If you take into account what he has done for the club it's hard to have any criticisms. Obviously he has faults, but in terms of overall vision and seeing us through transition he has been fantastic.
I found out a few things that have made him come of as bit of a dick tbh. I still think overall he is doing a good job.
Whilst I don't think there is ever a need to be ghastly to people, I don't think you can have strong views and a desire to have those plans carried out without upsetting some people
I do worry about this too as I feel Les is the biggest part of our success and the glue that keeps it all together in tough times... BUT! ...At the end of the day ever since July 2009 the whole set up of the club has been that if any member of staff (at any level or department) leaves ), then the structure means that the club carries on as normal. Nicola used to say this all the time... and ironically his departure has given us the biggest proof of it so far.
He probably is a bit of a prick.. (didn't Chambers Dad hate him? And as much as we dislike Adams actions I do believe to an extent the stuff about ignoring calls etc). Very few people are successfull in the top end of business (which is what football is now) by being really nice... and you'll always piss people off along the way. Again, I come back to Nicola. Now I fully believe that generally as person he's an utter ****. But he was our ****, and he was what we needed at the time. His arrogant and bullish nature gave the fans (and also the whole club) the belief we/it needed it at the time. I love the current board we have but I don't think they would have been anywhere near as effective in getting us from League 1 to the PL as Nicola was. But at the same time, I don't think Nicola would have done as well as the current board in the time since he left in both success and financial prudency (if that's the right word...). We've been so lucky since 2009 in almost all aspects... trophy next Sorry I went off on a bit of a tangent there but I think the general point is very few are sucessful by being nice... Fergie another example.
Taking his inspiration from 007's Japanese transformation in You Only Live Twice, he has subtly physically morphed himself into a Chinese billionaire...
At 63, I'd be surprised if his ambitions didn't stop with taking this club as far as it can go. It'll be his legacy, and I doubt he could be led by either money or ambition to start again elsewhere. Could be wrong...
You can listen to the man himself in this piece on radio 5 live. It starts at about 45.30 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0833w1z#play
Interesting that you point out "trophy next". Our rise has been incredible, without a doubt. More than any of us could have asked for or even dreamt of when we were bottom of league 1 with minus 10 points. However, all great stories have a pinnacle. I still don't think we have reached that pinnacle yet. Of course beating top teams away and beating former European champions Inter is huge, but it isn't enough to define this era. We really do need a cup win to cement this as the greatest period in the clubs history. Whether that be league cup, fa cup or dare I say the europa league; we just need that defining moment that we will be able to tell future generations: "I was there."
At last someone points out that we improve the players we buy in. We find the ones we want....hopefully at a reasonable price,,,,then sell some of them for enhanced money having sprinkled them with the Southampton stardust. The disadvantage is that we lose good players, but this is outweighed by the fact that we are attractive enough to get players to want to sign for us and we get their services for a few years. As said here, it's a system that works for us.
Hmm, we don't always improve on those we let go. Tadic is a fantastic player but Lallana is superior - I know many don't want to hear that or simply won't believe it but it's true. It's hard to point out a direct replacement for Schneiderlin but whoever you choose we certainly haven't improved on him. And we are yet to replace Mane with anyone as good. Although clearly we may well have with boufal as it is way too early to make any sort of judgement on him. Nathaniel Clyne - perhaps the biggest hole we haven't filled. Neither Cedric or Cuco are better than him. Wanyama was a hard one but I'd say Romeu has looked better than him - Just this season though. Remains to be seen whether this will be kept up long term. In fairness, even after saying that, I would agree we have done a great job replacing players. This isn't me criticising our recruitment. Just observing players on a one-to-one basis. Clearly we have improved as a team, which is the most important thing.
But it is how the team play as a whole....so far we have done well after losing players. Players don't have to be direct exchanges for the ones leaving as long as the 'team' remain strong.
See my previous posts on here. Out of all those trophies, the only one we won't win this year is the League Cup. That's because that is the only final i can make. (though I have already checked flights from my holiday destination to Sweden and back - can be done, though the wife may not be there when i get back!)
Agree with everything here apart from Wanyama. He's a player who has the ability to turn a straight forward 3 points into a tough game with a needles red card. Was glad to cash in.
Been reading Saintsweb....I know, but watching cricket will do that to you. Some feel that this interview with Les suggests he is looking for another job and is putting himself out there. Nope...don't get that either. Must be very sad to inhabit some people's minds.
He did gets 3 reds in his time with us and many more yellows. But he was nonetheless extremely good at what he did. He broke up play exceptionally well and protected the defence. Won us more points than he lost. Bonus with Romeu is that he has that ability to break up play but he is actually very good on the ball. Very calm at all times and has a good pass - something Wanyama certainly lacked.
Lallana: Played: 136 Scored: 24 Assist: 28 Tadic: Played: 76 Scored: 13 Assist: 22 60 less games: Scored: 11 less Assisted: 6 less For me Tadic is the better player and has offered us far more. The problem he has is because he is our only real chance provider he gets marked by two players. Were as Liverpool have a hell of a lot more.
