Les Reed

We've not played the BIG boys yet. Your point may be valid after we have, but for now it's moot.

We've not played the BIG boys yet. Your point may be valid after we have, but for now it's moot.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41290316

31 Aug 2003.

I remember the good old days when we could look forward to games knowing we could get points of anyone

We've been in the top flight for 41 of the last 50 years. We finished in the top 10 in 15 of those and our average position the top flight is 11th. We have been in the top flight more than we have been in any other division and we have also been in 14 FA Cup & League Cup semi-finals and 6 finals.

 

As our resident misery, you obviously prefer to ignore the good times.

Most of the seasons since my first game (1969) were pretty much like the last couple in terms of my expectations. Even under Lawrie, I never thought we’d get many wins away from home.

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We've been in the top flight for 41 of the last 50 years. We finished in the top 10 in 15 of those and our average position the top flight is 11th. We have been in the top flight more than we have been in any other division and we have also been in 14 FA Cup & League Cup semi-finals and 6 finals.

 

As our resident misery, you obviously prefer to ignore the good times.

As this forum's happy, optimistic ray of sunshine I'm sure you enjoyed it too.

From now on I'll make sure I'm more like you and definitely not pis sing and moaning like a whining bit ch about every single thing the club ever does. Teach me how you do that. Please teach me.

Live by the sword die by the sword.

Bye Reed

Soooo, should we start a petition or something?

Soooo, should we start a petition or something?

A march should do it

You cannot imagine a new Chinese owner will enjoy being embarrassed by his new purchase having been sold a club he was no doubt told was well on its way to being a force in the league and challenging regularly for European slots with the world’s best academy producing world class players. As the vice chairman for football, Les should have a lot of very serious questions to answer right now about the state of his football side of the business or does he just follow the modern leadership way and blame it one everyone else?

Live by the sword die by the sword.

 

Bye Reed

In Old Les's case, more like, live by bulsh!tting, carry on bullsh!tting.

Getting rid of Mopo2 won't change the fact it is Reed who is picking these types of manager and these types of players. Would not surprise me one bit to find out Reed is picking the team sheet and tactics. After all he wanted to be a manager didn't he...

Wasn't there a "full review of football operations" across the whole club, or something similar over the summer?

Anyone know what the outcome or changes were? Genuine question!

Getting rid of Mopo2 won't change the fact it is Reed who is picking these types of manager and these types of players. Would not surprise me one bit to find out Reed is picking the team sheet and tactics. After all he wanted to be a manager didn't he...

Precisely. No point in ditching Pellegrino if you keep Reed.

The organ grinder, not the monkey (in this case both need to go)

Wasn't there a "full review of football operations" across the whole club, or something similar over the summer?

 

Anyone know what the outcome or changes were? Genuine question!

There is nothing good happening at our club at all at present. The whole mess needs reorganizing from top to bottom and not by Les Reed. This needs fixing by his successor ...

A march should do it

With a message such as 'Duck Off' ;-)

Seriously though, the atmosphere is going to be horrible at the Everton game if MP is still there and we go a couple of goals down.

There is nothing good happening at our club at all at present. The whole mess needs reorganizing from top to bottom and not by Les Reed. This needs fixing by his successor ...

I agree with this comment

On paper we had a relatively successful season under Puel but most of us recognised this only papered over the cracks.

Goalscoring was a problem so we sold one forward (right decision in my view) and expected Gabbiadini/Long and Austin to fulfil the role(s) of striker.

This was taking quite a risk as Long and Austin are no more than Championship level and Gabbiadini is not really I suitable main striker for the Premiership, although, to be fair, he started off OK last season - before falling away.

During the summer we held onto VVD and Bertrand (which fans appreciated) and bought Bedanak (why ?- another Gardos clone?) and Lemina (v good so far) and Hoecht (OK so far)

However the lack of a robust striker who can actually cause problems to opposition defences either in the air or with pace has been a major mistake.

We now have a club with (another) defensively minded coach, players with ability not playing as a team, lack of effort, no real options in crucial areas (eg in goal and upfront), no young talent coming through as evidenced by poor results from the U21's and youth teams

And finally, uncertainty with the motives/involvement of our new majority owners!!

Les is to blame for this current mess, that's for sure. ****ed away our strongest ever position two seasons ago by believing his own hype and trying to do things in a way which was too clever. He's got a lot to answer for.

Signing FF to a new and improved contract was one of his more perplexing decisions.

From nearly getting champions league footy.... To a relegation scrap. All in less than a season and a half of complete, free range, Les Reed stewardship.

