Just a theory

[Huffton]

Absolutely nothing ITK, just putting a few bits of info together and coming up with a possible reason for what is happening.

We know from the new board that we were not as well financially as we thought. Have any accounts bee released?

Is it possible that the situation is far worse than we are being told, NC was actually sacked for such blatant overspending, and we are having to sell our stars to avoid being pompey mk2?

[Saint_clark]

Then they should just tell us. We would accept what's happening if they were honest about it.

[farawaysaint]

2013 results showed we made a loss of about 5.3 million pounds, and had a total accumulated loss of 28 million pounds, the increase in prize money alone (excluding any ticket revenue) covers that, I refuse to believe we've racked up 100million in debts in one year that need to be settled.

 

Oh, by the way these are the difficult results they are referring to, it is made mention of in these financial statements.

[VectisSaint]

Absolutely nothing ITK, just putting a few bits of info together and coming up with a possible reason for what is happening.

We know from the new board that we were not as well financially as we thought. Have any accounts bee released?

Is it possible that the situation is far worse than we are being told, NC was actually sacked for such blatant overspending, and we are having to sell our stars to avoid being pompey mk2?

WE don't know it was not good, all that happened is the nameless German finance director came in opened his mouth and said some stuff which he knew nothing about and made a fool of himself. Finances were clearly not a worry at all, just normal business with a huge amount of TV money to come in. Amateur director made a mountain out of a molehill and has not been seen or heard of again since. Nic was not sacked,he resigned because our heiress did not want to finance his plans and would not sell which would have allowed us to carry on with a committed backer. What is happening is because we have no-one at the helm who knows what they are doing and if it were not for Sir Les things would be in an even bigger mess than they are now, at least we have someone with a football brain still trying to do what is best with one hand tied behind his back.

[Saint_clark]

2013 results showed we made a loss of about 5.3 million pounds, and had a total accumulated loss of 28 million pounds, the increase in prize money alone (excluding any ticket revenue) covers that, I refuse to believe we've racked up 100million in debts in one year that need to be settled.

 

Oh, by the way these are the difficult results they are referring to, it is made mention of in these financial statements.

 

Also agree with this. I find it near impossible to believe that we're in such debts that the revenue from sky and the prem can't cover it. This years accounts will say a lot.

[Badger]

Nic was not sacked,he resigned because our heiress did not want to finance his plans and would not sell which would have allowed us to carry on with a committed backer.

 

What evidence is there to support that NC could have found another buyer/backer ?

[Dark Munster]

It is possible if the Don had paid himself a £100 million salary.

[Bearsy]

Pretty clear that player exits are now decided on purely financial terms, and not for footballing reasons. Either Kat needs/wants money, or the club has simply decided it's good business. Dunno which really, but either way the team is gonna be less good for it!

[Huffton]

W Nic was not sacked,he resigned

 

You know this how?

[aintforever]

The new guy said it was a difficult financial position, I tend to believe him over the back of fag packet calculations of people on here.

[farawaysaint]

The new guy said it was a difficult financial position, I tend to believe him over the back of fag packet calculations of people on here.

 

This is not a back of fag calculation, I purchased the audited results of 2013, what I have quoted are the actual figures.

[aintforever]

This is not a back of fag calculation, I purchased the audited results of 2013, what I have quoted are the actual figures.

 

But you don't know how much profit the owners want to make this year.

[farawaysaint]

But you don't know how much profit the owners want to make this year.

 

Never claimed to, all I said was I don't think we have the need to sell 100million of players. Huffton referred to dire financial need, I don't think it exists is all, (of course no one has seen the 2014 results yet outside of St Mary's).

[aintforever]

(of course no one has seen the 2014 results yet outside of St Mary's).

 

Exactly so we don't have a clue. Players like Lovren, Osvaldo and Wanyama don't come to Southampton unless they are paid a lot.

 

Also, I don't buy the idea that these big clubs have suddenly become interested in our players. I think there has always been interest, just now they have suddenly become available.

[SuperSAINT]

Absolutely nothing ITK, just putting a few bits of info together and coming up with a possible reason for what is happening.

We know from the new board that we were not as well financially as we thought. Have any accounts bee released?

 

It's ALL here...

https://audioboo.fm/boos/2033417-exclusive-saintsfc-financial-results-ceo-gareth-rogers-and-director-hans-hofstetter-talk-to-bigadamsport

 

Including Hans' quote that no team should tell their top players.

