Ralph Krueger now heading on stage... "Thinking about this season, I was thinking I would need the space of Kelvin Davis' speech - which last 299 matches!" "All the things we were able to experience in this season, were not easy to shorten. But I've put it into one package." "(Names several of the organisers of the night and calls for applause)" "I'd like to thank Veho, our main kit sponsor." "One of the things I learned early in life is - if you're going to build a leadership team, surround yourself with good people who treat others with respect before a leadership position." "I need to begin by mentioning the leadership in the rest of the club, away from football. Gareth Rogers, David Bence and Martin Semmons... pushing us to new levels where we can continue to grow beyond the pitch." "We have the leadership in football: Les Reed - wow!" "Of course, he shakes his head as the first thing. It's amazing when you can bring people from within. Gareth Rogers came from within. Les was here five years ago, he came from within to take a higher role." "Leaders go into the environment, and ask what is best for the team they are leading. Our football people go into the stadium and the training ground, and all these people ask is 'What's best for Southampton Football Club?'" "How can you have fear, when you're doing that for a club like this?" "The leadership on the pitch - Ronald, supported by brother Erwin, Sammy, David, Jan... the leadership we saw there, through difficulties, we saw leadership. It was a damn difficult summer. We could've crashed. That's when you find out what you're made of. It's been an amazing leadership job. I had the opportunity to travel with the team so much this year, and just to be able to sit back and watch everyone do what they're good at and bring it to the team on a daily basis was incredible." "In the dressing room, what happens when the coaches leave the room, and when the Sporting Director is not around - that's decided by the people in the room. Your best players, your captains. How good are Kelvin Davis and José Fonte?" "It's honesty that brought us forwards. Of course we were all scared ****less, at times. José has already mentioned it. We're all human beings and we all have fear of failure at times." "I remember when I could name all the new guys on the block, everybody stood up taller, and taller, and taller - at the end of August. Finally the end came around and Les Reed had no hair left! But we had one hell of a football team. It's a good price to pay, Les." "What I can tell you is, the one world that has absolutely no threat from this team, is Ice Hockey!" "It is leadership that has laid the foundations for a fantastic season." "Nothing ever replaces winning in sport - we could feel that after the home match on Saturday." "One match that sticks out to me, and I'm a new guy in football, was our West Ham game in West Ham. We played an amazing match in Liverpool and we lost undeservedly. We came up a little flat against West Brom. Against West Ham, we're down 1-0. Morgan scores, the team goes in at 1-1. The team and Ronald could've said 'let's take that point'. But what did they do? Talk about winning the game. In the 68th minute, Morgan scores again. Then Graziano scores in the 83rd and we win 3-1. We win three of four, eight of nine." "If Ronald chose not to take risks, not to play to win - it wouldn't happen. This is a group that goes out every single day, to win. It's going to be the same this weekend." "We're not guaranteed to win all the time, but this is a group that is paying the price in practice and team-building to work for each other. One of the things we measure ourselves on is 'are we close to our potential?'" "Another moment for me was the Everton match. It was the 20th of December, we'd just lost 4 matches in a row after quite a good run. Morgan suspended, Victor suspended, Gardos out, Tadić out. The bench was decimated. We had Gape, Seager, McCarthy and Harrison Reed starting his first match." "Harrison, I've got a story for you. Les kept pretending you were his son! He came in one game and said 'my son is warming up!' - I said, that's great - how much does your son get paid?" "Harrison started with Davo and Prowsey in the midfield - I know a lot about football these days, see! It's the centre, the second row - the second set of guys!" "We beat Everton three-nil and took 17 of the next 18 points. We beat Arsenal, we beat United, we tied Chelsea and the team made a decision in that Everton match. They rose to the challenge and turned that season back around. We stayed in the mix." "This brand is spreading around the world. People notice Southampton Football Club. It's on the map around the world right now." "Winning is in the culture now. We never wanted to look back, when people wanted us to look backwards. We kept looking forward." "After speaking about winning, and we all realise that's what we're trying to give our fans on a daily basis, the final thing is potential." "There's two types of athletes in the world, two types of teams, two types of people. Those who think they know it all and are the best, and those who think every day they can continue to improve and be the best." "Two players are very special. If you look at what Graziano Pellè and José Fonte did, Graziano at 29 and José at 30, made their national sides - Italy and Portugal. Two of the great footballing nations in the world." "Why did they do that? Why was that possible? Because when they came to Southampton, José five years ago and Graziano last year. It doesn't matter when you come to Southampton Football Club, this is a place that can give you the tools to become better." "I think those two accomplishments, were amazing accomplishments. That's what potential is about." "We are the Saints. It's not just a name, it's who we are. And one thing we do, looking forward, is that one thing we all know - is there is not one person in this organisation who isn't going into next season looking to become better." "I wish everyone the best, and let's continue to enjoy this ride." "We've only just begun. On the 5th of November last year, the Markus Liebherr Pavilion was opened. It was one of the highlights. In closing, here, I need to speak about that situation." "In finishing, the Markus Liebherr Pavilion opened." "Markus Liebherr saved this club in 2009. I think it's very, very important for me to just say one more thing." "Markus Liebherr would've been extremely proud of this Southampton Football Club. The values we have in this club now. It's easy to speak about those values, it's a lot different to do them. But we are doing it. Markus Liebherr would be proud of that. Our teams of all different ages have been winning cups, experiencing new records - he would be happy." "But, above all, he would be very, very proud of his daughter - Katharina Liebherr." - *Katharina given standing ovation* *'Walking in a Liebherr wonderland' breaks out* - Katharina shown to be smiling "Let's have an outstanding off-season, and let's come back hungry in August!"
Fair play Ralph - you need someone to do the talking, and he can do that. Lovely to see Katharina there and smiling.
I suspect a lot of our fans are less knowledgeable about what has gone on this Season than Ralph, perhaps Kelvin wrote his script?
You're probably right. I just thought the part in his speech where he called Ron up to the stage put him in a playful headlock ruffled his hair and told the audience 'I ****ing love this guy' was a bit much.
I quite enjoy providing live transcription of the interviews for the forum, but **** me, Ralph nearly finished me off for good there.
