Krueger interview discussing Gao

I can tell you that 100% Gao bought the club to further his interests in China. Owning a PL club over there is a big deal and it will bring him in a load of business. That is the only reason.

I don't feel sympathy towards anyone's job when they are paid a 3 figure salary for the hardship.

Didn't say it was much sympathy The money side of it is a fair point, and it obviously comes with having to face questions in a high profile role.

It was more to do with Krueger being wheeled out for every big interview when a lot of the football side of things is decided by Reed, and the new owner who's been in place coming up to a year hasn't spoken a word bar a sentence or two.

That's almost right but not quite. Anyone who hasn't understood what Kruger is saying should check up on FIFA's Financial Fair Play rules, which are not that complicated. Clubs can't run at a loss and owners can't inject their own money into buying players and paying their wages. Over a rolling 3-year period, and subject to allowing a tiny loss, expenditure on the team has to be met out of revenue. That isn't just player sales but all revenue, which obviously includes gate money, TV rights, advertising, etc., but and most importantly, commercial income. If income and expenditure doesn't balance, FIFA has sanctions it can use. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt, so owners can develop the club in that way.

 

Saints' fans know better than most that spending beyond the club's means leads to bankruptcy. We've been there, so have Portsmouth and a good few others. Because Financial Fair play doesn't allow an owner to bail a club out anymore, the only way now to increase what can be spent on the team is to increase the income. It's no accident that the top six clubs are the ones who's shirts, scarves, books etc., are widely on sale because those clubs have national and even international, followers. What Kruger was saying indicates that Katherina and the board identified China as a huge, largely untapped, market, where commercial income could be earned to grow the club. As fans, its a project that we should get behind, instead of criticising, because it's in our interests if we want to see our club able to compete at the highest level. Until we have the income that allows us to spend more on the team, when we do find a player who is of the highest quality, he'll be lured away by one of the wealthy clubs that has the revenue to double his wages.

That's where the club is now, trying to get the best players it can afford but as fans we know that the best of the best won't stay long. The investment project through the Goa family gives the club a chance of breaking that pattern.

I don't think many Saints fans want or expect the club to spend beyond it's means. But what Kruger seems to be saying in the interview is that it's our policy to only re-invest what we get from player trading, unless I'm reading it wrongly. That implies that little or none of the massive hike in TV rights money is planned to be invested in strengthening the squad. If this is the case, how can we expect anything other than a continuing gradual decline in quality of our squad in relation to the other clubs in the premier league, who I think we can assume will be using at least some of this revenue to fund improving their squads?

I don't have massive objections if they want to look to expand our profile in China, but that strategy is absolutely pointless if we take our eye off the ball in terms of competing in the premier league (as we did this season), because no-one in China will give a **** if we are not in the Prem.

This was the most concerning bit for me and something he should have been challenged more about in the interview. With all of the income that we get from TV, it seems extraordinary if Ralph is saying none of that is available for strengthening the team and all the budget for "investment" needs to come from player sales! Even more extraordinary that Ralph thinks we should be happy about that!

 

If this really is the case, it backs up the worries that Gao is banking the TV cash to pay back what he has paid to Kat for the club surely?

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Where has this idea come from?

On setting up a minor league team:

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/16230056.Gao_plans_overseas_investment/?ref=mr&lp=4

GAO Jisheng could invest in another European team to deliver Saints a partner club.

 

The St Mary’s owner is eyeing a potential investment in a side in Austria or Switzerland to enable Saints to develop young players in a set-up that mirrors their own rather than simply loaning them out without much control.

It could also be a stepping stone towards retirement for those leaving Saints and could help the club to bring in non-EU players, something they currently struggle with due to UK law.

Are they aware Brexit is happening? The UK soon won't be in the EU, so sending non-EU players to Austria won't be a lot of use.

Left with a real sinking feeling from this interview.

I reckon the only way we will be free from Reed's reverse-Midas touch, Krueger's non-sensical PR bullshine and Gao's hands-off-for-God-knows-what ownership, will be relegation. Just like getting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named out was only possible with administration.

Maybe we should have hoped to go down this season....

