Ralph Krueger's end of season interview

[Saint-Armstrong]

On his time as Chairman:

 

 

"I think when you look at the final matches, we weren't playing for a spot up or down but still worked so hard."

 

"The spirit and emotions as the players went around with the families really connected the fans and the team."

 

"You do feel a warmth here in the community."

 

 

On Pochettino's future:

 

"It's clear. Les Reed is our Sporting Director. He is in conversation. We now enter a new phase of conversation."

 

"I can tell you right now that there has been no contact of any sort from any club."

 

"One of the reasons we haven't quite understood the panic is that, he has another year on his contract."

 

"He could have a twenty-year contract. It's a volatile market. With that year guarantee, we don't feel any panic ahead of us."

 

"We agreed to leave it until after the last game. We have been singing the same tone as Mauricio."

 

 

On this season:

 

"What's happening here at Southampton is not by luck. You know that we belong where we are, in 8th place."

 

"It's been well deserved. That's the product of years of hard work. We don't need to be afraid of anything."

 

"We have to believe that our base as a club is outstanding. We have four players going to the U19 national team."

 

"We would've had four going to the World Cup with England."

 

 

 

On the future:

 

"We have to be able to deal with these issues, and we will."

 

"The only reason people are looking at players from Southampton is because we are doing an excellent job."

 

"It should be difficult here every summer. It means we are doing something right."

 

"From the beginning, we said that we need to manage responsibly here in Southampton."

 

"If you want a model that sustains itself over a long period of time, you need to be professional."

 

"You need to communicate and be honest with your fan base. We will be honest when decisions are happening."

 

"There's always the way you would like it to happen, and the way it does happen. They don't always mix."

 

"We want to be responsible."

 

 

On Lallana:

 

"We know nothing has occurred here. There has been so much speculation."

 

 

On the meetings in the next week or so:

 

"It's important to respect that communication will be happening for us, as of tomorrow."

 

"There are clubs that have financial means over and above what we have."

 

"The only thing we are going to do in our decisions is do what is best for the Saints."

 

 

On contracts:

 

"Les Reed is somebody with the right kind of experience and know-how."

 

"We understand the roles and responsibilities of everyone."

 

 

On transfers:

 

"Les already has his plan in place. We have players we want to approach in the next few days."

 

 

On next season:

 

"The new season begins tomorrow, and I think everyone needs to start getting excited about this tomorrow."

 

 

Concluding comment:

 

"Thanks to the fans who couldn't make it, too. We appreciate everybody out there with Saints blood."

[Saint Charlie]

He loves a bit of chat does Ralph. Didn't hear the interview so thanks for posting.

How did it come across live?

 

Still no indication that Pochettino will stay.

[Monk]

All the right and honest noises.

 

We do have to accept, to be self sustainable we will have to sell a player every now and then.

[OldNick]

All the right and honest noises.

 

We do have to accept, to be self sustainable we will have to sell a player every now and then.

not in CBFrys eyes

[Saint Charlie]

Will be interesting how its handled when the inevitable official approach comes in from Spurs. Suspect we will just allow him to speak to them.

[tomf05]

All the right and honest noises.

 

We do have to accept, to be self sustainable we will have to sell a player every now and then.

 

Maybe so, but is it sustainable to buy Wanyama's, Osvaldo's and Ramirez's with the money earnt from one or two home grown players who give us the image we have and separate us from the rest of the Premier league. Lallana and Shaw have proven themselves invaluable in my opinion. Some may be luck, some is a fantastic youth set up and family spirit but i certainly think that I'd take the possible immediate financial hit and not waste more money on unknowns and plough everything into another top 8 finish.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

We will sell for the right price is what I take from his comments on meetings in the next week or so.

[Dig Dig]

setting us up for some player sales and modest spending IMO

[Wade Garrett]

Maybe so, but is it sustainable to buy Wanyama's, Osvaldo's and Ramirez's with the money earnt from one or two home grown players who give us the image we have and separate us from the rest of the Premier league. Lallana and Shaw have proven themselves invaluable in my opinion. Some may be luck, some is a fantastic youth set up and family spirit but i certainly think that I'd take the possible immediate financial hit and not waste more money on unknowns and plough everything into another top 8 finish.

