Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 (edited) The target is Champions League Football and funding to match this lofty ambition. Previously this was only mentioned by those that went to the dinner parties with Cortese. Now we have it in the press from an employee (or soon to be employee)... "The club is owned by the Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is PL, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up they are about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary." http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL Time for some Saints fans to set their ambitions for the club a lot higher! Cortese and the Liebherrs aren't here to hang around in the Championship for years on end, nor the lower reaches of the Premier League. They are aiming for the bigtime and have the resources to do so! Unlike any other owner in the clubs history. Edited 13 May, 2011 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 just stop...lets worry about the football league ffs CL was and always will be a pipe dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 The target is Champions League Football and funding to match this lofty ambition. Previously this was only mentioned by those that went to the dinner parties with Cortese. Now we have it in the press from an employee (or soon to be employee)... "The club is owned by the Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is PL, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up they are about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary." http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL Time for some Saints fans to set there ambitions for the club a lot higher! Cortese and the Liebherrs aren't here to hang around in the Championship for years on end, nor the lower reaches of the Premier League. They are aiming for the bigtime and have the resources to do so! Unlike any other owner in the clubs history. I love posts like this, can see them being quoted in 3 years time when we are back in league one asking "where did it all go wrong?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 That all sounds great and I'm sure it'll get some people over-excited, but we're still a long, long way from that happening. There are bigger, better resourced clubs than us that have struggled to establish themselves in the top half of the prem or qualify for the Champs League. Saints fans should know by now how much can change in a few years, no point speculating about years away, just look forward to this coming season and see how that pans out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsarum Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 According to Solent on 8.20 sports desk they said B*mpey were attempting to join us in the Champions League through the play-off's And there was I thinking we'd been promoted to the Championship No wonder everybody was celebrating so much on the pitch last week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 The target is Champions League Football and funding to match this lofty ambition. Previously this was only mentioned by those that went to the dinner parties with Cortese. Now we have it in the press from an employee (or soon to be employee)... "The club is owned by the Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is PL, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up they are about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary." http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL Time for some Saints fans to set their ambitions for the club a lot higher! Cortese and the Liebherrs aren't here to hang around in the Championship for years on end, nor the lower reaches of the Premier League. They are aiming for the bigtime and have the resources to do so! Unlike any other owner in the clubs history. Will you will be with me when we march on St Mary's in September 2012 demanding to know why we aren't in a Champions League Qualifying position yet? I'm expecting world class from Saints from now on in, if that's not what I get I'm blaming you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 I love this optimism.... ....Lets hope it doesn't bite us in the arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 I seem to remember Plymouth saying they were heading to the Premier League a few seasons ago. When we start walking the walk then and only then will i start dreaming of trips to the San Siro, lets just think about the Championship for now shall we, before everyone starts getting themselves at it FFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 The target is Champions League Football and funding to match this lofty ambition. Previously this was only mentioned by those that went to the dinner parties with Cortese. Now we have it in the press from an employee (or soon to be employee)... "The club is owned by the Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is PL, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up they are about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary." http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL Time for some Saints fans to set their ambitions for the club a lot higher! Cortese and the Liebherrs aren't here to hang around in the Championship for years on end, nor the lower reaches of the Premier League. They are aiming for the bigtime and have the resources to do so! Unlike any other owner in the clubs history. Don't know how much salt you want to take this this one, but it says (roughly speaking); Jakob Friis-Hansen, a former Danish international has been appointed Director of European Development for Saints. He goes on to point out our glorius past and that the Liebherr family has wealth to spare and like the idea