The Benefits of the Sport Republic Group Model (Split)

[bugenhagen]

[AlexLaw76]

4 minutes ago, Nolan said:

Whatever you want to call it, It’s not dissimilat to Southampton working in Bristol for feeder academies.

Just further afield.

 

We are most certainly the supply side of the set up… even after relegation and a significant financial hit

sad times 

[sockeye]

40 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Brighton have been doing it since 2009 and I wouldn’t have classed them as a high flying status club. No idea when they really started seeing the fruits of it in the first team of Brighton. 

Bloom acquired Brighton in 2009 and sustainably grew the club for 8 years until they reached the Premier League. He acquired a stake in USG after Brighton's survival was secured for their first season in Premier League in May 2018. Then did not invest in any more clubs until 2025 where he acquired a minority stake in Melbourne Victory. Brighton have never been relegated since Tony Bloom bought them. They finished 16th in League One the year he bought them, and last season finished 8th. They also were in a European competition recently.

Sport Republic acquired Saints in January 2022 and could not even wait until they had completed a full Premier League season with Saints before they bought Goztepe in August 2022. Saints were then relegated, and SR bought Valenciennes after relegation was confirmed. They got promoted via the play-offs, but then were relegated again last season. When SR took control of Saints, we were in 13th. Last season, we finished 20th on 12 points. We have not been in a European competition for almost a decade.

What SR have done over the last 3 years is not even comparable to what Bloom has managed to do with Brighton.

[Saint Fan CaM]

“Kuryu Matsuki Will hopefully be the first to come through for us.”

What position does the lad play and do we need that?

Does he have the right attributes to suit Stills system(s)?

Just a couple of questions which might indicate a level of skepticism one might have about the benefits Saints MAY achieve at some time in the future. To date nothing.

[sockeye]

If there's a word I can use to summarise Sport Republic, it's naive. The multi-club model is not a bad idea in theory, but they rushed to implement it as if it will pay dividends simply from existing. That is not the case. The club at the heart of the model has to be stable. At the time our recent history was that we were a lower-half PL side which had just about managed to avoid relegation each year. That is not stable, that is one misstep away from losing over a hundred million pounds. But yet SR immediately jumped to buy player after player from other academies as well as other clubs to make up this multi-club model. SR saw survival as a triviality, and as punishment we were relegated on 25 points. And yet since then we have become even less stable. Our income fluctuates massively every year as we swap divisions. It's not the time to be playing around with the multi club model, it needs to be put on ice.

Some of my opinion hinges on how Matsuki does this year.

Edited June 4 by sockeye

[Challenger]

Like a child being able to buy a car but not being able to use it until old enough and qualified .

[Fabrice29]

38 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Bloom acquired Brighton in 2009 and sustainably grew the club for 8 years until they reached the Premier League. He acquired a stake in USG after Brighton's survival was secured for their first season in Premier League in May 2018. Then did not invest in any more clubs until 2025 where he acquired a minority stake in Melbourne Victory. Brighton have never been relegated since Tony Bloom bought them. They finished 16th in League One the year he bought them, and last season finished 8th. They also were in a European competition recently.

Sport Republic acquired Saints in January 2022 and could not even wait until they had completed a full Premier League season with Saints before they bought Goztepe in August 2022. Saints were then relegated, and SR bought Valenciennes after relegation was confirmed. They got promoted via the play-offs, but then were relegated again last season. When SR took control of Saints, we were in 13th. Last season, we finished 20th on 12 points. We have not been in a European competition for almost a decade.

What SR have done over the last 3 years is not even comparable to what Bloom has managed to do with Brighton.

