two of the top players left? Was clever of Les to get that and the season tickets sorted first

I doubt sponsors give a **** tbh I doubt they signed up to a long term deal expecting the exact some team personal from start to finish.

Same with season tickets how many fans don't buy season tickets because a certain player or manger isn't at the club....

Absolutely right. However it is also disheartening to have to wade through post after post of utter tosh about:

 

'The board don't know what they are doing'

'It's all Les Reeds fault'

'We have no ambition'

(Repeat until you lose the will to live)

 

This is football - players and managers move on. Sometimes we don't want them to but it's a fact of life in the modern era. Every club at the top of the game work very hard to ensure that the impact of this happening is minimal, Saints are no different.

Our club has a policy of not talking about transfer business. They stick to this policy no matter what which inevitably means that the media simply make stuff up about our club because they have no other information to go on.

Is it frustrating? Yes it is! I didn't want Koeman, Wanyama or Mané to go but they have. The only shock was Koeman and I was over that within a day because life moves on. I believe that my club is working very very hard to replace all three and I also believe that sitting there crying about it and slagging the club off is incredibly negative, unhelpful and very dull.

Utter tosh is when anyone dares to criticise the club they get this sort of reaction and gets called names like 'bed wetters' like we should all jump up and celebrate having our best players sold with little fight.

Utter tosh is when anyone dares to criticise the club they get this sort of reaction and gets called names like 'bed wetters' like we should all jump up and celebrate having our best players sold with little fight.

There is no evidence we don't put up a fight. We offered Mane the best contract ever offered to a saints player and he said no. We have constantly got big fees for players we've sold again no evidence of us being shafted.

Utter tosh is when anyone dares to criticise the club they get this sort of reaction and gets called names like 'bed wetters' like we should all jump up and celebrate having our best players sold with little fight.

Did you expect Wanyama and Mane to stay? Did you miss the fact we just signed a very promising quick wide player something that has been missing from the squad for ages?

Utter tosh is when anyone dares to criticise the club they get this sort of reaction and gets called names like 'bed wetters' like we should all jump up and celebrate having our best players sold with little fight.

Whatever your views, they are largely irrelevant until we see how the performances and results pan out once the season starts. Even Koeman knew we would lose Mane and Wanyama and declared a little turnover is a good thing. Potential signings will no doubt see this as a club where you can really make a name for yourself and will be attracted to come here if only for three or four years. And it is now seeming likely that RK was suppressing our youth conveyor belt so no great loss.

...

There is no evidence we don't put up a fight. We offered Mane the best contract ever offered to a saints player and he said no. We have constantly got big fees for players we've sold again no evidence of us being shafted.

There's a lot of evidence.

1. He has two years left on his contract so have absolutely no need to sell him.

2. We told Liverpool we wanted £40 million, yet within a few days of saying that we've sold him for less than that.

3. This 'saga' has barely lasted a week.

4. We've sold him to rival team.

Doesn't seem a lot fight to me.

Seems to me they've gone for a quick easy sale that makes them some no fuss profit.

An ambitious club looking to maximise their potential success in the league would not sell one of their best players, to a direct rival, when they didn't need to sell him and at a fee lower than their asking price.

A club looking for short term profit gain absolutely would.

Did you expect Wanyama and Mane to stay? Did you miss the fact we just signed a very promising quick wide player something that has been missing from the squad for ages?

I did not expect Wanyama to stay he only has a year left, he has the offer of Champions League football as well. Would have again preferred to sell him to someone outside the league though.

Mane does not have one year left, we don't need to sell him so at the very least I'd expect the club to play hard ball on the fee and make Liverpool pay silly money.

And as for Redmond, Mane is already a very quick, young player that can play out wide and is already better than I think Redmond will ever be.

Redmond does not improve our squad, he adds to it and that's fine but improve our overall quality? I don't think so, he's a player he struggled to get regular starts in a very poor team that got relegated so I have a lot of doubts about him.

Losing Mane very much hurts the quality of the team.

Whatever your views, they are largely irrelevant until we see how the performances and results pan out once the season starts. Even Koeman knew we would lose Mane and Wanyama and declared a little turnover is a good thing. Potential signings will no doubt see this as a club where you can really make a name for yourself and will be attracted to come here if only for three or four years. And it is now seeming likely that RK was suppressing our youth conveyor belt so no great loss.

