Sky Sports - No 'top' players leaving Southampton this summer.

Half expected Simon Peach / Jeremy Wilson / Adam Leitch / The OS to all have done interviews with Les today.

 

Was it just a Sky Sports thing?

The echo is running with the story but is crediting sky so it looks like a sky only interview

This time of the year for the last 3 years !

The only time I remember the board stating that sort of thing was when they said Clyne, Morgan and J-Rod wouldn't be sold that year...And none of them were.

Perhaps they just think £230m of player sales over the last 3 summers is enough?

I really do have to hand it to you, keep banging that drum.

LOL behave its got nothing to do with Puel and every thing to do with you talking ****e. That would be a fine statement to make once he has managed a few games and got us playing like Brazil in their pomp but its a complete load of bollix to spout before a ball has been kicked in anger we haven't even had a friendly yet...

Ha ha, brilliant, coming from someone who wrote the book on talking sh*te.

Half expected Simon Peach / Jeremy Wilson / Adam Leitch / The OS to all have done interviews with Les today.

 

Was it just a Sky Sports thing?

It was a interview, done over the phone, on Sky Sports News at about 10.30 this morning.

Luckily didn't involve Jim White, who hopefully has been sacked, but is more likely on holiday.

you always know when Les Reed is lying - his lips move

 

seriously what am i like?

I'll get your coat:lol:

Fair point but I'm not sure what those words are supposed to mean! When have we ever signed a player for "fashion" or purely to "get people excited"?

That's exactly the point. We don't. The likes of West Ham, etc. do it all the time.

That's exactly the point. We don't. The likes of West Ham, etc. do it all the time.

Well, they try.

It's amazing how people can hear/read "None of those players are for sale. I can't make it any plainer than that and that's the way we mean to go forward." and somehow think this is the same as the previous years.

As for "our business model is to sell", we're £100m better off this summer than we were last - maybe the business model has changed as a result?

Well, they try.

They sign players for all the wrong reasons, including "fashion" and to "get people excited". I don't think that's in question.

What they should be doing is what Spurs and us are doing, matching players to need and playing the percentages to minimise wastefulness and maximise our competitiveness. It's only when everyone is doing that we need to worry.

So.

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

Do we all believe him?

It's amazing how people can hear/read "None of those players are for sale. I can't make it any plainer than that and that's the way we mean to go forward." and somehow think this is the same as the previous years.

 

As for "our business model is to sell", we're £100m better off this summer than we were last - maybe the business model has changed as a result?

Absolutely. I reckon the club could also be looking at the standard of other teams players and coaches that seem to be getting stronger with the new money and maybe think we have to operate a little differently because of that.

So.

 

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

 

Do we all believe him?

I do. Previous seasons it's been "no-one will leave that we don't want to". The language is totally different.

Much easier to just set yourself up for them all to be sold as in previous seasons and then if they aren't it's a bonus.

I do. Previous seasons it's been "no-one will leave that we don't want to". The language is totally different.

Well, it is unless you take a sentence fragment and try to pass them off as the "real statement".

So.

 

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

 

Do we all believe him?

I do. I have no reason not to. I've always had a feeling VVD would stay another season.

seriously what am i like?

Ummmm Someone that has to post under many different names?

Did I win ....

So.

 

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

 

Do we all believe him?

Yes

Ha ha, brilliant, coming from someone who wrote the book on talking sh*te.

Keep trying...

So.

 

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

 

Do we all believe him?

The board's strategy has been pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain :

1. Pay down the debt from the Cortese years and the Staplewood upgrade
   
2. Increase the strength in depth of the squad
   
3. Get all key players to sign long term improved contracts
   
4. 
   

All of these steps required money but now that we've completed them we don't need the surplus any more so why sell ?

Simples !!!!!

You miss my point totally, that's not what I am saying. Players and Managers have come and gone in order to take the club forward and Reed has overseen that. NOW is the time for Reed to be succeeded to help us progress further. True leaders know when its time to move on.

