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Comment | Reality Check Needed We Are Called "Supporters" Not "Slaggers"
at 12:22:40
Response to saintmark1976: You seem to have a very short or very selective memory. Our club's ambitions have been stated on a number of occasions by Ralph and bought into by the board, our manager, the team and the club. You can easily find several of Ralph's speeches/interviews on the internet and on Saint's website. Some fans seem to choose to forget this or perhaps they do not agree with it. I fully agree that this is the way forward
The plan is to steadily strengthen the club financially so that we can become self sustaining and start to compete with the big boys in terms of paying higher wages and buying quality players. If you try to do this too quickly it would lead to bankruptcy and relegation. We need to be sustainable and look to gradually improve our league position. We will lose out to the biggest clubs more often than not during the next few years. We will continue to buy in good replacements and have an excellent recent track record on finding good value young players. There will be the occasional misfits but the Les/Ron/black box combination seems to keep us ahead of the game.
Yes, we have an excellent academy and many promising youngsters. We have blooded some of these in our squad and a few in first team games. Surely, if they have true potential but they are not yet up to EPL standard, then to loan them out to Championship or League 1 clubs is the right approach. It gives them regular competitive football at a decent level gaining vital experience and a chance to develop further. I believe that Sam Gallagher, for example, will have a good experience at MK Don and come back to us ready to make his full break through next season.
Of course I am not settling for just a top 10 finish. I believe that top 6 should be our minimum target and also to fully embrace all the cup competitions. It has been stated repeatedly that the club can only go for a larger stadium once it gets near capacity crowds in the majority of its matches - not just playing the top teams. I agree that ticket prices are rather too high and that should be reviewed.
The club (and I) are not just happy with the "Sky money" but it all goes into the long term investment pot. We have been steadily increasing our wages bill and that often goes unnoticed when transfer business is calculated on a money in/money out basis.
Your comments saintmark1976 seem to suggest that you are falling into the trap that Nick, I and some others are trying to steer you clear of. That is wanting almost instant gratification. Please be much more patient. |
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Comment | Reality Check Needed We Are Called "Supporters" Not "Slaggers"
at 11:07:38
You are 100% spot on Nick and these are precisely my my sentiments too. I have been so upset by some of these fans' abuse and also the more widespread negativity on various threads, particularly in the Echo, that I have decided to break my 8 month silence.
Of course we are all disappointed by being knocked out of the Europa league and not reaching the group stages as well as our first 3 poor EPL results. There will always be that minority negative fringe who criticise almost everything and want instant gratification. I am more alarmed by the large number of normally loyal fans who have been taken in by this totally unwarranted negativity. As you say we need to be patient - very patient.
Some will always try and blame the board, the manager or particular players or all of them. Our long term plan continues to take us in the right direction. There will always be a few temporary set backs. We do have a deeper squad and have strengthened in many areas and I am happy with all the new signings. The quality is there but will take a little time to show itself. We have been very unlucky with injuries. When Jordy is fit I think he will prove one of the bargain buys to join the whole of the EPL this season (I predicted this for Sadio immediately after we signed him for last season - just look at videos). He and Ryan are due to return after the international break and, hopefully, they should be finding their match fitness (along with the steadily improving JayRod) in time for the ManU game at the end of September.
I believe that we will finally sign Virgil and he will almost certainly hit the ground running. If Spurs (or Arsenal) do make a grossly inflated bid for Victor of well over £20m and if he has really asked to leave, then we should let him go. We seem to have been associated with a whole host of quality DMFs and CDs (if we do not get Virgil) and many of these are still potentially available. So, I am confident that can replace Victor. I do not believe that ManU are really after Sadio and we do need to hang on to him as he cannot be replaced.
