http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11..._ambition_match_that_of_the_players_/?ref=mrs More of the same, this time from José. We've heard this from Schneiderlin, Clyne, Lambert, Lallana etc now so clearly seems to be some sort of agreed response. DTLW
Agreed amongst the players or with the Club? If it is the Clubs party line then that bodes well for us as players would obviously not be prepped to talk about the boards ambition etc if they were not going to come good. If it is the players saying this then it could cause unrest. The first team squad essentially blackmailing the board! Option one please!!
You forgot option 3; The Echo putting their own slant on some fairly innocuous comments, for dramatic effect.
The ambition of the players was instilled by the philosophy of the club (aka Nicola Cortese). I believe that the present board has the same idea and desire, but we have to do it within our financial limitations. I believe them when they say there are no insurmountable problems, but I don't expect Lionel Messi to arrive. As the finances are the same whether Nicola stayed or not (he wasn't putting in money), I think it would have been the same with him. Better to reach your targets in a few years by steady improvement than crashing and burning. What am I expecting this summer? Mauricio to sign a new contract with a 2 year extension (can't see him over committing himself as who knows what the future will hold), core players to stay (with a few new contract deals for the top players), and 3+ new players (but no highly expensive ones).
The last option, if you want to call it that, is that Jose, like the others who have commented, is looking for a strong confirmation that this summer will be business as usual. That there will be no change of direction or softening of ambition. The players know what can be afforded, and they know that no detail was being overlooked in the pursuit of success. So their expectations are high, just like ours. Alternatively, if you're happy with second best, that's exactly what you'll get.
There are a lot of subtle, and some not so subtle, people asking the board to put up or shut up/put money where mouth is. I do hope they come up with the goods - it's pretty critical on any number of levels now.
Always have to remember that papers put linking sentences it that may subvert what the player is actually saying.
One or two players, it could be coincidental. Now that we're at a half-dozen or more saying the same thing, all veterans in the squad, it certainly seems like an organized effort to press the issue. For me, that's a good thing; players wouldn't be challenging the board if they were eyeing the door.
I don't believe they are challenging the board, this is obviously being orchestrated by the board to reinforce Les Reed's message.
I'm not sure I really understand why the board would want all the players saying "we need to spend a lot of money".
Jose has already been pretty vocal in the past about the ambitions of the club. You can see one of the reasons why we've progressed so quickly as senior players like Jose & Rickie would like us to strengthen and that could be to the detriment of a regular starting birth for both of them.
I would love to think you were 100% correct. There may be something in what you say, but if some conspiracy theorist came along and suggested that it was actually Nicola Cortese in the background, being the power behind the statements, I'd almost be inclined to believe it.
Meh. I like Fonte (and Lambert, Lovren, Lallana, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Pochettino, etc.) and all but I get a little tired of all this "board must match our ambition" stuff. If you have the manager and half the team not happy with finishing eighth... then why did they finish eighth? They were the ones on the pitch playing and making the tactical decisions, not the Board. So either someone's ambition was lacking or else it was their ability. So which one of these players would like to volunteer to be replaced in order for the board to "show their ambition?" It would be nice if one of the players were to say "The board has spent lavishly on first class training facilities, they've spent on transfers every year, we've had managers fired not for being bad but for simply not being good enough, the owner took us out of a bad situation by clearing a big debt off the books. Gee, I'd like to stay here and get the chance to pay them back and show that I can match THEIR ambition."
Isn't that sort of the point? Fonte and Lambert seem to be prepared to accept the extra competition, if it helps the team progress.
This is the conundrum. If you watch the videos from the Our Journey thread, you'll notice several players who never played a further or final part in Saints progression to the Premier League. Yet they are celebrating.!?! Is it because of personal satisfaction..? Is it because they expect to be in the squad the next season..? I s it because they have hope..? Or is it because they are celebrating what they have achieved as a team..? There's the conundrum. Players who achieve, either rise to the new level or play themselves out of a position or club. This is why Harding or Fox aren't crap. Trotman or Wotton aren't rubbish. They played their bit and they can be proud. It's poignant that although you can see the players are celebrating, several weren't going to realise their achievement by playing at the new level. But without those League One players, Saints wouldn't be in the Premier League.
Picking just a bit from TSS's post...I also dislike fans turning on players unable to step up to a new level. Players like Fox and Hammond may not be good enough for Saints now, but they all did their bit. I would only criticise a player who didn't give 100%...and that rarely happened. Those players giving everything got us to the Premier League and I'm glad they enjoyed their moment of triumph in our promotions (and their bonuses).