Hopefully not much of it left. The man who helped hold saints back from our potential, yet who also gets the praise for our rise. A true worm, rotting us from the inside whilst he goes about his daily life.

What is one of our mantra's, "no one is bigger than the club"....

From nearly getting champions league footy.... To a relegation scrap. All in less than a season and a half of complete, free range, Les Reed stewardship.

 

Hopefully not much of it left. The man who helped hold saints back from our potential, yet who also gets the praise for our rise. A true worm, rotting us from the inside whilst he goes about his daily life.

 

What is one of our mantra's, "no one is bigger than the club"....

I must have missed all those other "stewards" of the club who took us to "nearly Champions League football".

Can you name them please?

From nearly getting champions league footy.... To a relegation scrap. All in less than a season and a half of complete, free range, Les Reed stewardship.

 

Hopefully not much of it left. The man who helped hold saints back from our potential, yet who also gets the praise for our rise. A true worm, rotting us from the inside whilst he goes about his daily life.

 

What is one of our mantra's, "no one is bigger than the club"....

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So who is the football genius at the top to sack Reed ? We have too few football men in positions of power , only the blind leading the blind from the owner down to the pitch , such a bad situation which will be very difficult to resolve .

Les Reed is our very own Frank Underwood. Worked his way to the top (by what ever means and opportunities) and is damned if he will give up that easily.

Les Reed is our very own Frank Underwood. Worked his way to the top (by what ever means and opportunities) and is damned if he will give up that easily.

Quite, we have the usual Les Reed cultists on here to defend him through thick and thin as well; they'll even blindly deny how good Koeman's team was

Quite, we have the usual Les Reed cultists on here to defend him through thick and thin as well; they'll even blindly deny how good Koeman's team was

And tell us how he signed Fonte and Lambert.

Still 2 of my favs

Quite, we have the usual Les Reed cultists on here to defend him through thick and thin as well; they'll even blindly deny how good Koeman's team was

Not cultist more pointing you are an ignorant di ckhead.

Batman hates everything the club ever does. And Glasgow has a hard on whenever we are doing badly. He lives for posting not having any character or integrity.

The most weak of men so you are in great company.

When you are a Saints' fan in the 21st century you have accept that you are not following a club that can expect to win the Premier League or compete in the European Champions' League. That is not to say that by an odd quirk it couldn't happen on an isolated occasion, as shown by Leicester City in the same way that our FA Cup win of 1976 showed that a trophy can be gained against all the odds; but it cannot be expected. By all means, let the Board members hear the voices of the fans when things are not going well but at the same time, remember that this club is limited under Financial Fair Play rules in the resources it can apply to the team. Changing one or more member of the board will make no difference to the rules under which the club must operate.

There is little doubt that most fans, myself included, believe that the appointment of Pellegrino has been a failure. That does not mean the Board should have anticipated that failure, any more than they should have anticipated the success of Pochettino, which then caused him to want to move on to higher things. Those who think that a different Director of Football would make a difference have lofty ambitions, but regretfully they are unattainable in the present climate. A huge amount has been achieved here over the last 5 or 6 years which indicates the club has been well run but we are faced with a growing problem on the playing side. We have the squad that we have and cannot suddenly add three or four top quality internationals because the rules would not permit it. The problem does seem to be with Pellegrino and his coaching team so it makes far more sense to encourage the board to do something about that instead of trying to undermine the board itself.

When you are a Saints' fan in the 21st century you have accept that you are not following a club that can expect to win the Premier League or compete in the European Champions' League. That is not to say that by an odd quirk it couldn't happen on an isolated occasion, as shown by Leicester City in the same way that our FA Cup win of 1976 showed that a trophy can be gained against all the odds; but it cannot be expected. By all means, let the Board members hear the voices of the fans when things are not going well but at the same time, remember that this club is limited under Financial Fair Play rules in the resources it can apply to the team. Changing one or more member of the board will make no difference to the rules under which the club must operate.

There is little doubt that most fans, myself included, believe that the appointment of Pellegrino has been a failure. That does not mean the Board should have anticipated that failure, any more than they should have anticipated the success of Pochettino, which then caused him to want to move on to higher things. Those who think that a different Director of Football would make a difference have lofty ambitions, but regretfully they are unattainable in the present climate. A huge amount has been achieved here over the last 5 or 6 years which indicates the club has been well run but we are faced with a growing problem on the playing side. We have the squad that we have and cannot suddenly add three or four top quality internationals because the rules would not permit it. The problem does seem to be with Pellegrino and his coaching team so it makes far more sense to encourage the board to do something about that instead of trying to undermine the board itself.

