Comes from Guan 2.0 who has for a long time had a lot of things nailed on about Saints, he and K'Billy Supersound, I believe his name is, over on SW get a lot right pretty high success ratio. Anyway, here is his post... "Hello all. Now a word of warning first. This is going to be a lengthy post, so those of little patience may want to skip it! Also, it is slightly more 'politicised' than a smiley, due to the source and the timing. Everyone has an agenda, after all. Think of this as more re-tweet than Op-Ed! With that caveat in mind, let us plough ahead. 1. Lallana. As you may see from my posting history, things I have been privy to from inside the club have meant I have never warmed to a certain badge kissing individual as much as others. His lack of care at his internal end of season review (including his statistical input input into matches) had alarm bells ringing, as did his apparent contrasting attitudes in discussing his future with those inside and outside the club. Some within the club are happy that the Blackmore tweet broke, as it showed that the Loyal local lad may not have Saints as his number one thought. It is also thought that a raise from any top 10, instead of top 4 club, would be enough to have him causing disruption once more. Whether or not he will hand in a transfer request, or Liverpool will Negotiate a lump sum settlement with Bournemouth remains to be seen. Intresting that his former boss does not rate him enough to bid for him (all alleged). Whatever happens, don't expect a 'goodtimes' highlights reel if he does leave. 2. Lambert. The Club had received a number of enquiries for Rickie, but he batted them away. The board was mindful that within a few days of meeting the players (December), Rickie had managed to insert Liverpool into most conversations, such was his passion for his home-town club. They were also grateful for his courteous, patient behaviour upon hearing of the offer, and there was genuine good feeling on both sides when goodbyes were made. Unlike some others. 3. Budget. The 35 Million is still in place. The board are hesitant to confirm the amount added to this now, as prices will be artificially inflated even without more sales. 4. Katharina Liebherr. Despite the prevailing view on here, she does care for the club, and our future. One thing my source was unclear on (because they couldn't get a handle on it yet) is whether she genuinely thinks RK and Reed are doing a sufficient job on a learning curve, or whether their is an imminent reshuffle. One thing is certain though, there has been an increase in 2 person meetings as opposed to group meetings. 5. Cortese. Though in the immediate aftermath and at the end of the season Cortsese was active in engaging the press, it is not thought that the whispered campaign against the club originates from him, but it does stem from his leaving as 6. The press. The club sought out untapped Journos to tell 'their side' as Cortese departed. But they underestimated how much access and coverage the media would demand in return, and as a result, conventional agreements were ignored, and many more interesting than 'helpful' stories have appeared. There may be an appointment soon to help restore balance. 7. The Manager. "Too Sensitive" I asked for a nationality or initials. "No". They want the business done before national management positions become vacant though Sorry I've had to censor the amount and quality of Info (I'm not allowed to discuss Shaw, for instance. At all)." Thought it was worth flagging up - hope you found it of interest. DTLW
he followed it up with a second post "One thing I forgot to mention was the Player/Board relations. There is a recognition that there has to be refocussing back towards the players. Not only was the Apple comment mid interview by RK described as 'Cringeworthy', but an incident towards the end of the season where players with contracts running out were guaranteed talks, the issue left to 'float' for a few days, then approached as part of a larger group to take part in a club media even, with no follow up or acknowledgement on the talks!"
I must admit this sides with my ever growing feeling that Adam's description by Clattenburg was very close to the mark. He's beginning to come across less than favourably to me. Ambition is all well and good.....but...... Good to hear that Rickie's move was all done with the requisite levels of respect.
Sounds feasible. Yet again, Rickie comes out as top guy. I don't expect Ralph to be here much longer....he just comes over as wrong. He may mean well, but has no idea how to communicate with football fans. Katharina may have to bite the bullet on him. I know Les Reed gets criticised and people may know more than me, but he has been here through a successful period so must be doing something right.
Didn't Krueger say a while back we were looking to appoint a Sporting Director? Because I've heard it before and it's resurfaced of late... the players do not like or respect Les Reed at all. Maybe Katharina is considering removing him and trying to rebuild some bridges with the new face in the chair?
Very interesting about Adam, he stayed when we were relegated down to league one, yet now we have progressed further than anyone could have imagined he wants out. But some of this rings true. With Fonte, Lambert, Morgan and even Jos still in the team when we came up, Adam doesn't jump out the page as captain material. Were we placating him back then by making him captain? He may have always had an eye on a top end PL club but needed to get there for a move to happen as his impact wasn't as great as Theo, Bale or the Ox. I guess the other thing to remember, is that we bought Ramirez as an attacking midfielder and were after Banega last summer. We as a club were obviously not convinced he could step up as he has. His stock (as is Pochs) is very high now. If he doesnt go he may miss his window. But I say... Sorry you signed that contract you stay.
starting to get a bit bloaty tbh, we seem to be advertising a new job every week as well. we'll fill the stadium with staff and their partners on complimentary season tickets. it's good to hear some indication they know it looks wrong at the moment.
I read an article that said Williams turned down the interim CEO job because he wasn't interested in a temporary position. They were obviously not completely convinced, but then bizarrely gave the job full time to Rodgers.
I agree, I was always confused when he took the armband. Why is led the bad guy all of a sudden? I thought he was the brain behind our footballing decisions, most of which have been good.
I'm sure Adam stayed originally out of loyalty when we were in league 1, but he has had a good season and his stock is high. He probably thinks that he should move now to a big club or he may miss the boat. Sorry to bang my drum again, but players look better than they are if they work as a team where every player knows where every other player is. He may not be as good elsewhere (or he could continue to progress, but nothing is certain in life). He made some remark about it being good to work with top players (after England duty)...I expect the other Saints players were saying...well, what are we...chopped liver!
Bit about the manager being appointed before international vacancies points very much towards Koeman with Van Gaal stepping down
Can someone release a story about how Adam has a new Southampton tattoo on his chest and that he spends every free moment healing sick kids? I'm tired of going off him.
Les has been a bad guy all along in some respects. He's always been the butt of jokes and he's never garnered much respect from footballers in his career. It doesn't hurt to have a bad cop around as long as you still have the good cop.
