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Les Reed spelt out the clubs aims


Batman

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in early June

 

Aiming for Europe and no need to sell players we dont want o sell

 

in summery..

State of the art training facilities

domestic friendlies in order not to travel around the world after the world cup

we are an established top half premier league club

we now have a top 8 premier league team

we MUST maintain that status and enhance it and not go backwards

we will be playing a european opponent away and one at home

we have been targeting players for quite some time. 24/7, always have players lined up

we constantly target managers and players. We have access to the best data on players and managers from europe and around the world

we have created a culture called the southampton way. Its about values and entertainment. the academy players is our legacy

we had top class managers who applied for the job

we have MANY player we have targeted. Many players we want are excited about the prospect of coming to southampton

we are probably within the top 20 clubs in the world

we really wanted MP to stay, he left for other reason. Our ambition was not a reason for him going

Players we are linked with really want to come here

our scouts are all over the world, it is a 24/7 operation. 12 analysts at home build profiles on players and managers. Collate the data for the manager

we talk regularly about potential players who we could sign

we know what we need to bring in, we are ahead of the game in bringing players in

we make multiple bids for players at any one time

NO PLAYERS will leave if we dont want them to. Its all in our hands

we have no intention to sell anyone

we have had bids for players, No decisions will be made until new manager arrives and he as assessed them and try to get them to stay

we do NOT need to sell

we constantly keep players informed but it is not easy when other clubs go public

ANY revenues made on player sale WILL be reinvested into the team

we will have an improved side and improved depth when we kick off on 16th Aug

we intend to keep everyone

we are not open for business

Aiming for Europe and better than last season

 

 

 

Edited by Batman
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Aren't you concerned in the slightest?

 

I am, but Saints are selling players for huge prices to huge clubs. If we were losing our best players to Stoke and West Brom then that is the time to really be concerned... but we aren't... its Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal for huge prices and wages on offer. I still think we should wait and see who the replacements are before criticising the club. If the incoming players by the close of the window don't leave us with a strong squad then that is the time to be annoyed.

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So far we have sold 3 and replaced 2 with players who have excited in pre season. We are still taking about bringing 4-5 more in , our ITKs have asked for 2 weeks calm and it's only cocking July.

 

If we are still in a bad position come September then feel free to go ape poop but please enjoy your summer , have a drink get some sun and watch Sharon Davies give interviews by the pool in Glasgow

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I am, but Saints are selling players for huge prices to huge clubs. If we were losing our best players to Stoke and West Brom then that is the time to really be concerned... but we aren't... its Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal for huge prices and wages on offer. I still think we should wait and see who the replacements are before criticising the club. If the incoming players by the close of the window don't leave us with a strong squad then that is the time to be annoyed.

 

Spot on.

 

Keep calm and give the club a chance.

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What about players coming through the academy to fill roles, often forgotten as 'free signings' that a lot of clubs would die for

 

They might not be quite there but Reed, Target, Isgrove all have great potential and would equate to other clubs signing from lower divisions

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I am, but Saints are selling players for huge prices to huge clubs. If we were losing our best players to Stoke and West Brom then that is the time to really be concerned... but we aren't... its Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal for huge prices and wages on offer. I still think we should wait and see who the replacements are before criticising the club. If the incoming players by the close of the window don't leave us with a strong squad then that is the time to be annoyed.

 

what happened to being bigger than everton? how on earth did you think we could compete with the top 4 (which you did about a year ago)

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I am, but Saints are selling players for huge prices to huge clubs. If we were losing our best players to Stoke and West Brom then that is the time to really be concerned... but we aren't... its Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal for huge prices and wages on offer. I still think we should wait and see who the replacements are before criticising the club. If the incoming players by the close of the window don't leave us with a strong squad then that is the time to be annoyed.

 

I don't go in for all the doom and despair myself but even I can understand where the likes of Batman etc are coming from.

 

Selling players to big clubs happens but Chambers, barely into the first team, and already wanting out to sit on Arsenal's bench seems odd to me. Let's face it, we aren't exactly short of money so, even if it is an apparently 'huge' offer I see no reason we should have to accept.

 

Replacements are all well and good but try rebuilding nearly half a team over a few weeks of pre-season and you honestly cannot expect it to go well. I think it is perfectly fair to criticise the club if we feel they are making bad decisions and, though decent signings would cheer the mood, their will still be dismay at the way our bright young prospects have all been flogged so easily!

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What about players coming through the academy to fill roles, often forgotten as 'free signings' that a lot of clubs would die for

 

They might not be quite there but Reed, Target, Isgrove all have great potential and would equate to other clubs signing from lower divisions

 

 

I seem to remember someone else trying that ............ now, what happened ??

 

Ah yes, I remember now

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I seem to remember someone else trying that ............ now, what happened ??

 

Ah yes, I remember now

 

Do you think that's how Les / Katharina sold it to Koeman."it's been a (cough) successful strategy used by the club in the past. In fact we had your countrymen Jan and Mark use it once before with Academy players and, erm,"

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I seem to remember someone else trying that ............ now, what happened ??