 

Didn't Reed say we would look at players a bit closer to home in future. Can't see us taking the risks we gave done with big deals. Wouldn't put Vic in the same bracket as c*nt and Gaston though.

[mikeyc]

We will sell for the right price is what I take from his comments on meetings in the next week or so.

 

"We'll be speaking to other clubs from tomorrow. I hope you know what I mean when I say that we'll only be doing what's best for Southampton."

 

[Baird of the land]

setting us up for some player sales and modest spending IMO

 

Wanted to believe in an ambitious saints, but yeah that's the impression i came away with too.

[CB Fry]

not in CBFrys eyes

 

What are you talking about now?

 

Never said anything of the sort.

[norwaysaint]

All the right and honest noises.

 

We do have to accept, to be self sustainable we will have to sell a player every now and then.

 

Really? Because we've what they've said indicates that isn't the case. We DO have to accept that players capable of achieving more than we can offer will want to move on to fulfill their potential though. Now would be a good time for Lallana too, sadly.

[Saint Charlie]

Academy romance and marketability sure diminishes when soon we will have more Academy graduates playing against us in the PL than actually play in our team.

 

As we have seen today, Gallagher isn't ready to make the impact needed at this level, and I hope Krueger realises that Lallana and Shaw are special cases. If their replacements come from the Academy then it could lead to a Poortvliet situation.

[Saint Charlie]

"We'll be speaking to other clubs from tomorrow. I hope you know what I mean when I say that we'll only be doing what's best for Southampton."

 

 

Surely that was said in the context of brining players in rather than concerning outgoings?

 

I do feel from his comments though thay we won't fight overly hard to keep the best talents, which is a shame.

[SuperSAINT]

So Les Reed is now our sporting director?

[johnnyboy]

words here https://audioboo.fm/boos/2152611-saintsfc-chairman-ralph-krueger-talks-to-bigadamsport-after-final-game-of-the-season

[Olallana]

Would feel so much like a missed opportunity. The value in the squad has risen so much so you dont have to put much money into the squad if you manage the value the right way.

 

As much as I dont want to lose a player like Shaw, selling him for about £30m is a figure you can use much better in the squad, at to that selling Osvaldo and then add another £10m from the club and you´ll have a manager with a great opportunity to reshuffle and strengthen the squad big time.

 

Good LB wouldn´t cost more than £5-7m, find players from relegated teams that might have a relegation clause and you can find good players for decent money.

Add to that with a player or two on a free transfer just to size up the squad a bit.

 

I think we need to add 3-4 more attacking players, both from AM and Striker position so this will be where the most of the funds should be used to..

 

Keep the rest and move on into a preseason with a squad that is 3-5 players bigger and with additions from the academy we could find ourselves in a good position...

 

Well, one can dream at last but next year there is no world or euro cup so players should feel they dont desperately has to move this summer, especially since noone would move into a definite first XI player in any of the CL teams IMO...

[Pastor Patrón]

Sounds like we're in for a sh#t summer tbh. Very disappointing they don't want to try and go that final step, one more good summer and we really could push Champions League.

[S-Clarke]

On the meetings in the next week or so:

 

"It's important to respect that communication will be happening for us, as of tomorrow."

 

"There are clubs that have financial means over and above what we have."

 

"The only thing we are going to do in our decisions is do what is best for the Saints."

 

Says it all really, and it's a true statement - but kind of does mean that this is where we stop, there is no intention to invest to bridge any sort of gap. We'd have to go toe to toe with those clubs to go any further, and clearly were' not able to financially. Self sustaining football club is the future, and that means every player has a valuation...

 

It's been fun, but today was the end of an incredibly fun era.