of becoming a top Prem.club and playing Euro football in the not too distant future. Time will tell if the guy is just hoping, bragging, or ... if he's the real thing. Sit tight and wait for an announcement from NC - if one is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Mikey Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 If you think about it rationally, without rose-tinted glasses. We are not a big enough club to continually finish top 4 in the Prem. We would need massive investment every year to finish 4th, we couldn't do it on our income generation alone. Well, we have wealthy owners I hear you cry. What about UEFA's new fairness policy then? I think it is an impossible dream, and we should be over the moon if we ever get up and have the sort of success Stoke, Bolton and Fulham have had the last few years. Even Everton are a much bigger club than us and struggle financially. FFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 just look at the amount city and spurs have spent to get top 4.....and one is going to miss out ffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 If you think about it rationally, without rose-tinted glasses. We are not a big enough club to continually finish top 4 in the Prem. We would need massive investment every year to finish 4th, we couldn't do it on our income generation alone. Well, we have wealthy owners I hear you cry. What about UEFA's new fairness policy then? I think it is an impossible dream, and we should be over the moon if we ever get up and have the sort of success Stoke, Bolton and Fulham have had the last few years. Even Everton are a much bigger club than us and struggle financially. FFS. 15 years ago, Chelsea in the Premier League averaged a lower attendance than Saints this season in League One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Mikey Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 15 years ago, Chelsea in the Premier League averaged a lower attendance than Saints this season in League One. No comparison. I'm willing to bet ALL attendances were down 15 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Mikey Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 15 years ago, Chelsea in the Premier League averaged a lower attendance than Saints this season in League One. Also, as I said before - due to UEFA's new Financial Fair Play policy, we wouldn't be able to do an Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour, if we wanted to compete in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 (edited) No comparison. Why? It is only since Matthew Harding and then Abramovich pumped money into Chelesa that their attendances went up. As I said they averaged lower than Saints did in the 3rd tier whilst they were in the 1st tier in the recent past. Edited 13 May, 2011 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 Also, as I said before - due to UEFA's new Financial Fair Play policy, we wouldn't be able to do an Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour, if we wanted to compete in Europe. Those rules don't apply to infrastructure. Saints can spend on training facilities and the academy as much as they like. They can also increase the capacity of St Mary's to boost revenue and buy up and develop the land around the stadium to increase revenue streams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambosa75 Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 The target is Champions League Football and funding to match this lofty ambition. Previously this was only mentioned by those that went to the dinner parties with Cortese. Now we have it in the press from an employee (or soon to be employee)... "The club is owned by the Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is PL, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up they are about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary." http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL Time for some Saints fans to set their ambitions for the club a lot higher! Cortese and the Liebherrs aren't here to hang around in the Championship for years on end, nor the lower reaches of the Premier League. They are aiming for the bigtime and have the resources to do so! Unlike any other owner in the clubs history. Do us a favour and update SFC on FM2011 so we can sign some half decent players then!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambosa75 Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 Those rules don't apply to infrastructure. Saints can spend on training facilities and the academy as much as they like. They can also increase the capacity of St Mary's to boost revenue and buy up and develop the land around the stadium to increase revenue streams. The Liebherr family can also "buy" a club scarf for £20m as this would go in to merchandise sales which we could re-invest in the squad. The whole model is hugely flawed and will change nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 Why? It is only since Michael Harding and then Abramovich pumped money into Chelesa that their attendances went up. As I said they averaged lower than Saints did in the 3rd tier whilst they were in the 1st tier in the recent past. It was Matthew Harding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 No comparison. I'm willing to bet ALL attendances were down 15 years ago. Exactly, plus different prices etc. Chelsea are a bigger club and a more recognised "brand" (hate to use that word in anyway connected to footbalL), then Saints. Wouldn't ever want Saints to be a Chelsea or Man City anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 Why? It is only since Michael Harding and then Abramovich pumped money into Chelesa that their attendances went up. As I said they