[Wurzel]

Exactly so we don't have a clue. Players like Lovren, Osvaldo and Wanyama don't come to Southampton unless they are paid a lot.

 

Also, I don't buy the idea that these big clubs have suddenly become interested in our players. I think there has always been interest, just now they have suddenly become available.

 

So which players, apart from Bale, Walcott and Ox who all went for tidy sums, have been good enough to interest the big clubs playing at CL level before the season just ended. Can't really think of anyone myself.

[S-Clarke]

It's ALL here...

https://audioboo.fm/boos/2033417-exclusive-saintsfc-financial-results-ceo-gareth-rogers-and-director-hans-hofstetter-talk-to-bigadamsport

 

Including Hans' quote that no team should tell their top players.

 

Nice one Hans, along with Ralf - utter clueless.

 

After his ''difficult'' financial situations comments, he leaves a lot to be desired.

 

but based on that interview, we should be spending £60m, as we didn't actually need that money anyway.

[DrunkenSaint]

Owners are allowed to spend there own money in football and since she is worth a few billion there is no excuse why we are selling players. Building up the stadium or improving the academy/ training facilities does not come out of the fair play money, so if the training centre cost more money than it was first thought, she could of paid it off with her own money instead of selling players to cover the costs.

 

Do you see Man city's chairman selling players to improve stuff...no he just dishes out the money knowing it will help the club to become successful. Does KL want this club to become successful, apparently she does, so why is she or we doing things a different way?

To become successful nowadays in football you need to spend money to get to the top first then you can work on long term projects, if we keep selling players we will never get to that stage.

[saintstr1]

Statements of clarification on the whole situation at the club are needed immediatly , Over the last couple of weeks the silence has been deafening and it is now time for some real honesty from Kat , Les and the rest of the board at SMS. If we have Financial problems and need to cut our cloth , Fine , But tell us dont keep doing everything as if the supporters don't excist. The Situation with regard to player sales is unbelievable for a club that finished 8th in the prem just a few months ago , Come on SMS Face up to the supporters whilst you still have some.

[farawaysaint]

Owners are allowed to spend there own money in football and since she is worth a few billion there is no excuse why we are selling players. Building up the stadium or improving the academy/ training facilities does not come out of the fair play money, so if the training centre cost more money than it was first thought, she could of paid it off with her own money instead of selling players to cover the costs.

 

Do you see Man city's chairman selling players to improve stuff...no he just dishes out the money knowing it will help the club to become successful. Does KL want this club to become successful, apparently she does, so why is she or we doing things a different way?

To become successful nowadays in football you need to spend money to get to the top first then you can work on long term projects, if we keep selling players we will never get to that stage.

 

She has put in 50million or so and converted half that to equity so I don't think this is a stick to beat KL with frankly.

[ART]

Let's be clear regarding Nicola Cortese. He was NEVER sacked. He stepped down and refused to be part of Katharina Liebherr's re-organisation and plans. She even tried to persuade him to stay but he refused.

[farawaysaint]

Let's be clear regarding Nicola Cortese. He was NEVER sacked. He stepped down and refused to be part of Katharina Liebherr's re-organisation and plans. She even tried to persuade him to stay but he refused.

 

Agreed.

[Window Cleaner]

Let's be clear regarding Nicola Cortese. He was NEVER sacked. He stepped down and refused to be part of Katharina Liebherr's re-organisation and plans. She even tried to persuade him to stay but he refused.

 

Toomer will tell you otherwise though, without any further detail of course.

[charliemiller]

I would expect to see a conversion of equity into a cash withdraw to a swiss bank in this years accounts .

 

Sadly I am beginning to think KL sees the club as a ATM rather than a football club .

 

I dont expect to see many purchases , the two we have made so far are Koemans picks and may even been a condition of his agreement to take the job . It do not seem that Les reed was working on players to come in as he said .

 

We seem to be Tyre kicking with ridiculous offers and I worry this is just to give the impression we are trying to buy .

 

I think a big part of the Cortese fallout with KL was the amount of money he spent on the academy .....this is the academy that has produced all the young stars she is now selling plus many more . If you take the mindset that she is not here for the long run then how could Cortese justify to here the 30m spend which it may take another five or ten years to see any marked improvement from what we have already seen , if at all ??

 

If someone offered me survival in teh premiership right now i would rip there arm off .......

