John B Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 The only Saints youth player to come anywhere near the talent and power of Wayne Rooney when he was aged 17 years was Theo Walcott. The rest of our youth players - with due respect to them - are miles off a comparison with Rooney. Bale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 Bale? not really been found out a bit hasnt he so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 As I see it RL attempted two conflicting strategies at the same time. 1 - Cost cutting - which required a manager able to put together a side with cheap players from lower divisions ( Not a Dutch manager with no UK player knowledge) 2 - Total ( Dutch ) football - which required an intelligent bunch of players able to move around a field like Ajax did the other day. Several of their team played in virtually every position during the game. ( Not kids starting out) As mentioned elsewhere we all foresaw disaster on here this time last year. Everyone foresaw the possibility, only distracted by the decent performances against Stoke and West Ham. It's ok talking about going out and signing these mythical cheap players that would be better than what we had, but so much luck is involved to avoid ending up with the Wottons. We could not even afford a playing bonus to keep Cork or get Howard in on loan. When you have viable financial alternatives for both the long and the short term you have flexibility, but this was already decided by the financial mess. I just love the myopia that led us to this position. Originally Posted by Frank's cousin How much you blame Lowe for this seems to depend on what you believe about the finance. If you believe that we had enough cash to maintain the majority of the first team squad we had when we survived on the last day and supplement this with a the best of youth, then quite rightly you will think Lowe f***** up in getting rid of Pearson and bringing in the Dutch and also getting rid of experenced players on loans. If you believe that the financial situation was so dire that Lowe was forced to send these players on loan and work only with the cheap kids and thus looked at bringing in a duo with experience of working with kids (in his view) then you will see it differently - two sides and all that. I have no problem with all that, but both sides need to appreciate that WE DO NOT KNOW THE FACTS about the finances or how they influenced the decisions taken... we can only guess.. When you reduce the over draft by £2M and you still get put into administration, where does the guess work come in? Luckily this now all in the realms of academia after hitting the Liebherr jackpot. But for all those squealing when it eventually happened, hardly a squeak when this was building up! Just exactly how many warnings from the auditors and the chairman, does it require that the club may not be able to continue as a going concern? Where does all this fit into the future? Well I don't expect Liebherr to be throwing money at the club at this stage and I think it's going to be a very big ask for us to get into the play offs. Nothing wrong with Pardew, but we may have to give him at least 2 seasons to get out of this league, something the myopic will be on his back about before we reach Xmas. We have been given such a great opportunity by Liebherr, but how we go forward will in part be down to revenue. If we cannot be bothered, why should anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 I'd like to see a new forum created for pre-ML regime discussions/arguments. I'm not sure my fellow mods and admin would accept that. However, if they did take up your suggestion, I have a name for it... Lest We Forget..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHAPEL END CHARLIE Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 I was especially interested in Alan Pardew's observation (to paraphrase) that our younger players have ample technical ability but lack the knowledge of how to win games , how to react if we go behind , how to compete with their peers in the cut and thrust of competitive 1st team football - 'gamecraft' you might call it . The guys only been here 5 minutes but already he's cut right to the heart of the problem our academy seems to have developed in the last few years , in a similar incisive move he (correctly IMO) identified Stern John as the best option we have in the striker department without any particular difficulty . I'm seriously impressed with AP's first week in charge , he appears to possess an instinctive feel for the British game that was shockingly absent in many of his predecessors (Nigel Pearson accepted naturally) . What a pleasure it is to see our long suffering club finally in the hands of professionals , you know - people who actually know what they're doing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Saints Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 I was especially interested in Alan Pardew's observation (to paraphrase) that our younger players have ample technical ability but lack the knowledge of how to win games , how to react if we go behind , how to compete with their peers in the cut and thrust of competitive 1st team football - 'gamecraft' you might call it . The guys only been here 5 minutes but already he's cut right to the heart of the problem our academy seems to have developed in the last few years , in a similar incisive move he (correctly IMO) identified Stern John as the best option we have in the striker department without any particular difficulty . I'm seriously impressed with AP's first week in charge , he appears to possess an instinctive feel for the British game that was shockingly absent in many of his predecessors (Nigel Pearson accepted naturally) . What a pleasure it is to see our long suffering club finally in the hands of professionals , you know - people who actually know what they're doing . Completely agree Charlie. The more I hear from Pards, the more I realise what a disaster Poortvliet and Wotte were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickG Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 Proof will come when the season start but far more confident than I have been in any/all managers since Hoddle and Strachen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickG Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 I was especially interested in Alan Pardew's observation (to paraphrase) that our younger players have ample technical ability but lack the knowledge of how to win games , how to react if we go behind , how to compete with their peers in the cut and thrust of competitive 1st team football - 'gamecraft' you might call it . The guys only been here 5 minutes but already he's cut right to the heart of the problem our academy seems to have developed in the last few years , in a similar incisive move he (correctly IMO) identified Stern John as the best option we have in the striker department without any particular difficulty . I'm seriously impressed with AP's first week in charge , he appears to possess an instinctive feel for the British game that was shockingly absent in many of his predecessors (Nigel Pearson accepted naturally) . What a pleasure it is to see our long suffering club finally in the hands of professionals , you know - people who actually know what they're doing . when I heard that bit thought it summed up last season. Many games we played very well and easily on top for odd 15 mins - but had no idea how to win game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docker-p Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 It was a crap footballing strategy but possibly not a crap financial one. :smt119 Errr, do you want to tell him or should I ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Without a Halo Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 You're like a scratched record. It might not be fair but it is fact. AP will be looking at Bosmans and loans...just like the totalling football team could have. I only want to look forwards now and this thread is about AP so for me to bring the dutch duo into the equation was wrong. Loans and frees still need wages played while academy players are paid a pittance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted 24 July, 2009 Share Posted 24 July, 2009 :smt119 Errr, do you want to tell him or should I ? I think he probably knows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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