I think Reed would rightly view that as the equivalent of doing something in the transfer market just to get people excited. There is no reason for Reed to leave right now unless he thinks that he can no longer do the job. There is no evidence of this. Otherwise, it is up to the owner to fire him if she so desires. I am confident she has no serious complaints about the job he has done.

But please explain what the club should be looking for in Reed's replacement. And someone to help us progress further is not an answer.

Don't forget his own house he was having built and his love of a lawyer for slightest affront (and some that weren't an affront at all, and would've just wasted the clubs money and time had he pursued them)...

 

To be fair i do remember you bringing them up at the time, the problem here is that people are almost religious in their belief the club can do no wrong and even in the face of evidence refuse to accept the truth.

It goes the other way too. There are people who seem to believe the club can do nothing right and there is a lot more evidence that they are wrong.

The board's strategy has been pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain :

 

1. Pay down the debt from the Cortese years and the Staplewood upgrade
   
2. Increase the strength in depth of the squad
   
3. Get all key players to sign long term improved contracts
   

 

All of these steps required money but now that we've completed them we don't need the surplus any more so why sell ?

 

Simples !!!!!

4. Increase the wages paid.

We now pay the highest wage levels in our history. Now that's ambition.

4. Increase the wages paid.

 

We now pay the highest wage levels in our history. Now that's ambition.

That applies to every club in PL due to excessive inflation of players wages. Market forces nothing to do with ambition.

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Will be delighted if we don't sell any of our top players in this window, but would still be surprised if that's the way it pans out. I don't see that Reed is saying anything radically different to what the club have said in previous summers when we have then gone on to make sales of "top" players.

Note that he doesn't categorically say "Van Dijk (or anyone else) will not be sold in this window", only that the top players are not "for sale". This and his comment that some players may be sold if it suits both parties gives plenty of wriggle room for sales to still happen if the club get what they consider to be the right offers, and they can also use the argument it's for the good of the team due to players being unsettled.

As I say, will be very happy if I'm proven wrong, but based on previous experience, this is likely to be a tactic to force higher offers from those who want Van Dijk, Bertrand, etc.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Another point is that all the players we've brought in recently have been young and technically good.

I believe there's a real intent from the board to settle on what they see as a young and talented squad with huge potential and encourage them to grow into a great team under the guidance of an inspirational coach.

In those circumstances the last thing we'd want to do is flog off our leaders and best players. Thus the push to get them all on long term contracts last summer.

My take on the statement from Reed is that the club will not be bullied by any other clubs (the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City etc). We will not be held to ransom by stroppy players that were happy to sign nice big long contracts for fantastic wages.

All our top players are on long contracts and we most definitely do not need to sell to balance the books.

Reed has basically said no one is going anywhere this season.....and the caveat to that is "unless a club like Man City come in and want to pay well over the odds for a player"

And to be honest i have no issue with this. Every player has a price and that includes the likes of VVD. As much as i would hate to see him go £70+ million would be too much to turn down.

It's the same for any other player at the club. I honestly believe we will not sell anyone unless we get ridiculous offers for them.

Some may disagree but if the reported £12 million fee for Jayrod is accurate then i think the club have done very very well to off load a player that seems to break down more often than a Ford!

My take on the statement from Reed is that the club will not be bullied by any other clubs (the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City etc). We will not be held to ransom by stroppy players that were happy to sign nice big long contracts for fantastic wages.

All our top players are on long contracts and we most definitely do not need to sell to balance the books.

Reed has basically said no one is going anywhere this season.....and the caveat to that is "unless a club like Man City come in and want to pay well over the odds for a player"

 

And to be honest i have no issue with this. Every player has a price and that includes the likes of VVD. As much as i would hate to see him go £70+ million would be too much to turn down.

 

It's the same for any other player at the club. I honestly believe we will not sell anyone unless we get ridiculous offers for them.

 

Some may disagree but if the reported £12 million fee for Jayrod is accurate then i think the club have done very very well to off load a player that seems to break down more often than a Ford!

Think that's a bit harsh on Jay...and fords! He's not been particularly injury prone over the last 12 months, it's just that he hasn't been given a run in the side. He's been available most weeks, but there have been weeks where he's not even made the bench. I think fitness wise/injury wise he's been clear now for a good year, it's just the long-term damage those injuries a few years ago have done to him. He's lost a yard for sure.

