Where did I say it is just the lack of coach? They don’t want to spend the money. It’s their model. Are you telling me that you don’t get that? I think you do. It worked well for a few seasons and a combination of things (because it isn’t just one thing) has it not working so well now. That’s Life. They may carry on with this model, which sadly is going to have some fans moaning about it continually.... although it is funny that they don’t mention it when it is working. Puel - I’m not going there. I’ve said a million times that it worked in patches and could have worked, but fans, some players and eventually the club didn’t give it time.
At every stage??. That’s ****ing hilarious as it wasn’t that long ago we were heading for Champions League. I’m giving up on this discussion as it’s just people selecting something to fit their whinge. We’ve had one ok season and one poor season and the sky has fallen in. Been saying for 5 years his would happen. Fans have no spine.
Not under the current leadership. They have taken great pains to caution that we're a small club and CL isn't realistic. At last check, they had further downgraded from "our ambition is Europe every year" to "our ambition is to be the best of the rest" to "realistically, for a club our size, finishing in the top half is a massive accomplishment". We're in ****ing 18th! We're one bad match away from being prohibitive favourites for relegation! We aren't having a 'poor' season; we have gone from being three points back of Man City to having a high degree of likelihood of featuring in the Championship in two years while racking up large profits and leaving significant gaps in our squad. And we are where we are because of a series of decisions by our management, the consequences of which were eminently foreseeable. That would seem to merit some complaint.
Bit late to the party, but the fact that we made a profit is a good thing eh? If we go down, we are in a lot better state than if we had made a massive loss? The company is privately owned, so doesn't have to answer to shareholders, so they can do what they want with the money. We may not agree as we don't see it as a business - we see it as a hobby. Maybe I am missing the point here?
And our performance would suggest that that "moaning" has rather much a basis in reality, wouldn't it? It's almost as if the consequences of our decision-making were totally foreseeable!
No, because the money accrued from those profits is gone. It's no longer with Saints, it's in Liebherr's bank accounts. Instead, we have 200m in loans to service, either direct through the club or through our new owner. Unless Gao has found a way to get a lot of money out of China, which he had not been successful in doing at the time of the sale, we're in a truly precarious position if relegated.
Oh yes. Completely justified. We should expect to be having a good season every year as it’s within our rights.
Does this honestly strike you as just a blip? A down season before we vault back up into, at the very least, the middle of the table? It doesn't to me; we have been abjectly awful for the entirety of this season, and mediocre at best for long stretches of the season previous. Unless we make significant changes, I think that relegation fights could become our new normal, and that's assuming we survive at all. We don't do anything particularly well, and we're not a player or two away unless we're adding Messi. We don't have a right to good seasons every year; I do think that fans have the right to ask why we made no effort to shore up our attack in the summer, made no effort to shore up our defense in the winter (and still are at least one good attacker short of competence), held on to a manager months past his sell-by date, and have overall shown a remarkable lack of urgency given our plight. Following which, after talking about the need to safeguard our delicate financial situation, we then announce yet again that we have absolutely no financial difficulties (except perhaps those placed upon us by the sale). Why is that off-limits? Hell; if someone had deigned to suggest that relegation was even an outside possibility as of the beginning of the year, you'd have jumped in at highest dudgeon about unnecessary negativity. Now we're staring down the barrel and it's still beyond the pale to question the actions and intentions of board? When is it acceptable? I mean, if we pull a Sunderland and aim for two consecutive relegations, at that point can we start to ask questions, or are we still just moaners? If we get relegated, we will be the richest club in the history of the sport to earn the drop the old-fashioned way (second-richest overall; Juve's match-fixing punishment is the only time a richer club dropped a level).
....Because that’s how he translated my post at the start of this. Just speaking his language. All through this, I’ve been far from black and white and tried to point out lots of grey.
Schad, do you think I have been positive all through this, questioning every negativity? If so, you’re not reading very well. For every positive or negative there is a flip side or an alternative possibility or reason. Some only want to see one side of that. You just focus on my questioning the moaning though. I really can’t be arsed with it and as I tried yesterday, I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy.
There's barely any difference between relegation threatened and mid table, pretty much any team is one or two signings away from it. And we the finances we have there aren't many teams with a better chance at it. Hell, put a few wins together and we could still get to the lower midtable this season. Let's see what Hughes can do before making any predictions. First manager with a different style since this decline started.
I know we won't have good seasons every time....a Saints fan after all. However, this season is worse than it should be because of decisions made....managed properly we should be middle of table or just below as a minimum. The club decided to concentrate last season in getting longer contracts in part because of the need for stability after too many player sales (longer contracts effectively mean that only silly offers are accepted....so most players can't leave as they aren't worth silly offers). That would have been fine if the team was balanced, but we left ourselves without a Vardy or a Lambert if you like....a proper finisher. Without one of those we were more susceptible to poor defending and the fear that induces. Even so, I think we were good enough to be above average. And we all know the problems this season....the wrong manager and too much loyalty to the wrong manager. I think this was partly because of misplaced faith in MP2, but also because we didn't want to be one of those teams known to fire managers at the drop of a hat. Hubris if you like. Wait a minute..I had a point. Oh, yes. The club's mistakes were not deliberate....they had reasons, but we are living with the consequences. Let's hope it isn't too late because annoyingly it shouldn't have happened....and it couldn't have happened at a worse time with a new owner unfamiliar with football and a debt to finance (though he won't necessarily be financing it only from us, but also from his other earnings as it is a private loan).
Well said Shad - nothing wrong with someone writing a fairly well balanced "negative" view. That's what this forum is about. There's no doubt we're deep in trouble & there's been a catalogue of mistakes made by the board. Hopefully MH will turn us around & SOS (Save Our Saints) & then we'll hear from LR again
We’re in deep trouble? I hadn’t realised. *ignores urge to insert facepalm* FWIW, If I had to make a call right now, I think we will get relegated. Mistakes have been made and I don’t think there is a Saints fan out there who doesn’t acknowledge that. This thread was opened to show the club’s accounts showed a healthy profit and my comments have been about that being the owners prerogative and that I find it odd that fans seem to expect that to be spent on the team. If failure to spend that on the team results in relegation and a loss of future financial gain for the owners, then so be it. Thats their call to make. It’s their money to “gamble” with. It also isn’t the sole reason we are where we are. There are many examples of teams spending lots and getting relegated. It’s football. It happens. I just don’t get the apparent demand and feeling that we should be entitled to have that money spent. No signing is guaranteed to work. We have a model and some seasons it has worked and this season it hasn’t. Just so you’re clear I am not just moaning about negativity.