Sorry, yes I messed up the dates my bad. I wasn’t making any comparison to SR and Saints though. Just pointing out you don’t need to be a high status flying club to make a success of it. 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Incredible that we have just been relegated, about to sell off the few good players we have, and we will buy players and loan them to Goztepe

nice one 👌

The benefits of a multi-club model. It also enables us to buy players for well over their market value from other clubs in the group, this will enable them to strengthen their squad, improve their performance and therefore increase the overall value of the group of clubs. The good news keeps coming

[Doctoroncall]

38 minutes ago, sockeye said:

If there's a word I can use to summarise Sport Republic, it's naive. The multi-club model is not a bad idea in theory, but they rushed to implement it as if it will pay dividends simply from existing. That is not the case. The club at the heart of the model has to be stable. At the time our recent history was that we were a lower-half PL side which had just about managed to avoid relegation each year. That is not stable, that is one misstep away from losing over a hundred million pounds. But yet SR immediately jumped to buy player after player from other academies as well as other clubs to make up this multi-club model. SR saw survival as a triviality, and as punishment we were relegated on 25 points. And yet since then we have become even less stable. Our income fluctuates massively every year as we swap divisions. It's not the time to be playing around with the multi club model, it needs to be put on ice.

Some of my opinion hinges on how Matsuki does this year.

Buying in these academy kids at inflated prices would have happened regardless of the multi-club status.  I don’t think you should conflate the two issues here. 
 

SR have certainly messed up and been round the houses in trying to improve the recruitment process, which has cost Saints big money on inappropriate transfers before it was set up properly, but the overall concept should save money and help identify more appropriate players from a wider range of clubs than before. 

[Turkish]

I think its fantastic that we are buying clubs and loaning them players to see how they develop. Its a much better way of doing things that buying players and loaning them to clubs you dont own which is the way they've done things for decades. 

Much like buying young players at inflated prices from other clubs you own, i cant believe these others naive, stupid clubs haven't also bought other clubs to copy us. 

[Doctoroncall]

From the DT today on MCOs (multi club ownership):

 

It’s a booming alternative transfer market with huge implications and yet it has gone largely unnoticed by the majority of football supporters.

So what explains this trend, and should fans be worried? Simon Leaf, who is a partner at legal firm Mishcon de Reya, which has advised clubs on their MCO structures, says that it is “almost a development on” from the situation in South America two decades ago, when agents began owning the economic rights to players, most famously Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez.
 

Rather than having agents owning players or clubs you now have clubs owning clubs, and there are multiple benefits that can bring,” Leaf says.

These include reducing costs by centralising resources and expertise in key staffing areas, notably scouting and data analytics to optimise player recruitment and development, with MCOs potentially able to develop global academies across entire regions through a handful of clubs.

“It is actually cheaper to buy a club in Europe than to pay £30 million for a young player,” says Stephens, who says that you can then “house multiple talented young players, control playing style and development minutes, ensuring they are prepared to play at the appropriate level”

This pooling and internal movement of players clearly has huge potential upsides in minimising what are often astronomical agents’ fees, as well as dealing with local immigration rules, such as the UK’s post-Brexit ban on bringing in players under the age of 18. At a commercial level, shared sponsorship deals and unified merchandise platforms across diverse regions are also estimated to enhance income by up to 30 per cent.

Multiple concerns have been raised, however. Fans (more commonly outside of England’s dominant Premier League) fear their club potentially becoming a lower-order concern within a structure that might ultimately be about maximising the “mother” club. There is also the fear of lost identity – would Leeds United fans want their club rebranded if Red Bull ramps up its investment? – and the potential loss of proximity to an owner.

While certain collaborations may make sense on a practical level, is that compatible with the emotional one-club mindset of so many football followers? Fans at Nice, Troyes and Strasbourg, respectively linked via their owners to Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, have all protested in recent years.

“Fans [from clubs] at the top of the model are not so bothered, but lower down they are,” says Niamh O’Mahony, chief operating officer at Football Supporters Europe. Strasbourg supporters wrote a stinging letter in 2023, outlining their fears over the “senseless” recruitment and “over exposition” of very young players. “Fans don’t relate to their team at the moment,” they said, warning that the MCOs risked reducing most clubs “to a simple objective of developing young players and helping the few clubs at the top of the pyramid.”

For regulators such as Uefa, the major concern relates to potential conflicts of interest. The Uefa rule book says that no one may be simultaneously involved “in any capacity” in the management, administration or sporting performance of another club in the same competition.

There is a lot more to the article, around ownership and player trading. 