[Batman]

if this was the direction explained to MoPo and our captain. no wonder they were gone like a shot

[Huffton]

Let's be clear regarding Nicola Cortese. He was NEVER sacked. He stepped down and refused to be part of Katharina Liebherr's re-organisation and plans. She even tried to persuade him to stay but he refused.

 

I ask again, you know that how?

[aintforever]

So which players, apart from Bale, Walcott and Ox who all went for tidy sums, have been good enough to interest the big clubs playing at CL level before the season just ended. Can't really think of anyone myself.

 

I didn't mean that. I just think that the vultures might be circling because they know we are open to offers - because of a change in our financial situation.

 

A year or so ago Cortese was chucking offers from Liverpool in the bin, now we are apparently powerless to resist anyone.

[Saint Without a Halo]

if this was the direction explained to MoPo and our captain. no wonder they were gone like a shot

 

This

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I see no evidence that the scale of this clubs reputed financial difficulties are of a seriousness that even remotely explains, let alone justifies, the virtual dismantling of a talented young squad. For that matter I can think of no precedent for another successful (on and off the field) PL club suffering a summer quite as disastrous as the one SFC is now undergoing.

 

Very obviously the board needed to draw a metaphorical 'line in the sand' months ago to prove to both our players, and to the predator clubs circling around us, that SFC was a serious Premier League football club and not some soft touch there to be exploited by any tom d1ck or harriet who happens to fancy our players.

 

For some reason (rank incompetence?) they failed spectacularly to do that and the resultant mess is there for all to see. Therefore unless our new manager is some kind of genius at throwing a squad together overnight we look set fair to end up being quite the wealthiest club ever to be relegated from the Premier League.

[Red]

She has put in 50million or so and converted half that to equity so I don't think this is a stick to beat KL with frankly.

 

Conversion to equity does not mean KL has lost or "spent" her own money in the conventional way, rather that she has made a longer term investment in the club. When / if (although almost certainly when IMHO) the club is sold she will make a very handsome profit on investment (e.g. Saints sold for £150M, £50M invested = 3 x return on investment, not too shabby! BTW, I am just talking generally to illustrate an example, no idea of actual figures, but you get the general idea). Converted equity = shares in SFC owned by KL.

 

So whilst grateful to both ML (totally) and KL (somewhat), let's not run away with the idea that they have made a massive loss, unless of course SFC is suddenly liquidated with no salvageable assets whatsoever! What I don't understand is why KL still wants to retain ownership and yet at the same time lower the ambition? Of course it's her call, but I believe she could have sold this summer at around £150M to someone prepared to invest to move forward and moved on to a business she is really passionate about. I believe (with or without NC it would have been possible), and if she really wanted to protect her father's legacy, then fair enough only sell to someone who was committed to taking the club forward. But instead KL wants to hold on to SFC as at best a mid table PL club - why?? If it is purely return on investment, football is the very last place to go. The reason most of the rich invest is because (just like us regular fans) they have a passion for the sport and are prepared to (and most importantly able to) indulge that passion even if they lose some money in the process!

 

Just cannot figure out KL's motivation - any suggestions?

[Junior Mullet]

Absolutely nothing ITK, just putting a few bits of info together and coming up with a possible reason for what is happening.

We know from the new board that we were not as well financially as we thought. Have any accounts bee released?

Is it possible that the situation is far worse than we are being told, NC was actually sacked for such blatant overspending, and we are having to sell our stars to avoid being pompey mk2?

 

If you're looking for a theory, try financial fair play rather than debt generally. We are a million miles from being Pompey mk2.

 

However, even financial fair play doesn't justify this level of selling and apparent incompetence / change of direction / loss of interest in progressing the teams fortunes.

 

We have a couple of weeks to improve the first team or we are relegation fodder. The first half team vs bournemouth was rons current first 11. we have had our spine ripped out and boy it shows! Even when we do buy new players it will take time for them to bed in. The prem is an incredibly unforgiving division and other teams will take advantage. Tough season ahead.

[washsaint]

yes...try this one. We are having to live within our means (good thing) and the squad last season became billy big ******** after their "success". Quite frankly it is an insult that an 18 year old is "demanding" 100K+ per week. And no way could Saints come even close to that.

 

It will certainly be interesting to see how RK builds his own team - and will be a journey. There is so much anger and OTT reaction on here that I sincerely hope is not representative of the fan base as a whole otherwise we should hang our heads in shame.