We've evolved as a squad, we've got better players to choose from who have more attributes than him. Makes sense for him to join a team who don't have as many good options up front where he'll get a game.

My take on the statement from Reed is that the club will not be bullied by any other clubs (the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City etc). We will not be held to ransom by stroppy players that were happy to sign nice big long contracts for fantastic wages.

All our top players are on long contracts and we most definitely do not need to sell to balance the books.

Reed has basically said no one is going anywhere this season.....and the caveat to that is "unless a club like Man City come in and want to pay well over the odds for a player"

 

And to be honest i have no issue with this. Every player has a price and that includes the likes of VVD. As much as i would hate to see him go £70+ million would be too much to turn down.

 

It's the same for any other player at the club. I honestly believe we will not sell anyone unless we get ridiculous offers for them.

 

Some may disagree but if the reported £12 million fee for Jayrod is accurate then i think the club have done very very well to off load a player that seems to break down more often than a Ford!

I dont know why we all get hung up about the price the club gets. Firstly it goes to the owners not us and secondly the club in theory can say whatever figure it likes the press to tell us, but may take considerable less.Its all smoke and mirrors

This! We saw from the latest financials that we receive way way way less than the 'reported' figures.

The fact we have sold the likes of Mane, Pelle, Wanyama, Fonte, Morgan, Clyne, Shaw, Lallana, Lovren, Chambers and replaced with the likes of Forster, Clasie, Hojberg, Pied, Boufal, Tadic, Long and Redmond and its (reportedly) cost us money is all the evidence you need that selling your best players to league rivals is not a long term strategy or sensible.

I dont know why we all get hung up about the price the club gets. Firstly it goes to the owners not us and secondly the club in theory can say whatever figure it likes the press to tell us, but may take considerable less.Its all smoke and mirrors

The money does not go to the owner. It has gone into buying and paying players.

This! We saw from the latest financials that we receive way way way less than the 'reported' figures.

 

The fact we have sold the likes of Mane, Pelle, Wanyama, Fonte, Morgan, Clyne, Shaw, Lallana, Lovren, Chambers and replaced with the likes of Forster, Clasie, Hojberg, Pied, Boufal, Tadic, Long and Redmond and its (reportedly) cost us money is all the evidence you need that selling your best players to league rivals is not a long term strategy or sensible.

Given that the club does it best not to discuss its transfer business publicly, I do not see how you can blame them for the inaccurate transfer figures being published. Also, the fact that the income from transfers is lower than reported can be due in part to some add ons not yet being met and some transfer fees being paid over time rather than all at once.

As for your list of players, if your point is that it is not a winning strategy to sell your good players to competitors and replace them with more expensive less good players that is too obvious to have been worth a post. Of course, that is not what is being done.

Also, your list of names is flawed. You list the players you think were good as the ones sold and the players you think were not so good as the ones bought. But most of the players sold were, at one time, players bought. Or do you seriously suggest the club should only employ home grown players who will never be sold?

Depends if we get £75m for VVD.....but yeah, that's unlikely. So they'll all need to knuckle down and carry on in the horrendous boot camp which is Southampton football club. I feel for them.

So glad you jest.

This! We saw from the latest financials that we receive way way way less than the 'reported' figures.

 

The fact we have sold the likes of Mane, Pelle, Wanyama, Fonte, Morgan, Clyne, Shaw, Lallana, Lovren, Chambers and replaced with the likes of Forster, Clasie, Hojberg, Pied, Boufal, Tadic, Long and Redmond and its (reportedly) cost us money is all the evidence you need that selling your best players to league rivals is not a long term strategy or sensible.

Lets get it right

Pelle - Lambert replacement - successful

Bertrand - Shaw replacement - Successful

Romeu - Wanyama replacement - Not as good, but I would consider a successful replacement

Lovren - replaced by Toby - replaced by VVD - Successful

Clyne - Cedric - Not as good, but I would consider a successful replacement

Boufal - replaced Mane - yet to be seen, I still believe he has the ability to be a success in the PL.

