Simeone would be great, and would be consistent with our appointments of ex-players who have fouled England players. Ever noticed that? Pinocchio - judged to have fouled Owen who actually fell over a leg that was no longer there. Koeman - Pulled back David Platt inside the penalty area and only received a yellow and a free-kick outside the area against him. Simeone - Fouled David Beckham who famously retaliated and got sent off. Apparently doesn't speak the English lingo at all after making several attempts, so his chances to manage in England are zero.
A reminder of some posts from Guan about Koeman earlier this season. please log in to view this image
Asking a manager to commit to a five year contract is really sort of stupid. Unless you want a liar. If we hired a manager and Saints stumbled into 17th place next year or even got relegated, would we honor our commitment to them?
I'm good with Pellegrini, too. Also Villa-Boas. Emery. Bielsa. In all seriousness, I still think RK is staying. But if not, I feel like there are actually quite a decent number of managers available right now, so I think we will be okay.
Glad you found those...couldn't search SaintsWeb at the moment. Good indication as to why i) Koeman may have been reticent about re-upping, given that they had a list of concerns about his management style, and ii) the board might not have stood in the way of him going to Everton if he was leaning toward their pile o' cash, even if they could have held him to his word about '16/'17.
Definitely. Here's what a Feyenoord fan who signed up to SaintsWeb when Koeman signed for us said, back when he was linked with the Holland gig. please log in to view this image
I'm skeptical things would go down this way if it was more of a mutual parting of ways. But then, I'm sort of skeptical that things are indeed going down this way at all. Either way, DEFCON 3 is about as low as I can get on the worry scale.
I think it was inevitable. Saints have a policy not a "wish we could" a policy of bringing through youth. Just after those posts from Guan, Koeman changed formation to include Targett and luckily for him it worked. It is all very good to get carried away with the success we are having BUT we have a policy of sustainability AND a policy of bringing through youth. I want Saints to be succesful but I also want them to be here in 20 years time and it is vitally important that we look at the long term goal and not the short cut. Everton can go for it precisely because they have a base we don't have. They have a history which does count for something, they have a much bigger fanbase. We have to grow to get like these clubs. We can warble on about stagnant this and that but we are 6th for a year and in Europe for a year. Everton and Liverpool were below us this year. We can cheer on that achievement and enjoy our year (and hopefully many more) but the reality is that we have to grow our brand to have the potential that clubs like Everton let alone Liverpool have. Chelsea were nothing and grew and grew and are now a brand. FFP means we can never do that in the way Chelsea have but Everton can because they are a big brand just like Manchester City are and were. Leeds are another that have that base. Much more potential than we (currently) have but thankfully we are doing well and growing our brand. It is quite obvious we can compete on the pitch but our potential is nowhere near what Everton's is if they can get back amongst the top 4/6. They could fill a 60k stadium already as could Liverpool. We are talking about expansion to attract more. The 2 Liverpool clubs already have that base as do Tottenham. Leicester will not instantly be a big cub because of last year. If they want to emulate the Chelsea example of rags to riches they will need to stay there for a few years and build on that step. We are on the right route but we need to make sure that our academy does work for us and not get carried away with our current success.
More that both sides were probably interested, but with reservations. Koeman was interested in staying, but had doubts that the board was willing to spend enough to make their stated ambitions a reality. The board was interested in him staying, but had doubts that he was the best fit, despite the results. Voila, a bit of outside pressure is applied, and neither side has much incentive to give enough ground to salvage a deal.
Don't forget the "ITK" rumours that there was a sticking point from Koeman only a short while ago. It was alleged to be nothing about money or transfers. Maybe that will come out in the wash soon?
I think it might well be screen-grabbed in the post at the top of this very page...! I could be entirely wrong, though.
Pure guess? The previously-mentioned concerns of the board. They have a preferred formation, something inherited from Cortese. Koeman has multiple setups he likes to use depending on opposition/player availability and performance. He might've wanted assurances that they would allow him to set up the team as he pleases.
I suspect it is all to do with the pathway!!!! That is for the long term whereas 6th, 7th, 8th is one year. I don't think the board are saying or think "the Southampton way" is a simple formation or tactic. It is a way of playing. I would think they would expect their manager to put their own interpretation on that suggestion rather than it being you must play this way. Similar to Man Utd's or West Ham's (formerly) expected attacking way of playing, our board are saying "No we aren't going to sacrifice our playing STYLE for results". The Southampton way means using the CLUB to its advantage. The finances, the academy, the structure are key and MUST be part of it and the result MUST be attacking and entertaining football. Since Adkins we have been treated to better and better football but since Adkins we have struggled to convince a manager of taking on the whole concept. Will we find one now? We are a very attractive option for many but will they see us as we want to be? I doubt it but hey ho. I would love us to sign a lower key manager this time that buys totally into the academy and if we finish mid table so what? Bring a few players through and give them experience. We have a lot of games to do so now and some of the Saints fans on here seem to think we are a big boy. Let a few of the kids get a game and see what they can do without pressure on a manager to do better than the last one. The odds on improving each year are getting less and less because we have done so much so quickly. Reality needs to kick in because the one year we don't hit the top half a lot on here are going to go into absolute meltdown as if we should have been blowing the Liebherr billions in Risdale fashion. I guess that is why the earlier suggestion of Flores surprisingly made me think.......interesting?
Well all the guys and girls that accepted that Adkins sacking was "for the good of the club" entered the world of it all being about "me". Me being the club's best interests, or the manager's best interests, or the player's best interests. The romance went with Adkins. This is the real world and no manager is going to be a badge kisser. We will love and hate a lot of managers over the next decade or more. The key here is our owner wants our club to work a certain way. She has maintained the structure to implement this way of moving forward and the fans either back her or complain that she has not done things properly. I would say that so far since she took over she seems to be the ultimate CEO. She delegates everything to the right people yet oversees what they do and if she doesn't like what she sees she gets rid.
I am not convinced. We have an Everton twat spouting about it on here. No reputable newspaper reports just a load of teenage bloggers and betting odds. The Mail and the Mirror will print any old rubbish if they can stick the knife into Saints. Yet on this flimsy evidence people have started to denigrate Ron and look to a new manager. Let us just wait and see what happens as I still believe Ron to be an honourable man. He has a reputation for integrity and you don't throw that away lightly.