averaged lower than Saints did in the 3rd tier whilst they were in the 1st tier in the recent past. Not strictly true, you cannot imply that they had small crowds but then they boomed when the investment came in, Chelsea had huge crowds in the 70s, and have a huge fanbase of floating fans in south west london / surrey, they have a much bigger fan base than us. The low support in the late 80s - early 90s was due to many other issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 It was Matthew Harding. matthew le god will sulk for hours now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 "Owen should sign" and now this nonsense FFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 I knew it began with a "M" so I guessed. You call him Matthew, I called him Michael, lets call the whole thing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 "Owen should sign" and now this nonsense FFS There is a big difference between a fan on a forum saying "sign Michael Owen" and a member of staff stating the clubs ambitions and resources to a national publication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
September Saint Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 It's great to have ambition but lets take it a year at a time "The walk of a thousand miles begins with the first step" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 those rules don't apply to infrastructure. Saints can spend on training facilities and the academy as much as they like. They can also increase the capacity of st mary's to boost revenue and buy up and develop the land around the stadium to increase revenue streams. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 But.... MLG is right. The Club is targetting Champions League Football. To be honest anybody who is a Saints fan who has an issue with that idea needs to step back and think what it actually means. How do you get into the CL? OK at this moment it means that (like Man City) you buy a zillion superstars and pay them a zillion pounds. But that is not quite how Arsenal or Man Utd got there. I don't believe for a minute that Saints are about to do a Man City nor do I think that is what NC means with this objective. BUT if we look at it a different way, we set the club from Top to Bottom to AIM for that. The Academy players - we recruit the best now from Europe, not just England. We make sure they have the Best training going. We stop selling them at the first sign of a cheque book so instead of buying in players worth 50mil we've developed some of our own and made a profit on others that can then be used to pay from new signings and wages (Such as may happen to AOC) We stop that nightmare spiral of buying Squad players. We have a squad. Each player we buy makes one of our current first teamers into a Squad player. You instill a mindset of moving forwards and always getting better, instead of a mindset of "We have to make a return for the shareholders or keep the bank manager happy" We don't HAVE to buy success, we could actually build it. Arsenal may have won feck all for some time now and their system is starting to creak, but they try to improve each year, they buy for the future. It can be a damned hard balance and Rupert got it wrong towards the end of his first tenure, but if the funds are there why the hell SHOULD the club or the Management or the Fans simply aspire to being "Another Stoke or Bolton". We should aspire to get to their level, match them, better them and then move on to overtake the next. Football IS about getting one over on the opposition, not aspiring to draw every game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 lol Why have you "lol"'d at that? Cortese has talked about it before so it is hardly new or me making it up. Many other clubs have done similar in the past and is a viable way to increase revenue streams in order to meet the new UEFA financial regulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 There is a big difference between a fan on a forum saying "sign Michael Owen" and a member of staff stating the clubs ambitions and resources to a national publication. what are you saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 13 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 13 May, 2011 what are you saying? A member of staff saying what the ambitions of the club are, is more credible than a fan on a forum thinking Michael Owen would/wouldn't join Saints. Yet you compared the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 A member of staff saying what the ambitions of the club are, is more credible than a fan on a forum thinking Michael Owen would/wouldn't join Saints. Yet you compared the two. Depends who the forum member was!? NC and Adkins both post on here.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 (edited) Nothing wrong with aiming high. What's the point otherwise? Champion's League is where the money is. I imagine more than 20 clubs have long term goals to get there, however unlikely it seems. Most will fail obviously, but we tend to view things very short term. I'm sure we'd all have laughed at a Man City saying they'd be Champion's League 5 years ago. We'd also have thought nothing of Leeds being Champion's League 10 years ago. So, can we make the Champion's League in the next 5-10 years? Yes, of course. Is it likely or easy? No. More and more clubs will be going for it, more and more will have the resources, but the teams up there will change. Spurs have had a go, Man City will have a go, now Liverpool will do everything to get back in, Everton will want to challenge after nearly getting there a few years ago. A big team will slip up, one season Arsenal, Chelsea or Man Utd will drop out the top 4 and who knows what impact that'll