[Junior Mullet]

yes...try this one. We are having to live within our means (good thing) and the squad last season became billy big ******** after their "success". Quite frankly it is an insult that an 18 year old is "demanding" 100K+ per week. And no way could Saints come even close to that.

 

It will certainly be interesting to see how RK builds his own team - and will be a journey. There is so much anger and OTT reaction on here that I sincerely hope is not representative of the fan base as a whole otherwise we should hang our heads in shame.

 

Have you been impressed with the board throughout all this? Do you have confidence in their ability to turn things around? Do you think Ron will see the season out with us? How many more of last seasons first team do you expect will leave? Just where do you see out goals coming from this season? Genuine questions mate.

 

I'm a football fan just like you and personally I hate debating this. I'd much rather be discussing formations of something but what's happening is disgusting and as a fan (not customer) I feel compelled to voice my concern. The voice of the fans does have an impact.

[washsaint]

Agreed that the Board is not giving an impression of being in control of the situation. I don;t think anyone could realistically deny that - how much of that is fair I don't know and I will judge them in 3-4 weeks time after we (hopefully) have reinforcements. And quality ones at that.

 

I do wonder whether some of our players got too big for their boots after last season - and the behavior of Lovren and Lallana would seem to indicate this might be the case.

 

While I would love Saints to be a top 4 club, realistically it would take a miracle to achieve that. Last season we were excellent yet still ended up 20+ points away from the top 4. I just don't think it is realistic for us (with our crowds and lack of commercial revenue) to expect top 4. And if NC sold this "vision' to players it was not with NC's money.

 

I think that Tadic and Pelle looked excellent against Bournemouth and that the 1st half team was not too weak. With another 3-4 players and VW to come back (assuming Morgan has gone) I think we can still be top 8.

 

Maybe it is living in the US the last 4 years that gives me a glass half full outlook!

[Edmonton Saint]

The Magician longs to see.

[dubai_phil]

Insane theory # 4.976.

 

NC offered KL X amount for the club. Let's say 200 mil.

KL hates him.

Decided she wants 300 mil for the club and to screw him over.

Sales are at 93mil and counting.

Only 7mil more to go and leaves NC with a crock of sh1t until at least January..

 

Nah, I prefer Washsaints' Billy big B0110x theory.

 

(But we WILL sign more players

 

 

Note - I don't think we should underestimated the Guru Mark Clattenburg in all that is going on.

 

"You've changed"............

[Convict Colony]

Thought I'd chuck this in here since there are a billion threads ranting or raving in some guise or other.

 

Nice article in the Times this morning.

 

Everything must go for a reason

 

Southampton may have lost some of their key players, but the exodus could yet turn out to be good business

 

YOU can take a thick black pen to the list of Southampton league appearances last season and cross off the names. First, Adam Lallana, 37 starts; gone to Liverpool for £25m. Second, Luke Shaw, 35 starts; gone to Manchester United for £30m. Fourth, Rickie Lambert, 31 starts; gone to Liverpool for an initial £4m. Fifth, Morgan Schneiderlin, 31 starts; offers under consideration. Sixth, Dejan Lovren, 31 starts; going to Liverpool for £20m.

 

The deletions don’t end with those stalwarts of a team praised for passing and playing their way to an eighth-placed finish last season.

 

Another teenage English full-back, Calum Chambers, is close to joining Arsenal for £16m. Jay Rodriguez is fancied by Tottenham despite the England forward having weeks of cruciate ligament rehabilitation ahead of him. And the man who selected and led them last season? Mauricio Pochettino moved to White Hart Lane within a fortnight of its conclusion. The scale of Southampton’s big sale is unprecedented for a solvent club that has just finished in the upper half of the Premier League.

 

In Pochettino’s case it eased the decision to jump two rungs — and a considerable rise in pay and status — up the top-tier ladder. In the coach’s calculation, cashing in on the best of St Mary’s young Englishmen like this would require a difficult overseas shop as the club’s youth ranks did not offer immediate replacements.

 

Pochettino had already lost the executive chairman in a mid-winter dispute over future strategy. To describe Nicola Cortese’s approach to directing a football club as aggressive would be an understatement. Cortese drove Swiss industrialist Markus Liebherr’s 2009 takeover of the club, devised the strategy that took it from League One to the top tier inside three seasons, and then implemented a new five-year plan he describes thus: “The question for us was not if we could win the Premier League but how. If you don’t think of winning the league, you will never even get close to getting into the Champions League.”

