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Vague predictions can bite you on the arse.

Barry Sanchez

By Barry Sanchez,
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Matthew Le God

Matthew Le God

Posted
Posted (edited)
What was the question he was asked?

 

If you don't know the context of the answer, how can you make comments like this criticising Wanyama...?

 

I cringed a bit when I read the article. Much better to see statements of intent on the pitch rather than the constant rhetoric of Champions League aspirations.

 

You can see his answer in context at yesterday's press conference on Saints Player. I'd watch that before cringing at "constant rhetoric". It is the media that keep asking Pochettino and the players questions about the Champions League, it is not the Saints 1st team coaches and staff that bring it up.

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Matthew Le God

Matthew Le God

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So what was the question then?

 

Journalist #1: In terms of what you thinks achievable this season for this team, what would you like to see them achieve?

 

Wanyama: Obviously first is to just do better than last season and then we will see what will happen.

 

Journalist #1: Do you think thats possible?

 

Wanyama: I think yeah its possible.

 

Journalist #2: Do you think Champions League football is possible with Southampton?

 

Wanyama: Yeah, I believe one day, you know, everything, step by step, then I believe one day we will be also there.

 

.................

 

Is that really something to cringe at? He was asked a question, he gave an answer. He didn't start the Champions League talk, a journalist started that line of questioning and he gave an answer. He didn't say "Saints will be in the Champions League next year".

 

What would you prefer him to say to such a line of questioning?

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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Posted
Journalist #1: In terms of what you thinks achievable this season for this team, what would you like to see them achieve?

 

Wanyama: Obviously first is to just do better than last season and then we will see what will happen.

 

Journalist #1: Do you think thats possible?

 

Wanyama: I think yeah its possible.

 

Journalist #2: Do you think Champions League football is possible with Southampton?

 

Wanyama: Yeah, I believe one day, you know, everything, step by step, then I believe one day we will be also there.

 

.................

 

Is that really something to cringe at? He was asked a question, he gave an answer. He didn't start the Champions League talk, a journalist started that line of questioning and he gave an answer. He didn't say "Saints will be in the Champions League next year".

 

What would you prefer him to say to such a line of questioning?

Matthew; I know you don't to hear any disparaging words about your heroes, but I'd simply prefer to hear less of the champions league rhetoric coming out of the club. The manager and the players know how the press work and that a simple statement like that will end up being the headline. My preference for them would be to play a straight bat and just go with the oft-trotted out line of going into every game wanting to win.

 

I'm not sure why you care so much what I think about it, mind.

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farawaysaint

farawaysaint

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Posted
Matthew; I know you don't to hear any disparaging words about your heroes, but I'd simply prefer to hear less of the champions league rhetoric coming out of the club. The manager and the players know how the press work and that a simple statement like that will end up being the headline. My preference for them would be to play a straight bat and just go with the oft-trotted out line of going into every game wanting to win.

 

I'm not sure why you care so much what I think about it, mind.

 

To be fair, "then I believe one day we will be also there" is so far removed from the headline of Victor Wanyama: Southampton player targets Champions League! it's unreal :lol: Journalists are amazing.

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ericb

ericb

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Matthew; I know you don't to hear any disparaging words about your heroes, but I'd simply prefer to hear less of the champions league rhetoric coming out of the club. The manager and the players know how the press work and that a simple statement like that will end up being the headline. My preference for them would be to play a straight bat and just go with the oft-trotted out line of going into every game wanting to win.

 

I'm not sure why you care so much what I think about it, mind.

 

To be honest i tend to agree, i think being humble and achieving small successes under the radar is a far better way of going about things - and let's be honest far more of the Southampton Way - than this ridiculous hyperbole that all our players seem to say.

 

Mind you i suppose we're not in the Ted Bates or even Lawrie Mac days anymore, and everything now has to be BIGGER, FASTER, BETTER. Which is just an indictment of what football has become.

 

Hence the need for people on here to get so over excited and selling out the soul of the club for a marketing ploy, i'm looking at you Matt Le Rainman, instead of just enjoying what we have and trying to improve, slowly but surely under the radar.

