Fits a bit too well?!? That story is preposterous.
If Koeman were that actively hated or at least not much respected by the team, along with not playing the formation and tactics we wanted, AND blocking the path from the academy which is apparently vital to our philosophy, why were trying to extend his contract? We should be sacking him immediately.
If JWP hates Koeman so much, then why would he sign an extension knowing that Koeman might be here another three or four years?
I find it a bit difficult to envision a French-speaker from Senegal using the term "asshat." Possible, I suppose. But seems iffy.
If he never wanted the Everton job, why would he fire his agent for refusing it? And why wouldn't Koeman's agent be aware of his intended bluff? Everton's interest was well known. So you just tell your agent to see what Everton will offer, and then you take that offer back to Saints and see if they will budge. Or you know what is a good way to get Everton to up their offer? Refuse their opening bid. It wouldn't be a problem that his agent turned Everton down initially, if their first bid was not substantive enough to apply pressure on Saints to match it.
Okay, now picture yourself in Koeman's alleged shoes. You've attempted to play Everton off against Saints, and failed miserably. The board is basically like "We didn't even want you that much. And now we are really disgusted by this game you're trying to play so no, not a penny more for you and we're pissed." Now you're in a massive pickle. You don't actually want to go to Everton, you're burning your bridges at Saints. They have called your bluff. I'd be sweating bullets, and I would probably just sign the offer in front of me while it's still being offered. Maybe go home for a day and stew over it, and act like I'm really torn about whether to sign just to salvage my pride even though it's not fooling anyone. But I'm signing that contract quick before Saints change their mind and I end up signing a long term deal with a club I don't want to manage. Or, if I've felt I've gone too far and Saints is no longer an option then I'm signing up quick with Everton just in case that deal goes South and I end up in a hot mess. Koeman's response? He took a vacation.
Who at the club would actually be in a position to know all of this stuff? Saints people know Saints stuff. And probably not even ALL Saints stuff. Just the stuff that pertains to their immediate job. If you were on the Saints board, would you be blabbing all this sensitive info. to co-workers? Yeah, but this guy isn't just privy to all of Saints inner workings, he knows what JWP, Tadic, and Mane think about Koeman. He knows why Koeman fired his agent. He knows who Everton's choice of manager was. He knows not just what Ronald Koeman is thinking, but also Erwin Koeman. Les Reed himself would not have all the info. this guy's supposed source knows. This guy already knows who we plan to transfer tells our ITK. But he doesn't say anything about who we plan to transfer in. He tells way more than enough to get him instantly fired if the leak is traced to him. But he draws the line at naming two managerial targets, though he's more than happy to blab about others. Isn't it strange that this guy has so much information that connects things that have already been rumored, and yet has (or won't reveal) any names that would be new? Like his all-knowingness stops at exactly the point at which he'd actually have to come up with a new name on his own.
And the gobsmackingly obvious-- why would some high up person in Saints just sit down over coffee with some dude and spill all of this information? A guy who he apparently hasn't seen in a long time, but is only an ex-neighbor he just oh-so-coincidentally ran into at the grocery store. "Oh hey, it's you. How have you been?" "Oh, hanging in there. Things have been a bit tough recently as my father's been quite ill. You see, he--" "Yeahyeahyeah. Great, great. That's great and all. Whatever. Let me buy you a cup of coffee and tell you everything I know but shouldn't be telling you about Saints."
