Nordic Saint

Sorry, I don't really understand that. Could you explain it a bit more, Avenue_Saint? Where/Who did Kat take money from and what money was it?

1) What are those? Anyone who'll do as he's told by Reed? Maybe Zenga is desperate enough for a job to accept that; Garcia clearly wasn't.

Sure, Donatello. Alderweireld, Wanyama, Trippier and Dele Alli, all of whom he had lined up for Saints. Paul Mitchell is a date analyst and head of recruitment. The so-called ‘Black Box’ is primarily a software package the type of which anyone can rent online for a few pounds each month. The key person is the analyst who interprets the data, and that’s Mitchell. Mitchell identified potential players and managers. Pochettino and Koeman would almost certainly have been his suggestions as well as most of the player we recruited in his time here. The last one who was his was Van Dijk. He’d picked out both Alderweirled and Van Dijk the year before as replacements for Lovren, but we went for Alderweierld as did Spurs. That’s how Saints were still able to get Van Dijk after Mitchell left. Some other signings were the Koemans’: Pelle, Clasie and Martina, and several signings we made last summer, after he left, like Caulker and Steckelenburg did not have the hallmarks of Mitchell signings, being old and/or injury-prone. Mane was typical of the type of player Mitchell picked. They are under 26 and fit. His brief at Southampton appears to have been to find relatively cheap players, 2 or 3 years short of their peak, who would give us good service and could then be sold for a big profit at the end of that period. Typically, therefore, they tended to be in their early 20s. Who is Paul Mitchell and why have Tottenham Hotspur prised Southampton's head of recruitment away? Talent-spotter and analyst whose department transformed Saints this summer while banking £30 million ….. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/11236180/Who-is-Paul-Mitchell-and-why-have-Tottenham-Hotspur-prised-Southamptons-head-of-recruitment-away.html

You make a valid point about the pressure of the media, Batman. I was just hoping we'd pick up at the start of next season where we left off the last one. Anyway, let's hope things turn out for the best. They did before. I was gutted when Adkins and Pochettino went too.

The usual arrogant drivel from you. Like most Saints fans, I never really expected Koeman to stay for more than 3 years and could live with that. I have never agitated for anyone to get a contract extension. I was just happy that we had a great manager for another year: a year in which I think he would have gone all out to achieve great things and then probably moved on to Arsenal or Barcelona. We might possibly have got the greatest season in our history out of that. We'll never know. I hope that the new manager does as well. It's obvious I'm not a fan of Les Reed whereas you and many other fans are. I think Reed has taken the credit for the work of Paul Mitchell, who is now continuing his exceptional recruitment of players at Tottenham, and 2 fine managers who I suspect Mitchell had also picked out. I hope I'm wrong and that Reed really is the brains behind our sucess that you think he is, because I really want us to continue this spell at the top. The last 2 seasons in particular have been fantastic.

"after they put him where he is" Everton. I don't think Koeman will feel grateful as Reed has totally messed up his career plan, which was to finish his 3-year contract on a high with a top 4 finish and possibly even a trophy, putting him in prime spot for the Arsenal or even Barcelona job. OK, he's got a lot of money to compensate him for his thwarted ambitions but I don't think that was ever his priority and he certainly would rather have spent the next year finishing his work at Southampton than having to start all over again at Everton. Some people seem to be trying to convince themselves now that Koeman was a bad manager the same as they did with Pochettino when, in fact, he was one of the best managers we ever had. We finished 7th and 6th in the Premier League with him. I'd have loved to see him stay here for another year and Koeman wanted to do that too but Les Reed has put paid to it. As for this 'lame duck' ******, it's just a red herring. The average tenure of a Premier League manager is just over one year. Players know that even if some of the posters on here don't. Getting 3 years with a top manager would have been exceptional. Does anyone seriously believe that even the next manager will see out the duration of the 5-year plan? I'd put money on it that Reed will get rid of him within 3 years. I hope that we get Frank de Boer and that he is allowed to manage the team without too much interference and that we can continue the progress we made under Pochettino and Koeman. But, I'd have preferred it if Koeman had been allowed to stay for another year. The end of last season was one of the best I ever experienced in all my years as Saints fan.

Shouldn't Reed at least do the new manager the courtesy of waiting for him to arrive before selling our players? I hope that we can maintain the progress we made under Koeman but I'm beginning to get concerned about the increasing level of Reed's interference in managerial duties.

I wonder how much freedom the next manager will have under Reed. He seems to have assumed even more control of football affairs than before. Bearing in mind what a disaster he was in his only spell as a manager at Charlton. I'm not sure this is such a good thing. Will the next manager just be someone he feels he can control easily or a strong figure like Frank de Boer, who'll want control over matters like team selection? I'm hoping for the latter.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/1294245/ronald-koeman-didnt-just-go-for-the-dough-he-clashed-with-academy-chief-les-reed-over-saints-kids/

But the good thing is this should mean no top club will want him so he'll be cheap. Still hoping we'll get Frank De Boer. It's still possible, isn't it?