[Viking Warrior]

There are some real numpties about misinterpreting everything saints and I'm talking about some of the comedians on this site

 

I just turned on my iPad and a headline from team saints said mp hinting at major changes ahead

 

I look at the tweet from this numpty Nabil Hassan some reporter talking about spinning a story

 

Pochettino: "We are coming to the end of a five-year project. Tomorrow we will sit down and talk and decide everything."

[doddisalegend]

It doesn't really matter what he says some have already decided that KL and the board want nothing more than to sell all our players and relegate the club. MP is quite clearly refusing to commit in case a better offer comes along (and yes there are better offers than managing saints) if nothing turns up in the next couple of months he will no doubt sign a new contract (though it hardly shows much commitment to the club on his side). As for players people can cry about it all they want but every player has a price and we are not the best offer in town. If a player really wants to move to a bigger club there is f uck all the board can do about it but get the best deal. More important than players leaving is how money from player sales is re-invested in the team and how new academy players are brought into the 1st team.

 

Having said all that at this time the club is saying there are no offers for anyone so how about we give them the benefit of the doubt for now?

[TwoPints]

What I took from the interview (reading between the lines as you do) is that he didn't sound as though he had any concerns about MoPo signing (although the proof is in getting the signature of course). Whilst talking about the successful season we had, he mentioned the players we have in the England Under 18 and Under 21 teams but also said we would have had 4 players in the England Squad too .... he didn't say may have had he said would have

had (had Jay Rod not got injured) ... does that mean that Roy has told him Lallana, Shaw and Lambert are all going I wonder?

 

I also got the impression that Lallana was off as in reply to that question he mentioned that other clubs have deeper pockets that us.

 

I've therefore resigned myself to the fact that Lallana will be going, not sure about his intentions for Fonte or Cork and that hopefully MoPo will be staying.

[Dig Dig]

The consistent message from the board since they assembled......"we need money, come and buy our players"

[igsey]

I like the sounds of this bit:

 

On transfers:

 

"Les already has his plan in place. We have players we want to approach in the next few days."

[DuncanRG]

The consistent message from the board since they assembled......"we need money, come and buy our players"

 

'There is no need to sell players that Mauricio wants to keep'

 

I hate inconsistencies like this.

[SuperSAINT]

I like the sounds of this bit:

 

I assumed he mean't players we'd talk to about signing new contracts.

[DuncanRG]

I assumed he mean't players we'd talk to about signing new contracts.

 

Nope, he talked about bringing players to the club as well as starting negotiations with players like Jack Cork.

[SuperSAINT]

Nope, he talked about bringing players to the club as well as starting negotiations with players like Jack Cork.

 

Aha. Cool. So surely we'd have talked about budgets before all this?

[doddisalegend]

The consistent message from the board since they assembled......"we need money, come and buy our players"

 

Only you and some other numpties still crying about NC leaving seem to be getting this message the board clearly don't want to sell any players but they are realistic enough to know we are not the biggest fish in the pond. The sad thing is you all seem to think that if NC was here we wouldn't still be in the same position that we find ourselves in now. KL was still the owner and had control of the purse strings when NC was here and considering the season we've had our players and manager would be in demand right now whether NC was here or not. NC was within days of selling Lambert to WHU in January and the one player during his tenure that was really in demand he couldn't stop from going to Arsenal. This is the success that everyone craved, now he we have to deal with the reality of that success, which is bigger clubs with deeper pockets will want our best players and decent managers this is the state of modern football people we need to deal with it

[EastleighSoulBoy]

All the right and honest noises.

 

We do have to accept, to be self sustainable we will have to sell a player every now and then.

 

not in CBFrys eyes

 

We fans need to be realistic, probably most of us are. none of us want the likes of Shaw, Lallana etc to go but it happens.

 

For me the one thing that gives me confidence is our Academy, with the calibre and potential of our youngsters coming through it lessens the

hit when one of our stars goes.

 

No matter what happens in the intervening weeks of the close season there will be a constant, us fans. And I am looking forward to next season already.

[Saint Charlie]

Listening back Im amazed how open he was re talking to clubs about outgoing players.

