Sport Republic

[Dman]

On 25/10/2025 at 23:49, sockeye said:

I've wondered if the 'hipster' appointments are increasingly who we can get rather than who they want.

Didn't Jesse Marsch say something about them not having a clue back in 2023?

If that's true, no wonder nobody decent wants to get near the club.

I'm not sure that is true. As i understand it, Semmens was pushing hard to appoint Marsch and return to a famailr "red bull" style. However, we'd only give him 6 months, essentially because we knew semmens was off and Wilcox would want his own man in a completely different style (i.e possession based). 

I'm absoultey not willing to die on the hill that SR are perfect model owners. They've got a lot wrong, but they have been royally shafted by the DOF's they've appointed. 

The fact they've all gone on to top clubs would suggest that they've done something right - or Chelsea / United are incredibly stupid.. I guess both could be right. 

[trousers]

Dear Sport Republic,

F*** off.

Now.

Thank you.

Lord Trousers of Saintsweb 

[ant]

Plenty of venom directed SR's way today. And it's about time. 

How proud a man is Solak when it comes to public shaming?

He's clearly not all that perturbed by watching us get humped every week.

[Badger]

5 minutes ago, ant said:

Plenty of venom directed SR's way today. And it's about time. 

How proud a man is Solak when it comes to public shaming?

He's clearly not all that perturbed by watching us get humped every week.

Was he there today then ?

[SaintNate]

Spend a shite load of money this lot, problem is what they've spent it on. Utter dross. 

[ant]

8 minutes ago, Badger said:

Was he there today then ?

Sorry, I meant in terms of the general optics and wider public opinion of his clown club getting beat all the time, as opposed to him literally watching.

[EBS1980]

Wasn’t there talk in the summer than some Boxing guy called Dragan and wanted to invest. I wonder if it’s time to return the call and have a change of approach and start buying players ready for the league we are in and not just youngsters who may or may not be good enough in a year or two?!

[Sheaf Saint]

We need to drive these fuckers out now. They have sucked every last bit of joy out of supporting this club, and made us a fucking embarrassment to the football league with their "oh so cleverer than thou but actually not" approach. 

Dragan may well have good intentions and has been badly let down by those around him, but the buck stops with him. SR and everyone involved with them need to be made to rue the day they ever set foot in SMS and be ashamed to ever show their faces in Southampton ever again.

The gloves need to come off now. No more of this "support the players on the pitch" bollocks. Being nice and respectful during games hasn't worked, and creating a toxic atmosphere can't realistically make the performances any more shit than they already are.

[Badger]

38 minutes ago, EBS1980 said:

Wasn’t there talk in the summer than some Boxing guy called Dragan and wanted to invest. I wonder if it’s time to return the call and have a change of approach and start buying players ready for the league we are in and not just youngsters who may or may not be good enough in a year or two?!

Isn’t he a ‘Fake Sheikh’ who has already bollocksed up a club in Spain?

Think it’s one to steer clear of.  

[trousers]

3 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

We need to drive these fuckers out now. They have sucked every last bit of joy out of supporting this club, and made us a fucking embarrassment to the football league with their "oh so cleverer than thou but actually not" approach. 

Dragan may well have good intentions and has been badly let down by those around him, but the buck stops with him. SR and everyone involved with them need to be made to rue the day they ever set foot in SMS and be ashamed to ever show their faces in Southampton ever again.

The gloves need to come off now. No more of this "support the players on the pitch" bollocks. Being nice and respectful during games hasn't worked, and creating a toxic atmosphere can't realistically make the performances any more shit than they already are.

Amen

[Southner]

SR are clearly wanting to make doubly sure that we're proper shit before making any rash decisions, otherwise they may look a bit silly.

[HKsaint]

If SR will still be here, I think we need to go down to L1 before our next rejuvenation. 