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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To be fair, "then I believe one day we will be also there" is so far removed from the headline of Victor Wanyama: Southampton player targets Champions League! it's unreal :lol: Journalists are amazing.

That's my point though. Without the constant rhetoric from the club there has been (and lately from the manager also) the question probably doesn't even get asked. But that then gives the journos a benchmark, a target to hit of sorts and a chance to get the CL dream as the headline again. It was this way with Lovren, and with Wanyama. I may be wrong but I don't think i see similar clubs signing players with such regularity of short term CL ambitions (Lovren's headline was CL within 2 years, without him actually saying it).

 

Personally I'd prefer the club as a whole to be equally ambitious but slightly more toned down in the public declarations of intent. That's just me though, to each their own. I just feel teh club have made a rod for their own backs and the CL question will get trotted out every single time.

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Matthew Le God

Matthew Le God

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Hence the need for people on here to get so over excited and selling out the soul of the club for a marketing ploy, i'm looking at you Matt Le Rainman, instead of just enjoying what we have and trying to improve, slowly but surely under the radar.

 

Is that not what Wanyama said...?

 

Journalist #1: In terms of what you thinks achievable this season for this team, what would you like to see them achieve?

 

Wanyama: Obviously first is to just do better than last season and then we will see what will happen.

 

Journalist #1: Do you think thats possible?

 

Wanyama: I think yeah its possible.

 

Journalist #2: Do you think Champions League football is possible with Southampton?

 

Wanyama: Yeah, I believe one day, you know, everything, step by step, then I believe one day we will be also there.

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ericb

ericb

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Posted
Is that not what Wanyama said...?

 

Journalist #1: In terms of what you thinks achievable this season for this team, what would you like to see them achieve?

 

Wanyama: Obviously first is to just do better than last season and then we will see what will happen.

 

Journalist #1: Do you think thats possible?

 

Wanyama: I think yeah its possible.

 

Journalist #2: Do you think Champions League football is possible with Southampton?

 

Wanyama: Yeah, I believe one day, you know, everything, step by step, then I believe one day we will be also there.

 

I'd rather he just said something along the lines of the fact that we've just stayed up, and are looking to improve. Rather than feed this, currently stupid, speculation, about us making the champions league. We're not anywhere near that, so lets stop shouting about it in public, there's no need and we can achieve success with far more dignity.

 

Plus if we stopped entertaining these questions they'd stop being asked, and we could just improve on our own terms.

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suewhistle

suewhistle

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but I'd simply prefer to hear less of the champions league rhetoric coming out of the club.

 

Give it a f***ing rest Kraken, and stop bullying MLG. What do you expect the guy to say to such a direct question, or do you think the player should spend all next week in the classroom learning how to handle the media?

 

If a player gave an anodyne answer such as you suggest I can't help thinking you'd be complaining about that too.

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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I think he was asked the question as part of the " you chose to play here rather than for Celtic in the C League" questioning that the media love.

 

I'm not sure what he is supposed to say. Perhaps " Yeah, I'll miss the C League, but this lot pay me a lot more".

Also known as the Gaston Ramirez type answer.

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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Give it a f***ing rest Kraken, and stop bullying MLG. What do you expect the guy to say to such a direct question, or do you think the player should spend all next week in the classroom learning how to handle the media?

 

If a player gave an anodyne answer such as you suggest I can't help thinking you'd be complaining about that too.

What on earth are you on about now? He asked me a direct question. I provided a direct answer. ericb also seems to share my opinion on i, so its clearly not a totally bizarre personal viewpoint.

 

I'm not sure why you felt you needed to come wading it into with the swearing accusations and angry tone.

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ericb

ericb

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What on earth are you on about now? He asked me a direct question. I provided a direct answer. ericb also seems to share my opinion on i, so its clearly not a totally bizarre personal viewpoint.

 

I'm not sure why you felt you needed to come wading it into with the swearing accusations and angry tone.

