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BBC Radio Solent Saints fans forum 7th August 6pm

Matthew Le God

By Matthew Le God
in The Saints

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Willo of Whiteley

Willo of Whiteley

Posted
Posted

Who sanctioned a poor player a new contract? (Jack Stephens)

How is Jack Stephens seen as a leader?

Is Tyler Dibling sticking around?

Are we going to have an increase in squad depth?

What is the boards target? Autos? Generic promotion?

 

SW11_Saint

SW11_Saint

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Hamilton Saint said:

Specific questions invite specific answers, which could be revealing.

Vague, unclear questions invite generalised, meaningless responses.

And specific questions (like "why are the shirts so expensive") may not be answered directly, but they do make their point.

Really, what interesting revealing answers do you think you get to those three? I suspect you’d get three bland, corporate responses…

Saint_clark

Saint_clark

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Who sanctioned a poor player a new contract? (Jack Stephens)

How is Jack Stephens seen as a leader?

Is Tyler Dibling sticking around?

Are we going to have an increase in squad depth?

What is the boards target? Autos? Generic promotion?

 

Basically answered the Dibling one there. Haven't had a bid accepted yet and if we don't get the amount we're happy with he won't go.

Turkish

Turkish

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

Gio put hand up 🙂

Don’t let him ask anything it’ll take he whole frigging hour for him to get tot the end of it

  • Haha 5
Convict Colony

Convict Colony

Posted
Posted
Just now, gio1saints said:

Johannesburg makes the ultimate call who we buy. That’s been made clear. It’s a committee but he is prints inter pares it seems 

bro I've lived in Johannesburg and I can assure you they are not picking our buys

  • Like 3
  • Haha 6
Turkish

Turkish

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, gio1saints said:

Johannesburg makes the ultimate call who we buy. That’s been made clear. It’s a committee but he is prints inter pares it seems 

A city in South Africa makes the final call on who we buy? 

Turkish

Turkish

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Convict Colony said:

bro I've lived in Johannesburg and I can assure you they are not picking our buys

Used to go there a lot of BUSINESS brown paper bags aready

  • Like 1
gio1saints

gio1saints

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Turkish said:

A city in South Africa makes the final call on who we buy? 

Yes it’s a first. They won the right to do that in a raffle. 

Saint86

Saint86

Posted
Posted (edited)

Not impressed by parsons at all. The difference between him and spors is night and day.

Edited by Saint86
  • Like 2
Saint Matty 76

Saint Matty 76

Posted
Posted

Spors has zero interest in answering any questions/providing any detail.

Parsons waffling the same stuff which they've preached beforehand without ever actually implementing.

Nobody wants to talk to our Assistant Manager who has got here about three weeks back.

 

Huge waste of time this one. Even more than usual somehow.

Convict Colony

Convict Colony

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Not impressed by parsons at all. The difference between him and spors is night and day.

Parsons is there to grown us commercially and be the owners patsy for these things.

freshen up

freshen up

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Spors has zero interest in answering any questions/providing any detail.

Parsons waffling the same stuff which they've preached beforehand without ever actually implementing.

Nobody wants to talk to our Assistant Manager who has got here about three weeks back.

 

Huge waste of time this one. Even more than usual somehow.

Just the Adam blackmore show essentially with some background waffle

  • Confused 1
Convict Colony

Convict Colony

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Spors has zero interest in answering any questions/providing any detail.

Parsons waffling the same stuff which they've preached beforehand without ever actually implementing.

Nobody wants to talk to our Assistant Manager who has got here about three weeks back.

 

Huge waste of time this one. Even more than usual somehow.

Is it the business of the shrews to know the ways of an eagle

SuperSAINT

SuperSAINT

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Parsons is there to grown us commercially and be the owners patsy for these things.

& the fact Spors is the most impressive in the room AND in control of transfers is good & hopefully shows the difference between now and last summer.

  • Like 1
Appy

Appy

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

personal issue

Hopefully it’s not his Mrs again, she’s been ill for a while. 

  • Like 9
  • Sad 1
trousers

trousers

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Appy said:

Hopefully it’s not his Mrs again, she’s been ill for a while. 

First thought that crossed my mind too, but obviously don't want to speculate 

Willo of Whiteley

Willo of Whiteley

Posted
Posted

Paul Trollope comes across really, really well.

Johannes Spors comes across in control of football business, I guess jury is out on that until the end of the window.

Phil Parsons just seems very business-like, nothing wrong with that.