Are they aware Brexit is happening? The UK soon won't be in the EU, so sending non-EU players to Austria won't be a lot of use.

It is very likely that EU players will not be restricted that much, especially in the PL.

Most of the players in the PL are from the EU, the PL is not going to jeopardise their product by having many of these players unable to play because they are suddenly counted as 'foreign' or whatever and need work permits, nor any future players, so I fully expect there will be a deal with the government that allows EU players into the league pretty much unrestricted.

Before Markus took over, did anyone really believe we were a big club in waiting? We were blessed for a while under the Liebherr stewardship, we stormed through the divisions, sampled cup final victory in the JPT, went into Europe (which we completely ballsed up), but after ML's death, it was always going to change. We have new owners with new ideas, we are back to being what we always were, a small fish in a big pond, a David competing very well at times against the Goliaths. I don't mind the club being run in a sustainable fashion, we all saw what happened with the mob down the road. All I really want as a small club, is our identity back, decent players who are proud to wear the shirt, and a brand of entertaining football that gets the fans hearts racing again. We aren't a big club so I am not sure why fans are taking umbrage about RK calling us what we are. As long as the club is run well as a business behind the scenes, and we have a manager with resources to build a solid side capable of beating the best of the rest and challenging the big 6, I am on board. Football is about character, not spending £36m on a player! Concentrate on what we used to be good at, finding a true bargain a la Mane, and give the fans something to shout about! For what it's worth, I am proud of who we are, it makes the victories against the big boys much sweeter.

Excellent post, can't believe the number of people getting their knickers in a twist at the small club comment, I can only assume they haven't been Saints fans for very long. In the grand scheme of things we ARE a small club and have been spoilt by punching above our weight for the last few years.

Whether you like it or not, FFP means we have to be self sustaining with little investment from the owner, and that puts the big clubs in a completely different league to us.

I still look back on the great escapes of the late 90's with great fondness as that battling character and the 'Spirit of Southampton' was what the club is all about for me.

If you want to be qualifying for the Champions League and regularly winning trophies you need to support one of the big 6 as it's never going to happen with Saints, and I have no problem with that.

Ralph Krueger worries me! So much waffle, spin and bull****...

Les Reed planning on attending this fan forum, whenever it takes place...

 

That could be interesting, he has a lot of questions to answer.

 

I’d like Ross Wilson there too.

You’re hopeful!... “I am certain off the hope we would have Les Reed”.

Ralph Krueger worries me! So much waffle, spin and bull****...

 

Does he post on here

we ARE a small club

BUT you need to pit that in context. Up against the big 6 or 7 clubs we are but we're certainly in the top 15 or so in this country of the next group down. Small clubs don't regularly play in front of 30,000+ crowds, get average gates in the 3rd division of 20k+ and capable of pulling in over 30k down there. We are a 'middle size' club, not small and not big, no provincial club is ever going to get near the real big boys.

Ralph just needs to qualify what he says a bit better, he just sets the us up for a p*ss take from rival fans.

I thought he was clearly out of touch with the second part of the interview and the Echo did really well to keep asking the difficult questions. The line that irritated me was "I think in the end the most important thing is what happened with the fans down the stretch. They were just all in and so passionate and had so much fun." Really? I *loved* watching the team get tanked at Newcastle and West Ham without so much as a whimper, ranting about the referee after the Everton match, and then having to sit through the ordeal at Swansea with no fingernails left. Fun is not the word I would use to describe it.

Why an absolute pile of unfiltered sh1t.

Still no clearer with what’s going on. Seems that Gao is more interested in China than the club and that’s a concern - a concern that no one at the top is willing to challenge either.

I would assume that is the same plan that the owners of West Brom and Aston Villa have as well. Not sure it is working out particularly wonderfully well for them. Not sure why we, or they, should expect it to work for us.

