As Guan 2.0 said on SaintsWeb yesterday, Saints are looking to get some hooks into the media. Jeremy Wilson at The Telegraph, as a Saints fan is one they want to be close with. Gordon Simpson at the Daily Echo is another they've let get closer. They will be filtering their information out via these guys, I am pretty sure.
Gordon Simpson on Twitter: "#SaintsFC spoke with Ronald Koeman this week. Very much in the frame, although club likely to speak to other candidates as well."
Mark Wotte: Ronald Koeman a "perfect" fit for Saints - http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/11253774.Koeman_a__perfect_fit__for_Saints/?ref=twt
Do we know who these other candidates are? Or Is Koeman the only person we have properly talked to thus far and the others will become known as more talks happen?
You always have to have back ups in case your first choice turns you down. You certainly don't want those back ups to know that you have selected someone else first, hence you don't let them know the decision day. So when number two gets the job he believes he was the first choice.
Thanks. Yeah it does seem that way. I kind of have my heart set on Ron now, although I am also interested in who else we are thinking about!
It's weird how Koeman is always mentioned as the frontrunner (Blackmore, Wilson, Simpson, Dutch media, Crook etc.) but there is this talk of "other candidates". Who are they please?
THE TELEGRAPH: Ronald Koeman in talks with Southampton over succeeding Mauricio Pochettino - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...ucceeding-Mauricio-Pochettino-as-manager.html
Think the Saints would probably prefer to play things closer to the vest, but some of the media stuff is probably coming from Koeman who seems to really want the job. And it's good for Saints as given the situation, a leak about who they are interested in is better than silence where people will assume they are doing nothing. For whatever other candidates are out there, it probably suits both sides to keep it silent and let Koeman be the rabbit, as it were.
Almost certainly David Moyes. Other than that it would mostly be guesswork, but who knows. Tim Sherwood and Neil Lennon would both be in the frame presumably. Has Yakin definitely been ruled out?
My Dutch colleague has emailed me this morning to tell me it is in the Dutch news that he is getting 50m to spend...... then reminded me of his warning about Koeman and spending money wrongly
It's not like we're just going to give him £50m and say "come back with some players". The club identifies targets and the managers have a final say. After the Osvaldo episode I'm sure they are even more reluctant to allow managers to dictate transfer policy.
FLT - the only God send would be that Ronald wouldn't be given the £50m to spend as it has to go through the Transfer Committee which includes Les Reed This obviously isn't fool proof as we have seen but generally provides a better result and certainly stops managers lining their own pockets with agents back handers like we have seen over the past few years