[Wade Garrett]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Incredible that we have just been relegated, about to sell off the few good players we have, and we will buy players and loan them to Goztepe

nice one 👌

It’s as if nothing has changed.  Add to that players like Diaz, Sugawara, Manning, and Bazunu that we would struggle to sell for adequate fees - I’m sure there are more, but I’m sure Lighthouse will put me straight anyway.

[Weston Super Saint]

2 hours ago, Nolan said:

 

Kuryu Matsuki Will hopefully be the first to come through for us.

 

Is this the guy we bought last summer to eventually fit Martin's system?

Will he be of any use now we don’t have Martin or his system?

[Nolan]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Is this the guy we bought last summer to eventually fit Martin's system?

Will he be of any use now we don’t have Martin or his system?

He didn't particularly fit in a Stoilov team, to be fair. He's a player that's good at high press, and quick to recover for defensive options. 

Arguably very good for a Still team.

His year in turkey will help transition to here and Lig 1 is a very combative league so hopefully his physicality is improving. 

 

 

[AlexLaw76]

31 minutes ago, Nolan said:

He didn't particularly fit in a Stoilov team, to be fair. He's a player that's good at high press, and quick to recover for defensive options. 

 

 

 

Where did you read this?

 

[Convict Colony]

45 minutes ago, Nolan said:

He didn't particularly fit in a Stoilov team, to be fair. He's a player that's good at high press, and quick to recover for defensive options. 

Arguably very good for a Still team.

His year in turkey will help transition to here and Lig 1 is a very combative league so hopefully his physicality is improving. 

 

 

Nolan your the MVP this week for informative facts and info.

Keep posting 

[Nolan]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Where did you read this?

 

 

Well you start at sites like this 

https://www.leftbackfootball.com/home/2022/11/18/kuryu-matsuki-fc-tokyos-prodigious-box-to-box-midfielder

 

Doesn't this sound perfect for how Still plays?

"Matsuki already possesses some of the essential tools to thrive in modern day European football such as his ability to regain possession in the pressing and counter-pressing phase, marking a man while using his anticipation to push up and make an interception in the opposition half or to stretch one of long legs out to make a clean tackle. In the defensive phase, he can cover space to make interceptions as his physical tools are matched by an intuition for pressing sequences and immense mobility."

[Göztepe]

2 hours ago, Nolan said:

Dürüst olmak gerekirse, Stoilov takımına pek uymuyordu. Yüksek preste iyi olan ve defans seçenekleri için çabuk toparlanan bir oyuncu. 

Still ekibi için tartışmasız çok iyi.

Türkiye'de geçireceği yıl buraya geçişine yardımcı olacak ve Lig 1 çok mücadeleci bir lig, bu yüzden umarım fiziksel yapısı gelişiyordur. 

 

 

Stoilov's system is high pressure after long balls, continuous direct attacks when the ball is taken. Although Matsuki was successful at times in this game, he was not consistent, he is not a physical or strong player, and the fact that he played as a 2nd striker in some matches also had an effect.

[Weston Super Saint]

2 hours ago, Nolan said:

He didn't particularly fit in a Stoilov team, to be fair. He's a player that's good at high press, and quick to recover for defensive options. 

Arguably very good for a Still team.

His year in turkey will help transition to here and Lig 1 is a very combative league so hopefully his physicality is improving. 

 

 

Then I take it all back.

Our recruitment over the past 12 months has been phenomenal!

First, we had the foresight to not bother recruiting PL level players, instead opting for champ players to help us this season.

Then, we sign a player who is the complete opposite of what the then manager would look for knowing he'd be a perfect fit for this season!

Odd then that we got rid of the director who oversaw these genius decisions.

[Nolan]

Not every person make exclusively bad, or exclusively good judgements 

Sometimes....

 

[Weston Super Saint]

10 minutes ago, Nolan said:

Not every person make exclusively bad, or exclusively good judgements 

Sometimes....

 

When you make as many as we do, surely that's a strategy?

[S-Clarke]

I don't think there are any real footballing benefits to a multi club model for clubs like us. I can see Gozepe having a different view, because they can benifit from squad players from ourselves who will be starters for them. It doesn't really work the same the other way as the levels are skewed quality wise, ditto with the French third league.