We will steadily move up the table and I believe that we can get into the top 6 by Xmas and hold on to that for another European campaign next season. So give time for the team to gel, for us to get up to full (or fuller) strength and we'll all be rewarded for our patience. This is a great club and is just embarking on many years of success. |
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Comment | Hodgson Should Send Out Right Message And Play Clyne
at 16:59:38
Clyne should definitely be picked to start - it should be a simple decision - if Roy can manage that! With Shaw left out of the team list submitted this afternoon it was hardly surprising that we had our right back pulling up with an injury. This only leave Gibbs to play tomorrow. Perhaps Ryan will be called up as cover for the Scotland match. |
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Comment | Are Spurs The Most Underhand Club In The Premier League ?
at 11:50:47
I think that all we can do is totally ignore all the media hype and rumourmongering. It is already as bad as it was last summer and it's still 6 weeks until the window opens. Whether this is irresponsible reporting (very common for the Daily Mail), Spuds' unsettling tactics or player agents making a noise (re: Morg and JayRod , not Paul Mitchell - at least I've never heard of a recruitment manager who has an agent!) or a combination of any or all of these, is irrelevant. I do not believe any of it. |
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Comment | Why Saints Can Finish In The Top Four This Season
at 14:13:59
Spot on Nick. I think we could do rather better than 10 points from our next 6 games. 10 would almost certainly keep us in 2nd especially if we get 1 or even all 3 points against City. I agree that we must beat Villa and Burnley and any slip up in those games will have to be compensated for by winning several of big games during December. I think that 12 points is quite possible out of those 18 available. It would be great to have our home match against Chelsea on Dec 28th knowing that whatever happens we would end this year in 2nd. Could we even squeeze a point (or all 3!) out of them. It is possible that the 6 points up for grabs in our 2 matches with Chelsea (in December + March) might be the difference between 1st and 2nd by the end of the season! Unthinkable 3 months ago and still highly unlikely!
Most of this happens before the January transfer window. We can ignore all the rumours about Morg and JayRod leaving, at least until next summer. As you say, we will strengthen our squad further and we are in the great position of really being able to attract some good players and might lead the EPL pack in this respect even though we will not spend more than £15m on any one player and long may that continue. I'm sure that we have a short list of 10+ primary targets and would look to buy 2 or 3 of them in January + perhaps, another loan deal or 2.
2nd place at the end of the season is still my prediction. |
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Comment | Neil Ashton Is At It Again
at 23:46:00
You can tell there's an international break as the media are getting desperate for stories and have jumped on the rumour mill in a big way. Several of the stories have an element of truth in them and depending which report you read, there are opposite spins on them. I have just spent the last 2 hours studying many of them and there have been 5 different topics today. Nichk has covered when of them – here are the other 4:
1. RonKo: Although this was an old story, it has resurfaced today with the Dutch team coach threatening to resign if his team doesn’t beat Latvia on Sunday. They say that RonKo is top of the list to take over. This is, of course, complete rubbish. RonKo went out of his way last month to make his position 100% clear. He is not available and will, at the very least, see his 3 year contract out with Saints. It is ludicrous to suggest otherwise.
2. Morgan: Yes, he has said that he still wanted to play at a bigger club. He has also said that he will definitely be seeing the season out with Saints and seeing how it goes. If Saints qualify for the CL, there is a very high probability that Morg will stay with us. What is a “big†club anyway? We can offer him a better financial deal although I do not believe that money is the main driving factor here. He wants success and to play at the highest level for club and his country. He may be poached by a European club like Real Madrid but his value must be over £40m by now. I am not at all concerned.
3. JayRod: Some reports state that Levy/Spuds are preparing a £20m bid for him in January – either a cash deal or with various fringe players included – ie: totally crap terms! Others have said that Saints are offering him a new 5 year contract. We had all this nonsense in the summer. I will be amazed if JayRod goes in January. We need him – he needs to prove that he can regain both full match fitness and his top form. I would expect that he is keen to play for us again and must be grateful the support from our medical team. We are in control – no worries with this one.
4. Toby: Most reports, including Toby’s own statement today, show that he is keen to make his loan deal a permanent move to Saints and his has never been happier than he is right now. Several reports have said that we are keen to arrange this and have been in talks with Athletico Madrid over the £6.8m buy option in the contract. One report states that the parent club has the right to buy out this option and pay us £1.2m compensation. If that is true (and it may well be so as there was always a great deal of ambiguity at the end of August and in early September over the terms) then Toby could force a move or we could sweeten the deal or both. Whether Athletico want him back for themselves or because they feel his value has doubled since Toby joined us and they want to get a lot more for him is uncertain. I believe that Toby (and Ryan) will be with us for several years at least.