Whats the alternative? Find a sugar daddy who will bend the rules ala Man City's dubious sponsorship deals and hope they don't a get bored and leave us in the lurch or b) turn out to be chancers? We have always and will always be a small club in premiership terms which makes us one of the richest clubs in Europe so I would expect us to continue much as we have done and we will have good periods like the one thats just finished and bad periods like the one that has just started some transfers will work others won't, sometimes we will sneak into the top 6(ish) and sometimes we will flirt with relegation that is the way it is for every club in the country except the chosen few at the top. We as fans just need to accept this and try and enjoy the experience Les and Ralph are doing the best they can, neither will be here forever and both are a step up on Lowe! If Gao keeps his mouth shut and his hand out of the till then for me he is doing a decent job as owner the club should be self sufficient and if premier league football is not achievable on that basis then so be it.

The only thing I'd really like is to win a cup it's such a shame that one of the most successful periods in the clubs history has come to an end without us gaining any silverware to put in the trophy cabinet and FA cup would have been just reward for the clubs performance in recent seasons.

I know someone who bumped into gao at the stadium on Monday. Apparently he came across as someone who had little idea of where he was, in fact he was mistakenly thought of as a random Chinese fan until someone said who he was.

Absolutely no saints fan gives a f*ck about raising the profile of football in China unless it helps the first team. Very worrying article...

Whats the alternative? Find a sugar daddy who will bend the rules ala Man City's dubious sponsorship deals and hope they don't a get bored and leave us in the lurch or b) turn out to be chancers? We have always and will always be a small club in premiership terms which makes us one of the richest clubs in Europe so I would expect us to continue much as we have done and we will have good periods like the one thats just finished and bad periods like the one that has just started some transfers will work others won't, sometimes we will sneak into the top 6(ish) and sometimes we will flirt with relegation that is the way it is for every club in the country except the chosen few at the top. We as fans just need to accept this and try and enjoy the experience Les and Ralph are doing the best they can, neither will be here forever and both are a step up on Lowe! If Gao keeps his mouth shut and his hand out of the till then for me he is doing a decent job as owner the club should be self sufficient and if premier league football is not achievable on that basis then so be it.

 

The only thing I'd really like is to win a cup it's such a shame that one of the most successful periods in the clubs history has come to an end without us gaining any silverware to put in the trophy cabinet and FA cup would have been just reward for the clubs performance in recent seasons.

Firstly, I don't buy the small club stuff. As you say, we are one of the largest, financially at least, in Europe, sitting in 18th place across the continent, and 9th place in England. That is not small.

Second, I am not looking for a sugar daddy. We are not that type of club and I don't think many would really ant us to be. However, I would have thought that given the size of the TV revenue deals, that are growing due to increased global demand for the premier league, we could hope to do better than rely on spending based on what we sell, which is what Kreuger has said (re-invest fully from our transfer dealings). I know premier league wages are eye watering, but I would have thought that we could be prudently and self sufficently run whilst allowing an element of TV money to cover an element of new player acquisition, so that we can get better players, have more exciting football to watch and all the other benefits that go with that. Of course, doing that does not guarantee that transfers will work, because we are dealing with highly fallible, fragile and egotistical players in most instances.

Third, the china strategy has not proven successful, so far at least, at any club the has tried it. It may be that we are in a better position to take advantage of that and make it more successful, but nothing that has been said, publicly at least, gives me any confidence that is the case. I don't have an alternative, other than what I mentioned earlier, but then again, i am a bit of a plonker and if the club was coming to me for advice on that, I would be worried!

We don't have any right to expect to be in the premier league either, there are many other teams similar to Saints in that respect. But to call us a small club is plain and demonstrably wrong. I don't expect champions league or even Europa League. I don't expect a trophy, there are only 3 of those a season and the big boys all take those seriously. Just a team to be proud about, giving it their all, set out with it's first objective being a victory, taking it to the big boys and being respected by our opponents.

The worst part of that article was the bit where he tried to spin the relegation fight as a positive because it gave us more exposure! I think those who were praising him yesterday for his interview should probably read this article and weep....

Quite frankly after reading it I'm going to have to reconsider some of my financial outlays to the club- I'm not sure we should be going out of our way to support the current regime.

 

We don't have any right to expect to be in the premier league either, there are many other teams similar to Saints in that respect. But to call us a small club is plain and demonstrably wrong. I don't expect champions league or even Europa League. I don't expect a trophy, there are only 3 of those a season and the big boys all take those seriously. Just a team to be proud about, giving it their all, set out with it's first objective being a victory, taking it to the big boys and being respected by our opponents.