Yeah do agree with this, but at end of day Reed is for fault for all the cr*p he comes out with as well as the fact he choice Pellegrino- maybe another DoF can do better with the structures already here- or in essence, simply become a better wheeler and dealer than Reed has been of late!

When you are a Saints' fan in the 21st century you have accept that you are not following a club that can expect to win the Premier League or compete in the European Champions' League. That is not to say that by an odd quirk it couldn't happen on an isolated occasion, as shown by Leicester City in the same way that our FA Cup win of 1976 showed that a trophy can be gained against all the odds; but it cannot be expected. By all means, let the Board members hear the voices of the fans when things are not going well but at the same time, remember that this club is limited under Financial Fair Play rules in the resources it can apply to the team. Changing one or more member of the board will make no difference to the rules under which the club must operate.

There is little doubt that most fans, myself included, believe that the appointment of Pellegrino has been a failure. That does not mean the Board should have anticipated that failure, any more than they should have anticipated the success of Pochettino, which then caused him to want to move on to higher things. Those who think that a different Director of Football would make a difference have lofty ambitions, but regretfully they are unattainable in the present climate. A huge amount has been achieved here over the last 5 or 6 years which indicates the club has been well run but we are faced with a growing problem on the playing side. We have the squad that we have and cannot suddenly add three or four top quality internationals because the rules would not permit it. The problem does seem to be with Pellegrino and his coaching team so it makes far more sense to encourage the board to do something about that instead of trying to undermine the board itself.

Professor of horseshît wheels out FFP rules. Surprise, surprise.

We have one of, if not the most expensively assembled squad outside the top six and still have salary space. It’s quite normal that people are asking questions about our recent recruitment and whether we should be looking up, not down - never mind why we’ve extended the contracts of players like Forster.

Professor of horseshît wheels out FFP rules out. Surprise, surprise.

 

We have one of, if not the most expensively assembled squad outside the top six and pay decent salaries. It’s pretty obvious that money could have been better spent and we should be looking up, not down - never mind odd decisions such as extending Forster’s contract.

He's lumbered us with this one until he's 33:

https://southamptonfc.com/news/2016-07-21/long-signs-new-four-year-saints-contract

#LesReedOut Paul Mitchell in.

https://twitter.com/CluelessLesReed

He's lumbered us with this one until he's 33:

 

https://southamptonfc.com/news/2016-07-21/long-signs-new-four-year-saints-contract

 

#LesReedOut Paul Mitchell in.

 

https://twitter.com/CluelessLesReed

Whoever is Shane Long’s agent played an absolute blinder to negotiate a new contract after the most freakish of freakish seasons. Talking about buying high.

Whoever is Shane Long’s agent played an absolute blinder to negotiate a new contract after the most freakish of freakish seasons. Talking about buying high.

Probably the same bloke who convinced us to pay Stuart Taylor £20k a week......

Long had one above average season with us, under Koeman, and is now one of the higher paid players at the club. Criminal really

When I think of him, I remember that ALL, ALL of our best players left the club in a poor manner, being singled out for their actions.

Fool me once, shame on me?

When I think of him, I remember that ALL, ALL of our best players left the club in a poor manner, being singled out for their actions.

 

Fool me once, shame on me?

Lambert didn't

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Not cultist more pointing you are an ignorant di ckhead.

Batman hates everything the club ever does. And Glasgow has a hard on whenever we are doing badly. He lives for posting not having any character or integrity.

The most weak of men so you are in great company.

So you have now resulted to insulting fellow posters and fans. Nice one.

For me, one characteristic of weakness is when people chose not to see or accept the truth, even when they are clearly wrong in doing so. What is worse, is that you would turn on the manager, players and fellow fans, rather than lay the blame squarely where it belongs.

The club have underachieved massively from where we were with poch and that squad of players (the key players, manager, and back room staff from this team were not recruited by this board. Since then they have had a few seasons of complete free reign... And you need to open your eyes about how it is going, clearly.

Even when he got the golden goose in Koeman, they ****ed him off, lost Toby, rejected his methods, and basically shoved him out the door as soon as another team offered to pay us for him...

Personally, I don't think any opinion of the club makes you strong or weak.

Those that label others as weak probably used to get filled in a lot at school and p*ssed their pants a lot.

Byebye Les....... surely

He answers to ****ing no one. He is safe.

Even the majority of fans seem to lap up his bull****.

We simply cannot let this moron choose the next manager.