 

Ah yes, I remember now

 

Did Alan Hansen get it wrong?

 

Now before you misquote me or take this out of context all I'm doing is adding a bit of balance to your gloom. Enjoy it.

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a fair few people have posted that they want to know what the clubs in aiming for

 

....in order to assess whether it is delivering to its vision and ambition.

 

I'd say the answer today is that it isn't. We now need a RB to add to the replacements to LB, Striker, midfield, goalkeeper, centre bac.k. We need a minimum of 5 players, probably 8 to build on last seasons place. Isn't going to happen this Summer in my opinion.

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It's clear what the strategy is. We bring in English youngsters and develop them through the Academy with the promise of 1st team football if they're good enough. Regardless of anything, if a decent offer comes in from a top 4 club they will be released and sold. We will reinvest in cheaper foreign replacements to backfill essential positions in the 1st team. Our squad will be made up of upcoming youngsters and so will appear thin.

 

This is the Southampton way. The evidence is there for all to see...how many of the players sold so far have been English or at least British? The teams above us seem to be mostly interested in our domestic product I would suggest. Of course the big problem this summer is that the squad has been bulging with decent English talent since L1 and there's a log jam of younger players coming through the system. You could argue that now was the right time to cash in and change things with a new manager coming in, however the risks are huge if you don't replace outgoing players with equal or better talent.

 

So the big questions are these. Will the Board spend an appropriate amount of money to keep the talent level up? Will Koeman and his team be able to recreate the team spirit seen in previous years with a team of strangers? To assist in maintaining squad unity, will important players such as Fonte, Cork and JRod be retained? I don't expect JRod to be retained BTW....he fits the above mould and will be sold at the first opportunity.

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in early June

 

Aiming for Europe and no need to sell players we dont want o sell

 

in summery..

State of the art training facilities

domestic friendlies in order not to travel around the world after the world cup

we are an established top half premier league club

we now have a top 8 premier league team

we MUST maintain that status and enhance it and not go backwards

we will be playing a european opponent away and one at home

we have been targeting players for quite some time. 24/7, always have players lined up

we constantly target managers and players. We have access to the best data on players and managers from europe and around the world

we have created a culture called the southampton way. Its about values and entertainment. the academy players is our legacy

we had top class managers who applied for the job

we have MANY player we have targeted. Many players we want are excited about the prospect of coming to southampton

we are probably within the top 20 clubs in the world

we really wanted MP to stay, he left for other reason. Our ambition was not a reason for him going

Players we are linked with really want to come here

our scouts are all over the world, it is a 24/7 operation. 12 analysts at home build profiles on players and managers. Collate the data for the manager

we talk regularly about potential players who we could sign

we know what we need to bring in, we are ahead of the game in bringing players in

we make multiple bids for players at any one time

NO PLAYERS will leave if we dont want them to. Its all in our hands

we have no intention to sell anyone

we have had bids for players, No decisions will be made until new manager arrives and he as assessed them and try to get them to stay

we do NOT need to sell

we constantly keep players informed but it is not easy when other clubs go public

ANY revenues made on player sale WILL be reinvested into the team

we will have an improved side and improved depth when we kick off on 16th Aug

we intend to keep everyone

we are not open for business

Aiming for Europe and better than last season

 

 

 

 

So what, Krueger probably wrote the script for him. Reed is a non-entity.

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Les Reed is Lying bullsh...ter. It's scandalous the way he has treated the fans of this club, lies and more lies. He should be ashamed of himself the arrogant Tosser.

Not the language I would use, but I agree with the sentiment. Batman's quotes from Les Reed's video look accurate to me and I struggle to find one that is true. For Matthew Le God to say he couldn't understand the point looks disingenuous. The only consistency from Reed and the club is that they say one thing and do something else and unfortunately, despite Koeman's apparent frankness, he risks getting caught up in it. We shall see what transpires over Chambers and Lovren but for the OS to say they weren't at Bournemouth because they were 'ill' makes me feel ill as well. If Chambers did pass a medical at Arsenal on Thursday, how come he was ill on Friday. Unless the club take some urgent action to deal with the crisis amongst fans ( a few with their heads in the sand excepted of course), there are going to be some empty spaces in the ground this season.

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I think Reed has looked at the way to break through "The Glass Ceiling" and has realised we won't do it with British players brought through the academy. Yes we have a production line of fine young players but to build a team to challenge for a place in top 4 of the Premiership you need something more…you need a smattering of world class players.

 

At the moment Southampton aren’t in a position to attract those kind of players…you don’t leap-frog from 8th place into the top 4…you build gradually, sadly trading some of your best players as you go. Raising money to add to a war-chest where you can rebuild and improve the team in a sustainable way; trading home grown players for players of equal or better standing and adding any profit to the war-chest.

 

As we know British players are over priced; at the moment we are playing that to our advantage (hopefully). Ask yourself how many truly world class player have emerged from the UK in the last 10 years…I would say 1, Gareth Bale. Do you think anyone we have sold in this window has the chance to be another Bale? Hard to tell I know.