The fact we are now known as a club which needs to sell its best players (and we are - just ask fans of other PL clubs) puts us in a relatively weak position when it comes to negotiating transfer fees. A club like Spurs, on the other hand, can demand much more for its players and get it. Personally, I think our best option this summer is to put all our efforts into keeping the current squad together as it is on the verge of something special, but there have been leaks from the recent negotiations that there were already planned sales of players, which had been agreed between Reed and Koeman.

Edit: that should read ' not to leave'

Yes. We should not even consider selling either of them until January. Pelle should also be offered a 2-year contract. He deserves it. We should try to persuade Wanyama to leave and hang onto him as long as possible but if it looks like the right thing to do and he is itching to leave, sell him in the January window. There is no need whatsoever to sell them now and certainly not to Premier League rivals. To do so, would be pure greed.

Pelle best striker in the Euros? Now to see Fonte best defender in the Euros tomorrow! Pelle = Saints legend. Please Les, don't sell him. It's not only about the money.

Some of the ****** they are coming out with to try to tarnish Koeman's image is pathetic. Man United fans must be extremely grateful that Sir Alex Ferguson never shouted at any of his young players or they'd never have won all those trophies, would they?

Maybe Reed was told he had to. He doesn't have 100% control of the club yet. Or maybe all of the spin that comes from his camp is not 100% true.

Yep.

In the end, Roy made the wrong substitutions. It was a great performance until then. Rose was obviously flagging and had given up on his defensive duties 20 minutes from the end, leaving our right flank wide open. I'm not just saying this because I'm a Saints fan, but Bertrand should have been brought on. Rose had an excellent first 70 minutes and was great going forward, and he still deserves to start. Milner contributed nothing. It's pointless bringing him on. Kane was tired and should have been subbed by Vardy who probably would have sealed the game.

Managers usually leave for 1 of 2 reasons: either they move to a more lucrative and prestigious job because they have been successful or they get sacked because they have failed. Mostly they get sacked. The average tenancy of a Premier League manager is just over 1 year.

That would be great. A compromise between Reed and Koeman that he can see out the third year of his contract. I guess it wouldn't be a compromise because that's what Koeman wanted to do anyway whereas Reed wanted him to commit to a new contract. But, I still think we could have a great season if he stays. Just over 2 weeks I posted this reply to goneawol in the Mane thread: "Originally Posted by goneawol 15:40 Mane could stay at Southampton We've got some news coming out of Southampton this afternoon, courtesy of Sportsmail's SAM CUNNINGHAM. He reports that Sadio Mane's exit from Southampton is far from decided, with a source close to the player revealing he appears to be changing his mind about wanting to leave. It is believed he recently bought a house in the local area and, despite being all set to go in January when Manchester United made an offer which Southampton turned down, his exit is not so certain now." Noridc Saint: That's great news, especially with Koeman staying too. Really looking forward to next season more than any other I can ever recall. It's unlikely to happen, I know. Pride is at stake. But, if it doesn't, we really do need a high profile manager to boost morale again. An unknown is going to seem like a bit of a letdown at first, even if he does go on to achieve success.

I certainly hope not. Remember what they did to us last season? I'd rather face them after our new manager has had time to settle in. I expect Everton to get off to a flying start and then have a mid-season slump. That's when we want them.

Is Les Reed on holiday in Japan or is he there trying to sell Yoshida? I guess at the moment he can only sell players who are not involved in Euro 2016. So, the sale of Pelle should be on hold.

Maybe Everton want us top pay Koeman's wages until their pre-season training starts. Right now, it's hard to see how he could stay at Southampton after all that's been said so I can't see how any further delays benefit us. I also assume it is difficult for us to offer the job to another manager until he's gone. Everton now just seem to be taking the p!ss.

It certainly is. Just for the sake of a few million we can get by selling him now. His goal contribution would be worth more.

I'm beginning to get the impression it will be somebody cheap that no other club wants. I really hope I'm wrong. Emery or De Boer are clearly the preferred candidates in our poll and would really lift our spirits. But, I guess Emery would be considered too expensive as he'd cost almost as much as Koeman. De Boer has said he wants to manage a Premier League club and we're the only vacancy, but this doesn't sound good: Albers told the Daily Echo: “I’ve talked to Les Reed every three days over the last five weeks, we have a good relationship, but we have not discussed Frank de Boer at any moment.” Let's hope a cheap option works, and it might well, but in initially it's going to seem a bit of an anti-climax.