Small depends on your point of comparison, we may be the 9th richest club in the league but the gulf between us and the 5th is massive an almost certainly impossible to bridge so ergo in comparison to Northampton town we are massive but in comparison to Man city were are a tadpole small is all about perspective a minky whale is huge but in an ocean full of whales it is small fry. The premier league money is consumed in mostly by wages and contract renewals (which are mega expensive) everytime the TV deal goes up all that really happens is wages adjust to compensate and agents take a bigger chunk of everything! I'm sure some of that money will find it's way into the transfer kity but we are always going to be reliant on sales to balance the books as is every club in our position.

Small depends on your point of comparison, we may be the 9th richest club in the league but the gulf between us and the 5th is massive an almost certainly impossible to bridge so ergo in comparison to Northampton town we are massive but in comparison to Man city were are a tadpole small is all about perspective a minky whale is huge but in an ocean full of whales it is small fry. The premier league money is consumed in mostly by wages and contract renewals (which are mega expensive) everytime the TV deal goes up all that really happens is wages adjust to compensate and agents take a bigger chunk of everything! I'm sure some of that money will find it's way into the transfer kity but we are always going to be reliant on sales to balance the books as is every club in our position.

It's obvious that he has started using the word "small" or "smaller" to try to play down expectations and prepare us for leaner times ahead.

Small depends on your point of comparison, we may be the 9th richest club in the league but the gulf between us and the 5th is massive an almost certainly impossible to bridge so ergo in comparison to Northampton town we are massive but in comparison to Man city were are a tadpole small is all about perspective a minky whale is huge but in an ocean full of whales it is small fry. The premier league money is consumed in mostly by wages and contract renewals (which are mega expensive) everytime the TV deal goes up all that really happens is wages adjust to compensate and agents take a bigger chunk of everything! I'm sure some of that money will find it's way into the transfer kity but we are always going to be reliant on sales to balance the books as is every club in our position.

I agree, we are small compared to City, Utd etc.. But we are not small compared to Burnley, Leicester, Everton, West Ham and the rest of the league. And I don't think anyone wants us to go gung-ho in the search for a sporting nirvana that is ultimately unobtainable for us, bad memories are all too fresh. Leeds have never recovered from their attempts to get there. But for our chairman to describe us as small is wrong and self limiting.

The worst part of that article was the bit where he tried to spin the relegation fight as a positive because it gave us more exposure! I think those who were praising him yesterday for his interview should probably read this article and weep....

 

Quite frankly after reading it I'm going to have to reconsider some of my financial outlays to the club- I'm not sure we should be going out of our way to support the current regime.

i don't support the regime i support saints you either go to games or you don't ,1st div or prem COYR

i don't support the regime i support saints you either go to games or you don't ,1st div or prem COYR

I thought he was clearly out of touch with the second part of the interview and the Echo did really well to keep asking the difficult questions. The line that irritated me was "I think in the end the most important thing is what happened with the fans down the stretch. They were just all in and so passionate and had so much fun." Really? I *loved* watching the team get tanked at Newcastle and West Ham without so much as a whimper, ranting about the referee after the Everton match, and then having to sit through the ordeal at Swansea with no fingernails left. Fun is not the word I would use to describe it.

Maybe fun is the wrong word but the last few games of the season certainly had a certain adrenaline buzz about them that the end of last season didn't.

It's obvious that he has started using the word "small" or "smaller" to try to play down expectations and prepare us for leaner times ahead.

Which is a good thing imo better than trying to con everyone into thinking we are some Champions league club in waiting like they where trying to do a few seasons back.

Everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room. Nellie.

Guy is a idiot..... Him and Reed need to be sacked.... our owner needs to come out and properly speak about the ambition of this club because clearly there isn't any...

Which is a good thing imo better than trying to con everyone into thinking we are some Champions league club in waiting like they where trying to do a few seasons back.

