Schneiderlin Transfer Rumours

[Dig Dig]

Didn't levy sell spurs best player last summer for a big fee?

 

Didn't those scouse bullies sell their best player last week?

 

Didn't Chelsea sell Luis for £50m?

 

If Barca, Real Madrid or PSG come sniffing then even the big boys sell. If they can't block player power and ambition how can we?

 

Spurs managed to keep Bale for an extra season and sold him on the last day of the next window for a World record fee.

 

Liverpool are not also going to sell Gerrard, Sterling, Henderson & Sturridge.

 

As for throwing in David Luis as a comparison...

 

Add to the fact that those clubs will also be able to truley reinvest in World Class players, it's a completely pointless comparison

[Dig Dig]

And what do you do if those players decide to go on strike?

 

They simply wouldn't all go on strike Dibden, don't be ridiculous.

[hypochondriac]

You aren't seriously telling me that if the likes of Daniel levy was saints chairman that we would have lost as many players as we have this year?

 

That comes close in my book!

 

No it doesn't it's completely different.

[Unbelievable Jeff]

They simply wouldn't all go on strike Dibden, don't be ridiculous.

 

Come on Dik Dik, you simply don't know that. Reports are that 2 of the 4 have said they would, and the other 2 were sold without having to make those threats.

[hutch]

And what do you do if those players decide to go on strike?

Get Duncan to sort it out for us?

[hypochondriac]

And what do you do if those players decide to go on strike?

 

Which players went on strike then?

[LuckyNumber7]

Do you all just intentially miss the main points ?

 

Its not selling one or two is it ? Its 4 and the manager

 

Thing is it could only go one of two ways this summer. Either we held onto all our top players, or they all left. As soon as the first goes it creates a domino effect and the rest were always going to follow. Lovren is all but gone and I would be amazed if we kept Morgan.

 

I don't like it any more than you, but I accept football has a food chain and once the top clubs come knocking on the door we had no realistic chance of keeping our best players. Sadly that's how football works and I think some are being very naive in thinking otherwise.

 

I'll reserve judgement on the board until September 1st when we see exactly how we have replaced the outgoing players.

[hypochondriac]

Thing is it could only go one of two ways this summer. Either we held onto all our top players, or they all left. As soon as the first goes it creates a domino effect and the rest were always going to follow. Lovren is all but gone and I would be amazed if we kept Morgan.

 

I don't like it any more than you, but I accept football has a food chain and once the top clubs come knocking on the door we had no realistic chance of keeping our best players. Sadly that's how football works and I think some are being very naive in thinking otherwise.

 

I'll reserve judgement on the board until September 1st when we see exactly how we have replaced the outgoing players.

 

That's nonsense. The choice wasn't the all stay or they all go. As I said we needed to negotiate better and managed the departures over a season or two not allow them to all jump ship at once.

[LuckyNumber7]

That's nonsense. The choice wasn't the all stay or they all go. As I said we needed to negotiate better and managed the departures over a season or two not allow them to all jump ship at once.

 

So you think if we told Lallana, Lovren etc they had to stay after seeing their mates move to top clubs they would be fine with that and not kick up a huge fuss? As good as these players are, if they don't want to be here then it's counter productive to keep them and have a poisonous atmosphere develop in the squad.

[angelman]

That's nonsense. The choice wasn't the all stay or they all go. As I said we needed to negotiate better and managed the departures over a season or two not allow them to all jump ship at once.

 

How exactly were you going to stagger departures?

 

You sound like the bloke from the Mirror who was spouting ****e on Talk****e this morning.

[hypochondriac]

So you think if we told Lallana, Lovren etc they had to stay after seeing their mates move to top clubs they would be fine with that and not kick up a huge fuss? As good as these players are, if they don't want to be here then it's counter productive to keep them and have a poisonous atmosphere develop in the squad.

 

It happens at loads of clubs and is a common tactic. Suarez wasn't happy last year about Liverpool but they got another season out of him. This isn't some sort of amateur organisation, it's a professional business and you have to be hard nosed to an extent. If the likes of lovren had been refused a move then IMO it's quite likely he would have agreed to play for us for another season. Stuff about poisonous atmosphere is silly, if they knew they would be allowed to leave next season then they would most likely perform this year for us. These guys are supposedly professionals and when all is said and done, players don't actually go on strike.