Overall, who knows what to believe. We know that over 90% of these stories are pure fabrication. What we do know is that we have money in the bank and are enjoying a fantastic start to the season. The players are really happy – why would any of them want to leave? On the contrary, we should find it much easier to acquire new players from now on.
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Comment | Pochettino And Rodgers Look To Rodriguez To Save Their Jobs
at 14:58:04
Ssssh Waylander - don't tell Brenda or Poch that they might be making another big spending gaff.
Good points as usual Nick. We cannot lose either way. Last week it was confirmed that JayRod was 4 weeks ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and he may be back into full training later this month. This might give him a chance to get a little game time in minor matches during December. We should be in a better position to assess his overall fitness by the end of the year. It will still be difficult to assess whether he'll be capable of regaining last season's form but there may be glimpses of it. If he continues to recover and gets to full match fitness and appears strong (perhaps stronger than before - as he's been working hard on his upper body even whilst in a leg brace) he may even reach the 1st team bench. If we waited until the end of the January window, we might have a much better idea of his longer term fitness and playing ability - but so will Spuds and L'pool.
One final point. There was similar huge and persistent media speculation over JayRod in the summer window - I think that at least 90% of it is hype and rumourmongering. We have not heard from JayRod or his agent at all on this subject. I would still be surprised if any deals were done in January. |
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Comment | The Magnificent Seven
at 13:02:55
Another good article Nick. I partly agree with Exiled Supporter and partly disagree. I agree that RonKo will see his 3 year contract out (perhaps stay even longer) - he has said and reaffirmed it several times. Although some of the fans lost faith and trust when Poch deserted us, I strongly believe that we can trust RonKo. He has declared himself unavailable for the Dutch national team coach position (if it came up in the short term) and quashed that particular media rumour.
I feel that we should not judge Les Reed on some of his past jobs which were in very different football roles to the one he has here. All the evidence suggests that he is doing an excellent job, especially heading up the scouting team. Perhaps communications could be a little better on occasions (not during any sensitive and confidiential deals). Everyone at the club and on the board plays to their own strengths. Ralph Kruger is a far better speaker than Les. Just as in our 1st team and the squad, the board members, the manager and coaching staff, the academy, the medical staff, the scouting team and other admistrators, all play together as a team and know their roles. This is the happy "family" atmosphere built up around own wonderful owner and is the "Southampton Way"
Turning to player retention - there are some huge differences between this year and last year and it would be quite wrong to base one's arguments on the strength of last summer's exodus. These are:
1. The RonKo effect - the players have tremendous respect for him and they all love him. Quite a few of them have said how he has helped them develop, how he has persuaded them to join us (some, like Graziano, just followed him here), how they want to play for him and/or a combination of all of these. The new signings were partly found by the scouting team and partly by RonKo. Just look at Sadio after he scored his first (allowed!) goal – he ran up to RonKo and cuddled him. He sees him as a father figure. All this should create a huge amount of player loyalty.
2. The Club’s Success – I predicted CL football for us next season 2 months ago (I’m even more confident of that now). If I’m proved wrong, we will get bl**dy close to it and then it would be Europa league next season. CL qualification would be a big factor in keeping any player for next season. Getting close with the prospect of further improvement next season, may be enough for quite a few others.
3. Playing time and Player Happiness - the players thoroughly enjoy playing together as a team and some realise that they may not get regular first team football elsewhere. Just look at what happened to the 5 we sold last summer. Only Chambers has settled. Shaw is just about getting there but the 3 at Liverpool have really struggled. This in itself should make a player think twice about moving on. Ryan and Toby have said how important it was for them to get 1st team footy.