I know someone who bumped into gao at the stadium on Monday. Apparently he came across as someone who had little idea of where he was, in fact he was mistakenly thought of as a random Chinese fan until someone said who he was.

Were they expecting him to wear a sandwich board with his name on it?

our policy to 'eat what we kill' is admirable as long as that's how all the other clubs approach transfers........er, which they don't. We will be signing players for £10-20m when our peer set will be paying twice that. Equally, we will target a player who will then get touted around clubs who will spend more meaning we will rarely get our man.

I confidently expect to be watching a passionate team next season but one who will be struggling.

Even though he went to the Man City game!

I’m sure that you understood that I meant a ‘speaking part’ rather than just a face in the crowd !

I did say ‘to outline his plans/intentions’ therefore you have misconstrued my statement !

So easy to cherry pick part of a sentence to misrepresent the context !

Still kept in the dark. ugh. I want gao to sell the club (already) to someone who will actually make their intentions known. An owner keeping his trap shut about future plans is worrying. Is anyone else seriously worried about the upcoming transfer window?

Still kept in the dark. ugh. I want gao to sell the club (already) to someone who will actually make their intentions known. An owner keeping his trap shut about future plans is worrying. Is anyone else seriously worried about the upcoming transfer window?

Given our (well, Reed's) record of addressing the shortcomings in the squad over the last two years, yes.

Were they expecting him to wear a sandwich board with his name on it?

Still kept in the dark. ugh. I want gao to sell the club (already) to someone who will actually make their intentions known. An owner keeping his trap shut about future plans is worrying. Is anyone else seriously worried about the upcoming transfer window?

It's also worrying how passive Gao still appears to be, apparently just leaving Krueger and Reed to get on with it, even after the near disaster of the last season. You would have expected almost being relegated would have encouraged him to take closer order to protect his investment but there seems little sign of that so far. That can only lead to a continued vacuum of proper leadership and accountability in my opinion.

If as seems likely Hughes is confirmed as manager that will be a boost. But I think we do need a good summer window if we want to give him the best chance to reverse the trend of the last couple of years and I can't say I'm encouraged by the noises from Krueger about the lack of any real change.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

our policy to 'eat what we kill' is admirable as long as that's how all the other clubs approach transfers........er, which they don't. We will be signing players for £10-20m when our peer set will be paying twice that. Equally, we will target a player who will then get touted around clubs who will spend more meaning we will rarely get our man.

 

I confidently expect to be watching a passionate team next season but one who will be struggling.

Which clubs in our "peer set" will be paying double what we pay for players?

Burnley got to seventh and their record signing is £14m. The likes of WHU and Watford and Newcastle have similar record signings to us. Palace pushed the boat out for Benteke and Sahko but hardly leaving us standing, we have plenty of players brought in at the just-under-£20m mark. We've certainly had more sat on the bench then they have...

Can't think of any clubs around us that have spent nearly £40m on anyone.

I fully expect us to break £20m barrier this summer, as will other clubs.

And as for us "rarely getting our man", you might want to speak to a Stoke fan who seen us swoop in for plenty of players they were in for. Personally I can't remember a story of another club beating us to a signing - Toby excepted. Even the likes of Promes wasn't snapped up by anyone else, he just didn't go anywhere.

So, all in all I don't really recognise this scenario you are painting. Cheer up.

Which clubs in our "peer set" will be paying double what we pay for players?

 

Burnley got to seventh and their record signing is £14m. The likes of WHU and Watford and Newcastle have similar record signings to us. Palace pushed the boat out for Benteke and Sahko but hardly leaving us standing, we have plenty of players brought in at the just-under-£20m mark. We've certainly had more sat on the bench then they have...

 

Can't think of any clubs around us that have spent nearly £40m on anyone.

 

I fully expect us to break £20m barrier this summer, as will other clubs.

 

And as for us "rarely getting our man", you might want to speak to a Stoke fan who seen us swoop in for plenty of players they were in for. Personally I can't remember a story of another club beating us to a signing - Toby excepted. Even the likes of Promes wasn't snapped up by anyone else, he just didn't go anywhere.

 

So, all in all I don't really recognise this scenario you are painting. Cheer up.

