I think that’s just because that’s what he was at Brentford, he’s one step removed from that at Saints I believe. That doesn’t mean he won’t be influential though.
Yes Matt Crocker is the "Director of Football Operations" announced November 2019 https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/...-matt-crocker-director-of-football-operations As Chilcs says Rasmus Ankersen going to have some influence, it would be plain daft not to make use of his experience.
Was an article linking us to him earlier in the year, I assume he would’ve had lots of options as he was out of contract and is seemingly very highly rated. Villa must’ve thrown a fair bit of money at him
I really don’t understand where Villa’s money is coming from. Coutinho’s wages won’t be cheap and neither will this guy’s given he was on a free It seems like there has been a big relaxation in FFP (I know some clubs have always got away with it but there seem to be even more now). Or maybe it is just “normal” and it stands out because we seem to have pretty much no money and truly awful (relative) secondary streams of income from corporate, sponsorships etc
Well Everton supposedly lost more than triple what you are allowed to over a 3 year period and nothing seems to be happening to them about it, so yeah it doesn’t seem like it’s a thing.
As i have just posted - where this money is from and how it fits in with the apparent limits is anyone’s guess. Because by all accounts Manchester United where interested and are looking for low transfer fee deals. And there was surely higher level interest in Coutinho Perhaps they are just gambling big on champions league and it could end in tears. But for some reasons I don’t think so. Because that would be a foolish strategy
I guess it depends. If FPP is still relevant then the only way you are realistically going to get to the champs league is to spend huge in a short space of time so that when the 3 year rolling window comes up you can cover the losses due to increase in TV/Competition money. You can’t really spend steadily and sustainably over a long period as your team just won’t improve enough to break the top 4 in that time (yeah Leicester did it, I know). And any good players you find along the way will leave after a couple of years. So if you really want to be a candidate for Champions League qualification and you are a Villa/Newcastle type team then I think spending massive for like 2 or 3 years is the best way to try and achieve it. There also doesn’t seem to be much punishment if you do breach the rules anyway
£150k pw apparently? This will be another area we struggle in this summer. This is why we have pulled out of the Tete race as wants to much money. But to me, why not pay the young free transfers the money especially if they have had good seasons under their belts. Take Kamara for example. £150k per week £7.8 million per year, get 2 years out of them for around £16 million, then sell at a good profit. There would be no transfer fee to be paid on the books either.
Yeah I agree with your theory, but I think you are missing the signing on fee factor. From previous free transfer deals I’ve seen it seems the player/agent get a much larger signing on fee than if there was a transfer fee involved. Essentially the fee you would’ve typically paid for the player had he been in contract is paid to the player in additional wages and a big signing on fee (probably not as much as you would’ve paid a club for the player, but still a large amount).
It would cripple our wage structure. If we start handing out £150k a week to new signings then JWP wants £175k etc. That is why even the fringe players at clubs like United earn similar to our higher earners. It is stupid but thats how it works.
There is no relaxation. The domestic FFP restrictions are just far, far less restrictive than people around here believe, because our previous owners (both of them) used it as cover to run the club as cheaply as possible, the first because she wanted to make a windfall profit, the latter because he was skint.
RE: your final comment. The reason Salisu and Bednarek have a high number of interceptions is because they are clearly being instructed to press the attacker at the earliest opportunity rather than jockey. It's a high-press/Ralph thing, which tends to backfire frequently. Anybody with eyes will tell you that if it wasn't for Romeu playing DM this season, we'd have got relegated. He has been an absolute force. It's a must that we keep him (I've heard rumours suggesting he may be leaving too). Diallo is no way ready to step up in Romeu's place, and we need far too many other replacements before we sign a DM. I'd also be keeping Stephens and Redmond as they are both adequate squad members.
You’re right, but football, especially the premier league, is always changing. If the new owners do not put money into the club, especially at this moment in time when we have had zero investment for several seasons, then what was the point in buying Southampton? Major changes required this summer or I’m afraid we will just be in the premier league to make up the numbers. Do we have a better team / squad, than Fulham and Bournemouth? They will both invest this summer unlike Norwich and Watford didn’t this season.
We are in the Premier League to make up the numbers. That’s the truth of it. It’s just whether that number is 10-17 or 18-20.
