I'm not, because the possibility that he wouldn't extend his deal was telegraphed for several months, and this is the better option if he doesn't re-up. It's statement time, however. We need a top calibre replacement, and we need to back them. Two managers leaving for non-CL teams because they were better fits for their ambition/bank balance could be happenstance or unusually mercenary hires, whatever. Three and it'd be a pretty telling pattern.
Thought he would leave, granted no to Evershite. But I won't hold a grudge, well maybe flick the v's when he comes on the tv every so often.
I could accept him not extending his contract, but saying clearly and frequently that he would stay for next season is what sticks in my craw. And I would have no problem with him staying for just one season...he would have another stab at the europa and we would have his replacement lined up.
I know what you mean. I never did watch the Saints v Man Utd game of the 2013/14/ season as the exodus had started and I couldn't watch any of the lying little......darlings
He won a quadruple in Portugal, won the Europa League and has experience in the UCL and EL. And, as we've gone over several times, he got 72 points with Spurs which is their highest in the PL era. Third highest win % of all-time at THFC (55%).
Whoever our next Manager is, he will have to be assimilated into the borg / sorry into the Saints ethos so that we can March On,
This. Not the end of July please Saints - and someone who will make people go 'wow' not 'm'eh'....although I suppose that's a moot point because it needs to be the right fit regardless.
Thanks for the responses - I can't combine feeling upset/let down on the one hand with Ron being offered £7m/year on the other. I can't realistically expect him to turn it down unless we went close to it, which we would not do. Anyway, I'm more than not upset, I'm hugely optimistic. It's a great deal for us and lets us go in to the manager market when we are at our height and the available quality is the best it has ever been. Still going for (and expect we will approach) Howe but partly because I am seriously worried about Jorge Mendes. He's like what Harry Redknapp would have been if he was 20 years younger. Portuguese football is close to a cartel and I don't want to sign the next Nani. Or worse, Nani.
Don't get where this lack of faith in our board comes from. Of course they'll get the appointment sorted swiftly. They've arguably proven themselves to be the best run club in the country. Yet I still get a whiff that some fans think they're a group of incompetent oafs
That's easy, supporting Saints since 1968 will do that to a person, honestly. Every game I expect us to capitulate at some point and I'm still waiting for the bubble to burst. On the other hand due to this the wins and recent good fortune is almost doubly exciting and fun for this old fart!
£5m? Well, that softens the blow! Should pay for a couple of years of the next manager's 50 year contract!
Ugh, I had forgotten that AVB has ties to Mendes. That does perhaps change matters. They aren't incompetent. For the most part, the decisions made have been excellent. But they do have a tendency to get caught flat-footed by developments that should have been anticipated, and have made some unnecessary missteps in the press. Witness the article DTLW posted just a few days ago from The Telegraph, their preferred journalistic mouthpiece: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...southampton-who-can-now-afford-to-keep-star/? Among the bullet points are the fact that they scoffed at Koeman moving to Everton, deeming it so unlikely that they didn't bother to discuss it, and that Mane is not for sale, and they will not even consider an offer unless it's a massive sum that tops Shaw's return. Koeman is now off to Everton and Guan has stated that Mane will be sold. Same thing happened with Clyne and Wanyama's new deals, and with Alderweireld. We can blame the individuals for perhaps deceiving the board, sure, but by now they should probably have learned to stop stepping on the same rake.
I'm very slightly disappointed in Koeman because in the past he's outright said you should have a football reason for leaving a club, not just a money reason, and I don't see any football reason for him to leave. Having said that, the sheer scale of the money he's apparently been offered means I can't actually blame him. Having said that...
Mane will be sold if someone is willing to pay the price is what Guan said, about £40 million (which we all know). Not much you can do in terms of the Clyne and Wanyama deals. I don't really know what they could have done about Clyne tbh, Les Reed said talks were going well, but didn't once say he would definitely sign a new deal. He's just telling it how it is.
Guan did put the caveat of Mane only going if we get someone offering what he's perceived to be worth. Which is over £30m. Not disputing the rest of your post, though.