 

If I were Arsenal I would get my £4.5m bid in for Schneiderlin tomorrow.

 

Not overly confident in the leadership on the football side. Ralph speaks well but is a bit patronising. End of the day, fans will show when they are not happy and if we pull in £50m from sales plus £80m in TV money and then see poor levels of investment in the team then it won't go down well.

 

FAO Ralph: The very reason we finished 8th is because we have an excellent Manager, signed good players, some of whom cost a bit i.e Jay, Lovren, Wanyama and have a couple of exceptional Academy talents in Lallana and Shaw. Worth remembering. Having four players in the Eng U19s is nice but doesn't win PL points.

[Dig Dig]

'There is no need to sell players that Mauricio wants to keep'

 

I hate inconsistencies like this.

 

Guess Poch wants to negotiate with clubs for Shaw and Lallana then?

[Toon Saint]

At the end of last season Poch was asked about Chelsea potentially bidding for Shaw. His response was 'perhaps we'll buy a few of their players'. How times have changed.

[View From The Top]

The only people who don't get it are the morons who believed all the UCL bull.

 

Lallana is at the peak of his powers and wants to win things and play in the UCL and we are NEVER going to be able to offer players that, not with the financial muscle the big clubs have compared to us.

 

So many Saints fans are so 'kin thick.

[Frank's cousin]

'There is no need to sell players that Mauricio wants to keep'

 

I hate inconsistencies like this.

 

Sadly think dig dig is right... From the very first 'over reaction' of normal transfer spend spread, reported as 'massive debt and 'difficult' situation, we have been primed for sales.

 

Now ow I have nothing against KL. Despite what some may think I don't fawn over/ love NC. But I will pose a few questions;

 

1. Some have suggested NC was just a stroppy bit who left because he could not get his way with Katrina's cash... An alternative perspective might be that it's clear this quad has potential, and it's backbone is homegrown talent. But to keep it together and progress does require additional funds, inline with the FFP rules... Without those funds it's clear that this side will break up... I would suggest that there is NO difference between a manager leaving because the Baird/ chairman won't back them, and a CEO getting fecked off and leaving because the owner wot back the club financially - and we did not want yo buy success, but merely be able to hang on to talent we had developed... Something that is reinforced by the investment in the academy.

 

2. Do folk think we would be in this ambiguous position re MP, Shaw and Adam etc if NC was still in charge?

 

3. Why are some happier to be mid table, with a nice friendly board, than at least being positive about the potential and fighting like hell to keep it but with a bastard in charge? Some of you have seriously got your priorities all wrong... Which is the mentality of the also ran/ losers in sport.

[Pastor Patrón]

Ah well, Spurs lost Bale, United lost Ronaldo, Arsenal lost RVP. Sure we'll survive.

[View From The Top]

Listening back Im amazed how open he was re talking to clubs about outgoing players.

 

If I were Arsenal I would get my £4.5m bid in for Schneiderlin tomorrow.

 

Not overly confident in the leadership on the football side. Ralph speaks well but is a bit patronising. End of the day, fans will show when they are not happy and if we pull in £50m from sales plus £80m in TV money and then see poor levels of investment in the team then it won't go down well.

 

FAO Ralph: The very reason we finished 8th is because we have an excellent Manager, signed good players, some of whom cost a bit i.e Jay, Lovren, Wanyama and have a couple of exceptional Academy talents in Lallana and Shaw. Worth remembering. Having four players in the Eng U19s is nice but doesn't win PL points.

 

'kin hell, you whinge like an old woman.

[Saint Charlie]

'kin hell, you whinge like an old woman.

 

Is that your opinion, or did your nipper hear it from his Stokie oppo?

 

Also did you actually listen to the interview? Thoughts?

[View From The Top]

Sadly think dig dig is right... From the very first 'over reaction' of normal transfer spend spread, reported as 'massive debt and 'difficult' situation, we have been primed for sales.