have. One thing's for sure, if you have those ambitions, you need the planning and commitment to see it through. It won't happen without money, planning and serious patience. I assume we'll be more focused on the youth development. I see no reason why we can't aim to have the best youth development system in the world. We've got a great reputation already, they're playing the right way, producing good players, so there's a lot there to work with. The key will be holding onto those players, and it won't always happen, especially while in this league, maybe not even in the top flight. While these ambitions are great, and should get fans excited about our aims for the Championship, it'd be best for all concerned if they were kept low key. Other fans, the media and so on will want us to slip up. I'm sure you can imagine your own reaction at a League 1 or Championship team making such lofty claims. One thing's for sure, we're in good hands and heading in the right direction. I actually think our approach is better than Man City's long term. They're becoming a mess IMO. Endless signings and little clue how to fit them together. Signing for fame and marketing more than anything, or even to stop rivals having a player. The Barca model of player development with a few key signings to the TEAM is infinitely better. I'm sure city will get a couple of trophies out of it, but I'm yet to see any sense of team there at all. Very much the Real Madrid model. It removes a bit of meaning from the club really, too much change. any chance of bullet points next time? Chelsea, Leeds, Spurs, Arsenal, Everton Man City. All teams you mention that are far bigger than Saints are. You are talking 100's of millions of investment to take a team into the the champions league, which the owners wont get back, hardly fits the club being self funding model the Liebherrs spoke of when they rolled into town. You've got 3 teams that are current fixture in the CL, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, then 3 teams beneath them who are fighting for 4th spot, Spurs, Man City, Liverpool, beneath them there are another group of clubs, Everton, Villa, Newcastle even Sunderland, who are bigger clubs with bigger fan bases than Saints. We'd have to overtake all of them just to have a shot at 4th. Look what happened at Villa when they got a sniff of potential success and regular place in the top 6 and a club with more cash came in and took their best players and their manager quit because of it. Villa are a bigger club than we are. Dream all you like about champions leauge football and of copying Barcelonas model of developing the est young players in Europe for the first team is all well and good, but Barcelona are one of the world biggest clubs that a lot of kids dream of playing for, Saints are not. Edited 13 May, 2011 by Turkish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 nothing wrong with aiming high but lets win next league game first problem is will NC now sack NA and appoint Neil Warnock because he has a track record of getting out Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddisalegend Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 (edited) Redknapp was on MOTD2 the other week saying that if spurs wanted top four next season they'd have to spend a lot more money on top of all the cash they've splashed already. Basically to break into the PL elite (and thus the CL) takes obscene amounts of cash yes our owners have cash but I'm not sure they want to spend that much for CL football, doesn't really fit with the self sustaining club model we supposdly want to adopt either. It might be cheaper to do a reverse Cardiff and join the Welsh league, saints would win every year thus ensuring CL ................ Edited 13 May, 2011 by doddisalegend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 (edited) Depends who the forum member was!? NC and Adkins both post on here.......... Deppo and Alpine Saint? Edited 13 May, 2011 by Sour Mash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 any chance of bullet points next time? Chelsea, Leeds, Spurs, Arsenal, Everton Man City. All teams you mention that are far bigger than Saints are. You are talking 100's of millions of investment to take a team into the the champions league, which the owners wont get back, hardly fits the club being self funding model the Liebherrs spoke of when they rolled into town. You've got 3 teams that are current fixture in the CL, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, then 3 teams beneath them who are fighting for 4th spot, Spurs, Man City, Liverpool, beneath them there are another group of clubs, Everton, Villa, Newcastle even Sunderland, who are bigger clubs with bigger fan bases than Saints. We'd have to overtake all of them just to have a shot at 4th. Look what happened at Villa when they got a sniff of potential success and regular place in the top 6 and a club with more cash came in and took their best players and their manager quit because of it. Villa are a bigger club than we are. Dream all you like about champions leauge football and of copying Barcelonas model of developing the est young players in Europe for the first team is all well and good, but Barcelona are one of the world biggest clubs that a lot of kids dream of playing for, Saints are not. Exactly. I can see us being a settled Premiership side, maybe a shout of a bit of Europa league action or a cup win if we're lucky, but anyone hoping for more than that will be sorely disappointed, unless the Liebherr's decide to blow a very large chunk of the family fortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy_D Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 The way I see it, there is one way in which we are ALREADY