[Turkish]

Just had a listen to the thing with Blackmore and Tessem. Blackmore goes in on SR this week, saying there are people involved who think they know better than the game itself, idealistic, don’t like the admit they’ve got stuff wrong but they need to etc. a lot of what we’ve been saying but good to hear it coming from someone closer to the club 

[Smirking_Saint]

16 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Just had a listen to the thing with Blackmore and Tessem. Blackmore goes in on SR this week, saying there are people involved who think they know better than the game itself, idealistic, don’t like the admit they’ve got stuff wrong but they need to etc. a lot of what we’ve been saying but good to hear it coming from someone closer to the club 

Parsons and Rasmus are a problem

[ally_uk]

Let’s not bury our heads in the sand, the whole club’s in freefall, heading straight for League One. This isn’t an overreaction. It’s reality.

This isn’t just on Will Still, the rot’s set in across every level of the club. 

Our squad’s bloated still full of players with weak, loser mentalities. Let’s be honest, some of them don’t even want to be here. And it’s showing. The negativity’s dragging the whole club down.

Will Still might be a nice lad, but he doesn’t strike me as someone with the presence or charisma to dish out bollockings and raise standards.

As for standards, what have we actually been doing since Will Still was hired? What’s our game plan, our style of play, our formation?

Say what you like about Martin, but at least he had a clear idea of how he wanted us to play. With Still, what’s the foundation? What’s the vision? Because right now, we look like eleven strangers having a kickabout. No cohesion. No leadership. No identity.

Is that down to the manager and his coaches? Because look at our setup 

Trollope, who’s been through double relegation, Lallana with zero experience, and God knows who else. Where’s the real experience? The know-how to operate at this level? Who’s there to challenge Still and say, “Hang on, this isn’t working”?

Who sanctioned the deal for Downs? The lad doesn’t even look like a footballer — scared of the ball, miles off it. Someone like Kieffer Moore would’ve made far more sense.

New manager. New coaches. But this time, they need to be experienced.

And if Rasmus is still interfering and overruling Still or Spors, then Dragan needs to grow a backbone and put a stop to it. Enough’s enough.

[ChristopheVAFC]

Friends, I'm saddened to read your reactions, which are perfectly understandable today...

It's also saddening that the sporting results haven't been there...

I expect some decisions from SR in the coming days. I already suspect Will Still's days are numbered and that you'll likely be changing coaches soon, which would make sense...

Stay strong, everyone!

[Wade Garrett]

1 minute ago, ally_uk said:

Let’s not bury our heads in the sand, the whole club’s in freefall, heading straight for League One. This isn’t an overreaction. It’s reality.

This isn’t just on Will Still, the rot’s set in across every level of the club. 

Our squad’s bloated still full of players with weak, loser mentalities. Let’s be honest, some of them don’t even want to be here. And it’s showing. The negativity’s dragging the whole club down.

Will Still might be a nice lad, but he doesn’t strike me as someone with the presence or charisma to dish out bollockings and raise standards.

As for standards, what have we actually been doing since Will Still was hired? What’s our game plan, our style of play, our formation?

Say what you like about Martin, but at least he had a clear idea of how he wanted us to play. With Still, what’s the foundation? What’s the vision? Because right now, we look like eleven strangers having a kickabout. No cohesion. No leadership. No identity.

Is that down to the manager and his coaches? Because look at our setup 

Trollope, who’s been through double relegation, Lallana with zero experience, and God knows who else. Where’s the real experience? The know-how to operate at this level? Who’s there to challenge Still and say, “Hang on, this isn’t working”?

Who sanctioned the deal for Downs? The lad doesn’t even look like a footballer — scared of the ball, miles off it. Someone like Kieffer Moore would’ve made far more sense.

New manager. New coaches. But this time, they need to be experienced.

And if Rasmus is still interfering and overruling Still or Spors, then Dragan needs to grow a backbone and put a stop to it. Enough’s enough.

Agree with everything you say, but the idea that the hopeless Rasmus is overruling Still is fanciful.

[Wade Garrett]

1 minute ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

Friends, I'm saddened to read your reactions, which are perfectly understandable today...

It's also saddening that the sporting results haven't been there...

I expect some decisions from SR in the coming days. I already suspect Will Still's days are numbered and that you'll likely be changing coaches soon, which would make sense...

Stay strong, everyone!

