Fitzhugh Fella Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 "I took a gamble moving to Southampton and it definitely was not a mistake. It was a fact finding mission, and I learned more about life and football in two years there than I did in six at Liverpool - notably that clubs like Southampton cannot be champions of England. They couldn't then, even though we had a good go at it, and they certainly couldn't now. It's not even an issue" So spoke Kevin Keegan in his 1997 autobiography , is it a sad indictment of English football that in reality a side other than the top 4/5 (the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and perhaps Liverpool) are the only ones considered as potential champions? Or could a club like Southampton with the right financial backing ever threaten as we did back in the early 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 It's possible it's possible it's all possible. Close the thread. It's possible. It's possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmacian_saint Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Don't know about Saints. As for managers like Keegan himself though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Didn't they say man would never walk on the moon? Chelsea won the league and they only used to get 13,000 in 1984 and look at Man United before Fergie and Everton have won it and we have more fans than them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallana Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Can someone travel back to 1997 and ask if he thinks Man City can win the league.....?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Can someone travel back to 1997 and ask if he thinks Man City can win the league.....?? I wondered how long it would be before done said that. Post 5, excellent work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallana Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 I wondered how long it would be before done said that. Post 5, excellent work. You think it´s wrong or right with that question though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 You think it´s wrong or right with that question though? You do know Man city have won the league before and have always been a very big, well supported club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Yes we could with the right financial backing. The right financial backing being about 500 million of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallana Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 You do know Man city have won the league before and have always been a very big, well supported club? Yes but the context of my claim is that this was 1997, Premier League had started only a few years before that and money was pouring into football at the moment. Man City had been relegared in 96, finished 14th in Div. 1 in 97......what would he think of their chances then and there...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saints_is_the_south Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Look how much it has cost City and Chelsea to turn themselves into regular title contenders. We'd need to spend that and probably a bit more to get close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Nope, Blackburn never won the PL did they? They weren't a Provincial town club backed by a wealthy investor were they? Nope could never happen ever ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Jazzbo Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Blackburn are probably a good example in recent years, but they are unique. Apart from them the prem has been dominated by 4 teams (if you include City) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 This was on the back of Newcastle finishing second, he was probably dictating it, shouting with headphones on and eyes narrowed! Provincial clubs, like Saints, Sunderland, Newcastle, Leeds, Derby and Forest could never challenge for the league, the very concept is absurd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Yes but the context of my claim is that this was 1997, Premier League had started only a few years before that and money was pouring into football at the moment. Man City had been relegared in 96, finished 14th in Div. 1 in 97......what would he think of their chances then and there...? In 1996 most people would have said that Liverpool would win the league at least once in the next fifteen years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 FWIW with Saints, I think we will see one of our best seasons either this year or next, finishing 7th or 8th. But I fear that's the stumbling block and further improvement will be so difficult and so costly we could easily decline quickly. After that time the top players will want CL football that we can't offer, we still won't be able to outbid the top 6 or compete historically, reputation etc. Everton have been great but only ever a few sales from collapse really, and it's hard to imagine they'll do as well this season. Clubs like saints would have more chance of CL football in Spain or Germany, where the title might be out of reach but the 3/4th spots seems far more competitive. Interesting. What's to stop clubs enrolling for a league outside their own country in the EEC? EEC rules must allow it surely. We should do well in Switzerlnd, or even Luxembourg. Even our under 21's would walk it to the CL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offix Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 BS. When Man City were playing in the second division one could have sais the same about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 When Keegan made that comment it was probably correct but times and money have changed in football. OK, Sky money is given to all Premier clubs so not too much of an imbalance there. The big issue now is money invested by billionaire owners (not much of that around in Kegan’s era), vast sums from European cup runs (nowhere near the same scale in Keegan’s era) and corporate exposure worldwide (much more now than in Keegan’s era) Can Southampton win the league (or even compete for the top 4) in the next few years? The answer is sadly no. We have a good investment stream but we cannot yet compete with clubs willing to pay £30m plus on players that will make a difference. We cannot yet compete with clubs willing to pay their top stars £80,000 to £120,000 per week. We do not have the income from