Dare I say it, we could well have landed Walcott had the clown not been the manager and pushing us towards relegation.

Got Carrillo instead, which seems like a decent alternative :-/

Which clubs in our "peer set" will be paying double what we pay for players?

 

Burnley got to seventh and their record signing is £14m. The likes of WHU and Watford and Newcastle have similar record signings to us. Palace pushed the boat out for Benteke and Sahko but hardly leaving us standing, we have plenty of players brought in at the just-under-£20m mark. We've certainly had more sat on the bench then they have...

 

Can't think of any clubs around us that have spent nearly £40m on anyone.

 

I fully expect us to break £20m barrier this summer, as will other clubs.

 

And as for us "rarely getting our man", you might want to speak to a Stoke fan who seen us swoop in for plenty of players they were in for. Personally I can't remember a story of another club beating us to a signing - Toby excepted. Even the likes of Promes wasn't snapped up by anyone else, he just didn't go anywhere.

 

So, all in all I don't really recognise this scenario you are painting. Cheer up.

£32m for Benteke ain't bad given it was nearly two years ago - who knows what that would be in today's terms.

£32m for Benteke ain't bad given it was nearly two years ago - who knows what that would be in today's terms.

I'm looking forward to us signing a £40m striker who delivers 3 league goals in his second season. No doubt our fanbase will simply applaud the ambition and intent in the investment.

our policy to 'eat what we kill' is admirable as long as that's how all the other clubs approach transfers........er, which they don't. We will be signing players for £10-20m when our peer set will be paying twice that. Equally, we will target a player who will then get touted around clubs who will spend more meaning we will rarely get our man.

 

I confidently expect to be watching a passionate team next season but one who will be struggling.

I don't think our signings have been terrible...I do him the poor managers haven't got the best out of them and that obvious gaps in the squad aren't always immediately addressed. With a reasonable manager we will be ok

I can tell you that 100% Gao bought the club to further his interests in China. Owning a PL club over there is a big deal and it will bring him in a load of business. That is the only reason.

Which is fine as long as he realises that to retain a PL club some of the profits from additional opportunities domestically need to be reinvested in SFC

Indeed.

 

I'm looking forward to us signing a £40m striker who delivers 3 league goals in his second season. No doubt our fanbase will simply applaud the ambition and intent in the investment.

Your defence of the board at all costs is becoming very boring now Fry.

Reed in particular is past his best, and we've been heading where we are now since he got primary control of footballing issues. Top 6 and just outside of champions league football.... to relegation scrap in 2 seasons. That will take some beating, especially without any financial constraints. Quite possibly the worst performance in premier league history.

This man gave Forster a 6year contract, and spent £20m on dud CF for a manager he sacked 2 weeks later... In comparison, west Ham got arnautovic for £18m...

You need to get on with the programme mate. Anyone tolerating the sub standard management we've had in recent seasons is just another voice helping it to continue.

I would assume that is the same plan that the owners of West Brom and Aston Villa have as well. Not sure it is working out particularly wonderfully well for them. Not sure why we, or they, should expect it to work for us.

If the plan is to increase the club's revenue so that under the FIFA fair play rules it can spend more on the team, of course other teams not in the top six will have the same objective. Finding a way to do it is what matters and Southampton are looking to increase revenue from an untapped market, which is China. If you think back a few years when Kruger came, it may be they thought they could do it in the US but perhaps found too many other clubs already working over there. To give an idea of what we are up against, Southampton FC showed a turnover of £182.3m for the year to June 2017. That was a record for the club so the board must be doing something right. In comparison, Manchester United have just announced a revenue target for this year of £585m.

If we want to compete for a place in the top six so that we can afford the transfer fees of world class players but more importantly, be able to pay the level of wages that will keep top class players at this club, we have to close that revenue gap.