In our position I can only really see this benefiting the lesser clubs and also the ownership group financially, from a football point of view this does fuck all for us and being part of a group is pretty irrelevant I have to say.

[Dusic]

15 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I don't think there are any real footballing benefits to a multi club model for clubs like us. I can see Gozepe having a different view, because they can benifit from squad players from ourselves who will be starters for them. It doesn't really work the same the other way as the levels are skewed quality wise, ditto with the French third league.

In our position I can only really see this benefiting the lesser clubs and also the ownership group financially, from a football point of view this does fuck all for us and being part of a group is pretty irrelevant I have to say.

If we sign Juan on a free, loan him to Goztepe, he develops and then we sell him in future for say €3m then is that not a benefit?

It relies on good recruitment of unheralded players but fairly clear to see how it can be of use.

If Valenciennes can get back to Ligue 2 that would further help. As Nolan points out we have only really been able to 'use' Goztepe this year since they got promoted.

I see it as something that is extremely low risk and potentially has a high upside but is reliant on good recruitment, much like success of our first team.

Really don't see why it irks people, the cost of the likes of Juan, Matsuki etc is miniscule in the scheme of things. All it takes is one success story and it pays back.

[S-Clarke]

40 minutes ago, Dusic said:

If we sign Juan on a free, loan him to Goztepe, he develops and then we sell him in future for say €3m then is that not a benefit?

It relies on good recruitment of unheralded players but fairly clear to see how it can be of use.

If Valenciennes can get back to Ligue 2 that would further help. As Nolan points out we have only really been able to 'use' Goztepe this year since they got promoted.

I see it as something that is extremely low risk and potentially has a high upside but is reliant on good recruitment, much like success of our first team.

Really don't see why it irks people, the cost of the likes of Juan, Matsuki etc is miniscule in the scheme of things. All it takes is one success story and it pays back.

But this is focusing on the financial side and the upside this brings (Which is a genuine point, granted), but in my eyes it feels really sad that this is the priority. 

I just want the team I watch today to be competitive and with a potential to grow and we are so, so, so far away form having that. Buying and loaning players to Gozepe is doing nothing other than reducing our transfer bucket and leaving us no better off 'today'. The priority should be us, not finding players for Gozepe.

Edited June 4 by S-Clarke

[Dusic]

8 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

But this is focusing on the financial side and the upside this brings (Which is a genuine point, granted), but in my eyes it feels really sad that this is the priority. 

I just want the team I watch today to be competitive and with a potential to grow and we are so, so, so far away form having that. Buying and loaning players to Gozepe is doing nothing other than reducing our transfer bucket and leaving us no better off 'today'. The priority should be us, not finding players for Gozepe.

If there is a financial upside then that will help the team be competitive.

We can find players both for now and for development via Goztepe, it doesn't need to be a choice between one or the other and the two are probably being led by different components of the team Spors has compiled.

Done well its a no brainer as a way for a smaller team to increase potential funds its can generate. We have been awful at selling players for a while now.

Edited June 5 by Dusic

[St. Ciervo]

20 hours ago, Nolan said:

Fitting for a guy defending SR. Spors first signing is a 20 yr old CB from 2. Bundesliga. How is this looking different from before? Ill wait.

[Nolan]

1 hour ago, St. Ciervo said:

Fitting for a guy defending SR. Spors first signing is a 20 yr old CB from 2. Bundesliga. How is this looking different from before? Ill wait.

No need to wait. 

We're brought in a player in from the same club as one of Spors' new setup for 60% of the value of Kayi Sanda.

When you need 5 CB's and it's anticipated that at least two are leaving it's wise to buy one. 

And when you've got one at little outlay, balance of probabilities says you'll more likely make money than not.

 

[St. Ciervo]

I would love for you to be right here. I truly do. 

We will see in August.

[AlexLaw76]

Nolan has admirably taken the baton from Manji as the Sports Republic stooge.

The reality is, they are pathetic owners with an appalling track record.

 

Edited June 5 by AlexLaw76

[Nolan]

Some people are absolutely blinkered and can not see where balance of power in corporate ownership is.

One more time in the hope that people are listening.

Ankersson and Kraft were on balance, crap. 

