Things were already going downhill before Gao bought the club. Not sure why everyone thinks Kat will be some kind of savior. Not sure how much she really cares about the football, either. I have nothing against KL, but she's just an owner with very little to do with the football side of things. What's really changed at Southampton other than the team sucking? We're still spending money (poorly). We've sacked a bunch of players and staff for sucking and replaced them with other players and staff who apparently also suck. I'd guess if KL is angry at Gao it's for reasons other than the performance on the pitch.
McQueen done his ACL in at Middlesbrough this time last year and had a major setback over the summer. With regards to Vokins, we did similar with Valery last year. In fact, I'd say we were worse off last year and ralph still blooded more youth.
My hope is that Kat puts pressure on him to sell elsewhere (even if it's just to cash in her remaining share). My fear is that, if Kat thought Gao was a reputable owner, what sort of person might Gao think is up to it?
Didn't he admit to bribery in court which essentially led to his co-defendant being executed? Not 100% on the details. I wouldn't necessarily say Kat is a saviour, but if it's the choice between the two, then I trust her far more than i trust him. Can't really see it anyway to be honest.
Well he's maybe not a reputable person, but that's a little different than what he's done as an owner. Like Roman Abramovich is a fairly sketchy dude to say the least, but he's not screwed over Chelsea (that I know of). I would think that if KL wants her stake back because she thinks Gao is corrupt then there would be some mismanagement of club funds involved. Like, I don't think she is worried about what kind of character he is, but only what he's doing to her assets. Or, it could just a personality clash. Or a bit of backseat driving where now that she's not calling the shots, she hates the way someone else does it. I have no idea.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/3422978/premier-league-blocked-gao-jisheng-200m-southampton/ If you research what happened, this is one of the few articles to emerge. Why no other paper has followed up is a mystery.
Depends what you mean by relevant evidence I suppose, I doubt we'll get the Chinese court papers Found this though: http://chinasportsinsider.com/2017/08/21/gao-jisheng-southampton-what-fans-can-expect/ Extract: Finally, what of Gao Jisheng himself? His background is certainly another question mark. In summary, he was caught paying bribes in order to win state contracts, but, in return for immunity, he became a witness for the prosecution, with his testimony leading to the execution of two officials. This bribery issue initially led the Premier League – not exactly known for its strenuous checks of potential owners – to block Lander’s bid for the club, but it appears that was overturned on legal grounds because Gao’s deal meant he was not technically convicted of any offense. As a direct consequence of this outcome, the Premier League voted to approve tougher ownership rules in case something like this ever arose in the future. In other words, the Premier League did everything it could to stop Gao buying Southampton – but he bought the club anyway. What’s more, all 20 clubs – i.e. including Southampton – approved these new ownership rules, further calling into question the inviolable Liebherr-Gao bond. While you can explain away Gao’s background by arguing that paying bribes is simply the cost of doing business in China (at least until the government’s anti-corruption drive kicked into high gear last year), and that the fact that two people died was completely out of his hands, how many Southampton fans can truly say this sounds like a man they want running their club? Again, the best case scenario still sees the club doing well on the pitch – which is all fans really care about – but, given the roller coaster nature of this protracted takeover, the evidence suggests that the Gao era will be anything but smooth.
We can't really complain if we get relegated this term can we. We seem more deserving than the other 19 teams thus far. Stumbling from one problem to the next. I can see Ralph walking out in a couple months, let alone being sacked. ( I knew I shouldn't have read that post Lib, you really set me off on one!)
“Thanks” for that Lib. I wasn’t aware & thoroughly depressed now. Unfortunately all makes sense & that EPL hands were tied at time. KL sold to him, probably knowing above, which doesn’t sit well either. I suppose my only hope is it’s all BS
That is depressing. A bribing grass who is complicit in the deaths of two men through his actions. #saintly
Whilst I’m guilty sometimes of being overly ‘depressed’ re Saints results, it is still, as others have said, early season and I think we do have enough in the tank to pick up some points from the least expected matches, eventually! I think you have a point about RH, I’m sure he’s, rightly, ambitious, and will not want his CV tarnished by incompetent owners etc. However in the meantime he still has to prove he can really deliver some decent results, even from mediocre resources such as ours. His return per game is going the wrong way at present, worryingly with his teams not able to stem a counterattack, so I expect some reaction for the next few games, and if together they find a way of holding a tight, more impenetrable line from the midfield to the goalkeeper that will be encouraging, even if we lose by the odd and lower goals against tally. Seems to me that post the City games, we’ll have a better idea, hopefully!!