 

Now ow I have nothing against KL. Despite what some may think I don't fawn over/ love NC. But I will pose a few questions;

 

1. Some have suggested NC was just a stroppy bit who left because he could not get his way with Katrina's cash... An alternative perspective might be that it's clear this quad has potential, and it's backbone is homegrown talent. But to keep it together and progress does require additional funds, inline with the FFP rules... Without those funds it's clear that this side will break up... I would suggest that there is NO difference between a manager leaving because the Baird/ chairman won't back them, and a CEO getting fecked off and leaving because the owner wot back the club financially - and we did not want yo buy success, but merely be able to hang on to talent we had developed... Something that is reinforced by the investment in the academy.

 

2. Do folk think we would be in this ambiguous position re MP, Shaw and Adam etc if NC was still in charge?

 

3. Why are some happier to be mid table, with a nice friendly board, than at least being positive about the potential and fighting like hell to keep it but with a bastard in charge? Some of you have seriously got your priorities all wrong... Which is the mentality of the also ran/ losers in sport.

 

& whose spending is to blame? Oh yes, NC. You also forget it wasn't his money he was spending and that he quit, walked out, bottled it.

[derry]

Manchester City are saying that they can't afford to bring in English players as they cost too much. Lallana may be too expensive to go if 25% is added to what Saints want for him.

[View From The Top]

Is that your opinion, or did your nipper hear it from his Stokie oppo?

 

Also did you actually listen to the interview? Thoughts?

 

Yes I listened to it and unlike you I live in the real world and not some alternative universe where we are some super team with £100m to spend.

 

TBF my 12yo nipper has a better grasp of reality than most of you.

[CanadaSaint]

Some of the personal interpretations people are attaching to Krueger's recent comments are ridiculous.

 

We never, never ever, intended to compete with the big boys in the transfer market - not under Cortese and not under Krueger, so why are some people viewing that comment as the end of an era?

 

We've always said that we'd mix Academy-grown talent with shrewd acquisitions. The Academy side of the equation we've got right - more so than any other club. The side we've screwed up is the transfer side - some big money for some low-commitment talent, the very kind that doesn't fit our style. On the other hand, relatively cheap players have been vital for us.

 

If players go this summer it won't be to balance the books, it will be because they want to go. Or possibly, in the case of Luke, because Pochettino and the management team feel that the resultant 25-30 million inflow (on top of the planned transfer budget) will buy us a much better all-round squad despite a quality decline at LB.

 

Do people seriously believe that the intensely private Katharina has taken such a public profile with Saints because she doesn't care if it all goes backwards?

 

I know it's a lot to ask but I think we all need to take a chill pill and see what unfolds, even if the early stages involve one or more of Lallana, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Lovren and Pochettino leaving.

[Turkish]

The only people who don't get it are the morons who believed all the UCL bull.

 

Lallana is at the peak of his powers and wants to win things and play in the UCL and we are NEVER going to be able to offer players that, not with the financial muscle the big clubs have compared to us.

 

So many Saints fans are so 'kin thick.

 

Spot on. And the funny thing is on your last point many of the ones who fell for all the champions league BS would consider themselves the forum bright sparks. I seem to remember Wes Ender describing himself and his group of Man on the mooners as 'the intelligent posters'

[Saint Charlie]

Yes I listened to it and unlike you I live in the real world and not some alternative universe where we are some super team with £100m to spend.

 

TBF my 12yo nipper has a better grasp of reality than most of you.

 

Not about spending money. Its a bit gutting when the Chairman seems buzzing about the phone calls he is having to sell players who seemingly aren't even that fussed about leaving.

 

If he thinks fans should start being excited for the new season as of tomorrow then not sure what his grasp of reality is.

[CB Fry]

Sadly think dig dig is right... From the very first 'over reaction' of normal transfer spend spread, reported as 'massive debt and 'difficult' situation, we have been primed for sales.