4. Contracts – we will almost certainly be extending many of the player’s contracts, especially the one’s with less than 2 years to run. Starting with Jack and then JayRod (depending on him making a complete recovery to full match fitness), I hope. RonKo would like the 2 loan deals to be made permanent. Again both Ryan and Toby have indicated that they would be very happy to negotiate full contracts. I’m sure our club are on top of this and will already have been in negotiations with the parent clubs and player’s agents. There is a good possibility that this might be done in the January window rather than next summer.
5. Ambition – this was brought into focus during the exodus and some players left or wanted to leave (like Morg) as they thought we would be a much weaker team. Then, firstly by appointing RonKo and then by the player acquisitions and loan signings, our owner and the board proved that they were more ambitious than ever. We have a manager with huge ambitions of taking us into Europe and winning silverware. This ambition has become infectious, spreading to all our players. The belief has never been stronger.
6. The money – I’m not saying that this is not a key factor in any player’s career aspirations but again things are different. Our club is far stronger financially than it was last year. We have met the FFP rules fairly and squarely and things are steadily improving. We still have money in the transfer kitty, the surplus from our summer dealings and our share of the TV monies. This will enable, several more signings in January, possibly converting the loans deals (as stated above) and negotiating player contracts with substantially higher wage structures. A higher place in the EPL at the end of the season will bring in more funds and a cup success or EPL qualification even more. We will still be a relatively small club and the biggest clubs in Europe will be knocking on our doors.
7. The future – there are no certainties in football. With better remuneration here than before, plus all the other factors I listed above, I would only expect us to lose one or two players in the summer at worst (none in January). We would again be asking highly inflated prices – Graziano and Dusan have probably already increased their value by at least 4 fold and we should ask 5 or 6 fold – say £50m each and that’s assuming that the players would want to move and be drawn solely by big money. As fans, we need to get used to idea that it is always possible that we could lose several of our favourite players. We need to get used to that. Where we can have peace of mind now, is knowing that we can and will replace these players with others that RonKo wants to fit into our team. Apparently, our scouting team have already identified players high up on our wants list for the next two transfer windows. The future is secured.
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Comment | Convene The Dubious Goals Committee And Give Pelle The Goal !
at 14:36:08
I think I've found the answer to my question. The DGC convening times seems to vary considerably. The last 20 or so meetings haver been as soon as 7 days after the event but can be as long a 3 weeks. Most times are typically around 2 weeks. I imagine it depends on how quickly they can get a panel together. So, we can probably assume around or just after the turn of the month.
Graziano had better get a hat trick against Stoke next Saturday, just in case the decision goes against him! |
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Comment | Convene The Dubious Goals Committee And Give Pelle The Goal !
at 14:24:35
I agree. I thought it had enough power on it to easily go over the goal line and it was definitely on target. The keeper missed and the defender merely made a mess of things to make it look like he forced it over the line. There was always sufficient momentum for the ball to get there, As you say, this should be a straightforward decision for the DGC to reverse. How long do they usually take to get their act together assuming Saints lodged the appeal today?
So, a Graziano hat trick and 7 league goals so far. He's after a 2nd consecutive PotM award but Dusan may have something to say about that!!! |
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Comment | Premier Vultures Will Find Saints A Different Proposition In January
at 19:07:54
BoondockSaint. It is really important that you read the full version which is shown on the Sky Sports News website and I copied to the Echo thread that I referred to. The media have various forms of abbreviated versions and put either a negative or positive spin on the story which Morgan gave to a French newspaper where he is training with the national team. The 2nd part of the story focusses on the turnaround at our club and Morgan's U-turn in his feelings. He wants to play CL footy at some time and hopes that might be with Saints. So, this means that he will be with us at least until the end of the season and then it depends on what our club achieves. If we qualify or perhaps get very close to it (with the likelihood of doing it next season), that should be enough for Morg to want to stay with us. Morg is not another Lovren and he has been quite frank and open about his own ambitions. I have a huge amount of respect for him and fully understand why you did that tweet. At that time, I was the first to say that we need to support him not drive him away. We are now benefitting from him playing better than ever.
