It is time for a major cultural change.

Of course. Tbh, isn't everyone on their way.? They've given up against all the odds.

 

Ha ha . I mean I thought I read on here somewhere that Kruger was going to a head coach of a Hockey team , though that may have been a wind up .

 

That was rumoured ages ago. Didn't even get to be media smoke. I rest easy on that.

 

On a list of likely explanations, this one deserves consideration. The success of The Specsavers campaign could be another, but I would never subscribe to that, of course.

I think I'll go and watch some paint dry. This is clearly going to run and run this saga.

 

I posted, the reports over here, in Calgary, is that Kruger has been interviewed for the Flames head coaching vacancy. Ralph coached the rival Oilers, and will be coaching the European team, at the up and coming hockey world cup. It all depends where Ralph's heart lies.

 

Maybe, but I'd still like a manager that knows how to handle European football and get top 6-8 finishes. I'm guessing that's what they are looking for too, even if a surprise name (Like Poch and Adkins), I'm guessing that they are looking to get somone to establish us as a Europa team before kicking on to gatecrash Champions League in year 4/5 of the plan.

Having said that, we've finished our last two 5 year plans ahead of schedule, so I won't be surprised if it happens again.

 

Ah so this time it's recent . Thanks for the info .

 

This is the quote from Elliot Friedman, he is a very well respected hockey pundit over here. He works for Sportsnet, which is one of our national sports broadcasters.
"As for Calgary, the Flames interviewed Ralph Krueger at the Worlds. I think GM Brad Treliving is paring down his list."

 

Of course, there are a lot of so called pundits who talk BS, but Elliot Friedman is not one of them!

 

CL , at what cost ?

 

Leicester & the new TV money have made it a whole lot more likely - the 'Big 4' are no longer unbeatable & being in that spot where Spurs/Liverpool are/were as a Europa team with an occasional CL foray is now achievable for us. I don't think we'll be any sort of permanent fixture in the CL, but a fluke season giving us top 4 or a great Europa League run every 5 years or so isn't out of the question.

 

I thought that was what I was saying.

 

Fair comment .

 

No cost, just progress - carry on like the last 7 years & consolidate ourselves as a Europa League club, and do as Liverpool/Spurs do, getting CL once every few years. It's the next step for the club.

Oops - probably bad communication on my part.

 

Their fan base & Commercial pull is far greater than ours . For a Club the size of ours , I am massively proud of what we achieve .

 

No worries. I just used different words. I don't want the club to stand still. They must push to do that, as a minimum.

Fergie might have called this squeeky bum time. It's time for Saints to decide what kind of club they want to be. Expectations are high.

 

Of course it is, but the PL has just got a multi-billion pound TV deal, the gap between the 'big clubs' and clubs like saints is getting smaller - a well run mid-size club like us have been giving Liverpool & Spurs a good run for their money the past couple of seasons. I'm also proud of what we've achieved, but I'm also excited about what we could yet achieve.

 

Yes, I couldn't agree more - the only thing that would really disappoint and hurt me is if we were to stand still & stagnate. Managers & players will come and go but as long as the club keeps pushing forwards I'll be happy.

 

You could liken us and Everton to the tortoise and the hare, we will get there and stay there but not by throwing huge amounts of cash at it. It will be slow and steady growth and the fans will have to be patient. We will never be as rich as some of the other clubs, but we will continue to compete with them with our superior organisation and business model. In many ways we are the model club for any club with a similar sized fanbase.

 

The media and the people like the status quo. That will not change, and it’s not worth worrying over.

Leicester won the league this season. Lots of people cheered them on for doing it. It doesn’t change the fact that the media will still talk about, say, Chelsea winning the league than them this season despite their finishing position last season. Their view is “oh, that was nice, but now let’s get back to the regularly scheduled top 7 finishing positions when we talk about next season”.

The media can be quite complimentary to us, they just do it in a backhanded fashion that annoys fans (the “Arsenal could really use Wanyama” type comments – part of what is actually being said is “wow, that player is good enough to play for big club”, but for us it’s seen just as belittling the club).

It’s annoying, yes, but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. We’ve been doing very well the last few seasons, and unfortunately a side effect of that is being under more scrutiny for our players etc. We’ll get on with it as we always do.

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For what it’s worth, I’m not sure if I’ve said this on here before but I only got into football in recent years and I’m hardly an expert on the subject. My family have always been fans, but I had little interest. I made a choice when I got interested in football (and it was due to a Southampton related issue, funnily enough) that I would support a club that I actually liked, rather than just going for the clubs everybody here supports. That club was Southampton, and whatever changes within the club that won’t change. I have no desire to go club hopping – I care, and you can’t transfer that to another club. It's a bit strange for me to admit that because admitting you like a non local club will inevitably get people calling you a glory hunter, which I think is quite funny considering my local clubs.

As for the clubs everybody here supports? The local ones – doesn’t hurt that they do well for themselves. I live between Liverpool and Manchester, pretty much in between the two of them. Nearly everybody I know supports either Liverpool, Everton, United or City.

What’s this story got to do with anything? Doesn’t matter what the media or other clubs fans think, people can make their own decisions and see beyond just what is being reported. I’m sure the same is true of players, too. Inevitably, there will be some players who want to leave – it happens with every football club, not just us. But there will also be people who look beyond any current issues and think, “Southampton is a good place to be”. Which it still is – I’m not saying it’s perfect or faultless, but neither is any club. Whether Koeman goes or not, whether players go or not, we’ve still got a lot going for us and there are still plenty of people who see that even if they aren’t loud about it.