He didn't say no to the question of "have there been any bids", but responded with "they will be Southampton players." Hopefully he's got Cortese's special shredder out for stupid offers.
It's now clear that MP stiffed us, but it would be unrealistic to expect loyalty from our last manager when you look at the manner in which we dispatched his predecessor. However, it's also beginning to look as though he was spreading dissension in the ranks. If that's the case it's unforgiveable.
Okay, I thought he did well there so credit to him, and credit to the club. I feel relatively placated and it fits well into the "Beefy Hole" (ahem) rather than the "Joe Hole"..... Joe, how long does your ability to say "told you so" regarding a club sale last?
He said he has turned down lucrative Head Coach offers in Hockey as wants to stay as Chairman of Saints, why would he do that?
Around a month ago we were told that no one was for sale. Words are wind, and that was a lot of regurgitated information which was told to us before we sold all of our best players. Pull your finger out saints and sign some players, that's the only answer now.
I set myself a deadline of next summer. I never contradicted the theory that players were being sold because they wanted out, though. And I've never supported the asset stripping theory. Let's make that clear now.
Great questions from the talksport presenters as well. They didn't hold back at all. Krueger seemed confident of bringing decent players in
Ralph Krueger speaking on talkSPORT: - We accept criticism from our fans - But it is important that you know that we see Jay and Morgan at the core - Ronald wants to build a team around them - They will be in our line-up this season - They definitely will not be leaving - We are now in the building process - We look forward to adding new faces to the squad - We had players looking for short-cuts and had a clear strategy to deal with that - We are at a point where we are not going to sell anyone - Jay and Morgan are not going to be leaving - We want to be competitive for years to come, not just the short-term - The structure has changed here, Southampton has changed a lot - Fans questioning the board and our process is healthy - We consider the concerns of our fans - We are now making decisions as a group - We now have a manager that is completely without ego - For me, Les Reed has done the best possible deal on every transfer - Judgement Day is September the 1st - Southampton Football Club is not for sale - A fire-sale is when you put your players up for sale and sell cheap - We have not transfer-listed one single player - Ronald Koeman wants to build something here - My responsibility is the overall leadership of the club - When you take all factors into consideration, it was in the best interests of the club to allow those players to leave - But there is always a tipping point - We are now at the tipping point - Jay and Morgan cannot leave Southampton - We are now going to move forwards - We are going to rebuild - The decision has been taken and it is final, we are moving forward - Jay Rodriguez and Morgan Schneiderlin will be playing for us this season - The passion of our fans is tremendous - I understand that they are frustrated, and I apologise to them that we have made them frustrated - Players come and go, but Saints will live on forever - We'll get through the transfer window and let the fans cast their judgement in September - The fans can't trust a new board, new coaching staff and new playing staff all at once - It takes time to build that trust - Every penny is up for reinvestment - That means a combination of transfer fees and wages - Les and Ronald are now playing with the funds - We will place the money back into Southampton Football Club - We are aggressively building a new foundation for Southampton - This foundation will be healthy for the long-term future of the club - Koeman came here because he wants to move us forward - It will not be easy, we accept that - We will continue to be a club that people love to watch - There are a lot of good things happening here that will come to fruition in the weeks to come
"Les and Ronald are now playing with the funds" I have visions of them diving into a silo of gold coins 'ala Duck Tales!
Ralph has dealt with the interviews quite well today. I'm still not completely sure I can trust what he's saying though.
I generally cringe at Ralph interviews, but credit where due - he answered the questions directly, even when they weren't easy. Now, make sure you back those words up please.
*Sigh* - the only thing being regurgitated, wrongly, here is this premise that we were told that no one was for sale. We were never told that as I, FLT, Dan, Beef, DLTW tried and tried and tried to point out to people (and one in particular) at the time. We were told we had "NO NEED TO SELL". Those are two very different messages, and today's is completely different again. Can we please stop propagating that myth.....
I feel quite a lot less **** than I did a couple of hours ago. Going on recent form, this means that a bombshell can be expected any moment...
Reading through that summary and one thing really stood out for me. I apologise to them for making them frustrated Credit to Ralph, he has gone up in my estimations.