They might shove him your way.

[Convict Colony]

6 minutes ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

Friends, I'm saddened to read your reactions, which are perfectly understandable today...

It's also saddening that the sporting results haven't been there...

I expect some decisions from SR in the coming days. I already suspect Will Still's days are numbered and that you'll likely be changing coaches soon, which would make sense...

Stay strong, everyone!

New Valenciennes coach for you guys soon as well maybe, very average start so far.

[ChristopheVAFC]

4 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

New Valenciennes coach for you guys soon as well maybe, very average start so far.

Although we are not currently achieving the best results in terms of sport, I sincerely prefer to keep our current coach, Stéphane Moulin, rather than take yours, knowing that Will Still was previously the coach of our rival team.

 

Will was determined to return to the United Kingdom to be closer to his family and his women, who had health issues, so I can't see him coming back to France.

Edited 19 hours ago by ChristopheVAFC

[Lard]

You just know that if Still was to be sacked it will be the Trollope and Lallana dream team. 
I just can’t  see SR getting it right….ever. 

Edited 19 hours ago by Lard

[AlexLaw76]

Top 3 Benefits to Saints from SR”s multi-club model…..?

GO!

[S-Clarke]

They have absolutely ruined this club, and when you think they can't go a level worse, they actually manage to do it.

No one who is part of SR is absorbed of any blame. They have destroyed my club in front of our very eyes to a point that's almost not recoverable.

We don't hear much about the finances, but if they've mismanaged the club this badly I dread to think about the state of the finances. They're probably nowhere near as healthy as people proclaim.

[Daft Kerplunk]

18 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Top 3 Benefits to Saints from SR”s multi-club model…..?

GO!

1. ChristopheVAFC is now a valued member of this forum

2. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

3. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

 

Jason Wilcox favoured a possession approach so that worked for Russell Martin.  Spors is on record as wanting a more direct style but the players at Saints are a confusing mix of people that clearly are not gelling, or worse, unmotivated with no concern at being so crap.  Sport Republic themselves are a toxic mix of confused, deluded and arrogant.  

 

[Matthew Le God]

21 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

We don't hear much about the finances, but if they've mismanaged the club this badly I dread to think about the state of the finances. They're probably nowhere near as healthy as people proclaim.

The finances are not a hidden secret. They are publically available to see on the Companies House website. There is nothing overly concerning about them, apart from we'll be in trouble if we aren't promoted before the parachute payments run out at the end of the 2026/27 season.

Edited 18 hours ago by Matthew Le God

[stknowle]

24 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Top 3 Benefits to Saints from SR”s multi-club model…..?

GO!

1. @ChristopheVAFC posts on here 

2. Erm……

[Mboto Gorge]

6 minutes ago, Daft Kerplunk said:

1. ChristopheVAFC is now a valued member of this forum

2. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

3. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

 

Jason Wilcox favoured a possession approach so that worked for Russell Martin.  Spors is on record as wanting a more direct style but the players at Saints are a confusing mix of people that clearly are not gelling, or worse, unmotivated with no concern at being so crap.  Sport Republic themselves are a toxic mix of confused, deluded and arrogant.  

 

And herein lies the problem. The club will not recover until the owners have left. They’re a group of the most arrogant, deluded, incompetent fools you could ever wish to have ruining a football club. It’s astonishing just how bad they are. In my opinion it’s gone far beyond incompetence and simply bad decision making, it’s now at levels of complete and total contempt for the fans. They have zero shame and still probably believe they know better than us even after the worst period of results in English football history for any side ever. 

Edited 18 hours ago by Mboto Gorge

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, Mboto Gorge said:

In my opinion it’s gone far beyond incompetence and simply bad decision making, it’s now at levels of complete and total contempt for the fans. They have zero shame and still probably believe they know better than us even after the worst period of results in English football history for any side ever. I won’t be setting foot inside the stadium until they’re out.

I'm not denying they have fucked up big time. But what is that claim of contempt for fans and zero shame based on?