Lallana - Tadic - Not as good, but solid enough, even if the jury is still out.

Of course some such as Clasie who have underwhelmed a little and is a clear downgrade on Morgan, however at the time, Morgan would have been very difficult to replace and pretty much anyone would have been a downgrade.

Personally, I think the strategy is fine (Dortmund, Monaco and Athletico Madrid as examples), however at our level you need exceptional scouting ability, which I feel we have lost since Mitchel left (is it any surprise Spurs are now finding these gems...).

SKD, taking form your post.....

Pelle - Lambert replacement - successful

Bertrand - Shaw replacement - Successful

Romeu - Wanyama replacement - Not as good, but I would consider a successful replacement - Wanyama wasn't going to renew his contract so sold when he got to the last year to recoup something.

Lovren - replaced by Toby - replaced by VVD - Successful

Clyne - Cedric - Not as good, but I would consider a successful replacement - Clyne wasn't going to renew his contract so sold when he got to the last year to recoup something.

Boufal - replaced Mane - yet to be seen, I still believe he has the ability to be a success in the PL.

Lallana - Tadic - Not as good, but solid enough, even if the jury is still out.

Austin - Pelle replacement

Austin is probably quite similar to Pelle so would be a success. People obviously go on about him being injury prone, but he isn't as that is based on a dodgy knee and past seasons, he has played 30+ games. A dislocated shoulder is something that happens and can hardly be considered to be something he is prone to. If it reoccurs, then yes, it could be. So, if he can get a full season, he is likely to score the same number of goals as Pelle.

Romeu replacing Wanyama. That might be so, but maybe Hojbjerg is the replacement? I have no idea what happened to him. His first game or two, showed so much promise and intelligence that I was truly excited. But it all went a bit wrong. Could that be down to the manager??

So Mané is possibly the one that stands out the most. Boufal is exciting, and has wonderful "feet". He is skillful. He does need to learn the PL a bit more, so hopefully this coming season.

Apart from that, its the manager. By the very fact that we sacked CP, he has not been a successful successor to Koeman.

Ummmm Someone that has to post under many different names?

Did I win ....

Not until you publish the different names.

So.

 

This year, Les says that no key players are leaving.

 

Do we all believe him?

Think he said no "top" players are leaving not "key" players. You arent a top player until youve been tested at champions league level and we dont have any of those so they can all go. i jest of course...

It goes the other way too. There are people who seem to believe the club can do nothing right and there is a lot more evidence that they are wrong.

Exactly. If you take the last 10 years or so in context, most fans should be more than happy.

Also, your list of names is flawed.

He knows that, hence the bites (textbook page 165)

Resdlo's post deconstructed beautifully the troll's argument that even he is lost for words and hasn't replied.

Will be delighted if we don't sell any of our top players in this window, but would still be surprised if that's the way it pans out. I don't see that Reed is saying anything radically different to what the club have said in previous summers when we have then gone on to make sales of "top" players.

 

Note that he doesn't categorically say "Van Dijk (or anyone else) will not be sold in this window", only that the top players are not "for sale". This and his comment that some players may be sold if it suits both parties gives plenty of wriggle room for sales to still happen if the club get what they consider to be the right offers, and they can also use the argument it's for the good of the team due to players being unsettled.

 

As I say, will be very happy if I'm proven wrong, but based on previous experience, this is likely to be a tactic to force higher offers from those who want Van Dijk, Bertrand, etc.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Another one who can't see "will not sell those players" and has to construct a lengthy argument why he didn't mean that. The two players mentioned prior to his comment were Van Dijk and Cedric. He explicitly and categorically said "those players" won't be sold, then went on to note that no-one else we want to keep will be sold either.

I'll believe him until I'm given reason not to. Previous statements had obvious wiggle room. The only time they've said a specific player "will not leave" before, Schneiderlin didn't (at least not for another year, anyway). The only grey area for me is Bertrand, who even said himself that he hadn't even thought about leaving. I wouldn't consider Rodriguez a top player for us any more, unfortunately, and it seems likely he'll go.