If you look elsewhere, take Everton as an example. Have just sacked Sam Allardyce for finishing 8th in the league, after taking them up from 13th in the six months he was in charge. As Saints' fans we well remember the attitude of Everton supporters when Koeman was enticed to leave Southampton. Billionaire Farhad Moshiri had taken control with Everton fans thinking Koeman would bring all the best players from Southampton that he wanted because a wealthy owner meant they could. But Everton have found like other teams that a wealthy owner can't pump money into the team because of Financial Fair Play (FFP). A change of manager won't get Everton into the top six. According to information on the web, Everton's owners have a combined net worth of £1.2bn, a little less than Liverpool's owner, John Henry of Fenway Sports Group (£1.8bn). Southampton's owners are worth almost as much as the Liverpool and Everton owners put together, Goa and Leibherr are said to have a combined net worth of £2.8bn. But because FFP doesn't allow owners to spend their own money on the team the wealth of these owners no longer has the effect that it did when Abramovich bought Chelsea or when Mansour went into Manchester City.

It is because expenditure on the team is limited by a club's revenue, that ways have to be found to increase income and primarily that will be by commercial activities. If we can get the Chinese to buy Southampton shirts and whatever else, because the club becomes so well known in China, in that way we can pay higher wages to retain our best players. There are 1.3bn people in China, roughly twice the population of Europe, so it seems reasonable to assume that the club have thought this out.

I didnt realise that signings players was an exact science. Clearly no manager ever have signed a dud apart from Les Reed. There are plenty of players who look good elsewhere but when they either sign for your club dont cut the mustard and for a variety of reasons. Not all players suit the Premiership but a perfectly good in other leagues. The trick is, of course, to find the unearth diamonds. This is getting harder as we are in completion with every other club and as we know, we dont pay huge wages. The business model has worked very well up to this season (finishing 8th and a good cup final was not a disaster last year) and Krueger is right when he says that it is all about the bigger picture. These people clearly can do a job because they have proved season after season that they can deliver. They just need to get back to delivering again. How many people on here would still have a job if they had one poor years appraisal and were sacked because of it? I have followed this club since 1966 and every year the Chairman, CEO or whoever heads the Board has come in for some stick. Of course the Board are open to criticism, but this constant need to find someone to blame and to sack them makes no sense. Pellegrino has already paid the price for not delivering what we or the Board were expecting, That should be enough. The fans seems to want to see Hughes given the job. If Reed and the Board do this and Hughes fails, do we sack the fans? The Board have earned the right to stay on and continue their work. What they must do of course is show that they have learnt from their mistakes this season. But dont expect to see the club spending huge amounts of cash and dont expect them to find a Mane or a VVD every season.

If the plan is to increase the club's revenue so that under the FIFA fair play rules it can spend more on the team, of course other teams not in the top six will have the same objective. Finding a way to do it is what matters and Southampton are looking to increase revenue from an untapped market, which is China. If you think back a few years when Kruger came, it may be they thought they could do it in the US but perhaps found too many other clubs already working over there. To give an idea of what we are up against, Southampton FC showed a turnover of £182.3m for the year to June 2017. That was a record for the club so the board must be doing something right. In comparison, Manchester United have just announced a revenue target for this year of £585m.

If we want to compete for a place in the top six so that we can afford the transfer fees of world class players but more importantly, be able to pay the level of wages that will keep top class players at this club, we have to close that revenue gap.

 

If you look elsewhere, take Everton as an example. Have just sacked Sam Allardyce for finishing 8th in the league, after taking them up from 13th in the six months he was in charge. As Saints' fans we well remember the attitude of Everton supporters when Koeman was enticed to leave Southampton. Billionaire Farhad Moshiri had taken control with Everton fans thinking Koeman would bring all the best players from Southampton that he wanted because a wealthy owner meant they could. But Everton have found like other teams that a wealthy owner can't pump money into the team because of Financial Fair Play (FFP). A change of manager won't get Everton into the top six. According to information on the web, Everton's owners have a combined net worth of £1.2bn, a little less than Liverpool's owner, John Henry of Fenway Sports Group (£1.8bn). Southampton's owners are worth almost as much as the Liverpool and Everton owners put together, Goa and Leibherr are said to have a combined net worth of £2.8bn. But because FFP doesn't allow owners to spend their own money on the team the wealth of these owners no longer has the effect that it did when Abramovich bought Chelsea or when Mansour went into Manchester City.