[stknowle]

15 minutes ago, Daft Kerplunk said:

1. ChristopheVAFC is now a valued member of this forum

2. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

3. Nothing that couldn't have happened without it

 

Jason Wilcox favoured a possession approach so that worked for Russell Martin.  Spors is on record as wanting a more direct style but the players at Saints are a confusing mix of people that clearly are not gelling, or worse, unmotivated with no concern at being so crap.  Sport Republic themselves are a toxic mix of confused, deluded and arrogant.  

 

 

11 minutes ago, stknowle said:

1. @ChristopheVAFC posts on here 

2. Erm……

Missed that before posting mine. We’re both right though!

[Mboto Gorge]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

I'm not denying they have fucked up big time. But what is that claim of contempt for fans and zero shame based on?

The fact they continue to make the same mistakes again and again and again, knowing that a lot of their decisions are based on huge gambles and trying to be too clever, with no previous success rate to fall back on you’d think they’d stop trying to be clever and just make safer solid decisions , based on the last few years of horrific results resulting from prior decisions they’ve made.

 

Their previous decision making has been awful in pretty much all areas of the club, so to keep doing the same thing again,  it borders on contempt surely. They are obviously not too bothered about upsetting the supporter base otherwise they’d surely reign in their maverick style of decision making , based on literally fucking up everything they’ve done previously, they’d rather continue in exactly the same manner.
 It’s like being caught drunk driving 3 times already on the way home from the pub, but having another go anyway to see if you can get away with it. And don’t get me started on the match day prices, an utter pisstake after the performances and results last season to be charging £35 plus for games . they’ve shown many times they couldn’t give a fuck about the supporters. 

 

I can’t believe an ownership group can merely be this thick and incompetent. 

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Parsons and Rasmus are a problem

Rasmus has previously been closely involved on the football side of things, but what do you regard as Parsons failings on that front ?

You may be right but I thought Parsons focussed on the commercial side of things, leaving the football to the “experts”. 

[redkeith]

I posted this on the match thread yesterday , but it probably belongs here .

We are getting worse each week. 

The recruitment has been terrible ever since SR took over. Signing SAA and Meghoma on big salaries that pissed of Doyle, Morgan etc and cleared out the best academy players.  Not signing a strong centre back or centre forward. Bazunu! Pissing millions up the wall on Man City reserves. 

Renewing players who have proven to be inadequate at the top level. 

Awful managerial appointments. All of them with the bullshit out of the box philosophy, never anyone with a track record in the league we were in. 

I am happy that, living in France , I don't get to many games anymore, and when I do I have used a mates season ticket, so Sports Republic haven't got a penny out of me, nor will they in the future.

 

 

[Gloucester Saint]

29 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

There is nothing overly concerning about them, apart from we'll be in trouble if we aren't promoted before the parachute payments run out at the end of the 2026/27 season.

Would have to agree to disagree at that point, unless a new manager performs a miracle and makes some of these players attractive to buying clubs again, they are worth a fraction of what we bought for them and the transition off parachute payment will be much harsher than 07-08 - and that was bumpy as a rural airport runway.

[S-Clarke]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

The finances are not a hidden secret. They are publically available to see on the Companies House website. There is nothing overly concerning about them, apart from we'll be in trouble if we aren't promoted before the parachute payments run out at the end of the 2026/27 season.

We're in big, big trouble then as we're not getting promoted before the parachute payments run out.

[Smirking_Saint]

32 minutes ago, Badger said:

Rasmus has previously been closely involved on the football side of things, but what do you regard as Parsons failings on that front ?

You may be right but I thought Parsons focussed on the commercial side of things, leaving the football to the “experts”. 

Im not really sure what Blackmore is on about if Im completely honest, and unfortunately Ive lost any access I used to at the club but Rasmus was previously quite involved, and was then sidelined at the same time Kraft was ditched

Kraft, I believe, was heavily in favour of not replacing Wilcox, and was a decision backed by Parsons

Rasmus’ current role is player exits and the overall multi club strategy… and Id say he is actually doing ok on that front, but he does fit as the arrogant ‘thinks he knows more than he does’ statement

Overall I think SR and Spoors has actually done ‘ok’ enough this year, they made good signings, unfortunately signing Downs and Stephens contract are a huge detractor of their summer but not sure hiw much involvement Spoors had, if he was involved its fucking awful

The signing of Still, as crap as he is, Id still say in the interest of balance looked a good appointment at the time, he was a well respected coach and was courted by some decent clubs… unfortunately hindsight tells us, for whatever reasons that he is just not up to it

[HKsaint]

Now who is still saying we need to be more patient with Will Still? 