 

Now ow I have nothing against KL. Despite what some may think I don't fawn over/ love NC. But I will pose a few questions;

 

1. Some have suggested NC was just a stroppy bit who left because he could not get his way with Katrina's cash... An alternative perspective might be that it's clear this quad has potential, and it's backbone is homegrown talent. But to keep it together and progress does require additional funds, inline with the FFP rules... Without those funds it's clear that this side will break up... I would suggest that there is NO difference between a manager leaving because the Baird/ chairman won't back them, and a CEO getting fecked off and leaving because the owner wot back the club financially - and we did not want yo buy success, but merely be able to hang on to talent we had developed... Something that is reinforced by the investment in the academy.

 

2. Do folk think we would be in this ambiguous position re MP, Shaw and Adam etc if NC was still in charge?

 

3. Why are some happier to be mid table, with a nice friendly board, than at least being positive about the potential and fighting like hell to keep it but with a bastard in charge? Some of you have seriously got your priorities all wrong... Which is the mentality of the also ran/ losers in sport.

 

1. So you have a go that "some folk" believe NC left because he couldn't get the cash he wanted, and then the second half of this ramble is you saying you think he left because he couldn't get the cash he wanted. Classic, grade A Franko.

 

2. Yes. We had a load of guff that MP was so loyal to NC that he would quit in January, he didn't. The idea MP would stay forever, and that Shaw and Lallana would turn down six figure weekly salaries and CL football because of some Italian is fantasist nonsense.

 

3. Speaking of fantasist nonsense, off we go again with the "look how ambitious Franko is" routine. Where is the "bastard" Franko? Is he "fighting like hell" to get Saints top 4? Where is he? Where is he? He ran like f uck. Fight like hell? What a joke.

[doddisalegend]

Some of the personal interpretations people are attaching to Krueger's recent comments are ridiculous.

 

We never, never ever, intended to compete with the big boys in the transfer market - not under Cortese and not under Krueger, so why are some people viewing that comment as the end of an era?

 

We've always said that we'd mix Academy-grown talent with shrewd acquisitions. The Academy side of the equation we've got right - more so than any other club. The side we've screwed up is the transfer side - some big money for some low-commitment talent, the very kind that doesn't fit our style. On the other hand, relatively cheap players have been vital for us.

 

If players go this summer it won't be to balance the books, it will be because they want to go. Or possibly, in the case of Luke, because Pochettino and the management team feel that the resultant 25-30 million inflow (on top of the planned transfer budget) will buy us a much better all-round squad despite a quality decline at LB.

 

Do people seriously believe that the intensely private Katharina has taken such a public profile with Saints because she doesn't care if it all goes backwards?

 

I know it's a lot to ask but I think we all need to take a chill pill and see what unfolds, even if the early stages involve one or more of Lallana, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Lovren and Pochettino leaving.

 

excellent post sir

[Baird of the land]

Sadly think dig dig is right... From the very first 'over reaction' of normal transfer spend spread, reported as 'massive debt and 'difficult' situation, we have been primed for sales.

 

Now ow I have nothing against KL. Despite what some may think I don't fawn over/ love NC. But I will pose a few questions;

 

1. Some have suggested NC was just a stroppy bit who left because he could not get his way with Katrina's cash... An alternative perspective might be that it's clear this quad has potential, and it's backbone is homegrown talent. But to keep it together and progress does require additional funds, inline with the FFP rules... Without those funds it's clear that this side will break up... I would suggest that there is NO difference between a manager leaving because the Baird/ chairman won't back them, and a CEO getting fecked off and leaving because the owner wot back the club financially - and we did not want yo buy success, but merely be able to hang on to talent we had developed... Something that is reinforced by the investment in the academy.

 

2. Do folk think we would be in this ambiguous position re MP, Shaw and Adam etc if NC was still in charge?

 

3. Why are some happier to be mid table, with a nice friendly board, than at least being positive about the potential and fighting like hell to keep it but with a bastard in charge? Some of you have seriously got your priorities all wrong... Which is the mentality of the also ran/ losers in sport.

 

Agree completely with all of this.

[DuncanRG]

Manchester City are saying that they can't afford to bring in English players as they cost too much.

 

Hahahahahahaha seriously? Unbelievable

[corky morris]

Proof will be in the pudding!