He is killing this club.... Wake up people

The game is a results business and Les isn’t on form and hasn’t been for awhile. Academy has got worse under his stewardship too. Time for him to do the honourable thing and leave.

Needs to go.

Is Sir Les still with us? Couldn't wait to do an interview or be in front of the cameras when all was going swimmingly. Maybe he's left.

1 poor appointment I can accept. 2 in a row is pushing it. He simply can't get the next one wrong.

Hopefully, he won't still be here to get anything more wrong or waste any more of the club's money.

We want our 'black box', Paul Mitchell back before we choose any more managers or players.

Reed has clearly passed his sell-by date. Though I still maintain the original momentum and passion came from Markus and Cortese.

Time to move on. Reed, MoPe, Black and Watson need to receive their P45s.

Reed has clearly passed his sell-by date. Though I still maintain the original momentum and passion came from Markus and Cortese.

 

Time to move on. Reed, MoPe, Black and Watson need to receive their P45s.

#onetrackmind

At least Les Reed has a long established plan. I have never really bought into this 'We March On' ****** because there was always going to be a ceiling that we could reach and that plan took us to that level and I salute that. Those thinking of sacking Les should firstly ask themselves;

What would an alternative plan look like with the same budget?

At least Les Reed has a long established plan. I have never really bought into this 'We March On' ****** because there was always going to be a ceiling that we could reach and that plan took us to that level and I salute that. Those thinking of sacking Les should firstly ask themselves;

 

What would an alternative plan look like with the same budget?

If you look at how Puel has improved Leicester, and how puel and Mopey are comparable at saints, it can be argued that Leicester have far better players than Southampton.

With that in mind, you need to ask yourself how we went from a squad just off the champions league (and 6th best in the country), to where are now - all despite massive tv revenues and transfer profits on players.

The last two managers are comparable, and it shows that are squad is simply rather weak.

Whose fault is it if the player base and quality have worsened significantly in the base of 1, 2, 3 windows? Certainly a significant proportion of the blame lays at the feet of the man you are arguing is irreplaceable. Ultimately it is better to be wrong and decisive, than stuck in limbo. Saints are sliding badly under the watch of the current board.

If you look at how Puel has improved Leicester, and how puel and Mopey are comparable at saints, it can be argued that Leicester have far better players than Southampton.

 

With that in mind, you need to ask yourself how we went from a squad just off the champions league (and 6th best in the country), to where are now - all despite massive tv revenues and transfer profits on players.

 

The last two managers are comparable, and it shows that are squad is simply rather weak.

 

Whose fault is it if the player base and quality have worsened significantly in the base of 1, 2, 3 windows? Certainly a significant proportion of the blame lays at the feet of the man you are arguing is irreplaceable. Ultimately it is better to be wrong and decisive, than stuck in limbo. Saints are sliding badly under the watch of the current board.

Agree completely. Gao needs to get a grip on his investment with a clean sweep.

Do the decent and honorable thing Les......

If you look at how Puel has improved Leicester, and how puel and Mopey are comparable at saints, it can be argued that Leicester have far better players than Southampton.

 

With that in mind, you need to ask yourself how we went from a squad just off the champions league (and 6th best in the country), to where are now - all despite massive tv revenues and transfer profits on players.

 

The last two managers are comparable, and it shows that are squad is simply rather weak.

 

Whose fault is it if the player base and quality have worsened significantly in the base of 1, 2, 3 windows? Certainly a significant proportion of the blame lays at the feet of the man you are arguing is irreplaceable. Ultimately it is better to be wrong and decisive, than stuck in limbo. Saints are sliding badly under the watch of the current board.

Leicester's squad is better than ours; their past problems were a hangover from winning the title two seasons ago. They also have owners with very different financial aspirations for their club.

Massive TV revenues and transfer profits mean nothing if other clubs have bigger budgets to play with. I cannot think of one of the players that have left in recent times who would have been persuaded to stay. I thought it was bold to fight to keep Van Dyke when it would have been easier to pocket £60m - if you agree then should Les not get the credit. (As it happens I think it has turned out to be a mistake because VVD would appear to have lowered the overall morale of the dressing room). If we lost good players to teams of similar or slightly higher stature than ourselves then I would be put out.

I appreciate that Les has a formula that has allowed us to punch above our weight in recent seasons. That formula at least provides a system to follow and gives some form of stability. Stability is preferable to instability in the middle of a season when we might well end up with a relegation scrap.

Unless our budget changes I would stick with what we have got because it is stable and proven. You need to judge Les on his long term tenure not on a few months. What will be more influential is the approach of our new owners. I am prepared to give them a chance but there are definitely some anxieties.