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Overall I think SR and Spoors has actually done ‘ok’ enough this year, they made good signings, unfortunately signing Downs and Stephens contract are a huge detractor of their summer but not sure hiw much involvement Spoors had, if he was involved its fucking awful

I think they've made a mess of recruitment myself and have left us with one of the worst squads we've ever had. The rewarding of Stephens was a sign of things to come.

It's bloated and full of mis-fitting players, but the critical areas such as CM, 9 and GK have remained unresolved. They've not done OK at all, they've failed us once again on building a team capable of being competitive.

[Badger]

2 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Im not really sure what Blackmore is on about if Im completely honest, and unfortunately Ive lost any access I used to at the club but Rasmus was previously quite involved, and was then sidelined at the same time Kraft was ditched

Kraft, I believe, was heavily in favour of not replacing Wilcox, and was a decision backed by Parsons

Rasmus’ current role is player exits and the overall multi club strategy… and Id say he is actually doing ok on that front, but he does fit as the arrogant ‘thinks he knows more than he does’ statement

Overall I think SR and Spoors has actually done ‘ok’ enough this year, they made good signings, unfortunately signing Downs and Stephens contract are a huge detractor of their summer but not sure hiw much involvement Spoors had, if he was involved its fucking awful

The signing of Still, as crap as he is, Id still say in the interest of balance looked a good appointment at the time, he was a well respected coach and was courted by some decent clubs… unfortunately hindsight tells us, for whatever reasons that he is just not up to it

So in summary, Rasmus ‘doing okay’, Spors ‘ok’ , in which case have to wonder what or where the problem is?

Agree about Downs and Stephens. 

Each to their own view, but I’d disagree that Still ever looked anything other than another unmitigated gamble let alone a good appointment at the time. 

[Smirking_Saint]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

I think they've made a mess of recruitment myself and have left us with one of the worst squads we've ever had. The rewarding of Stephens was a sign of things to come.

It's bloated and full of mis-fitting players, but the critical areas such as CM, 9 and GK have remained unresolved. They've not done OK at all, they've failed us once again on building a team capable of being competitive.

Downes, Jander, Charles are all top level CMs at this level

GK I agree with, although I think if we are functioning at all defensively we get away with it

No.9 is a problem, absolutely, we wasted so much money there instead of signing anyone with any pedigree and with all of them the best is probably Archer and we seem to utilise him atrociously

[Badger]

4 minutes ago, HKsaint said:

Now who is still saying we need to be more patient with Will Still? 

Worryingly, Spors and co I suspect. 

[Smirking_Saint]

3 minutes ago, Badger said:

So in summary, Rasmus ‘doing okay’, Spors ‘ok’ , in which case have to wonder what or where the problem is?

Agree about Downs and Stephens. 

Each to their own view, but I’d disagree that Still ever looked anything other than another unmitigated gamble let alone a good appointment at the time. 

On this Season, I think most managers would be happy with our squad going into this year, comparatively to the other teams

So in summary Still has absolutely failed

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Downes, Jander, Charles are all top level CMs at this level

GK I agree with, although I think if we are functioning at all defensively we get away with it

No.9 is a problem, absolutely, we wasted so much money there instead of signing anyone with any pedigree and with all of them the best is probably Archer and we seem to utilise him atrociously

I'm not saying the players are bad, it's just they're so ill-suited and don't mesh. Those 3 CM's are very similar in style. That won't ever work. You need alternatives and some power/physicality/experience in there, none of those give us that. We should have dumped Downes in the summer and that was one of the biggest mistakes, as we're now lumbered with his toxicity. 