Money man Solak also realises this, so instead of just financing the club, he's now hands on running the club as Chairman. As chair he's now answerable for results. To re-iterate, owners don't do this if they think their investment is going well.

It was being run as a sporting project, its now a business that needs results.

It is not being a corporate stooge to understand that massive changes have gone on since Kraft left as chair. Those simply have not taken had time to take effect yet.

What is completely dumb, i,s to moan that they're not doing anything to change, when its bloody obvious massive changes have been put in place.

 

 

[AlexLaw76]

8 minutes ago, Nolan said:

Some people are absolutely blinkered and can not see where balance of power in corporate ownership is.

One more time in the hope that people are listening.

Ankersson and Kraft were on balance, crap. 

Money man Solak also realises this, so instead of just financing the club, he's now hands on running the club as Chairman. As chair he's now answerable for results. To re-iterate, owners don't do this if they think their investment is going well.

It was being run as a sporting project, its now a business that needs results.

It is not being a corporate stooge to understand that massive changes have gone on since Kraft left as chair. Those simply have not taken had time to take effect yet.

What is completely dumb, i,s to moan that they're not doing anything to change, when its bloody obvious massive changes have been put in place.

 

 

Not sure many (if any) are moaning that nothing is being done. 
 

what is evident is the horrific track record of the owners.

[Nolan]

37 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Not sure many (if any) are moaning that nothing is being done. 
 

what is evident is the horrific track record of the owners.

Nope, what is evident is the horrific track record of those Solak originally trusted with his  Money .

The only fault of Solak is not intervening quickly enough. 

 

 

[CB Fry]

1 hour ago, Nolan said:

Nope, what is evident is the horrific track record of those Solak originally trusted with his  Money .

The only fault of Solak is not intervening quickly enough. 

 

 

Honestly I think you need to park up your open top bus. 

The Sport Republic era has been a fucking disaster. Maybe, maybe the deckchair rearrangement will pay off this time as the last set of decision makers have been binned. Fine fine. 

Let's remember before your street parties start that it will be, at the earliest, 2027 before SR can even get us back to the same place we were when they bought us in the first place.

 

Edited June 5 by CB Fry

[Weston Super Saint]

1 hour ago, Nolan said:

Money man Solak also realises this, so instead of just financing the club, he's now hands on running the club as Chairman. As chair he's now answerable for results. To re-iterate, owners don't do this if they think their investment is going well.

 

 

 

Didn't he announce he was going to be more 'hands on' before the start of the PL campaign?

If so, has he publicly acknowledged his abject failure as the 'Chair who is now answerable for results' regarding the clusterfuck we've just endured?

[Nolan]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Didn't he announce he was going to be more 'hands on' before the start of the PL campaign?

If so, has he publicly acknowledged his abject failure as the 'Chair who is now answerable for results' regarding the clusterfuck we've just endured?

If he did you will find it somewhere on the internet.

But he did say this when he became Chair, and just before Spors was appointed.

[Weston Super Saint]

22 minutes ago, Nolan said:

If he did you will find it somewhere on the internet.

But he did say this when he became Chair, and just before Spors was appointed.

 

He also said this (Talksport May 2024)

Quote

Obviously, I don't know that much football, but I'm trying to help with my experience, my knowledge and my energy.

How much 'football' has he learnt in the last 12 months - whilst juggling his other commitments - that will ensure he is a great 'hands on' leader of the club?

[Nolan]

10 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

 

He also said this (Talksport May 2024)

How much 'football' has he learnt in the last 12 months - whilst juggling his other commitments - that will ensure he is a great 'hands on' leader of the club?

A similar amount to someone like Nicola Cortese or Rupert Lowe or Michael Wilde, one would presume.

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

22 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

 

He also said this (Talksport May 2024)

How much 'football' has he learnt in the last 12 months - whilst juggling his other commitments - that will ensure he is a great 'hands on' leader of the club?

To be fair, he’s never claimed to be football savvy, he put his trust in people he thought did but acknowledges he got it wrong by now putting Spors in charge of such matters. This has lead to additional, (hopefully) improvements but only time will tell.

I’m content with how things currently stand and my optimism has returned.

