When the takeover happened, there was the 5 year plan, the Southampton Way, and this set a target for Saints to become a stable, secure Premiership club, playing attractive football and Run in a sustainable manner using a high proportion of Academy players. It is almost quaint to think how NC was putting pressure on Pardew to make the play-odds having spent 300k on Puncheon! We have achieved the footballing targets in record time, it's been great to watch. The only thing which perhaps has been overlooked is the sustainable bit. £27M of transfer fees due because we have actually been one of the highest spenders in every division on the way up.
Markus Liebherr was introduced to Saints as an investment , albeit one which he clearly enjoyed for other than financial reasons. Now that the plan has been achieved, the investment successful, usually business people sell and realise a profit. In all the agonies we are going through at present, remember that things could be far more unsettling!
Then there was the talk of another 5 year plan to reach the Champions League . Was this ever part of ML's plan? Certainly NC wanted to push on but it seems that KL is not comfortable with the racking up of debt that this would entail. Saints want to achieve European football, but still living sustainably and this is why there has been the emphasis on the commercial stuff which is of little interest to the average fan. Have we lost sight of the original vision and are now upset because of the refusal to put the future of the club into hock? Some have suggested that they want the club sold. I think that would be really risky. We need to keep the faith as I do not see any sign of asset-stripping here, far from it. If we are putting brakes on it's going to be an uncomfortable process for many, but it maybe in the best long-term interest of the club.
Markus Liebherr was introduced to Saints as an investment , albeit one which he clearly enjoyed for other than financial reasons. Now that the plan has been achieved, the investment successful, usually business people sell and realise a profit. In all the agonies we are going through at present, remember that things could be far more unsettling!
Then there was the talk of another 5 year plan to reach the Champions League . Was this ever part of ML's plan? Certainly NC wanted to push on but it seems that KL is not comfortable with the racking up of debt that this would entail. Saints want to achieve European football, but still living sustainably and this is why there has been the emphasis on the commercial stuff which is of little interest to the average fan. Have we lost sight of the original vision and are now upset because of the refusal to put the future of the club into hock? Some have suggested that they want the club sold. I think that would be really risky. We need to keep the faith as I do not see any sign of asset-stripping here, far from it. If we are putting brakes on it's going to be an uncomfortable process for many, but it maybe in the best long-term interest of the club.