 

It is because expenditure on the team is limited by a club's revenue, that ways have to be found to increase income and primarily that will be by commercial activities. If we can get the Chinese to buy Southampton shirts and whatever else, because the club becomes so well known in China, in that way we can pay higher wages to retain our best players. There are 1.3bn people in China, roughly twice the population of Europe, so it seems reasonable to assume that the club have thought this out.

I understand the aim, I am just not convinced that there is a plan to make Southampton the big winners in any increase in commercial income from China specifically. Football in general is bigger, the premier league is getting bigger in China, and the size of the commercial deals that the premier league gets from China, and other emerging markets, gets larger. But that money goes to the premier league, and through them, is distributed to all clubs. We will have as much exposure as the other 19 premier league clubs. There is a chance we may get more, due to the ownership. But if our football is crap, football fans will still switch off if they are watching a crap match, even if the team is Chinese owned. Plenty of teams have already been over, done pre-season, even mid-season tours in China. We just seem to be doing the same as others, and hoping for better results.

Obviously, I have no proof either way, just waffle on a forum, but from the few public statements we have, I can't see us doing anything different to anyone else that will give us any competitve advantage.

With this present lot in charge ( and to me they are sounding like secret Portsmouth fans ) I can only fear that within the

next 10 years Saints will no longer be in any of the present 4 Leagues. They will have become bankrupt and cease to exist.

 

Absolutely no saints fan gives a f*ck about raising the profile of football in China unless it helps the first team. Very worrying article...

In a nutshell, this sums the whole thing up very well

I can tell you that 100% Gao bought the club to further his interests in China. Owning a PL club over there is a big deal and it will bring him in a load of business. That is the only reason.

That can only be good news, can't it? i.e. much incentive for Gao to ensure we don't get anywhere close to a relegation scrap again.

If the plan is to increase the club's revenue so that under the FIFA fair play rules it can spend more on the team, of course other teams not in the top six will have the same objective. Finding a way to do it is what matters and Southampton are looking to increase revenue from an untapped market, which is China. If you think back a few years when Kruger came, it may be they thought they could do it in the US but perhaps found too many other clubs already working over there. To give an idea of what we are up against, Southampton FC showed a turnover of £182.3m for the year to June 2017. That was a record for the club so the board must be doing something right. In comparison, Manchester United have just announced a revenue target for this year of £585m.

If we want to compete for a place in the top six so that we can afford the transfer fees of world class players but more importantly, be able to pay the level of wages that will keep top class players at this club, we have to close that revenue gap.

 

If you look elsewhere, take Everton as an example. Have just sacked Sam Allardyce for finishing 8th in the league, after taking them up from 13th in the six months he was in charge. As Saints' fans we well remember the attitude of Everton supporters when Koeman was enticed to leave Southampton. Billionaire Farhad Moshiri had taken control with Everton fans thinking Koeman would bring all the best players from Southampton that he wanted because a wealthy owner meant they could. But Everton have found like other teams that a wealthy owner can't pump money into the team because of Financial Fair Play (FFP). A change of manager won't get Everton into the top six. According to information on the web, Everton's owners have a combined net worth of £1.2bn, a little less than Liverpool's owner, John Henry of Fenway Sports Group (£1.8bn). Southampton's owners are worth almost as much as the Liverpool and Everton owners put together, Goa and Leibherr are said to have a combined net worth of £2.8bn. But because FFP doesn't allow owners to spend their own money on the team the wealth of these owners no longer has the effect that it did when Abramovich bought Chelsea or when Mansour went into Manchester City.

 

It is because expenditure on the team is limited by a club's revenue, that ways have to be found to increase income and primarily that will be by commercial activities. If we can get the Chinese to buy Southampton shirts and whatever else, because the club becomes so well known in China, in that way we can pay higher wages to retain our best players. There are 1.3bn people in China, roughly twice the population of Europe, so it seems reasonable to assume that the club have thought this out.

At last someone with some sense and clarity on the whole situation! This 1000 %.

The sooner people understand this the more united the club will become.

Think long term people!!!! You can t just go out and spend money anymore! You have to generate it!

Mess.