I've just resumed reading a Damian hughes book at the moment called the Barcelona Way which analyses their success and he writes that Barca have a commitment culture where everyone buys into the club and what it means. One of the keystones of that model is the 'cultural architect'. The player that sets standards and defines the team ethos on and off the pitch. Think Roy Kent, I mean, Keane for ManUtd its a specific form of leadership that values the club above all else. So who are the leaders and cultural architects for Southampton FC? Who stays behind after training to do extra work, who demands more from the team after every session? Stephens possibly. Is there even a player in the squad who has been good without wanting to get out of the club? In their absence RM has to drive everything himself which I don't believe is possible in the long term.
Seriously. I think that was part of the intent but it missed the point. I like Theo as an individual and he will be a good pundit, seems like a top lad. But he left Saints for a big club as soon as it came around and then he went to everton over Saints and then then came to Saints after he failed there. That doesn't speak to what the club needed in any way whatsoever. You can't say, this is a great club, I love this club after that's been your journey. It's hollow.
For all JWP's faults his biggest impact was as a talisman for the club, he lived and breathed SFC while he was here. Barca always said you need at least 3 and no more than 5 players who have the ability to set the standards and drive the performance level. RM's problem right now is that I see nobody in there that I would call a cultural architect when looking from the outside. Stephens is likely up there. The rest are needing to be told where to go, what to do, how fast and hard to do it and when which means RM is quite likely having to be a 'controller' in training and then finding they are lost in games.
We have no identity as a club, and haven't for ages. Or at least not one that's been bought into by the players, and that has been implemented successfully.
This is why letting Redmond go was much bigger than most fans realise. He was great towards the youngsters, and very popular not just at Saints but throughout the whole footballing community. He would have been an excellent tutor for the likes of Edozie, Amo-Ameyaw and Sulemana. Also I think sacking Kelvin Davis partly helped in ripping the soul out of the club too. His son is even with the youth team.
I think it all went wrong when the Letissier’s Feet pub got renamed the Chapel Arms Or perhaps it was when Matt went mad and started talking about Hitler
4 years ago we had at least 3 of these players in JWP, Redmond and Ings. All bar Ings were widely criticised by our fans who frankly don't really know what they're talking about. JWP particularly showing what anyone with working eyes already knew. He was carrying this club and we are significantly worse off without him.
Yep don’t understand any of the negativity around any of those guys. You missed Romeu who was also a leader for us. Our idiot fan base slated them and our even stupider owners let them all leave for a pittance.
Yes of course, Romeu absolutely also. Too early in the morning for full brain activation! Last year all the chat on here was how we needed a clean break and how we would be wonderful signing bang average championship players in place of our established international fringe players. Laughable.
This season still could have been a great one, winning lots of games. Look at Leicester and Leeds they are loving it. But our useless moronic money grabbing owners took as much money off the table as they could and spunked over spreadsheets and xG metrics without realising the game is played in the real world. And now we are ****ed as usual.
Yeah Romeu f*cking smashing it now at Barcelona. So many of our fans didn't even recognise what he brought to the team. I remember saying a couple of seasons back, when everyone was moaning that we had a crap squad of players, how Romeu and JWP were two of the best midfielders in the league. Of course people laughed at that.
Of our current crop, even though I have criticised him in the past, I'd say Bednarek. He has been a bit of a cock, but it does take balls to be that much of a cock and come back with so much passion for the club. Stephens too also obviously. Maybe if Stewart starts banging in goals he will start to kiss the badge and become a talisman?
Pep singled out Romeu as being superb at one point. Though it could of been tinged with Catalan bias!
Romeu is the perfect example. And for him to be back at Barca now effectively proves it. They recognise it and are benefitting from it. There are plenty we have allowed to leave unfortunately. And none we have brought in. I still think we do have an identity, the perception still lingers that we are a good, plucky club that will give the best teams a good game and that we are brilliant with talent, that we nurture and allow it to grow. And sell it.
I did have lingering doubts over bedders but he is still here and that is worth everything at the moment. In a squad of strangers he is practically part of the building. We are desperately in need of someone new. RM obviously wants Fraser here for a reason. And Stewart? I’ve never seen nor heard of him so only time will tell.
7 years ago we beat Inter Milan with a midfield of JWP, Hojbjerg and Romeu. It was considered by many saints fans at the time as too negative. That whole season people moaned we were too negative. We made a cup final, held our own in Europe and came 8th in the league.
Yes, but … We were too negative We were 8th but only got 46 points and only scored 41 goals We threw away our European chance because we couldn’t score, and for some reason never played our captain in Europe, a piece of lunacy I still utterly fail to comprehend
