Good interview....enjoyed that. He has obviously enjoyed being here and is open to talks...that's all we can hope for. As fans we have to realise that the club can do all they can to keep players, but sometimes things may not go our way. The team seem happy so I am hopeful that most will stay. Always enjoy reminders of good things that have happened....the shot in the plane was after the Man U match....not so big a club, that we are blasé about things like that Still get some joy from it....good to see.
I must say that I'm rather keen to hear the end result of these talks. I'm not normally a tense chap but this week seems to me to be of vital importance to our future. Vin
The only club in England that I think that Ronald would possibly move to would be Arsenal and that is only dependant on Wenger's future. Man Utd will surely have Mourinho, Liverpool are happy with Klopp as Spuds are with Poch, Chelsea have Conte coming and Citeh have Pep. I reckon the only other jobs that could tempt him is Barca or the Dutch national manager and that would be dependant on timing.
I think that the fact that they have seen players leave and not exactly set the world alight might have a bearing on whether they want to stay also. I can only think of Clyne that hes been relatively successful and a first team regular although Lallana and Lovren seem to be playing more often now.
From his post match interview, the deciding factor on him signing an extension to his contract is the board releasing funding for bringing enough quality players to continue our ascent up the table. He seemed to have made that perfectly plain in that interview. We will get a clear indication of the boards plans for progression based on RK signing or not Fingers and toes crossed
I have a very good feeling about Ronald and his contract. That video was an official Southampton FC interview, not a few misquotes in the press or on Sky TV. Why on earth would the club allow Ronald to give his views on the club's ambition if they weren't going to at least match his ideas of where they should be going? If they don't know that the outstanding questions are almost answered, why bring that interview out right now?
Mostly it sounds very positive from every quarter. I got the impression though he was almost saying put your money where your mouth is to the Saints board. As someone else said earlier, it needs more than words now we need and want the right action. I guess if we get the right result we hope for with Ron at least he will be satisfied of their intentions. I just hope they don't let him or us down. Trouble is where I have heard these and similar promises before with other boards so I can't help being a tad nervous because of past experience. I am trying to believe I really am, I guess time will tell and I am truly hopeful.
Koeman is very honest. He is saying that he is waiting to speak to the board...I don't hear any challenge in there. He just has an open mind as he likes it here and is willing to listen. He would have been pre-prepared for the questions as it was an official interview...if it was a problem question for him, he would have requested it wasn't asked.
Even Super Kelv finished his speech last night by saying that the current manager is the man to take this club even higher!
Voice of long experience of supporting Saints there. Plenty of Saints boards have failed their managers in the past. Mind you Beddy, this is the first time that any Saints manager has called upon the Liebherr Saints to prove their ambition. And up until now they've come through with flying colours because this board [and Cortese before it] have been the body pushing the ambition. I think this board and the manager are well matched, which is probably why we reached this point. What precisely is the next step.? Stay where we are, which means we go backwards, or instead take on the top 4 directly with our unique Liebherr Saints way of doing things.? I'm definitely for the latter.
I think you are right. The only potential fly in the ointment is the outside possibility of Poch going to Man Utd although that would free up Mourinho for us! My only other point on the interview is his quite direct and deliberate statement of "I will listen to the board". It sounds a wee bit like a translation from dutch of "I told you I was only here for three years. How are you going to persuade me to stay?" Let's hope the response is "By buying you all of these shiny new players"
What Ron said to SKY after the Palace match. I quote it now because I'd not seen it before: Southampton manager Ronald Koeman says he wants to stay at the club after securing a Europa League spot for next season. "I still have a one-year contract," he said after the match. "I spoke to the board and we had the meeting and it's always my wish to stay because I like the club, fans and players. "We understand every time its (the ambition is) more difficult because we need to improve, and expectation will be higher than it was two years ago and if we have the same ambition again then no problem. "But the club likes to talk about the future. I had always in Holland a one-year contract. I'm not so worried about the future. If the club likes to know about the future after next season, okay that's what we'll talk about. "Our finishing this season is stronger than last season. What we did this season, it's maybe more than the maximum we can do as a team, and a big compliment to the players." So there you have it in a nutshell. Ron just wants the board to maintain their upward ambition and to improve the quality level of the squad, because he believes the current players have over-achieved. Fair enough.