one of the biggest clubs in the country. The Academy. Think of the team we might have had if we'd had the money we have now a few years ago. If we're going to have any chance at all, that'll be the way, and the owners obviously think the same, by the way they're investing so much in the facilities, as well as (so far) keeping hold of the best players we've recently produced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 13 May, 2011 Share Posted 13 May, 2011 Deppo and Alpine Saint? Bingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 The present football business will change over the next 5 years, from the madhouse it is now. It is very likely that there will be a change to the football creditors rule soon, possibly later this year. That, together with the UEFA spending constraints and maximum squad sizes will have an impact across all the leagues. The Saints model, building substantially from within, with solid infrastructure, might just be a better way than the Man City/Chelsea/Pompey model. Buying instant success is going to be a lot more difficult. How many players would Pompey have been able to buy 3 years ago for megabucks on the never never without a payment guarantee from the league? There are still a lot of clubs in the PL and nPC with dodgy finances. Regular Champions League is a pipe dream, but stability in the Premier and odd appearances in Europa League isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig Dig Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 Redknapp was on MOTD2 the other week saying that if spurs wanted top four next season they'd have to spend a lot more money on top of all the cash they've splashed already. Basically to break into the PL elite (and thus the CL) takes obscene amounts of cash yes our owners have cash but I'm not sure they want to spend that much for CL football, doesn't really fit with the self sustaining club model we supposdly want to adopt either. It might be cheaper to do a reverse Cardiff and join the Welsh league, saints would win every year thus ensuring CL ................ I wouldn't use anything saggy chops says as an indication of how much is required to get to the CL. In recent weeks he's been banging on about City and their resources but the simple fact is, since they beat AC Milan, they only won 1 PL game. This is just a smoke screen to hide the failings that they have failed to beat the likes of blackpool (twice), wolves, west brom, wigan etc They could have have got the 4th spot regardless of what city were doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 I wouldn't use anything saggy chops says as an indication of how much is required to get to the CL. In recent weeks he's been banging on about City and their resources but the simple fact is, since they beat AC Milan, they only won 1 PL game. This is just a smoke screen to hide the failings that they have failed to beat the likes of blackpool (twice), wolves, west brom, wigan etc They could have have got the 4th spot regardless of what city were doing And Redknapp's blown the best part of £100m in transfer fees himself since he became Spurs manager, so it's not as if he's been lacking in resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 Why have you "lol"'d at that? Cortese has talked about it before so it is hardly new or me making it up. Many other clubs have done similar in the past and is a viable way to increase revenue streams in order to meet the new UEFA financial regulations. It all sounds so easy. Oh, hang on, we've got a railway line, gas storage facility serving half of the city and industrial units surrounding 3 sides of the ground. Not to mention the public highway on the 4th. Yeah, should be a piece of **** to buy all that up at once, no dramas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 14 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 14 May, 2011 (edited) It all sounds so easy. Oh, hang on, we've got a railway line, gas storage facility serving half of the city and industrial units surrounding 3 sides of the ground. Not to mention the public highway on the 4th. Yeah, should be a piece of **** to buy all that up at once, no dramas. All I did is state what Cortese has said in a public interview. He talked about developing the land around the stadium and also the possibility of at some point having a train station at the stadium. The gasworks are too far from the stadium to impact on any expansion of St Mary's itself. I see little reason why buying up the industrial estate bit by bit would cause huge problems. It is in the councils interest for the club to regenerate that area of the city and create jobs. Edited 14 May, 2011 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidthesquid Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 any chance of bullet points next time? Chelsea, Leeds, Spurs, Arsenal, Everton Man City. All teams you mention that are far bigger than Saints are. You are talking 100's of millions of investment to take a team into the the champions league, which the owners wont get back, hardly fits the club being self funding model the Liebherrs spoke of when they rolled into town. You've got 3 teams that are current fixture in the CL, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, then 3 teams beneath them who are fighting for 4th spot, Spurs, Man City, Liverpool, beneath them there are another group of clubs, Everton, Villa, Newcastle even Sunderland, who are bigger clubs with bigger fan bases than Saints. We'd have to overtake all of them just to have a shot at 4th. Look what happened at Villa when they got a sniff of potential success and regular place in the top 6 and a club with more cash came in and took their best players and their manager quit because of