 

It's just a dignity thing for me. I'm sick of the Americanisation of the game that says we have to make grandiose claims all the time. I'd much rather we handled ourselves in the traditional Southampton way and didnt play up to this hype and idiocy.

Instead id rather we built a club around the community, with actions on the pitch being just that. And the big statements reserved for how we were trying to be different to the clubs that sell their soul out as a brand.

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norwaysaint

norwaysaint

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When put into context, which MLG has just done quite well, it's a bit of a nothing statement. I'd say his response was pretty much in line with what most on here have always said: our main aim is just to improve, in theory CL may one day be possible, but it's not really something the team are thinking about now. i don't see why Barry and Kraken are getting upset about this, it seems a pretty rational and sensible response to the question.

 

What do you think he should have said? That we will never, ever aspire to that level? That would have been far sillier than what he actually said.

 

I'd say that MLG's reasonable responses to questions on this thread contrast sharply with childish, condescending nuggets like:

 

Matthew; I know you don't to hear any disparaging words about your heroes

 

and

 

i'm looking at you Matt Le Rainman

 

This thread is about the Wanyama article. Wanyama didn't predict anything about this season and he didn't say anything to cringe at. In fact he said to concentrate on doing things "step by step" and concentrate on gradual improvement from last season, exactly what the realists have been saying all along.

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suewhistle

suewhistle

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Posted

I apologise Kraken, I didn't realise you were so sensitive, but I'm a bit ****ed off by this board that seem to think that MLG is always fair game. There _is_ bullying on this board and I recognise it here just as I do in the wider world. The point is, the player was asked a direct question and tried to answer in a positive way. MLG tried to point this out and you basically said the player should be more media savvy and give some bland pointless answer. Hence my response.

 

As for Bearsy, he treads a fine line between me buying him a pint or pouring it all over him.

 

Funnily enough I'm a really laid back sort of person, but I've got to the age where I don't put up with crap any more, and I'm financially independent enough not to put up with crap from bosses. A great place to be!:-)

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VectisSaint

VectisSaint

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Posted

To say much else really just smacks of a lack of ambition. VW stated goal this season is to do better than last. Seems perfectly reasonable. After that who knows, but if we enter a competition with an ambition that says we should aim to finish 5th or lower what sort of lily-livered outlook is that? It may seem implausible but aiming for 4th place (or 3rd if you think like me that Champions League actually means not having to go through qualifying) is surely not being over ambitious. I know when Ted or Lawrie were in charge the ambition was to win the sodding league, not aim for 5th place. Times have changed but if you don't think there will ever come a time when we could aim to finish 3rd or 4th then why waste time supporting the team. I doubt I will ever see it happen in my lifetime, but there's nothing wrong with having some ambition and some dreams. Some people hang on the words of people too much and use those words to mock, but would mock equally if our stated ambition was to finish mid-table every season. Seems to be too much of this lack of ambition these days in this country, always happy to be also-rans, the plucky little losers. Well done VW, at least we know what you're trying to achieve (even if you may be a little deluded). Lets get the first bit done first and do better than last year.

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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Posted
I apologise Kraken, I didn't realise you were so sensitive, but I'm a bit ****ed off by this board that seem to think that MLG is always fair game. There _is_ bullying on this board and I recognise it here just as I do in the wider world. The point is, the player was asked a direct question and tried to answer in a positive way. MLG tried to point this out and you basically said the player should be more media savvy and give some bland pointless answer. Hence my response.

Sorry, I'm a bit mystified how you think I'm bullying MLG. Which bit was it? The bit where I asked MLG to clarify the interviewer's question? Or the bit where I answered MLG's direct question to me about a previous statement I had made. Which part of that was bullying?

 

Or perhaps I was being too sensitive? I really don't know.

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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Posted
"I believe one day Champions League football is achievable at Southampton," the Kenya international said.

 

"Everything step by step and I believe one day we will be also there."

Apparently translates as

 

We are expecting champions league football next season

 

If you don't ask yourself why that is, and why that's the headline, then perhaps you're missing the point a little.

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