[Sour Mash]

Which players went on strike then?

It sounds like Lallana and particularly Lovren made their futures at the club untenable, that's pretty clear isn't it.

[hypochondriac]

How exactly were you going to stagger departures?

 

You sound like the bloke from the Mirror who was spouting ****e on Talk****e this morning.

 

Erm exactly how I said we should stagger departures. As I said, it happens often and is a common tactic in football.

[egg]

So you think if we told Lallana, Lovren etc they had to stay after seeing their mates move to top clubs they would be fine with that and not kick up a huge fuss? As good as these players are, if they don't want to be here then it's counter productive to keep them and have a poisonous atmosphere develop in the squad.

 

This. Somebody will be along shortly though to say that we should have been strong and made them stay. Presumably they'll say that had we had done that then everything would have been fine, or something.

[angelman]

I think that I would have to disagree with you about the poisonous atmosphere. Worst thing that you can have in a club.

[Dig Dig]

Come on Dik Dik, you simply don't know that. Reports are that 2 of the 4 have said they would, and the other 2 were sold without having to make those threats.

 

They simply wouldn't have, players going on strike isn't all that common, let alone for any one club to have several players all at it at once.

[Toon Saint]

How exactly were you going to stagger departures?

 

You sound like the bloke from the Mirror who was spouting ****e on Talk****e this morning.

 

Sign replacements before we sell players? Perfectly achievable and might save us quite a bit of dosh if selling clubs aren't aware of how much money we have sloshing around.

[hypochondriac]

Sign replacements before we sell players? Perfectly achievable and might save us quite a bit of dosh if selling clubs aren't aware of how much money we have sloshing around.

 

Yes that too. As I said, from a pr perspective this has been handled very poorly.

[hypochondriac]

I think that I would have to disagree with you about the poisonous atmosphere. Worst thing that you can have in a club.

 

But deals like that happen at clubs all the time and it doesn't create a poisonous atmosphere as you call it.

[angelman]

Erm exactly how I said we should stagger departures. As I said, it happens often and is a common tactic in football.

 

Erm, no you haven't said how to do it at all. All you've said is that we should do it, without imparting on us your master plan. Or is it "You're under contract, you're not leaving"?

[angelman]

Sign replacements before we sell players? Perfectly achievable and might save us quite a bit of dosh if selling clubs aren't aware of how much money we have sloshing around.

 

I suspect (actually, that is just a hope), that that is why Lovren hasn't departed yet. Nor Morgan.

[egg]

They simply wouldn't have, players going on strike isn't all that common, let alone for any one club to have several players all at it at once.

 

Forget striking. What about a few players in a dressing room who don't want to be there. Can you imagine the damage that negatively does to morale? Multiply that several times and you'll get the damage it would cause the youngsters.

 

People keep throwing up Suarez being persuaded to stay. That's one player. Unhappiness can be managed in isolation, but not in a group of players.

 

Once the rot has set in, it has to be removed.

 

My last words on the subject.

[hypochondriac]

Forget striking. What about a few players in a dressing room who don't want to be there. Can you imagine the damage that negatively does to morale? Multiply that several times and you'll get the damage it would cause the youngsters.

 

People keep throwing up Suarez being persuaded to stay. That's one player. Unhappiness can be managed in isolation, but not in a group of players.

 

Once the rot has set in, it has to be removed.

 

My last words on the subject.

 

I would have allowed the three who left to leave and then said we would be losing no more. I would have spoken to lovren and told him he can leave next year with our blessing provided he gives us good service for one more season. In that scenario it is potentially two players who want to leave in Morgan and lovren not a large group, yet Morgan has seemingly been less bothered about it than some so I think he could be persuaded to stay another season.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

I would have allowed the three who left to leave and then said we would be losing no more. I would have spoken to lovren and told him he can leave next year with our blessing provided he gives us good service for one more season. In that scenario it is potentially two players who want to leave in Morgan and lovren not a large group, yet Morgan has seemingly been less bothered about it than some so I think he could be persuaded to stay another season.