European ventures. We are still finding our way around corporate exposure in the world. We are looking to buy better players but we appear to be having difficulty persuading them to sign. We have yet to earn the right to do so. We must earn respect. That takes time and money. It may come so to say never is unadvisable. But for now we should concentrate on making steady progress year on year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 24 July, 2013 Author Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Blackburn are probably a good example in recent years, but they are unique. Apart from them the prem has been dominated by 4 teams (if you include City) In those days you could buy the League with millions, now its billions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTONS EAST SIDE Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 (edited) I'd rather not win the league. It would be nice , but the all the sniping we would get. Like bought the title, were would you be without your owner. LIKE THE BIG 4 (sic) ever did it!!! Would be happy to finish in a CL spot every season. Thanks Edited 24 July, 2013 by SOTONS EAST SIDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Sadly I think Keegan is spot on. As has been said before when/If we start hovering round the European spots the bigger clubs will hover up our better players, who won't wait, and we'll have to build again. Until the same happens. Sad truth is without a billionaire with endless cash it just won't happen to the likes of us, Norwich, Swansea etc. Our only hope would be the league bottoming out and the billionaire owners leaving. And even then we'd be a long way behind the big clubs like united, city, arsenal, spurs, Chelsea, Everton, and even Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, derby and forest. Still no reason we can't enjoy what we have and dream of a cup run or European adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 I remember Keegan saying exactly this on a radio interview, that club owners were queuing up with blank chequebooks and telling their managers "go out and buy the title", like Blackburn / Walker. But only one of them could do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Of course we'll never win the league - we're Southampton, notorious for shooting ourselves in the foot when things start going right! Seriously, before I read it already this thread, I immediately thought of the Man City argument - just a few years ago they were a nothing team fighting it out in the lower leagues. Anyone can win the league with the right financial backing. Sadly if anyone but the big six or seven won the league, it would most likely be deemed a freak occurence that would never happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dick Last Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Now that the Premier league has brought in new fair play regulations I doubt any team outside the big 4 can win the league. The big 4 have ring fenced the title by having already spent the mega millions on squads and now can keep them topped up whereas teams like the Saints need a large number of players just to contemplate qualifying for Europe. I think the Don could see this which is why he voted against these new rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 If we ever come out of the EU there could be massive immigration issues for foreign born players. The number of foreign players could reduce dramatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Can someone travel back to 1997 and ask if he thinks Man City can win the league.....?? Why? In 1997 Man City were a huge club, much bigger than Chelsea. Some people seem to think Citeh being major player is a some sort of new phenomenon. There is really no reason why a team like Southampton could not win the league, but it gets harder as time passes while there are megabucks for the bigger clubs, Europe and Sky are making the gulf bigger each year, but the bubble may burst. Blackburn were the last team to really break through, but even that was 22 years ago and look what happened to them when Jack Walker passed on. I would not be surprised if within next 10 years the top 4/5 teams have broken away and play in a European Super League, at that point Saints could be in with a shout. We should have made sure of winning the title in 2011/12 instead of being poxy runner-sup to Reading, at least we could have said we had won the Football League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Didn't they say man would never walk on the moon? Chelsea won the league and they only used to get 13,000 in 1984 and look at Man United before Fergie and Everton have won it and we have more fans than them. And they once said that a photocopier couldn't do a 100 pages per minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 And they once said that a photocopier couldn't do a 100 pages per minute. Did they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Did they? you would know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 you would know Burnt the captains bacon lately Jamie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Burnt the captains bacon lately Jamie? just sayin, like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Why? In 1997 Man City were a huge club, much bigger than Chelsea. Some people seem to think Citeh being major player is a some sort of new phenomenon. There is really no reason why a team like Southampton could not win the league, but it gets harder as time passes while there are megabucks for the bigger clubs, Europe and Sky are making the gulf bigger each year, but the bubble may burst. Blackburn were the last team to really break through, but even that was 22 years ago and look what happened to them when Jack Walker passed on. I would not be surprised if within next 10 years the top 4/5 teams have broken away and play in a European Super League, at that point Saints could be in with a shout. We should have made sure of winning the title in 2011/12 instead of being poxy runner-sup to Reading, at least we could have said we had won the Football League. In 1997 Man City were just some other Prem team. On that basis, any current "just some Prem team" could get billions of quid and win the League. Their success wasn't down to how popular they were before they were taken over by some Sheikh, it's down to them winning stuff and buying world-class players. Anyone with the same backing