 

In the next couple of weeks I hope we will see the emergence of Reed’s new “5 Year Plan” It’s hard going at the moment without the incoming players but nobody in their right mind would think there isn’t a plan in effect. Maybe we’re also victims of the “want it now generation”, young players who think 5 years in the Academy is serving their apprenticeship rather than 5 years in the first team.

 

I’m obviously an optimist but there is also a realist in here too…if we are to continue to improve there will be more pain on the way…get used to it. It’s a hard job to balance pain with gain.

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Not the language I would use, but I agree with the sentiment. Batman's quotes from Les Reed's video look accurate to me and I struggle to find one that is true. For Matthew Le God to say he couldn't understand the point looks disingenuous. The only consistency from Reed and the club is that they say one thing and do something else and unfortunately, despite Koeman's apparent frankness, he risks getting caught up in it. We shall see what transpires over Chambers and Lovren but for the OS to say they weren't at Bournemouth because they were 'ill' makes me feel ill as well. If Chambers did pass a medical at Arsenal on Thursday, how come he was ill on Friday. Unless the club take some urgent action to deal with the crisis amongst fans ( a few with their heads in the sand excepted of course), there are going to be some empty spaces in the ground this season.

 

 

but they were probably ill, suffering from an instantaneous bout of depression at the thought of being sold by a club that they love for very little money. Oh no, that can't be right. Now on to last night's commentary. Commentator was crap but enough of that, Sibley on the other hand was absolutely transparently sick making, kept bigging up the players brought in to replace those who we've sold, that's OK they weren't bad but neither were other players for whom he had not a word to say.

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I am, but Saints are selling players for huge prices to huge clubs. If we were losing our best players to Stoke and West Brom then that is the time to really be concerned... but we aren't... its Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal for huge prices and wages on offer. I still think we should wait and see who the replacements are before criticising the club. If the incoming players by the close of the window don't leave us with a strong squad then that is the time to be annoyed.

 

wow at last someone putting into context of how the club is selling our top players to top teams and nothing we can do just sit back and wait for it to end and then go through it all again in January if jay rod is fit and playing well...........and so on ......

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wow at last someone putting into context of how the club is selling our top players to top teams and nothing we can do just sit back and wait for it to end and then go through it all again in January if jay rod is fit and playing well...........and so on ......

 

This nothing we can do line is ridiculous. If we said no to chambers then what is he going to do?

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I think Reed has looked at the way to break through "The Glass Ceiling" and has realised we won't do it with British players brought through the academy. Yes we have a production line of fine young players but to build a team to challenge for a place in top 4 of the Premiership you need something more…you need a smattering of world class players.

 

At the moment Southampton aren’t in a position to attract those kind of players…you don’t leap-frog from 8th place into the top 4…you build gradually, sadly trading some of your best players as you go. Raising money to add to a war-chest where you can rebuild and improve the team in a sustainable way; trading home grown players for players of equal or better standing and adding any profit to the war-chest.

 

As we know British players are over priced; at the moment we are playing that to our advantage (hopefully). Ask yourself how many truly world class player have emerged from the UK in the last 10 years…I would say 1, Gareth Bale. Do you think anyone we have sold in this window has the chance to be another Bale? Hard to tell I know.

 

In the next couple of weeks I hope we will see the emergence of Reed’s new “5 Year Plan” It’s hard going at the moment without the incoming players but nobody in their right mind would think there isn’t a plan in effect. Maybe we’re also victims of the “want it now generation”, young players who think 5 years in the Academy is serving their apprenticeship rather than 5 years in the first team.

 

I’m obviously an optimist but there is also a realist in here too…if we are to continue to improve there will be more pain on the way…get used to it. It’s a hard job to balance pain with gain.

 

I totally agree with this. I still think that we are going to sign 5/6 players of quality.

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I didn't know this... Shaw earning a basic wage of £100,000 a week at United, making the 19-year-old the highest paid teenager in the world. From a guardian article... http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/26/louis-van-gaal-to-speak-with-jose-mourinho-over-luke-shaw

 

puts things in perspective on who Saints can retain. Hopefully in a couple of years time, the big five will not have space in their squad to buy anymore of our youngsters and we can keep them for a bit!

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This nothing we can do line is ridiculous. If we said no to chambers then what is he going to do?

 

perhaps we can't, why do you think Arsenal got Debuchy for 11 million and Liverpool are getting Remy for 8 and a half. It's called a release clause. We surely can't be stupid enough to not accept that some of our players may have them as well. Agents love em.

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Spot on.

 

Keep calm and give the club a chance.

 

The concern comes from an inexperienced Board now being challenged with replacing half the team and no track record of ever doing it successfully. We have one football man making all the decisions and the last time he saw an overhaul of a playing squad was at Fulham where he was an unmitigated disaster. So if people are worried it is not without foundation.

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perhaps we can't, why do you think Arsenal got Debuchy for 11 million and Liverpool are getting Remy for 8 and a half. It's called a release clause. We surely can't be stupid enough to not accept that some of our players may have them as well. Agents love em.

 

A release clause in your first pro contract? Can't see it myself.

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