 

On the way there, Cortese seemed to steadily generate enemies with his abrasive methods. In January, he resigned his position amid reports that he had saddled the club with the best part of £30m of unpaid transfer fees in the three and half years since Liebherr passed away. Under daughter Katharina’s control, a switch of financial strategy is evident in this summer’s sales.

 

Fraulein Liebherr’s way, though, should not be seen as a simple decision to sell the team’s silver and count up the returns.

 

The transfer-market balance sheet cannot be fully assessed until after the window closes, and Southampton are said to be “working on five or six deals” to replace the departing players. The best part of £20m has already been committed to successors for Lambert and Lallana — Graziano Pelle, an Italian striker who has scored 50 goals in 57 games for Feyenoord, and Serbia midfielder Dusan Tadic.

 

New coach Ronald Koeman has impressed survivors from last season’s squad in pre-season with one first-team regular describing the Dutchman as “a very good trainer, very focused with good methods”. Koeman appears to know exactly what he bought into at Southampton, backing his own ability to use half of a likely £100m-plus transfer take and convert it into at least as capable a squad as last season’s.

 

“That’s the story in football, players come and go,” Koeman says. “The most important message I gave them was that we have to keep the philosophy and the ambition of the club. There is money to spend and to continue the quality.”

 

While the scale of the personnel turnover is a genuine issue, what makes the idea viable are the grossly inflated fees Southampton have been able to charge for their England internationals. No one outside the Premier League would even consider paying £25m for Lallana, fine passer of the ball though he is. Ten of Lambert’s two-season haul of 28 Premier League goals have come from taking penalties or free kicks, and, at 32, his preference for operating as a chance creator rather than a finisher may not be missed.

 

The laws of football economics dictated that both be sold regardless as Southampton simply couldn’t match the opportunity and wages on offer at Anfield. Same principle for Shaw, whom Cortese kept at the club last summer by arranging a switch of agent, a new contract and a promise of a transfer a year hence.

 

While Manchester United did not appreciate Jose Mourinho’s contention that paying the salary Shaw is now receiving at Old Trafford would have “killed the stability in our dressing room”, when Chelsea cry foul at a teenager’s wage demands it’s obvious those were beyond Southampton. That a 19-year-old with one competitive international appearance is now burdened with the highest transfer fee paid for a full-back, underlines the wisdom of his sale.

 

Southampton are exploring the possibility of replacing Shaw with Marcos Rojo, a 24-year-old Argentina international who started the World Cup final. Asking price from Sporting? €15m (£11.8m), or slightly over a third of the income from Shaw.

 

Consider that they own a fruitful academy, and Southampton’s grand summer sale makes more sense yet. If Koeman, Liebherr et al rebuild astutely perhaps it will be the buyers who end up on the wrong end of these bargains.

[david in sweden]

Let's be clear regarding Nicola Cortese. He was NEVER sacked. He stepped down and refused to be part of Katharina Liebherr's re-organisation and plans. She even tried to persuade him to stay but he refused.

 

.perhaps, she knows something we don't?. Firstly, NC was removed from his post in Marcus' company and then " tendered his resignation " when he found out he couldn't get control of SFC.

 

Katarina Liebherr is no stranger to the business world, so perhaps it was a case of ..." my way or the highway " ..and NC finally left when he realised he couldn't get his own way.

 

Either way, his " rule of law " is over and only time will tell how right it was to have allowed him to go.

[SaintRichmond]

You know this how?

 

 

Katharina was quoted as saying " We tried very hard to keep him ... "

 

NOT the words of someone who had just Sacked someone, is it ?

 

Now, if she had finished by saying " ...... because I spelt out MY next Five Year Plan, and it is nothing like my Father's " then that would have cleared it up there and then

 

 

With over £100M (to date) coming IN, and only (so far) £20M going OUT, that adequately illustrates her mindset. She is selling anything and everything for HER profit, with no thought as to how it will affect the Teams ability to stay in the Prem

 

She has already managed to destroy what Markus's 5 year Plan set up. Disgraceful

Edited 27 July, 2014 by SaintRichmond
extra text

[Whitey Grandad]

Katharina was quoted as saying " We tried very hard to keep him ... "

 

NOT the words of someone who had just Sacked someone, is it ?