could do the same thing, and let's not pretend that there's some long history of Man City love in the owner's background either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 just sayin, like That is amongst one of the many true things I have said on here since I became a member Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Not impossible but would take a serious amount of cash to happen any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Not impossible but would take a serious amount of cash to happen any time soon. But a serious amount of cash we don't have so it is impossible currently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 IF and WHEN we win the league..... It would spoil us as a club:) Just think some of the flooooosies on this forum.....you boyz know who you are:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonaggro Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Since supporting Saints in the late 70s Man City my memory is of Man City as a basket case of a club until the recent takeover. The same could be said for Chelsea in the same timescale. So, it must be possible for clubs to appear under the radar - Sheffield Weds or Leeds with a spendthrift Sheikh in tow perhaps? Looking at Saints recent signings / targets it looks like Cortese is going for a 'third way' buying / developing youngsters in the hope of a 'Busby Babes' alchemy scenario. Hasn't been done before, may not work, but the ride is fun, and for the optimists there is always an outside chance - league win, probably not, challenging at the top and ****ing over some 'big' clubs hopefully yes!... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 But a serious amount of cash we don't have so it is impossible currently But it's not impossible that we get flogged to a rich Arab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 But it's not impossible that we get flogged to a rich Arab. I'd be incredibly surprised if we did given there's clubs like Forest, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday (not to mention a slew of premier league sides) that'd be far cheaper to buy at the moment. So yeah that's not impossible, but highly improbable, so it's impossible without a wealthy owner which in itself is improbable. I can't be arsed to work out what that means but a statistician would more than likely call it a mathematical improbability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 I'd be incredibly surprised if we did given there's clubs like Forest, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday (not to mention a slew of premier league sides) that'd be far cheaper to buy at the moment. So yeah that's not impossible, but highly improbable, so it's impossible without a wealthy owner which in itself is improbable. I can't be arsed to work out what that means but a statistician would more than likely call it a mathematical improbability. i doubt rich arabs want to pick up a cheap club, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manji Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 With McMenemy in charge and a board run by fans the skys the limit IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 i doubt rich arabs want to pick up a cheap club, though Indeed, didn't Fulham go for £200million? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Indeed, didn't Fulham go for £200million? exactly. buying a ready made prem club, with huge income (compare to that outside of the prem) in prime location Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Billy Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Hence why I would prefer us making a bigger fist of it in the cup games rather then play a weakened side. Cup competition's are lucrative and winnable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Who? Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 It is possible, not at the moment, but it is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 (edited) In 1997 Man City were just some other Prem team. On that basis, any current "just some Prem team" could get billions of quid and win the League. Their success wasn't down to how popular they were before they were taken over by some Sheikh, it's down to them winning stuff and buying world-class players. Anyone with the same backing could do the same thing, and let's not pretend that there's some long history of Man City love in the owner's background either. ....no one on earth has ever said Sheikh Mansoor had any history of loving Man City. But funny they plumped for Manchester City in 2008, and not "just some Prem team" like Hull, or Bolton, or Stoke, or Sunderland, or Wigan. Just randomly, out of thin air, Manchester City. Big city, former league champions, massive fan base Man City. "Just some Prem team". Edited 24 July, 2013 by CB Fry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Sanchez Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Didn't they say man would never walk on the moon? Chelsea won the league and they only used to get 13,000 in 1984 and look at Man United before Fergie and Everton have won it and we have more fans than them. This has got to be the most fanciful ******** post ever placed on a forum since Tim Berners Lee wrote my old mans a dustman on the net.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 I'm amazed no one with serious money has bought Leeds yet and would be available at a fraction of the price of a premier league club. A very big club with huge support and potential. They are in reality what a lot of our fans think we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 I'm amazed no one with serious money has bought Leeds yet and would be available at a fraction of the price of a premier league club. A very big club with huge support and potential. They are in reality what a lot of our fans think we are. There are other clubs close by Leeds who therefore have no catchment area whatsoever. Let's be clear here. The man walks on the moon theory only. works. for. Saints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW11_Saint Posted 24 July, 2013 Share Posted 24 July, 2013 Blackburn did it - proving that the right sugar-Daddy, right manager and right purchases can make it happen. That said, it'd take c x100 the investment Blackburn had to do it now. So, possible - most things are - but highly highly unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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