it. Villa are a bigger club than we are. Dream all you like about champions leauge football and of copying Barcelonas model of developing the est young players in Europe for the first team is all well and good, but Barcelona are one of the world biggest clubs that a lot of kids dream of playing for, Saints are not. It is a dream, but it is also an aim. NA stated all year he wanted to win the title, we only got second. Not a disaster, but it kept everyone focussed. We might never get Champions League football, but we might get close, we might never get back to the Prem, but you have to push forward. Settling for mid-table Championship is not an option. In my experience you are either going forwards or backwards and settling is always the first step towards going backwards. All successful people are driven on - look at Fergie, 12 titles but still with a face like a slapped @rse when a decision goes against him. So, I'm not going to start bragging in a Ho-like manner that we will get there, but as an aim it is totally justified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 It is a dream, but it is also an aim. NA stated all year he wanted to win the title, we only got second. Not a disaster, but it kept everyone focussed. We might never get Champions League football, but we might get close, we might never get back to the Prem, but you have to push forward. Settling for mid-table Championship is not an option. In my experience you are either going forwards or backwards and settling is always the first step towards going backwards. All successful people are driven on - look at Fergie, 12 titles but still with a face like a slapped @rse when a decision goes against him. So, I'm not going to start bragging in a Ho-like manner that we will get there, but as an aim it is totally justified. I am all for aiming high but this has to be tempered with realism. This week people are talking about signing current England internationals and players that 3 or 4 years ago were one of the best strikers in the world, champions league football and expanding the stadium. Just over a week ago we were a league one club with 10,000 empty seats every week. Talk of the champions league and signing the likes of Micheal Owen is utter, utter madness, fans of other clubs would think we were mental if they came on here and read some of these posts. It's cost Man City, who were an established PL club before they has major money, £300m to get there and to win their first trophy in 30 years. We are a long way away from being an establish PL club and a million miles away from a champions league club. People need to stop getting themselves at it and be a bit more realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 14 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 14 May, 2011 (edited) It's cost Man City, who were an established PL club before they has major money, £300m to get there and to win their first trophy in 30 years. We are a long way away from being an establish PL club and a million miles away from a champions league club. People need to stop getting themselves at it and be a bit more realistic. 11 years ago Man City were in League One. Edited 14 May, 2011 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidthesquid Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 I am all for aiming high but this has to be tempered with realism. This week people are talking about signing current England internationals and players that 3 or 4 years ago were one of the best strikers in the world, champions league football and expanding the stadium. Just over a week ago we were a league one club with 10,000 empty seats every week. Talk of the champions league and signing the likes of Micheal Owen is utter, utter madness, fans of other clubs would think we were mental if they came on here and read some of these posts. It's cost Man City, who were an established PL club before they has major money, £300m to get there and to win their first trophy in 30 years. We are a long way away from being an establish PL club and a million miles away from a champions league club. People need to stop getting themselves at it and be a bit more realistic. Don't disagree in general. We have to seperate a long term aim/dream from ridiculous empty headed boasts by some of our fans. My dog is as likely to play for Saints as Michael Owen imo. We have two men with a plan at the top and nothing they have done yet suggests they are about to sp()nk cash on someone like him. But a long-term aim to become a top club is entirely senmsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMPR Posted 14 May, 2011 Share Posted 14 May, 2011 Good luck to you if you do a Man City but in order to get Champions League footy you would need to spend in the region of £300m (15 x £20m players) in order to stand a chance of qualifying. This would exclude the £90,000 a week wages these type of players would demand, which adds a wage bill of £70m per annum exclusive of other bonuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 14 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 14 May, 2011 Good luck to you if you do a Man City but in order to get Champions League footy you would need to spend in the region of £300m (15 x £20m players) in order to stand a chance of qualifying. This would exclude the £90,000 a week wages these type of players would demand, which adds a wage bill of £70m per annum exclusive of other bonuses. Who said you have to follow the Man City model? A model that isn't sustainable in the long term, especially when the new UEFA regulations come into force. (took you long enough to reply to this thread! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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