 

Poor Morgan must be wondering what is going on - conducts himself with a bit more respect than some others and yet he will be the last to get his move.

[angelman]

People seem to be forgetting that 1 player half way through the season admitted to wanting to play for Liverpool. Another had his head there and had made comments about playing quite a while ago. Another had an offer put in when the final whistle went, so obviously was well aware of things going to happen well before the end of the season. At least Morgan has not made any public overtures to any club (save for the recent Twitter following of Spurs). The manager was hawking himself around at the PSG vs Chelsea game in January and had absolutely no intentions of staying. Should the board have said to him "You're under contract, you're not leaving"?

[Toon Saint]

I suspect (actually, that is just a hope), that that is why Lovren hasn't departed yet. Nor Morgan.

 

All indications point to Lovren leaving in next 48 hours and to nobody coming in. What happened to all these top players and agents of top players supposedly showing their interest in joining the club? Scared off by the perception of the club as 'in crisis'?

[hypochondriac]

Poor Morgan must be wondering what is going on - conducts himself with a bit more respect than some others and yet he will be the last to get his move.

 

It's possible that he has a bit more respect for the club due to the fact that he signed for us when we were on a downer and has been here the whole way through.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

People seem to be forgetting that 1 player half way through the season admitted to wanting to play for Liverpool. Another had his head there and had made comments about playing quite a while ago. Another had an offer put in when the final whistle went, so obviously was well aware of things going to happen well before the end of the season. At least Morgan has not made any public overtures to any club (save for the recent Twitter following of Spurs). The manager was hawking himself around at the PSG vs Chelsea game in January and had absolutely no intentions of staying. Should the board have said to him "You're under contract, you're not leaving"?

 

There are two sides to this argument, and we've fallen short on both of them. There is the argument that when the big clubs come calling it is impossible to keep players. I don't entirely subscribe to that. It's very hard to keep players, but it has been done. One of the circumstances of keeping them is buying time to prove to them the club they are at can push on even more. Since the new Board came in there have been a number of reported issues which have made it VERY easy for players to ask to leave. The reports that the players do not like Les Reed and yet he is the only 'football' man on the Board. The reports that the Board have not been communicating with the players which have left them disgruntled.

 

So whilst I appreciate it is hard to keep players when bigger clubs and bigger pay packets come calling, we've also made it very easy for them to want to leave and not given them any reason to stay. And that hurts a bit because that was something which was under our control, and we ****ed it up.

[Sour Mash]

There are two sides to this argument, and we've fallen short on both of them. There is the argument that when the big clubs come calling it is impossible to keep players. I don't entirely subscribe to that. It's very hard to keep players, but it has been done. One of the circumstances of keeping them is buying time to prove to them the club they are at can push on even more. Since the new Board came in there have been a number of reported issues which have made it VERY easy for players to ask to leave. The reports that the players do not like Les Reed and yet he is the only 'football' man on the Board. The reports that the Board have not been communicating with the players which have left them disgruntled.

 

So whilst I appreciate it is hard to keep players when bigger clubs and bigger pay packets come calling, we've also made it very easy for them to want to leave and not given them any reason to stay. And that hurts a bit because that was something which was under our control, and we ****ed it up.

Les Reed has always been the only football man on the board, so that hasn't changed has it.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Les Reed has always been the only football man on the board, so that hasn't changed has it.

 

True, but he has never wielded as much power as he does in the current structure. He calls the shots rather than Cortese.

[Sour Mash]

There are two sides to this argument, and we've fallen short on both of them. There is the argument that when the big clubs come calling it is impossible to keep players. I don't entirely subscribe to that. It's very hard to keep players, but it has been done. One of the circumstances of keeping them is buying time to prove to them the club they are at can push on even more. Since the new Board came in there have been a number of reported issues which have made it VERY easy for players to ask to leave. The reports that the players do not like Les Reed and yet he is the only 'football' man on the Board. The reports that the Board have not been communicating with the players which have left them disgruntled.