You are absolutely correct here, the supporters' views are largely irrelevant. Most of us have come to accept that anyone to whom a significant price tag can be attached will eventually be sold.

So far the result has not been catastrophic in any way and the practice is thus perfectly acceptable. We'll see what happens if it ever becomes any different.

There's a lot of evidence.

 

1. He has two years left on his contract so have absolutely no need to sell him.

2. We told Liverpool we wanted £40 million, yet within a few days of saying that we've sold him for less than that.

 

3. This 'saga' has barely lasted a week.

 

4. We've sold him to rival team.

 

Doesn't seem a lot fight to me.

 

Seems to me they've gone for a quick easy sale that makes them some no fuss profit.

 

An ambitious club looking to maximise their potential success in the league would not sell one of their best players, to a direct rival, when they didn't need to sell him and at a fee lower than their asking price.

 

A club looking for short term profit gain absolutely would.

 

 

 

I did not expect Wanyama to stay he only has a year left, he has the offer of Champions League football as well. Would have again preferred to sell him to someone outside the league though.

 

Mane does not have one year left, we don't need to sell him so at the very least I'd expect the club to play hard ball on the fee and make Liverpool pay silly money.

 

And as for Redmond, Mane is already a very quick, young player that can play out wide and is already better than I think Redmond will ever be.

 

Redmond does not improve our squad, he adds to it and that's fine but improve our overall quality? I don't think so, he's a player he struggled to get regular starts in a very poor team that got relegated so I have a lot of doubts about him.

 

Losing Mane very much hurts the quality of the team.

We say we want £40m but tell me, when people say that, that is what they want but not what they expect. We probably would have settled for £30m maybe even £27m. So £34-36m is pretty good if you ask me. £40m is ridiculous. Oh you can go on about the new TV deals, but that is a bit of a non-sequitur.

And as for Redmond, Mane is already a very quick, young player that can play out wide and is already better than I think Redmond will ever be.

 

Redmond does not improve our squad, he adds to it and that's fine but improve our overall quality? I don't think so, he's a player he struggled to get regular starts in a very poor team that got relegated so I have a lot of doubts about him.

 

Losing Mane very much hurts the quality of the team.

Much like when we replaced Shaw with Bertrand then? Bertrand came off the back of an underwhelming season at an atrocious Villa side and had never looked like getting anywhere near the Chelsea first team on a regular basis. Shaw was younger and arguably a better player already. The reaction to Bertrand's signing was universal dismay and underwhelm...ment?

Bertrand then went on to have the best season of his career and was the best left back in the league last season. Even before Shaw's injury, he got fat and undisciplined and couldn't cement a place in a United team desperate for the player he'd been at Saints.

Maybe what the past few years show is that football players are human beings, capable of being brilliant, terrible, and everywhere in between at their jobs depending on a whole multitude of factors. They aren't automatons on a fixed scale of quality directly commensurate with their latest transfer fee. And we as a club seem to be particularly good at coaching and developing players to perform at levels they don't achieve before (or after).

Either that, or we all wear red-and-white tinted spectacles. All those players we've sold in the 'Liebherr' years - none of whom have surpassed their performances for Saints at other clubs - were ever much good in the first place. In which case, why are we bothered about selling them?

. The reaction to Bertrand's signing was universal dismay and underwhelm...ment?

I agree with the rest of your post but have to say that the bit II've quoted is patently not true. Yes, there were lots of idiots crying about Bertrand but it wasn't universal. Don't tar us all with the same brush used for the boards arseholes.

Much like when we replaced Shaw with Bertrand then? Bertrand came off the back of an underwhelming season at an atrocious Villa side and had never looked like getting anywhere near the Chelsea first team on a regular basis. Shaw was younger and arguably a better player already. The reaction to Bertrand's signing was universal dismay and underwhelm...ment?

 

Bertrand then went on to have the best season of his career and was the best left back in the league last season. Even before Shaw's injury, he got fat and undisciplined and couldn't cement a place in a United team desperate for the player he'd been at Saints.

