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Comment | Krueger Reveals Gao's Investment Plans For The Club
at 20:55:43
I understand the need for patience and time for our new owner also that there will be blips in performance but my opinion is that this is a results based business both for growing your fanbase and potential income. The obvious choice they made of buying in then developing players via the transfer market or the academy isn't so much in itself wrong but the clubs reliance on it really does make good results all the more important so maximum profits can be achieved with their sale.
I wish I knew who but I would like to see a rock solid spine of a team formed from goalkeeper to striker as our mainstay and other players occasionally rotating and introduced to stimulate our rotating door policy but not get greedy with it at the expense of our first teams performances.
I know that some players have simply not been happy and wanted to leave but I find myself asking why some decent enough players wouldn't be happy enough playing for us without this stepping stone mentality which seems to be the prevailing excuse if we can pull out good results and be in the top six.
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 22:33:09
Hi everyone, I've been a die hard Saints fan for over 20 years now and live in New Zealand.
I'm not in much of a position to watch the games these days but do read match reports and fans feedback quite regularly so I enjoy watching the Ugly Inside on YouTube.
So for me I think the rut we are in started when we had a good run under MoPo and Tin Tin but even then the discontentment was there to see if you peered through the haze of good performances.
I saw a board who were shrewed about acquiring new players but for whatever reason we were unable to keep them. I could be wrong but it felt as though the board were infected with gold fever seeing that they had stumbled onto this goldmine of a business model encapsulated by the catch phrase "We don't just buy talent, we make it - The Southampton Way" creating a production line of players who came here at little cost or developed through our academy (which by all accounts was put forth as always producing future stars like Gareth Bale) It felt to me that just as we were beginning to get a good team together under Roko, sadly I think they began to believe that their revolving door policy could work out for the long term.
I'm not a football scientist or tactician but I believe a good team is one how plays together and sticks together unless you are a club like Real Madrid who can buy whoever they want.
The lack of unity and ever changing face of the the team and managers has created an aura of anxiety, lack of confidence and belief about where we are going.
We really do seem rudderless as well with no stand out leader on the pitch who we had in a captain like Fonte for so many years.
I think regardless of where we go from here the club needs a solid and cohesive team with new direction and ironclad purpose. They say they want European football but they seem to be breaking transfer records on players who either don't or can't live up to their reputed potential whether it be poor team management or the black box was wrong seems a hot topic of debate depending on what side you wish to take. Also with regards to Puel and Pellegrino I wasn't as excited about their arrivals compared to when Roko came in after seeing what he had done with Feyenoord and for whatever reason despite last season's 8th place finish I think most Saints fans agree it was a step backwards in terms of on-pitch performance overall for that season.
Anyway I think it is safe to say it was a let down and my suspicions were confirmed when I read Ralph's interview the other day and his statement about us being a small club beat out any talk of us being a top 6 team and their apparent aspirations for European football as they had said in the past. Unfortunately I think some financial success that was enjoyed overtook the real importance of a cohesive and solid team and now we are seeing the effects of that.
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