 

So whilst I appreciate it is hard to keep players when bigger clubs and bigger pay packets come calling, we've also made it very easy for them to want to leave and not given them any reason to stay. And that hurts a bit because that was something which was under our control, and we ****ed it up.

Also, what has the club done to make it easy for players to leave? Yours is a long post, but doesn't actually say.

[Professor]

There was always the option of refusing to sell. We were told by Kruger and Reed that this was the policy but they sold Lambert against policy and for 2 weeks at the end of the season while Pochettino was negotiating with Spurs they stayed in their bunker.

The total cost to the club of Shaw, Lallana, Lambert, Lovren and Schneiderlin was no more than about £10m. Even if all 5 had 'refused to play' they could have been re-placed from the Academy until such time as they changed their mind. Given the risk to destroying their careers, it is doubtful that any of the 5 would have gone through with a strike but as one after another the club broke their policy, so the others were encouraged to think the club would do the same with each of them. So far it is three but it looks very likely that the Board will lose all five.

Prediction? The board will buy in replacements for most of the departing players, although whether that will create a team as good as the one broken up will remain to be seen. They will tell the fans what a great job they've done but they will fail to do what they said, which was to strengthen the squad so as to be capable of improving on last year's performance. The unknown is how well Koeman and his coaches can get the team playing. Its a huge weight on his shoulders but it is just about the only prospect for optimism.

[SaintSteve]

There are two sides to this argument' date=' and we've fallen short on both of them. There is the argument that when the big clubs come calling it is impossible to keep players. I don't entirely subscribe to that. [b']It's very hard to keep players, but it has been done[/b]. One of the circumstances of keeping them is buying time to prove to them the club they are at can push on even more. Since the new Board came in there have been a number of reported issues which have made it VERY easy for players to ask to leave. The reports that the players do not like Les Reed and yet he is the only 'football' man on the Board. The reports that the Board have not been communicating with the players which have left them disgruntled.

 

So whilst I appreciate it is hard to keep players when bigger clubs and bigger pay packets come calling, we've also made it very easy for them to want to leave and not given them any reason to stay. And that hurts a bit because that was something which was under our control, and we ****ed it up.

 

Everton manage to keep their best players... Coleman is the best RB in the PL and he signed a new contract rather than go to Arsenal.

Admittedly, they are further down the progression line, but they are not a power club by any means.

 

Anyway, the only way I can see Schneiderlin staying is if there are no bids for him...

[Sour Mash]

True' date=' but he has never wielded as much power as he does in the current structure. He calls the shots rather than Cortese.[/quote'] you've got no idea what shots he calls now compared to before or what impact that has or hasn't had, stop making things up.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Also, what has the club done to make it easy for players to leave? Yours is a long post, but doesn't actually say.

 

It's been easy for them to leave because:

 

1. Complete lack of communication around plans as to what the clubs plans to do post-Cortese

2. Wheeled out the Chairman for an interview where it was said no players leave or join until the new Manager is sorted and then 24hrs later Rickie Lambert leaves

3. Appointed a DoF of which it is reported players do not like

4. Club has shown no backbone in the face of the media onslaught linking players everywhere (is it so hard these days to come out with definitive statements and then follow them up with actions?)

5. Two senior, well liked, and first team regulars being allowed to run into the final 12 months of their deal

 

And now we've seen Lallana and Lovren bully the club and the club cave in which sets a very dangerous precedent for the future. All of the above adds to uncertainty which does not lend itself towards even attempting to give our better players a reason to stay. Now even if we sorted things out quicker players may still leave - and if that is the case fair enough but to give them a helping hand out of the door is annoying.

[Professor]

Also, what has the club done to make it easy for players to leave? Yours is a long post, but doesn't actually say.

 

Simply by negotiating selling prices and granting transfers instead of saying 'Not for Sale', which is what they told us they would do, but did not actually do. Only when Koeman arrived, with three sales already made, was there any change. He clearly wants to keep Lovren and Schneiderlin but with the history of those three sales it is very hard for him to hold that line unless the Board back him by buying in the players to strengthen that they said they would.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

you've got no idea what shots he calls now compared to before or what impact that has or hasn't had, stop making things up.