The only speculation around this should be whether it's the new manager who's demanded this as a condition of him coming to the club, or whether they were changing their plans based on the new funds from the tv deal anyway. You might recall I suggested we did a big recruit last summer because the prices were about to shoot up - we didn't really do that, but we'll see how much last year's recruits are worth in a year or two. Hojbjerg and Boufal are two who have shown glimpses of potential but aren't yet where we'll want them to be, but I'm not sure how that's any different to Ward-Prowse who's taken 4 years to get to this point, other than the amount we paid for them and where we expect their development to already be when we sign them compared to a kid we've brought through.

Exactly. If you take the last 10 years or so in context, most fans should be more than happy.

It depends on how long you have been supporting to a degree - I'm more than happy after 40 plus years. In those 40 years these last few I've seen the club I love transformed into one I believe Can more than compete with the best due in the main to how we now operate/go about things.

Exactly. If you take the last 10 years or so in context, most fans should be more than happy.

+1. Most fans would kill to be in the same place as us.

I think Les Reed has done a great job overall, but every time he speaks he let's himself down. Happens every year.

Best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. If VVD is still here in September then clearly something has changed, everything else is hot air.

Money might keep VVD happy for a while. He already gets paid more than the others, and supposedly the others are OK with that given that they know and accept the situation. If we get JayRod off the wage bill, then I would be happy enough if we did not replace him, used what we have and gave what he was being paid to Virgil.

The echo is running with the story but is crediting sky so it looks like a sky only interview

The Echo copy everything bar the dumbest local stories.

I think Les Reed has done a great job overall, but every time he speaks he let's himself down. Happens every year.

 

 

Best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. If VVD is still here in September then clearly something has changed, everything else is hot air.

And if he said nothing? Bloody club never let us fans know anything blah blah weep weep. Can't have it both ways

And if he said nothing? Bloody club never let us fans know anything blah blah weep weep. Can't have it both ways

Actions speak louder than words. I am not one to berate the club for not making a statement every 5 minutes.

If he does choose to speak then he needs to be held accountable. Time after time he has made himself look like a bit of a nob, despite his excellent work for the most part.

The Echo copy everything bar the dumbest local stories.

Would that make a good Echo headline?

Its very easy to selectively pick and choose his words, and that's how the press spins things. As far as I make out the intention is not to sell anyone except those who it is best for both parties, so open season. I would rather he said one of two things.....1) yeah we will sell X,Y, and or Z if we get these amounts for them; or 2) we categorically will not sell X,Y, and Z. He has not stemmed possible rumour-mongering and his words are open to any interpretation. Poor leadership. What's worse is that when you listen to him saying those words I get the impression that even he does not believe himself. He stutters, and does not come across at all confident. Poor leadership.

He does himself no favours and has the arrogant attitude displayed by so many of our politicians, saying what he perceives to be what people want to see but also towing the party line, without actually saying anything. Poor leadership.

 

I've never been more sure that he has to stand down and appoint his successor.....because he must have a list of who that will be in his master succession plan?!

Possibly one of the most brainless posts of all time. You want him to spell out not only so he wants to sell, but also the amount? Have you ever negotiated anything in your life? Ever?

Its very easy to selectively pick and choose his words, and that's how the press spins things. As far as I make out the intention is not to sell anyone except those who it is best for both parties, so open season. I would rather he said one of two things.....1) yeah we will sell X,Y, and or Z if we get these amounts for them; or 2) we categorically will not sell X,Y, and Z. He has not stemmed possible rumour-mongering and his words are open to any interpretation. Poor leadership. What's worse is that when you listen to him saying those words I get the impression that even he does not believe himself. He stutters, and does not come across at all confident. Poor leadership.

He does himself no favours and has the arrogant attitude displayed by so many of our politicians, saying what he perceives to be what people want to see but also towing the party line, without actually saying anything. Poor leadership.

 

I've never been more sure that he has to stand down and appoint his successor.....because he must have a list of who that will be in his master succession plan?!

F**K me there are some 'special people' who post on this site!