[Saint86]

18 hours ago, Doctoroncall said:

From the DT today on MCOs (multi club ownership):

 

 

It’s a booming alternative transfer market with huge implications and yet it has gone largely unnoticed by the majority of football supporters.

So what explains this trend, and should fans be worried? Simon Leaf, who is a partner at legal firm Mishcon de Reya, which has advised clubs on their MCO structures, says that it is “almost a development on” from the situation in South America two decades ago, when agents began owning the economic rights to players, most famously Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez.
 

Rather than having agents owning players or clubs you now have clubs owning clubs, and there are multiple benefits that can bring,” Leaf says.

These include reducing costs by centralising resources and expertise in key staffing areas, notably scouting and data analytics to optimise player recruitment and development, with MCOs potentially able to develop global academies across entire regions through a handful of clubs.

“It is actually cheaper to buy a club in Europe than to pay £30 million for a young player,” says Stephens, who says that you can then “house multiple talented young players, control playing style and development minutes, ensuring they are prepared to play at the appropriate level”

This pooling and internal movement of players clearly has huge potential upsides in minimising what are often astronomical agents’ fees, as well as dealing with local immigration rules, such as the UK’s post-Brexit ban on bringing in players under the age of 18. At a commercial level, shared sponsorship deals and unified merchandise platforms across diverse regions are also estimated to enhance income by up to 30 per cent.

Multiple concerns have been raised, however. Fans (more commonly outside of England’s dominant Premier League) fear their club potentially becoming a lower-order concern within a structure that might ultimately be about maximising the “mother” club. There is also the fear of lost identity – would Leeds United fans want their club rebranded if Red Bull ramps up its investment? – and the potential loss of proximity to an owner.

While certain collaborations may make sense on a practical level, is that compatible with the emotional one-club mindset of so many football followers? Fans at Nice, Troyes and Strasbourg, respectively linked via their owners to Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, have all protested in recent years.

“Fans [from clubs] at the top of the model are not so bothered, but lower down they are,” says Niamh O’Mahony, chief operating officer at Football Supporters Europe. Strasbourg supporters wrote a stinging letter in 2023, outlining their fears over the “senseless” recruitment and “over exposition” of very young players. “Fans don’t relate to their team at the moment,” they said, warning that the MCOs risked reducing most clubs “to a simple objective of developing young players and helping the few clubs at the top of the pyramid.”

For regulators such as Uefa, the major concern relates to potential conflicts of interest. The Uefa rule book says that no one may be simultaneously involved “in any capacity” in the management, administration or sporting performance of another club in the same competition.

There is a lot more to the article, around ownership and player trading. 

I get the loss of "fan affinity" for the side, but then equally, is it any different to having some random owner come in that has no affinity to the club? At least you're getting an established club/ownership group in those examples - people with resources, ambition, and know how. Strasbourg were taken over in June 2023 after finishing 15th in Ligue 1. Prior to that they were generally a lower mid table club in Ligue 1 over a fair few seasons, and then before that they spent most of 2006 to 2017 in the 2nd and 3rd divisions. Since the takeover they've had 2 seasons, both of which yielded and improvement in league position - finishing on the 15th place of 2023, and they've just qualified for Europe this season. Seems a bit strong to write a letter over the #Senseless recruitment... Maybe they want to try out Sports Republic's recruitment for 2022-24 ffs.

As an aside, if we've just loaned SAA to chelsea for sod all money and he comes good i'll be doubly annoyed. HCDAJFU!

Edited June 5 by Saint86

[Badger]

I was encouraged by Sokak looking to taking a more hands on role, and moving out or aside Kraft and Ankersen from Saints. 

The appointment of Spors by reputation seems positive. The potential for improvement seems there.

Happy to see how it goes as SR haven’t been shy to put money in, but how it’s spent has been the issue.

But - very early days I know - St Ciervo makes a good point: 

11 hours ago, St. Ciervo said:

 Spors first signing is a 20 yr old CB from 2. Bundesliga. How is this looking different from before? Ill wait.

Add this to the selection of a young, and in my view inexperienced manager, who hasn’t worked in the UK before, and has to be said jury is very much out.There are similarities to some of the earlier decision making so wonder how far we’ve moved away into more positive times. Yet to be convinced.