 

Maybe what the past few years show is that football players are human beings, capable of being brilliant, terrible, and everywhere in between at their jobs depending on a whole multitude of factors. They aren't automatons on a fixed scale of quality directly commensurate with their latest transfer fee. And we as a club seem to be particularly good at coaching and developing players to perform at levels they don't achieve before (or after).

 

Either that, or we all wear red-and-white tinted spectacles. All those players we've sold in the 'Liebherr' years - none of whom have surpassed their performances for Saints at other clubs - were ever much good in the first place. In which case, why are we bothered about selling them?

And that is going to work everytime is it, or were we actually lucky that Bertrand turned out to be decent?

Plus if we still had Shaw we'd have one of the best left backs in the country with a potential to get even better so how would we have lost out?

If we are so good at getting players to play above their level, then who's to say we couldn't have got Mane to play to a higher level next year, like a Vardy or Mahrez level that may have kicked us on even further and made £34 million look cheap?

Funny how everyone is an expert in hindsight.

If Mane goes crap at Liverpool and Redmond scores15 goals next year the you can happily dig up my posts and rub them in my face, I'll happily be wrong.

But if we are worse next year and Liverpool get champions league thanks to an excellent season from Mane I won't be trumpeting my 'rightness' because it will be a sad day for the club.

Wonder how the sponsors are feeling having signed up before the manager and two of the top players left? Was clever of Les to get that and the season tickets sorted first

Seriously? Do people on here not actually live in the real world? Do you think Virgin Media didn't conduct a massive amount of due diligence over every aspect of the tender for sponsorship? Do you think Les Reed purposefully undertook an act of hiding a risk that the manager or player might leave very soon to a possible sponsor he is courting? ****ing hell, this place never fails to amaze me.

At least we have (so far) kept Lee and Watson. They will be invaluable with an incoming manager.

At least we have (so far) kept Lee and Watson. They will be invaluable with an incoming manager.

I think Watson is, but not sure about Lee. Feel he might well be given the elbow by a new man.

There's a lot of evidence.

 

1. He has two years left on his contract so have absolutely no need to sell him.

 

2. We told Liverpool we wanted £40 million, yet within a few days of saying that we've sold him for less than that.

 

3. This 'saga' has barely lasted a week.

 

4. We've sold him to rival team.

 

Doesn't seem a lot fight to me.

 

Seems to me they've gone for a quick easy sale that makes them some no fuss profit.

 

An ambitious club looking to maximise their potential success in the league would not sell one of their best players, to a direct rival, when they didn't need to sell him and at a fee lower than their asking price.

 

A club looking for short term profit gain absolutely would.

 

 

 

I did not expect Wanyama to stay he only has a year left, he has the offer of Champions League football as well. Would have again preferred to sell him to someone outside the league though.

 

Mane does not have one year left, we don't need to sell him so at the very least I'd expect the club to play hard ball on the fee and make Liverpool pay silly money.

 

And as for Redmond, Mane is already a very quick, young player that can play out wide and is already better than I think Redmond will ever be.

 

Redmond does not improve our squad, he adds to it and that's fine but improve our overall quality? I don't think so, he's a player he struggled to get regular starts in a very poor team that got relegated so I have a lot of doubts about him.

 

Losing Mane very much hurts the quality of the team.

1. we have 36 million reasons to sell him especially as he won't play for a while after Christmas and walk for a lot less money next season.

2. that's called negotiating Liverpool came out with 25 million in the press we came out with 40 million and we met some where in the middle

3. You'd be happier if we had strung out all summer for a couple of extra million and then rushed to find a replacement like Villa with Benteke last summer?

4. We sold him to the only team that wanted him and the team he wanted to play for. We finished above Liverpool for one season since getting back to the PL lets not try and make out we are now rival clubs (other than in the sense we both play in the PL)

The fight wasn't with Liverpool it was with Mane to convince him to stay. We offered him the biggest contract in saints history and still said no thanks at that point there is little point in fighting anymore better to move on and bring players who want to be at the club.

And that is going to work everytime is it, or were we actually lucky that Bertrand turned out to be decent?

 

Plus if we still had Shaw we'd have one of the best left backs in the country with a potential to get even better so how would we have lost out?