The Telegraph article covering our Financial Directors interview is brilliant and extremely revealing. We have had a lot of answers today and all Saints fans should be very happy with this news. |
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Comment | Premier Vultures Will Find Saints A Different Proposition In January
at 16:52:16
For those of you concerned about Morgan's future at our club you will be completely reassured by what he has said today. The best or most extended report is on the Sky Sports News website. I copied it to a lunchtime Echo thread at 1249 regarding Nat's first England training session. In brief, he wants to stay with Saints and help us to CL qualification!
There is also a superb article in today's D Telegraph with an in depth interview with our Financial Director which answers loads of questions we had all speculated on for several months. Again I have put a link on the same Echo thread.
These are both essential reading for all Saints fans. |
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Comment | Premier Vultures Will Find Saints A Different Proposition In January
at 12:25:09
Another good article Nick and more or less spot on as usual. Things are certainly very different now. I would be surprised if any player wants to leave in January and why would we want to off-load any players mid-season. Surely we can complete a full review next May. If anything, we may be looking for one or two more acquisitions to add greater depth to the squad where RonKo feels we may need more cover. For example, a reserve keeper in case Fraser gets injured. Kelvin should really now only be considered as emergency cover and the younger and/or academy players are not quite ready for full EPL service.
I take a lot of confidence in the renewed loyalty shown by many of our players. Our captain, Jose, has been about the most loyal of all and he must be a really positive and settling influence in the dressing room and would stamp out any wantaway talk – not that there is likely to be any. Morgan’s views have taken a big U-turn and reflect what our club went through. He was alarmed by the manager and player exodus and felt we had lost our ambition and his tweet was a sign of that desperation. Then when we re-built under RonKo he re-committed to our club. He has improved and seen a great team emerge with the club’s ambitions stronger than ever. He appears to be really happy again and this is backed-up but his more recent tweets and that huge smile has returned to his face.
Ryan has recently said how happy he is here and that his most important requirement is to get regular 1st team game time. He was very critical of the way Chelsea treated him. Toby, Sadio and Florin chose us over bigger clubs like Arsenal due to the RonKo effect and the squad that we were putting together. Yes, we could turn out to be a stepping stone for one or two of them but if we carry on challenging for European places (this season and, even more so, next season) and they get regular 1st team game time, they are far more likely to want to stay. Yes money talks and if a big EPL or foreign club wants to pay way over the top we will have to consider these offers as Nick says. I would put £35m minimum on Morgan’s value right now!
Graziano and Dusan both followed RonKo here and were already fully signed-up to his style of management. Our players from last season who did not “wantaway†have already shown their loyalty. Nothing is ever guaranteed, especially in football but the picture is looking far rosier than it did just 3-4 months ago.
Now to JayRod. We all pray that he completes his full recovery, then returns to match fitness and finally that he recaptures last season’s form. Only time will tell. I would image that he feels indebted to our club – the support he has had from the medical team during his rehabilitation seems to have been excellent (judging by his own comments and the few reports on this). He has witnessed the exodus, the re-build and our successful start to the season. He must surely be itching to be part of all this again. If he does get back into the team and turns in good performances again (and dare I say, even improve on last season – a lot to expect) I see RonKo opting for slight squad rotation. He would be part of the Dusan, Sadio and Shane combination (perm any 2 from 4) or you could even, at times, include Graziano in the plan and perm any 3 from 5. RonKo would want to ensure that his substitutions will often allow all 5 to get at least some game time. It might even be that one of them will come on from the bench to replace a midfielder if we need to chase the game (like Shane for Victor last Sunday – although that will only work sometimes). Fingers crossed that RonKo will be faced with this spoilt for choice dilemma.
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Comment | Saints At Swansea City The Verdict
at 13:28:46
FrankSaint - RonKo will be nominated for MOTM - Manager of the Month! When we thrash QPR next Saturday, that will be 3 straight wins in September - our draw and loss were in August. |
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Comment | Sadio Mane To Arrive In Southampton Tomorrow
at 15:39:32
Right - that makes it more straight forward. We start with the same team and probably sub Shane for Sadio shortly after half time. Victor and Florin also on the bench. |
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