We basically went into the season as I feared - putting our eggs in the Ross Stewart basket, someone who is always injured and it won't ever change. He was another one we should have released in the summer and cut ties with.

I'd have saved the money we spent on Quarshie, Downs and Fellows and poured it into a proven number 9. That's almost £20m right there.

We didn't need Quarshie as we had Edwards, THB, Wood, Stephens. We didn't need Fellows as we retained Edozie and couldn't shift him. We didn't need Downs as he can't play football.

Edited 17 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Lee On Solent Saint]

2 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Parsons and Rasmus are a problem

Isn't there a poster here who lays the boot into Parson's massively?

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Isn't there a poster here who lays the boot into Parson's massively?

Saint_Loyal. I thin Parsons sent him a duff Dyson in the past.

[Gloucester Saint]

27 minutes ago, Badger said:

So in summary, Rasmus ‘doing okay’, Spors ‘ok’ , in which case have to wonder what or where the problem is?

Agree about Downs and Stephens. 

Each to their own view, but I’d disagree that Still ever looked anything other than another unmitigated gamble let alone a good appointment at the time. 

@S-Clarke and @Smirking_Saint whilst coming it at from different angles, are coming to the same conclusion - nobody truly knows who is responsible for what at the club and lines of responsibility are blurred. 

I’ve had this in my career but you can only make it work with a very experienced manager who can cut through it and make the core of their operation work. At 33 that’s such a difficult ask. The lad at Brighton wouldn’t be anywhere as impressive without the stable structure Bloom has built over time.

Whether they agree with decisions or not, everyone should be clear - supporters, stakeholders, sponsors, players, managers - on who is responsible for what.

Edited 16 hours ago by Gloucester Saint

[Badger]

6 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

@S-Clarke and @Smirking_Saint whilst coming it at from different angles, are coming to the same conclusion - nobody knows who is responsible for what at the club and lines of responsibility are blurred.

I’ve had this in my career but you can only make it work with a very experienced manager who can cut through it and make the core of their operation work. At 33 that’s such a difficult ask. The lad at Brighton wouldn’t be anywhere as impressive without the stable structure Bloom has built over time.

That’s fair comment, as it’s difficult to detect from the outside where specific responsibilities - and with it the blame- begins and ends.
 

This would influence many things at the club perhaps up to recruitment stage. Beyond that, team selection, motivation, and of course game management (including subs) rests with the manager (although it might also raise questions over the daft bastard who appointed him). 

[ChristopheVAFC]

1 hour ago, stknowle said:

1. @ChristopheVAFC posts on here 

2. Erm……

In all sincerity, friends, I have nothing to gain by defending Sport Republic. In any case, the statistics are there, as are the figures, and they cannot be disputed by anyone here or elsewhere.

As I said, I'm sad to see that the season isn't going very well for you, and I would obviously like to see things improve.

I enjoy our discussions whenever I have the opportunity, and I'm interested in your passion for your club.

Thanks 🙏🤝

[Hamwic]

Sport Republic, and plenty other club owners, seem incapable of recruiting for vital staff, players and coaches. The litany of poor and failed managers here and elsewhere is testimony to that. How to correct that before yet another nail in the coffin, I'm not sure. 

[stknowle]

37 minutes ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

In all sincerity, friends, I have nothing to gain by defending Sport Republic. In any case, the statistics are there, as are the figures, and they cannot be disputed by anyone here or elsewhere.

As I said, I'm sad to see that the season isn't going very well for you, and I would obviously like to see things improve.

I enjoy our discussions whenever I have the opportunity, and I'm interested in your passion for your club.

Thanks 🙏🤝

Absolutely clear @ChristopheVAFC my post was a lighthearted suggestion that the only benefit derived from SR’s ownership is that you post on here which you otherwise would not do and you should take that as a compliment. Keep on posting. 👍

[Saint Gifford]

So the days of NC weren’t so bad after all. I’d have him back instantly. 
 

Oh and while we are at it what’s Ralph doing these days. 
 

They say you should never go back, but I’d be getting the blank cheque for both signed now.