 

Now, if she had finished by saying " ...... because I spelt out MY next Five Year Plan, and it is nothing like my Father's " then that would have cleared it up there and then

 

 

With over £100M (to date) coming IN, and only (so far) £20M going OUT, that adequately illustrates her mindset. She is selling anything and everything for HER profit, with no thought as to how it will affect the Teams ability to stay in the Prem

 

She has already managed to destroy what Markus's 5 year Plan set up. Disgraceful

 

Please read that Times article and keep a sense of proportion. We are only part way through the process of reconstruction and any sensible person would at least wait until the new team is in place before coming to any conclusions. Talk of massive profits at this stage is very naive.

[trousers]

Thought I'd chuck this in here since there are a billion threads ranting or raving in some guise or other.

 

Nice article in the Times this morning.

 

Everything must go for a reason

 

Southampton may have lost some of their key players, but the exodus could yet turn out to be good business

 

YOU can take a thick black pen to the list of Southampton league appearances last season and cross off the names. First, Adam Lallana, 37 starts; gone to Liverpool for £25m. Second, Luke Shaw, 35 starts; gone to Manchester United for £30m. Fourth, Rickie Lambert, 31 starts; gone to Liverpool for an initial £4m. Fifth, Morgan Schneiderlin, 31 starts; offers under consideration. Sixth, Dejan Lovren, 31 starts; going to Liverpool for £20m.

 

The deletions don’t end with those stalwarts of a team praised for passing and playing their way to an eighth-placed finish last season.

 

Another teenage English full-back, Calum Chambers, is close to joining Arsenal for £16m. Jay Rodriguez is fancied by Tottenham despite the England forward having weeks of cruciate ligament rehabilitation ahead of him. And the man who selected and led them last season? Mauricio Pochettino moved to White Hart Lane within a fortnight of its conclusion. The scale of Southampton’s big sale is unprecedented for a solvent club that has just finished in the upper half of the Premier League.

 

In Pochettino’s case it eased the decision to jump two rungs — and a considerable rise in pay and status — up the top-tier ladder. In the coach’s calculation, cashing in on the best of St Mary’s young Englishmen like this would require a difficult overseas shop as the club’s youth ranks did not offer immediate replacements.

 

Pochettino had already lost the executive chairman in a mid-winter dispute over future strategy. To describe Nicola Cortese’s approach to directing a football club as aggressive would be an understatement. Cortese drove Swiss industrialist Markus Liebherr’s 2009 takeover of the club, devised the strategy that took it from League One to the top tier inside three seasons, and then implemented a new five-year plan he describes thus: “The question for us was not if we could win the Premier League but how. If you don’t think of winning the league, you will never even get close to getting into the Champions League.”

 

On the way there, Cortese seemed to steadily generate enemies with his abrasive methods. In January, he resigned his position amid reports that he had saddled the club with the best part of £30m of unpaid transfer fees in the three and half years since Liebherr passed away. Under daughter Katharina’s control, a switch of financial strategy is evident in this summer’s sales.

 

Fraulein Liebherr’s way, though, should not be seen as a simple decision to sell the team’s silver and count up the returns.

 

The transfer-market balance sheet cannot be fully assessed until after the window closes, and Southampton are said to be “working on five or six deals” to replace the departing players. The best part of £20m has already been committed to successors for Lambert and Lallana — Graziano Pelle, an Italian striker who has scored 50 goals in 57 games for Feyenoord, and Serbia midfielder Dusan Tadic.

 

New coach Ronald Koeman has impressed survivors from last season’s squad in pre-season with one first-team regular describing the Dutchman as “a very good trainer, very focused with good methods”. Koeman appears to know exactly what he bought into at Southampton, backing his own ability to use half of a likely £100m-plus transfer take and convert it into at least as capable a squad as last season’s.

 

“That’s the story in football, players come and go,” Koeman says. “The most important message I gave them was that we have to keep the philosophy and the ambition of the club. There is money to spend and to continue the quality.”

 

While the scale of the personnel turnover is a genuine issue, what makes the idea viable are the grossly inflated fees Southampton have been able to charge for their England internationals. No one outside the Premier League would even consider paying £25m for Lallana, fine passer of the ball though he is. Ten of Lambert’s two-season haul of 28 Premier League goals have come from taking penalties or free kicks, and, at 32, his preference for operating as a chance creator rather than a finisher may not be missed.

 

The laws of football economics dictated that both be sold regardless as Southampton simply couldn’t match the opportunity and wages on offer at Anfield. Same principle for Shaw, whom Cortese kept at the club last summer by arranging a switch of agent, a new contract and a promise of a transfer a year hence.