  • Like 3
Smirking_Saint

Smirking_Saint

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Spors already striking me as the most competent person in the room 

I would hope so too

 

also… guess this is on YouTube and can be watched later ? Putting kids to bed at the moment

  • Like 1
Saint Matty 76

Saint Matty 76

Posted
Posted

Largely shit answers from Spors/Parsons, but our fans really let us down time after time with this opportunity and the questions they ask.

Fair play to Trollope on short notice who spoke the best, even if he was the least challenged.

AlexLaw76

AlexLaw76

Posted
Posted

Fan forums summary.....

 

  • No Will Still, Paul Trollope in the seat instead, with Spors & Parsons. Will Still send his apologies but a personal issue has come up.
  • 2 years in for Parsons, having joined just after the last relegation. Much more chaotic then.
  • Very up and down in the Championship then, lost a few in a row, done well in the playoffs.
  • Jason Wilcox left in April and left a hole in the football department, and we only had a month or so to prepare for a premier league season
  • It was brutal, and we understand frustration
  • Spors came in Feb, and we announced Will early, and now in the madness of the transfer window
  • We are in a better place structurally for the first time in 2 years, really capable team running the club
  • Spors found it challenging when arriving in Feb, needed to understand the energy
  • Has been around football for a while, and can see lots of really good things, but had to change the structure that has not been good - recruitment
  • Paul Trollope was the manager Ricky Lambert loved playing for the most, and he was the manager when Saints signed him
  • Bristol tried to keep him, he was brilliant. Day before season starts, Ricky telling me Southampton had bid...we had to shake his hand and say goodbye
  • It has been really really good with Will, the facilities are excellent, and the structure has been improved
  • Everything is here for success, and we have made really good progress in pre season

Q. If we get promoted again, what has been learnt?

  • A lot to learn from every season. It is important that we have a lot of people in the club who are dedicated to grow higher
  • we need to bring in players who are good enough to reach our goals, but to grow also, we have started to do that.
  • Squad planning is like art, and becomes visible near the end of the window. You need talent.
  • Southampton is a place made for development, 100%, and we need to find them, and use the academy also
  • We invested last season, but we need consistency. We cannot change managers every 5 mins, and it is good to see academy produce players
  • We will continue to grow revenues, and the gap between top and bottom of the prem was 3 fold, now it is 5 fold.

Q. Last season it was evident that player and manager performance was inadequate (inc board level), what is in place so this is not repeated

  • Will coming in was very important, he is highly competent. Coming in Feb allowed Spors time to understand who was the right person to be manager

Q. Pre-season has been a mixed bag. We are not scoring despite we have strikers. Do you think we have a deficit in creativity

  • Pre season was planned, and it was great. It showed us what we needed to see. We wanted results, but we needed it to be difficult
  • we did not score that much. Damion has just joined. Scoring is not just on a couple of players, but it is from the whole team
  • The summer window is not closed and not everything is done. Dibling is training different as there are negotiations. This is very normal in football
  • People know Dibling is sought after, but there is a price. If a club wants our players they need to bid and bid well.
  • we have too big a squad, and we are cleaning this up. We have to have a pathway for the academy
  • If Tyler is here this season, he won't sulk of course, he will play for SFC. We made the new signings early, but we had players coming back at different times
  • The loan players coming back add different qualities to the squad, allows the manager to see what is what. We need to be precise
  • We dont just need more bodies but need the right players. We are working on bringing in more creativity.

Q. Sports Republic are quick to get rid of the manager, and get someone with someone very different. Sports Republic keep making the same mistakes.

  • (Person asking the question would have kept Russell Martin no matter what last season).
  • Parsons could not disagree with the question. It got so brutal with Russell we had to step in. It was hard, and we dont want to be changing managers.
  • We do go all-in on managers, but that is also difficult. There was not a huge list of managers that wanted to join. Ivan wanted to come, we knew the risks
  • If he did well he may have stayed, but Johanes wanted this direction we now have and we have to back that. There were mistakes last time.
  • The owners do not want to be making changes. There will be up and down moments, please stay with the manager.

Q. Recruitment has seen too many players at the £10-15m, and lots of them, as opposed to players generally good

  • We all want to sign good players, we all have the same goal. 
  • Will Still has been coaching for a long time, and he just very normal. He is a strong leader of men. He loves football.
  • Great people person, an excellent coach and offers real clarity, hopefully we will see as the season goes on
  • He is like a man possessed, very demanding, very high octane. Needs to be aggressive on the pitch. He brings the fire to training.

