On his time as Chairman: "I think when you look at the final matches, we weren't playing for a spot up or down but still worked so hard." "The spirit and emotions as the players went around with the families really connected the fans and the team." "You do feel a warmth here in the community." On Pochettino's future: "It's clear. Les Reed is our Sporting Director. He is in conversation. We now enter a new phase of conversation." "I can tell you right now that there has been no contact of any sort from any club." "One of the reasons we haven't quite understood the panic is that, he has another year on his contract." "He could have a twenty-year contract. It's a volatile market. With that year guarantee, we don't feel any panic ahead of us." "We agreed to leave it until after the last game. We have been singing the same tone as Mauricio." On this season: "What's happening here at Southampton is not by luck. You know that we belong where we are, in 8th place." "It's been well deserved. That's the product of years of hard work. We don't need to be afraid of anything." "We have to believe that our base as a club is outstanding. We have four players going to the U19 national team." "We would've had four going to the World Cup with England." On the future: "We have to be able to deal with these issues, and we will." "The only reason people are looking at players from Southampton is because we are doing an excellent job." "It should be difficult here every summer. It means we are doing something right." "From the beginning, we said that we need to manage responsibly here in Southampton." "If you want a model that sustains itself over a long period of time, you need to be professional." "You need to communicate and be honest with your fan base. We will be honest when decisions are happening." "There's always the way you would like it to happen, and the way it does happen. They don't always mix." "We want to be responsible." On Lallana: "We know nothing has occurred here. There has been so much speculation." On the meetings in the next week or so: "It's important to respect that communication will be happening for us, as of tomorrow." "There are clubs that have financial means over and above what we have." "The only thing we are going to do in our decisions is do what is best for the Saints." On contracts: "Les Reed is somebody with the right kind of experience and know-how." "We understand the roles and responsibilities of everyone." On transfers: "Les already has his plan in place. We have players we want to approach in the next few days." On next season: "The new season begins tomorrow, and I think everyone needs to start getting excited about this tomorrow." Concluding comment: "Thanks to the fans who couldn't make it, too. We appreciate everybody out there with Saints blood." DTLW
So much for all those rumours about Adam, Luke and Mauricio, though there probably will be some enquiries. I think MP intends to see out his contract at least, because both MP and RK can't see a reason to panic. Funny how your heart sinks when you see that Ralph wants to behave responsibly when all fans want him to behave irresponsibly It seems calm, Les has plans about contracts (presumably with some of our players as he is talking about in the next few days), but doesn't sound like we are splashing the cash (though that isn't the same as not spending at all). Hopefully we'll get some good news soon...I'm expecting a steady drip drip of contract extensions.
The club will always spend less than the fans want...it's very easy to spend other people's money. I would be more than happy with keeping our players + 30 million.
Even if the new board aren't that ambitious, they will have to make it look like they are in order for the club not to go into meltdown. It makes sense from a business perspective to keep up appearances, and spend money, at least in the short term, in order to keep the manager and the best players. Even from a cold-blooded business point of view, it would be better for the value of the club to let the ambition peter out rather than collapse.
I think this talk of ambition is misleading. I expect Kreuger would like to get to the Champions' League just as much as Nicola did, but he doesn't choose to hang it round his neck like an albatross. Our chances of achieving that have probably not become reduced by the change in management...always slim...but perhaps our financial security has increased.
I'll be happy if our transfer spending exceeds our income from sales at this point...even if that means no players going out beyond Osvaldo and only very modest additions.
Yep, I don't want to spend big tbh. I want this team to grow together with help from 2 or 3 signings.
Let us look at Everton. Responsible and ambitious, but sensible. If we can emulate them, I'd be a happy man.
And really, if we lost no-one (fingers crossed on that) think how much we could improve this team, with just 2 or 3. We don't need very much this summer.
Agreed, a good window for me at this point would be making money from Osvaldo, and not doing any other business. Our team is young, and will only improve. We are short of a striker, but if it meant we kept adam and shaw then I wouldn't mind no-one coming in.
Agreed, they're a good template for us. On the other hand, they missed out on the top 4 and considering the number of players they have on loan (and the importance of those players to their season), they will have a lot to do in the summer on a limited budget. Sadly for them it's difficult to see them mounting as strong a challenge for fourth place as they have this season.
Calm down, calm down...Katharina is going through her forty handbags and the back of her car seat as we speak. Thirty million, a button and two old biros at the last count.
Of course, Everton has financed that stability mainly through the sale of players. Beyond sentimentality, that's a difficult game to play; there's no margin for error in the transfer market if you're facing an annual race to replace your key contributors.
He can talk a good game this guy, but let's see if he and Les can stick to their words. I have no reason to doubt them, but we will see.
I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. They have my goodwill, but I'm not going overboard.