 

If we are so good at getting players to play above their level, then who's to say we couldn't have got Mane to play to a higher level next year, like a Vardy or Mahrez level that may have kicked us on even further and made £34 million look cheap?

 

Funny how everyone is an expert in hindsight.

 

If Mane goes crap at Liverpool and Redmond scores15 goals next year the you can happily dig up my posts and rub them in my face, I'll happily be wrong.

 

But if we are worse next year and Liverpool get champions league thanks to an excellent season from Mane I won't be trumpeting my 'rightness' because it will be a sad day for the club.

Not exactly the same, but I have 2 kids who go to bed perfectly 99 times out of 100 - without a fuss and stay there til morning. People say "oh, you're lucky". No, no we're not. We put a lot of hard work, and still do, in to instilling the right attitude and forming good behaviours so that, when it matters, they know the script and act accordingly.

Same with SFC.

We have processes and systems in place to ensure that when needed, we are adequately covered and not caught short.

Stop devaluing the job of many good people at the Club

There's a lot of evidence.

 

1. He has two years left on his contract so have absolutely no need to sell him.

 

2. We told Liverpool we wanted £40 million, yet within a few days of saying that we've sold him for less than that.

 

3. This 'saga' has barely lasted a week.

 

4. We've sold him to rival team.

 

Doesn't seem a lot fight to me.

 

Seems to me they've gone for a quick easy sale that makes them some no fuss profit.

 

An ambitious club looking to maximise their potential success in the league would not sell one of their best players, to a direct rival, when they didn't need to sell him and at a fee lower than their asking price.

 

A club looking for short term profit gain absolutely would.

 

 

 

I did not expect Wanyama to stay he only has a year left, he has the offer of Champions League football as well. Would have again preferred to sell him to someone outside the league though.

 

Mane does not have one year left, we don't need to sell him so at the very least I'd expect the club to play hard ball on the fee and make Liverpool pay silly money.

 

And as for Redmond, Mane is already a very quick, young player that can play out wide and is already better than I think Redmond will ever be.

 

Redmond does not improve our squad, he adds to it and that's fine but improve our overall quality? I don't think so, he's a player he struggled to get regular starts in a very poor team that got relegated so I have a lot of doubts about him.

 

Losing Mane very much hurts the quality of the team.

Out of interest if the club buy Ox getting him fully fit and playing every week do you think he has more potential than Mane or less ???? Just asking

If the club buys Oxo I would forgive most things and see it as a sign of intent----but what are the chances of that?

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11820/10326376/laurent-blanc-departs-paris-saint-germain-after-three-years

Not exactly the same, but I have 2 kids who go to bed perfectly 99 times out of 100 - without a fuss and stay there til morning. People say "oh, you're lucky". No, no we're not. We put a lot of hard work, and still do, in to instilling the right attitude and forming good behaviours so that, when it matters, they know the script and act accordingly.

 

Same with SFC.

 

We have processes and systems in place to ensure that when needed, we are adequately covered and not caught short.

 

Stop devaluing the job of many good people at the Club

Top post.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11820/10326376/laurent-blanc-departs-paris-saint-germain-after-three-years

 

 

Would prefer this French man.

The players are back tomorrow? Would make sense for Puel to be unveiled then. Welcome back chaps, meet your new boss.....

At least we have (so far) kept Lee and Watson. They will be invaluable with an incoming manager.

From what I have heard, Watson will stay for as long as Fraser is here - he thinks he's the nuts.

The players are back tomorrow? Would make sense for Puel to be unveiled then. Welcome back chaps, meet your new boss.....

Some players for some pre-season testing. Those who are or have been on international call won't be back yet for varying periods. Plenty of time yet for a new manager, well a week anyway; There's obviously some sort of reason that Puel hasn't been confirmed yet although L'Equipe did say this morning it was imminent.

Some players for some pre-season testing. Those who are or have been on international call won't be back yet for varying periods. Plenty of time yet for a new manager, well a week anyway; There's obviously some sort of reason that Puel hasn't been confirmed yet although L'Equipe did say this morning it was imminent.

Probably waiting for the "bad news" to get out the way, then we can announce Puel, and maybe a few contracts/new players will come soon after.

Out-of curiosity how do you pronounce his name? Is it like fuel, is it Paul or is it pew-el?