 

He listed all his responsibilities in the interview he gave in April. He also introduced himself as the DoF. He did not have those responsibilities under Cortese where he was the Head of the Football Development Centre or something like that. His responsibilities have greatly increased - especially when it comes to first team matters - in the new Board.

[Mallagroth]

It's been easy for them to leave because:

 

1. Complete lack of communication around plans as to what the clubs plans to do post-Cortese

2. Wheeled out the Chairman for an interview where it was said no players leave or join until the new Manager is sorted and then 24hrs later Rickie Lambert leaves

3. Appointed a DoF of which it is reported players do not like

4. Club has shown no backbone in the face of the media onslaught linking players everywhere (is it so hard these days to come out with definitive statements and then follow them up with actions?)

5. Two senior, well liked, and first team regulars being allowed to run into the final 12 months of their deal

 

And now we've seen Lallana and Lovren bully the club and the club cave in which sets a very dangerous precedent for the future. All of the above adds to uncertainty which does not lend itself towards even attempting to give our better players a reason to stay. Now even if we sorted things out quicker players may still leave - and if that is the case fair enough but to give them a helping hand out of the door is annoying.

 

 

6. They fired popular academy coaches.

[mirrorcarp]

Some of the posters on this forum are going to look very silly if we have a good season, though i get the feeling some people would like us to fail so they can shout "i told you so".

 

Anyone who has supported saints the last 30 years will realise that things have rarely been as good as they are now. In

my opinion we will be nowhere near a relegation battle which is how i have spent most of my years supporting saints. Just be glad SISU never bought us (coventry).

 

We will never ever be in the CL. Thats just the way it is and any fan or player that thought we would is deluded.

[S-Clarke]

People half make a load of crap up just to make their point sound more dramatic. Why do that? It's because they don't believe their point is dramatic enough otherwise, therefore confirmation that they are going OTT.

 

What people can't see to grasp is that we had quite a unique situation, a club like ours quite often has 1 top class player who is sought after - but Lovren, Morgan, Lallana, Shaw - top, top level quality players who are wanted by the elite all at the same time. What can we actually do about that? Ensure we get the best possible fee and move on....if you start blocking bids and rejecting bids as many here are proclaiming, then you get the terrific interviews appearing in the press from the Lovrens and the like. Is that what you want?

 

We're not a big club, I don't care what anyone says or what anyone has bought over the last few years. We will never, ever make the champions league - our club isn't big enough for it, and if we ever did push for it, we'd likely end up in a right old mess. We're a provisional club on the South Coast, who have managed to gather a group of amazingly talented players.

 

I'll throw this out there as this will screw a few arguments. Last season there were approaches rejected for Morgan (Napoli I believe), and NC said to give it one more year and then he'd be allowed to leave, as bigger clubs would want him. Trust me, NC knew exactly what was going to happen - and he got off like a shot as soon as the interest starting gathering momentum. It's ended up exactly how he wanted, he looks like some sort of messiah who held it all together and the new lot look like a bunch of weak sellers - but it's not the case, what's happening now would have happened under him as well.

 

People do say that he wouldn't sell, but during his tenure one Top 4 club came in for one of our players - what happened? He left for Arsenal. You cannot stand in a players way if an elite club comes calling. We're just victims of our own success.

Edited 21 July, 2014 by S-Clarke

[Killers Knee]

Thing is it could only go one of two ways this summer. Either we held onto all our top players, or they all left. As soon as the first goes it creates a domino effect and the rest were always going to follow. Lovren is all but gone and I would be amazed if we kept Morgan.

 

I don't like it any more than you, but I accept football has a food chain and once the top clubs come knocking on the door we had no realistic chance of keeping our best players. Sadly that's how football works and I think some are being very naive in thinking otherwise.

 

I'll reserve judgement on the board until September 1st when we see exactly how we have replaced the outgoing players.

 

Agree with this.

 

http://www.tsmplug.com/football/premier-league-player-salaries-club-by-club/

 

Of the teams that remained in the premiership in 2013/14, only West Brom have a smaller wage bill than SFC who paid £52m last season. That we finished 8th either reflects how well run we are or how inept our competitors are.

