Match Day Thread Southampton vs Aston Villa 3pm, Saturday 21st January

[Number 1 Jasper]

You just need to get a grip of yourself. So many fans are terrified of the prospect of relegation, but if you just come to terms with it, it's not that scary.

Here's something for you to chew on;

With Gao, we were going down. Ralph did well to keep us up for several seasons, but it was inevitable that at some point, we would be relegated. And if we'd have gotten relegated under Gao, we'd have stayed down. I think we can all agree on that.

Now, under SR, we're probably going down too. Bummer, I know. But, I'd much rather be getting relegated with these boys behind us, than Gao. I'm even a little excited by the prospect of us going down, because I truly think it gives us a chance to become an exciting, organised team again instead of a load of lost-looking disjointed parts of a former football team.

What really makes me laugh, is the anger that people are showing towards Sport Republic, who - let's not forget - have totally sorted out our finances, spent loads on players, and really seem to be doing a head-to-tail shake up of the club, which was steadily deteriorating. So why the anger? It's not like with Gao we were achieving success, right? We were f*cked. So what exactly have we lost? Nothing. We've gained ambitious, wealthy owners, who, yes, have cocked up the recruitment (to a degree), but who are making all the right noises about establishing us - sooner or later, as a top-half Premier League club.

Just be patient and don't melt down every time we lose a game for f*ck's sake.

why do people criticise Gao ?

If what I read was correct , he took us over with the best intentions , then the Chinese Government pulled the plug on taking money out .

Hardly his fault .

 

[Pelletron]

Not recruiting Jones and spending money on first team ready players will have given us the chance to stay up.

The fans panicking/****ting the bed has no ****ing say in whether we stay up

I'd say it has a big effect - if crowds are making it difficult for the manager and players to feel positive, and hostile home crowds increase the tension when playing tight games, we're more likely to lose those games. A positive first couple of months amongst the home crowds might contribute to the whole groups confidence. I don't think Everton fans are helping their team in any way.

And in another bed analogy, you made yours - you wanted Ralph out, and that's what we got. You - or I - don't get a say in who comes next - that always plays a big part in my feelings about whether a manager should go or not. I for one was very confident it wouldn't be someone on Ralph's level, and whilst I didn't expect Nathan Jones, I was very glad we didn't get Dyche, or Big Sam, or one of the countless short-term solutions out there.

I get it that you are saying SR are making crap decisions, but I think you had that opinion of SR before Ralph left, so why would you expect them to make a positive managerial appointment?

 

[Lovelocum]

why do people criticise Gao ?

If what I read was correct , he took us over with the best intentions , then the Chinese Government pulled the plug on taking money out .

Hardly his fault .

And we weren’t relegated under his watch.

 

[Che’s Godlike Thighs]

The frustration comes from the fact that they didn’t have a very difficult job. It’s not like we were promoted and needed a complete overhaul. We needed a CB, CDM, striker and potentially a winger. The fact that we spent loads is actually more annoying, we shouldn’t be in free fall given what’s been spent and where SR started.

I agree on your first point. We didn't need an overhaul. But it was Ralph who was the one saying this. Are we getting angry with the owners for supporting the manager in what he wants? Anyway, SR then bought him a load of new players (and invested in the youth team, and the coaching staff). It was Ralph who decided to stick with those same players that he'd implied weren't good enough a few months before. Again, that's on him.

If we'd have spent 60m on two players, and then one turned out to be not that good, and the other got injured, we'd all be saying how we shouldn't have put all our eggs in one basket and so on. It's so very easy to find faults when you are speaking in hindsight, and when it's not your money. If SR want to buy players who they think we can sell later at two or three times the price, rather than a 30 year old who will lose all his value a year or two later, then that's up to them.

 

[Che’s Godlike Thighs]

How will going down make us a "exciting, organised team?" Having SR behind us makes it no more likely at all to come back up. They've demonstrated they've no clue at all when it comes to this club.

We don't have time for patience we're bottom of the league

How will scraping by in 17th place getting dicked every week ever turn us into a good team? We go down, we start winning games and the confidence and attacking football comes back. Look at Burnley. They've lost 2 games out of 28!!!! Top of the league. With Nathan Tella up front.