 

While Manchester United did not appreciate Jose Mourinho’s contention that paying the salary Shaw is now receiving at Old Trafford would have “killed the stability in our dressing room”, when Chelsea cry foul at a teenager’s wage demands it’s obvious those were beyond Southampton. That a 19-year-old with one competitive international appearance is now burdened with the highest transfer fee paid for a full-back, underlines the wisdom of his sale.

 

Southampton are exploring the possibility of replacing Shaw with Marcos Rojo, a 24-year-old Argentina international who started the World Cup final. Asking price from Sporting? €15m (£11.8m), or slightly over a third of the income from Shaw.

 

Consider that they own a fruitful academy, and Southampton’s grand summer sale makes more sense yet. If Koeman, Liebherr et al rebuild astutely perhaps it will be the buyers who end up on the wrong end of these bargains.

*sensible newspaper article klaxon*

[John B]

Katharina was quoted as saying " We tried very hard to keep him ... "

 

NOT the words of someone who had just Sacked someone, is it ?

 

Now, if she had finished by saying " ...... because I spelt out MY next Five Year Plan, and it is nothing like my Father's " then that would have cleared it up there and then

 

 

With over £100M (to date) coming IN, and only (so far) £20M going OUT, that adequately illustrates her mindset. She is selling anything and everything for HER profit, with no thought as to how it will affect the Teams ability to stay in the Prem

 

She has already managed to destroy what Markus's 5 year Plan set up. Disgraceful

 

I think it is pretty disgraceful postings things like this based on pure fiction you have absolutely no idea what is happening at the club and the plans they have on rebuilding the team.

 

I dont really know why you support Saints if you cannot accept that things may go wrong from time to time players want to leave to get more money and enhance their International prospects so it is virtually impossible to keep them.

 

But as you dont appear to be very pragmatic I fully accept that you will have another mindless rant shortly

[Goatboy]

Katharina was quoted as saying " We tried very hard to keep him ... "

 

NOT the words of someone who had just Sacked someone, is it ?

 

Now, if she had finished by saying " ...... because I spelt out MY next Five Year Plan, and it is nothing like my Father's " then that would have cleared it up there and then

 

 

With over £100M (to date) coming IN, and only (so far) £20M going OUT, that adequately illustrates her mindset. She is selling anything and everything for HER profit, with no thought as to how it will affect the Teams ability to stay in the Prem

 

She has already managed to destroy what Markus's 5 year Plan set up. Disgraceful

 

Self sustaining you swivel eyed loon. That was Markus' plan.You constantly fail to address this in your rants.

And if KL re-invests £50 odd million of HER money will you still think that she is selling everything for HER profit? Wouldn't she just not buy anyone if that was the case?

[SaintRichmond]

Self sustaining you swivel eyed loon. That was Markus' plan.You constantly fail to address this in your rants.

And if KL re-invests £50 odd million of HER money will you still think that she is selling everything for HER profit? Wouldn't she just not buy anyone if that was the case?

 

Do you know me ??

 

Not many know I've got swivel eyes

 

You just can't see it can you.?? Self sustaining yes, but cannot you see that Katharinas philosophy is Soooo different from her Father's

 

We did NOT have to sell all our best players to balance the books, but Katharina has decided to sell ALL she can for as MUCH as she can

 

Cortese alluded to the selling spree by saying that you don't sell your best players if you want to progress

 

By the way, throwing insults at me does NOT address the actions that SFC are currently involved with

 

It simply illustrates your immaturity in responding with your own point of view

 

Still, bring it on, I'll come back with far more than you can throw at me

 

(7 more weeks and you go back to school ?? )

[Goatboy]

Do you know me ??

 

Not many know I've got swivel eyes

 

You just can't see it can you.?? Self sustaining yes, but cannot you see that Katharinas philosophy is Soooo different from her Father's

 

We did NOT have to sell all our best players to balance the books, but Katharina has decided to sell ALL she can for as MUCH as she can

 

Cortese alluded to the selling spree by saying that you don't sell your best players if you want to progress

 

By the way, throwing insults at me does NOT address the actions that SFC are currently involved with

 

It simply illustrates your immaturity in responding with your own point of view

 

Still, bring it on, I'll come back with far more than you can throw at me

 

(7 more weeks and you go back to school ?? )

 

I haven't been in school for nearly 30 years sonny. I seriously doubt that you ever went.

[dubai_phil]

*sensible newspaper article klaxon*

 

Thx Trousers.