 

Under FFP regulations we are limited to £4m a year wage increases plus income from commercial income. So basically, until we get someone on board who could sell snow to Eskimo's, this summers mass migration will be repeated every season we do well, Swansea have the same problem.

 

As for the boards performance, they are running a business worth in its entirety is worth approx £130m, this summer we have recouped 58% of the business' value, that is terrific performance at the board room level if stay in the premiership.

 

Pelle & Tadic look like replacements at the same level, I'm optimistic there. We have a good midfield and wouldn't need to replace an outbound Schneiderlin. I think RK will also get the best from Ramirez this season, which will be a much needed boost. We need another CF but I don't think we will buy one, preferring to rely on Mayuka/Gallagher when Pelle is unavailable.

 

My only concern is at the back, last season we were 2 defenders and a GK short in our squad. If we are just consolidating then we need a CB to replace the outgoing Lovren and pray we don't get injuries. If we mean to compete this season we will need to fill 4 of the 5 positions at the back with little time for the unit to gel (CB x2, LB x1, GK x1).

 

I expect SFC to spend 50% of what we receive in transfer fees, with no other monies being available, so £38m to date, of which we have spent £17m. Its going to be tight, but not impossible.

[angelman]

There is of course the option not to sell. However, with our limited income streams from other sources, maybe you have to sell to accumulate. By that, maybe 1 or 2, not the whole lot. Shaw to me is a no brainer. Ronaldo, Suarez and Bale stand out in a similar vain - OK, their fees were much higher, but given the status of the clubs I can see a parallel. Then you look at Lallana - he was over valued as well, but I can't help but think that it was to offset a cheap-ish Lambert. I know that this is just about selling, and that the continuity aspect is also important as well as getting in replacements. But maybe the board realised what ever they did, they were not going to convince certain players that they were better off with us than tripling their wages elsewhere.

 

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. People also go on about lack of visibility. How many boards do you see making statements in the press? When the board in the past has made comments, and I am thinking Lowe and Cortese, people seem to have rather wished they had kept quiet. Now that they are quiet, they want them to speak out. The manager of a club is usually the mouthpiece - it's part of the modern football club. Our problem was that it took 2½ weeks to appoint a new manager, so maybe it was seen in that time that we were rudderless. The board did come out on more than one occasion to make statements.

 

There has been a fair bit of criticism of the board, and as is typical in life these days, people offer no positive or viable alternatives to address what they are criticising.

[Sour Mash]

He listed all his responsibilities in the interview he gave in April. He also introduced himself as the DoF. He did not have those responsibilities under Cortese where he was the Head of the Football Development Centre or something like that. His responsibilities have greatly increased - especially when it comes to first team matters - in the new Board.

but you don't know what has actually changed in his role or what actual impact it has had, so don't pretend you do.

[OldNick]

You do realise ML died when we were in L1?

 

Oh, and you don't know what sibling is, either.

the person he put in place was still there though,who was following through ML's wishes. You and many others did not have the same confidence in him of course but whatever you say he delivered. The new lot have not done anything to help the club move on since

[angelman]

but you don't know what has actually changed in his role or what actual impact it has had, so don't pretend you do.

 

Agree. Some seem to be using an argument that means Cortese was the main footballing man at the club. Banking to PL Supremo in 3 or 4 years - maybe a quick learner, but somehow I doubt it and that he relied on a footballing man who (most likely) was Les Reed. Still, Cortese instigated the "Southampton Way" which to this day, and despite asking on here, no one can explain what it actually is.

[Polaroid Saint]

Agree with this.

 

http://www.tsmplug.com/football/premier-league-player-salaries-club-by-club/

 

Of the teams that remained in the premiership in 2013/14, only West Brom have a smaller wage bill than SFC who paid £52m last season. That we finished 8th either reflects how well run we are or how inept our competitors are.

 

Under FFP regulations we are limited to £4m a year wage increases plus income from commercial income. So basically, until we get someone on board who could sell snow to Eskimo's, this summers mass migration will be repeated every season we do well, Swansea have the same problem.

 

As for the boards performance, they are running a business worth in its entirety is worth approx £130m, this summer we have recouped 58% of the business' value, that is terrific performance at the board room level if stay in the premiership.