 

[Che’s Godlike Thighs]

why do people criticise Gao ?

If what I read was correct , he took us over with the best intentions , then the Chinese Government pulled the plug on taking money out .

Hardly his fault .

I haven't criticised him. But we were spending less than any other club, and earning fewer points year on year. it was inevitable.

 

[Lovelocum]

I agree on your first point. We didn't need an overhaul. But it was Ralph who was the one saying this. Are we getting angry with the owners for supporting the manager in what he wants? Anyway, SR then bought him a load of new players (and invested in the youth team, and the coaching staff). It was Ralph who decided to stick with those same players that he'd implied weren't good enough a few months before. Again, that's on him.

If we'd have spent 60m on two players, and then one turned out to be not that good, and the other got injured, we'd all be saying how we shouldn't have put all our eggs in one basket and so on. It's so very easy to find faults when you are speaking in hindsight, and when it's not your money. If SR want to buy players who they think we can sell later at two or three times the price, rather than a 30 year old who will lose all his value a year or two later, then that's up to them.

Prior to SR we had flirted with relegation but weren’t in a dogfight. We have been a stable lower table team for some time, only the Hughes season did we come close (stayed up with 2 games remaining?).

My point is that to invest 70m to the above team and have us rock bottom in December is a shambles.

 

[Che’s Godlike Thighs]

Prior to SR we had flirted with relegation but weren’t in a dogfight. We have been a stable lower table team for some time, only the Hughes season did we come close (stayed up with 2 games remaining?).

My point is that to invest 70m to the above team and have us rock bottom in December is a shambles.

70m isn't really all that much. Most other teams spent that. And we got no money in return for losing Romeu, Redmond, Bednarek, Broja... All 20+ game players.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

why do people criticise Gao ?

If what I read was correct , he took us over with the best intentions , then the Chinese Government pulled the plug on taking money out .

Hardly his fault .

And he lost around £100 million of his own money in the process. I agree entirely Jasper, it wasn’t Gao’s fault. I’ve always blamed the lack of due diligence done by the FA, and more importantly, Katharina Liebherr, before grabbing Gao’s cash.

 

[Le Tissier's Laces]

Understand both sides of the argument, for sure. The part I don’t, and am unlikely to ever understand, is employing Jones.

 

[Libby]

why do people criticise Gao ?

If what I read was correct , he took us over with the best intentions , then the Chinese Government pulled the plug on taking money out .

Hardly his fault .

The fact he was a criminal.

The LD sports fiasco.


Just two things off the top of my head. I'm not sure on the accuracy of him wishing to spend either. Seemed a convenient excuse to put out there to try and please fans.

 

[LincolnSaint]

How will scraping by in 17th place getting dicked every week ever turn us into a good team? We go down, we start winning games and the confidence and attacking football comes back. Look at Burnley. They've lost 2 games out of 28!!!! Top of the league. With Nathan Tella up front.

Almost as if recruiting a "name" manager, who has played under the best has worked for them. Why would Jones suddenly start playing attacking football because we're in the Championship?

Do you hand on heart believe that when we're relegated we'll be a team going straight back up? We're more likely to be a Reading than a Burnley. They recruited Jones, they simply haven't a clue. It's madness to think that being in the Championship will be anything other than a disaster for the club.

 

[LincolnSaint]

I'd say it has a big effect - if crowds are making it difficult for the manager and players to feel positive, and hostile home crowds increase the tension when playing tight games, we're more likely to lose those games. A positive first couple of months amongst the home crowds might contribute to the whole groups confidence. I don't think Everton fans are helping their team in any way.

And in another bed analogy, you made yours - you wanted Ralph out, and that's what we got. You - or I - don't get a say in who comes next - that always plays a big part in my feelings about whether a manager should go or not. I for one was very confident it wouldn't be someone on Ralph's level, and whilst I didn't expect Nathan Jones, I was very glad we didn't get Dyche, or Big Sam, or one of the countless short-term solutions out there.

I get it that you are saying SR are making crap decisions, but I think you had that opinion of SR before Ralph left, so why would you expect them to make a positive managerial appointment?

