Look there is a common denominator here. Pardew Adkins Poch Koeman all did well and to be frank with the exception of Poch, who annoyingly is bloody good, all of them have had up and down patchy managerial careers. The elephant in the room for those who like such phrases is southampton football club. That is the constant in all this. I love how everton hail koeman as their saviour because he did so well here, and he did do well here, but he did well at Southampton like several other managers did well at Southampton. Few clubs have as good an environment as ours for a manger to operate and thrive in. I will be disappointed to lose koeman but mainly because he seemed one of the few people in football to be honest and loyal and if this move happens and blows that apart it is another sword in the heart of football today. As far as saints are concerned so long as we don't faff about and have someone lined up so the summer doesnt become a farce I am not worried at all. Saints have proved that much to me in the last few years. We are in great shape.
Guan on Saintsweb has hinted that he is off. Just need to add Everton to the "list of clubs I hope we finish above/beat" along with Liverpool and Spurs. In a way, I think Koeman stitching us is worse than Poch, because he knows how hurt we all were about the previous 'meltdown'. Remember the fans forum when all the saints fans praised him for being a decent guy? Yeah - cheers Ron. Enjoy your new wage. Over to you Les. #InLesWeTrust
The reason why I have felt secure about Koeman up until now is that all his words have been nothing to do with money. When he came to Saints he said money was not important and not even talked about. He came across as a man inspired by ambition and being able to make the difference. It is this that doesn't add up for me. If we are to believe the smoke, he is going to give up the Europa League, his players who he has fashioned into his team, the setup, which was built around him, and go to a place that's at least a season away from doing anything, and where they are throwing money around like confetti. I don't get it. There's more to this story.
Yet not quite as disloyal as jumping on the Motorway and heading to Liverpool. I vote anyone that Uncle Les picks
Amen. We've got weeks before pre-season begins and the club is in great shape. Best to lose a manager now, if we have to.
They're starting to get how one goes about that, definitely. Silly though it sounds, you can't wait until a player overperforming their contract is midway through the deal before offering a new one, because by then they have the leverage...all of one's options with a player in the final two seasons of a contract are pretty bad, if they're delaying on signing a new one. We're off to a good start there, but there'll still be a bit of a lag before it bears fruit. Hopefully, this will be the last summer of wantaways.
Having a representative meet with Everton Is a whole lot different to making a personal appearance. This isn't done and dusted by any means.
There's no denying it, they are a massive club, and they would be an amazing team to take over - a good squad which has criminally underperformed. It won't take much to get them firing again, especially with some big investment. Doesn't stop it hurting though. I thought Ronald was different
Exactly my thoughts. I know it's massive money, I know most would take it...this is business blah, blah, blah. However he pretended to be above such things...perhaps nearer to lallana than poch. Makes me sick.
Massive? Not really. Especially compared to the two Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Could also put Spurs into that bracket. Capacity of just over 40 thousand and an ageing squad with the likes of Baines, Barry, Jagielka etc, not to mention the players who want to leave like Lukaku and Stones? I think his job will be just as big if not bigger than when he took over saints 2 years ago. And the way there new owner and fans are going on, would they be happy spending 10 million on the calibre of players like Long, Tadic, mane etc, as we did? They all suddenly think they'll be competing for 20£ million pound plus players. One even phoned up talk sport today saying that Joe Hart will be signing after the euros. Well if Hodgson sticks with his "you're better off playing European football", that means Fraser will be England's number one next season? Lol
They are a traditionally big club, which means a lot to people of Koeman's age and stature I would imagine. They can offer more money, less chance of players leaving. He will go from having Wanyama knocking on his door asking to leave, to buying players in and building for the future. I can definitely see the attraction. Obviously, there are a lot of positives about staying with us as well. I was just thinking about it as if I was playing Football Manager. I think I'd be tempted too in his position.
