One of the reasons our players are committing themselves to the club is our ambition. Players don't have the luxury of time so each season is precious. Do you think Morgan would have signed a new contract if he was told that the club hope to consolidate for a couple of seasons, pick up players who have failed at the top clubs and wait for some academy players to mature. Like it or not football is very much a success now industry and you only have to see this from the number of managerial changes a season. As for the transfer targets being too big only Banega has proved himself consistently in a top European league. But he comes with a colorful past. You could argue none of them have shown enough to be top targets of big champions league sides. Their price tags are high which eliminates many sides from across continental Europe. As a result whilst these players still attract interest from other sides, the competition for them is from a smaller pool of sides than you'd expect.
As far as we know, none of our 1st team are looking for a move away...I think most are aware that, although they got us a couple of promotions, Saints have also made them. Talented players have been given the chance to learn and grow into PL-standard players. Many of them could have carried on sloshing around the fringes if they had joined the wrong team. They were given top class support and training and treated like stars in the Championship and League 1. I hope that most have enough self-knowledge to know that. At this point, the character of new players is also important if the balance isn't to be disturbed.
I've been thinking for the last three years we are trying to move too quickly. Been proved wrong every time!
NC is from a financial background, and has the backing of a very wealthy family. He does his homework and oozes success to date. Forget about the money being mentioned, its shouldn't be our primary concern. If our club wants to aim for the stars then great. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Good thread Godders. What has been apparent is that short term progression is success. This has proven to be achievable and we have done that for the last 4 seasons. The really hard bit is always success and further progression, the closer you get to the top. Our next challenge will be not only progression/success, but sustainability.
I agree with the sentiment, but that is what Pompey fans thought. However, don't think Nicola is in the same category as the bunch of crooks who got hold of Pompey.
Thank you. I may have come back from my holiday a darn sight grumpier than when I went (still can't forgive that stupid woman who took my case) but being at home with the sun shining really does lift the spirits.
Agreed Fran. Pompey made bad decisions across the board. NC is cold and calculating and i love him for it. I don't think a penny is spent without a thorough plan being mapped first. We are very lucky fans.
Godders, have you stopped for one moment to consider the look on her face when she opened her case, only to find your 1958 'Y' fronts?
I take it all back. I don't want to be confused with Nick. http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/fb_news.php?storyid=32247
I get the sentiment, it's true that buying expensive players doesn't guarantee we will come 5th next year. But if you're ever nervous then just remember the amount of money that we are putting into the training ground and academy, which was already one of the top in the country. In fact it annoys me how many average category 1 academies there are now, when we are eclipsing almost all of them. I am sure that a lot of excellent players will come out of there soon (the ones coming out now have only had a few years benefitting from the new facilities). Maybe the FA should invent category 0 for us. Point being, it's not just a vanity exercise for Nicola.
Man city are putting a decent amount of money into their academy too. Although of the top of my head i cant think who has come through there academy
Dan Sturridge, The Wright-Phillipses, Kasper Schmeichel, Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards, Ned Onouha, just off the top of my head - and a couple like John Guidetti coming through now.
The two Manchester clubs probably join us in the top 3. But category 1 is being given out pretty freely so I don't see where the incentive for them to improve from the minimum spending levels comes from. Anyway, not to worry.
Thing is though, Godders, this is what you are saying. And it has validity. The problem is identifying those players just a bit better than what we have yet not attracting the interest of clubs who can offer higher wages and possible silverware. It may sound sacrilegious, but we need a "get-out-of-my-way-I'm-aving-it type" striker. Lambert walks on water, and Rodriguez is a star in the making, but in my view neither of them is a 25 goal a season player. On one journey home this year I saw us at Man Utd and Wigan in successive games. We could have had 4-6 points from those games rather than the 1 we took, and the principle reason was lack of killer touch in the final third. OK, that's the analysis, but who is there out there who is going to be convinced by the DVD? So yes, the ambition is a bit scary, but I'll worry about that if we do bring in a couple of players who are clearly better than players already here. They need to be significantly better because this lot will keep us in the Prem. They'll notch up some wins against big clubs that'll have MOTD pundits swooning with delight. But Cortese wants more, and we've never had this situation before (cue re-run the Board's lack of ambition when Lawrie was in his prime). Squeaky y-front times indeed, Godders.