The other lot only got us to 8th so clearly weren't good enough.

 

Hey, it's as valid a swivel eyed idea as any of late.

 

#championsleaguethisyear.

 

This post was sponsored by

 

[Winchester Red]

Very good Times article

 

Why do the Negative posters feel the need to keep repeating themselves again and again and again. Maybe used to getting their own way of they shout louder?

 

I get it, I don't agree with you but I get it. Now please give it a rest until you have something new to add

[Whitey Grandad]

We did NOT have to sell all our best players to balance the books, but Katharina has decided to sell ALL she can for as MUCH as she can.

 

That's clearly not true. Those that wanted to go an have massively increased their pay have been sold at what everybody must agree are ludicrously lucrative values. If it was ALL that we could then lots of others would have gone for relatively little.

[Clifford Nelson]

There has been a number of good comments on this thread which encouraged me to post another of my few and far between efforts. There is a widespread view that if you are feeling worried and confused about the goings on at St Mary's, than you are a "bed wetter" or a "wrist slitter". Contrary, if regardless of the evidence you keep on believing in an increasingly rosy future, then you are a "happy clapper". I can't see the virtue of either being a depressed pessimist, or exuding manic happiness. The issue is to try to understand what the club is doing, which is far from an easy task.

 

- Both Reed and Krueger told us that we weren't selling, and we are seeing anything up to 7 of our best players disappearing over the horizon.

-The club has got one single person, apart from the manager, with any understanding of football: Les Reed.

-The very low profile finance guy was made CEO.

-The belief in the future of most players has vanished. That is entirely the responsibility of the Chairman, the CEO and the rest of the board.

- Chairman Krueger has disappeared, as has the owner. The CEO has never turned up apart from on photos.

- If Koemans was given assurances of the future, why can't that be communicated to the supporters.

- With the ousting of Cortese we were offered openness, but we are treated with silence.

 

I could go on, but I think that's enough to create a combination of confusion and alarm: Something different is going on, compared with the Cortese days, but what is it? I tend to think that if you have good news to tell you shout it from the rooftops, but if the news is bad you try to keep it quiet.

 

In the positive corner we have hired a manager and signed 2 (!) replacements. (Whatever else is hopes and wishes, and hardly evidence.)

 

I have got my season ticket for next year, so I will be there, but I can't see a single piece of evidence suggesting that we will do anything near as well as last season.

[scotty]

yes...try this one. We are having to live within our means (good thing) and the squad last season became billy big ******** after their "success". Quite frankly it is an insult that an 18 year old is "demanding" 100K+ per week. And no way could Saints come even close to that.

 

It will certainly be interesting to see how RK builds his own team - and will be a journey. There is so much anger and OTT reaction on here that I sincerely hope is not representative of the fan base as a whole otherwise we should hang our heads in shame.

 

+1.

 

The attitude of some regular posters here is unbelievable.

 

Calm down and wait to see the incoming transfers. If there are none, as the bedwetters would have us believe, then we can proclaim the window to have been a disaster. Until then, keep your f*cking hair on and judge the management when the season kicks off. Koeman is a proven manager in the Dutch league, was wanted by spurs, and turned them down because he thought he might have a chance of getting the Barca job. He has decamped from Feyenoord to us, together with his brother and backroom staff, does anyone here seriously believe that he doesnt have any sort of plan for the squad, any kind of input into transfers, or any belief in what the club are capable of achieving? ffs, I've seen spurs blogs complaining bitterly that they got pochettino and we got koeman.

 

As to the les reed hate-a-thon, as others have already pointed out, he's been here since Markus took over. Enough said, imho. And I'm getting sick of hearing the same f*cking mantra trotted out: "we wont sell any players". Which is not what he said. The statement added "unless it is our wish to sell them, and then on our terms." They have got what is generally agrred to have been over-inflated prices for every player sold so far, even the dippers were howling in grief at what they forked out for lallana, and mourinho stated that chelsea (chelsea!!!!) simply could not have afforded to pay luke shaws wages. Think about that for a moment; the king of overpayers, abramovich, couldn't pay shaw what he required.... the mind boggles. How the hell could we have kept him, on 100k a week?

 

We now have a new manager, in a better position to recruit the players he wants than any Saints manager I can recall. If it all goes tits-up and we end up as relegation fodder, I'll eat every word I've said, but in the meantime give it a f*cking rest until the season starts and the window closes.

 

Rant over.