Were you at the forest game? I was. The crowd were great for the first part of the game until constant **** ups quickly toned them down. The club must love **** takes like this. It's not years of appalling recruitment, it's not signing the Luton manager, it's the Northams fault for not making the managers and the players feel positive. No fault at all of the board that we've been one of the worst teams in the entire country for over a year! The atmosphere will be ****ing poisonous back in the Championship.

I (amongst many) wanted Ralph out. Never in a billion years would any of us thought that SR were so incompetent that they'd recruit Jones. Even professionals were baffled by the appointment. I knew they were cavalier regarding our club, that was obvious from the summer signings. I never thought they'd be prepared to piss away our league status by twice not signing a goal scorer and the ****e manager selection. No one could have.

 

[Shandy_top_89]

Almost as if recruiting a "name" manager, who has played under the best has worked for them. Why would Jones suddenly start playing attacking football because we're in the Championship?

Do you hand on heart believe that when we're relegated we'll be a team going straight back up? We're more likely to be a Reading than a Burnley. They recruited Jones, they simply haven't a clue. It's madness to think that being in the Championship will be anything other than a disaster for the club.

I agree it shouldn’t be an assumption but nowadays most of the relegated sides do much better in the Championship than they used to.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t want it, but at the end of the day at least we will still have a club to support (as long as SR don’t pull the plug) and regular football games at a decent level with a reasonable chance of promotion and tbh I am now at the point that I don’t see us recovering and looking towards what we can do next season.

Biggest issue is that if we go down with Everton they will PSG their way out of the Championship and be a significant obstacle.

 

[Saints FC 76]

Almost as if recruiting a "name" manager, who has played under the best has worked for them. Why would Jones suddenly start playing attacking football because we're in the Championship?

Do you hand on heart believe that when we're relegated we'll be a team going straight back up? We're more likely to be a Reading than a Burnley. They recruited Jones, they simply haven't a clue. It's madness to think that being in the Championship will be anything other than a disaster for the club.

I kind of agree with CGLT that going down would be good for us. For too long we’ve been ****, signing poor players and developing a losing mentality.

Certainly can’t see us shirking that in the premier league.

 

[SaintElliot]

I kind of agree with CGLT that going down would be good for us. For too long we’ve been ****, signing poor players and developing a losing mentality.

Certainly can’t see us shirking that in the premier league.

Wouldn't be good for the average men/women who will lose their jobs because of it though.

 

[LincolnSaint]

I kind of agree with CGLT that going down would be good for us. For too long we’ve been ****, signing poor players and developing a losing mentality.

Certainly can’t see us shirking that in the premier league.

SR would get bored of their toy and that'd be it until new owners. SR care about SR. There's no money to be made on signing children in the Championship so they won't be interested. There would be job losses and knock on economic impact on the city. I've no idea why fans think it'll be a rip roaring time like 2011-12. It'll be like the first time. How many fans are we getting in on a cold December night for Doncaster at home? Why would we suddenly lose this losing mentality? Why would being in the Championship stop us signing poor quality players? None of that makes sense, we'd just have the same problems in a lower league with much less cash

 

[Libby]

Have to say, and I say this as someone who wants us to go down, I think the 'go down and regroup' argument is a poor one with no real basis in reality.

Can't see how you could ever say a struggling club with £100m+ of debt would find a rebuild easier in a situation where they've lost guaranteed access to tens of millions of pounds.

For every Burnley there's a Stoke etc

 

[st_brendy]

Have to say, and I say this as someone who wants us to go down, I think the 'go down and regroup' argument is a poor one with no real basis in reality.

Can't see how you could ever say a struggling club with £100m+ of debt would find a rebuild easier in a situation where they've lost guaranteed access to tens of millions of pounds.

For every Burnley there's a Stoke etc

Yeah, after years of avoiding relegation, Sunderland eventually went down and regrouped...in league one.

 

[Le Tissier's Laces]

Have to say, and I say this as someone who wants us to go down, I think the 'go down and regroup' argument is a poor one with no real basis in reality.

Can't see how you could ever say a struggling club with £100m+ of debt would find a rebuild easier in a situation where they've lost guaranteed access to tens of millions of pounds.

For every Burnley there's a Stoke etc

For every Kompany there’s a failed Stoke manager too…