All may be clearer Sept 1st or whenever the transfer window is done. 

 

[revolution saint]

3 minutes ago, Badger said:

I was encouraged by Sokak looking to taking a more hands on role, and moving out or aside Kraft and Ankersen from Saints. 

The appointment of Spors by reputation seems positive. The potential for improvement seems there.

Happy to see how it goes as SR haven’t been shy to put money in, but how it’s spent has been the issue.

But - very early days I know - St Ciervo makes a good point: 

Add this to the selection of a young, and in my view inexperienced manager, who hasn’t worked in the UK before, and has to be said jury is very much out.There are similarities to some of the earlier decision making so wonder how far we’ve moved away into more positive times. Yet to be convinced.

All may be clearer Sept 1st or whenever the transfer window is done. 

 

That all sounds to me like you're rating this transfer window an 11.  

[Badger]

On 04/06/2025 at 15:10, sockeye said:

If there's a word I can use to summarise Sport Republic, it's naive. The multi-club model is not a bad idea in theory, but they rushed to implement it…

Some of my opinion hinges on how Matsuki does this year.

Agree, think they’ve tried to do it too quickly. Old adage don’t run before you can walk.

I’m not convinced over spread of teams. Valenciennes is understandable given talented players coming out of France, and some  to UK over the years. Goztepe seems somewhere to place aspiring work permit applicants. Very few Turkish players seem to have come here (perhaps we buck that trend if we find the right players). 
A Dutch club might have been a more useful addition to bring in players from Scandinavia where we’ve had success from in the past. Instead of which we were last linked with a Bulgarian club, and one in Dublin (the latter might not be a bad idea, almost an extension of having a satellite centre that we used to have). 

 

 

Edited June 5 by Badger

[Badger]

10 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

That all sounds to me like you're rating this transfer window an 11.  

I’ll judge it when we know how we’ve helped Goztepe at the close of the window. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

I’ll judge it when we know how we’ve helped Goztepe at the close of the window. 

If we can help even one SR club get into Europe, then it will be worth languishing in the championship for. 😄

[Badger]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

I’ll judge it when we know how we’ve helped Goztepe at the close of the window. 

 

6 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

If we can help even one SR club get into Europe, then it will be worth languishing in the championship for. 😄

Joking aside I'm not against the model, and don't think it's a bad concept, indeed it could be beneficial to all the clubs if worked properly. But still have concerns about the implementation of it and how it's managed.

There seem to be two distinct threads running really, one is the multi-club modal, and the other closer to home is the management and decision making (solely) at Saints. Get the second part right and the other is less of a concern.

But it remains the decision making here that needs to be spot on, and improved over what we've seen since 2022.

[CB Fry]

Looks like Palace might not get their European place because of thrir multi-club owners.

What are we going to do when us and Goztepe both get in the Champions League?

 

 

[swannymere]

On 04/06/2025 at 11:45, Lighthouse said:

 pretending not to understand basic concepts. 

Is the whole point of this forum.

[AlexLaw76]

2 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Looks like Palace might not get their European place because of thrir multi-club owners.

What are we going to do when us and Goztepe both get in the Champions League?

 

 

Can’t happen, we’ll have all their best players by then, right. RIGHT?!

[Saint Fan CaM]

Tell you what, I’ll know if SR have turned things around when… (a) I see an improved team sheet for match one of the new season (i.e. circa 40% plus of last seasons team replaced and improved upon) and (b) after 15 minutes of play I’m confident that Still has coached ‘Russball’ out of existence (i.e. we’re a threat going forwards and we’ve had at least two shots on target). Actions speak louder than platitudes and stats.

[Nolan]

17 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Looks like Palace might not get their European place because of thrir multi-club owners.

What are we going to do when us and Goztepe both get in the Champions League?

 

 

The same things were being said about Man U and Nice last year...

there would be an almighty lawsuit if they arent allowed whilst Radcliffe got away with it last year.

UEFA 'make their decision' on potential ban on Man United playing in the Europa League alongside Ineos-owned Nice... with their call 'subject to certain conditions' | Daily Mail Online