Q. What is the morale like in the team given last season

  • We needed to understand the players when Will first came in. There were some players with their heads down.
  • Lots of talk about our players on their form. We needed to see where the players are mentally, they came back from the summer vulnerable.
  • Will has really promoted the enjoyment of football. Hopefully the 2nd half against Brighton showed us where we want to be at least
  • We reminded those coming back on loan (some did not want go) that they can get back to the premier league at this club
  • The organisation at the training was not clear when Spors first came in. This needed to be fixed

Q. The relationship between club and fans not great. Loyalty towards fans seems to be lacking compared to previous seasons.

  • Parsons disagrees that the club lacks loyalty. We needed to invest in the stadium improvements as that had been ignored for a very long time.
  • We tried to drop costs of season tickets this year. Stadium costs have gone up, we will make less money this season at the ground
  • But, everyone wants us to sign best players, that is not cheap. It is difficult to balance.
  • The financial gap between the bottom of Premier League and the top is the same between bottom of league 2 and top of Championship
  • We have new things in the stadium opening this year, I hope these are well received. We do care about fans and they have been amazing supporting us
  • More so given where we were last season, and the away support is incredible. Shirt prices are £65, which is like most in the league.
  • We are in the Green with PSR, lots of clubs are not in a good place. If we go back up, we need space to spend more in the prem

Q. After a rough season, what attracted you (Paul Trollope) to come here

  • It was an attractive proposition. I like to think my age and experience helps. I grew up in Swindon and knew of Southampton very well.
  • Huge club in the South, really excited to be given the opportunity, and to work with Will, who is really highly regarding across Europe.
  • Since being here, it has lived up to it, the training ground and facilities are very impressive. We have a real chance of success

Q. Will Fernandes be here Sep 1

  • We would like to say yes. We have been clear that if you want our players you have to pay.
  • Matty is outstanding. 35 starts in the premier league at 20 years old (only Garnacho is close). We would love to keep him. Everyone has a price and it is not cheap 
  • Today, neither Tyler or Matty are close to leaving. Players are really looking forward to repaying the fans, they really feel it.

Q. Jack Stephens was only available for half the games last year, are we rewarding failure by the contract

  • This was Spors' decision and responsibility. He is a big leader in training and he really is a help. He knows he can and must do better
  • Board fully supported this decision. He is an excellent club captain. He is very disappointed with last season, and the board support Johanas
  • We are negotiating extensions for many other players

Q. What do you want from us from Fans at the Derby

  • Make the day a really really hostile day. Team need to show what playing for SFC and this game means. Do not wait for the team to show up, get into it
  • Fresh season, the team and how we play will look different. We need to make SMS hostile for all to visit. There will be ups and downs, stick with it
  • Saints fans last season were ridiculously good last season. Morgan Schneiderlin said it was unbelievable, players would fear for their safety abroad.

Q. How to FFP/PSR work given some teams can just spend what they like

  • In the champ you can only lose £13m per year, we do not agree with this, but it is shifting to a squad cost ratio. That is why we must improve revenue
  • We are absolutely fine with PSR right now, and will change if voted at the end of the year.

Q. If we dont go up, what is the future for Sports Republic as they have made us a laughing stock

  • They have invested quite heavily into the club. The owners had to focus a lot off the pitch. Wider plans there from the owners for the long term
  • Dragan and SR fully invested into the club. Dragan deeply cares. It has been difficult. If we do go back up, it will be very tough
  • Lots of clubs yo-yoing at the moment, it is very concerning.
  • I would like to be sat here of our wider plans, but there are negotiations ongoing. We want to make significant infrastructure changes to the stadium
  • Working closely with the council, they are onside, and they see 1-city, 1-club
  • We must double the revenue to compete in the premier league

Q. Any negotiations about ticket price caps

  • We challenged Leeds with their ticket prices, they ignored it.
  • We believe £30 cap for away fans is right, but it needs to be voted in
  • Valenciennes spent a week with us, it was very good. We have passed players to them

Q. Why are many friendlies behind closed doors

  • Not always easy, depends on the opponent, but something we will work on. It needs to be more open.
  • the Espanyol fans arriving was not within SFC control. Other clubs like to host friendlies away from their home grounds.

 

  • Like 19
warsash saint

warsash saint

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Largely shit answers from Spors/Parsons, but our fans really let us down time after time with this opportunity and the questions they ask.

Fair play to Trollope on short notice who spoke the best, even if he was the least challenged.

Get your arse down there then instead of whinging on this forum!

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1

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