 

Pelle & Tadic look like replacements at the same level, I'm optimistic there. We have a good midfield and wouldn't need to replace an outbound Schneiderlin. I think RK will also get the best from Ramirez this season, which will be a much needed boost. We need another CF but I don't think we will buy one, preferring to rely on Mayuka/Gallagher when Pelle is unavailable.

 

My only concern is at the back, last season we were 2 defenders and a GK short in our squad. If we are just consolidating then we need a CB to replace the outgoing Lovren and pray we don't get injuries. If we mean to compete this season we will need to fill 4 of the 5 positions at the back with little time for the unit to gel (CB x2, LB x1, GK x1).

 

I expect SFC to spend 50% of what we receive in transfer fees, with no other monies being available, so £38m to date, of which we have spent £17m. Its going to be tight, but not impossible.

 

Will people stop posting erudite and sensible opinions? I'll forget which forum I am on!

 

V.good post sir.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

but you don't know what has actually changed in his role or what actual impact it has had, so don't pretend you do.

 

I can only go on what he has said publicly which makes it fairly clear to me:

 

September 2012

http://www.2ndyellow.com/2012/five-minutes-of-your-time-please-les-reed/

 

I am a member of the Board; a Director of the club. We have a small Board and we are all executives so decisions are made quickly, it helps to get things done. Board members are responsible for Football (me) Finance and Operations and the Executive Chairman oversees it all so there are only four of us. I am responsible for what we call the Football Development and Support Centre. It is a concept rather than a facility. FDSC incorporates Coaching, Sports Medicine and Science, scouting and recruitment, kit and equipment and the Academy.

 

I work closely with the Manager and the Chairman on football matters and manage a staff of about 50 in those 5 departments or pillars. The Manager is able to focus on coaching the team and only the three first team coaches report directly to him. This brings the stability I mentioned earlier because very few staff are affected by a managerial change, the culture remains the same and the strategy stays on course. This was the vision of the Chairman and it is working. It is the hardest job I have done yet but I really enjoy it. Being a manager would be a piece of cake after this! We have a great staff and everyone is pulling together as one.

 

April 2014

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/25042014-les-reed-statement-on-pochettino-and-players-1509755.aspx

 

"As you know I am a member of the board and director of the Club and my responsibility is football.

 

“Currently I am responsible for transfers, I’m responsible for contract negotiations and all of those board level football matters that the Club is involved in.

 

It's pretty clear to me that his first team responsibilities have increased considerably.

[Sour Mash]

I can only go on what he has said publicly which makes it fairly clear to me:

 

September 2012

http://www.2ndyellow.com/2012/five-minutes-of-your-time-please-les-reed/

 

 

 

April 2014

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/25042014-les-reed-statement-on-pochettino-and-players-1509755.aspx

 

 

 

It's pretty clear to me that his first team responsibilities have increased considerably.

but you don't know in what way or what impact it has actually had.

[Sour Mash]

the person he put in place was still there though,who was following through ML's wishes. You and many others did not have the same confidence in him of course but whatever you say he delivered. The new lot have not done anything to help the club move on since

Tell us more about the Liebherr sibling involvement, this is interesting.

[Matthew Le God]

Agree with this.

 

http://www.tsmplug.com/football/premier-league-player-salaries-club-by-club/

 

Of the teams that remained in the premiership in 2013/14, only West Brom have a smaller wage bill than SFC who paid £52m last season. That we finished 8th either reflects how well run we are or how inept our competitors are.

 

Under FFP regulations we are limited to £4m a year wage increases plus income from commercial income. So basically, until we get someone on board who could sell snow to Eskimo's, this summers mass migration will be repeated every season we do well, Swansea have the same problem.

 

Will people stop posting erudite and sensible opinions? I'll forget which forum I am on!

 

V.good post sir.

 

The figures in that article are a nonsense and its by some random blogger.

 

Take Norwich City for example. It says their wages were...

 

2012/13 - £75m

 

When Norwich's accounts actually show they were £50.8m, £75m is actually their turnover in 2012/13.

 

The article has numerous errors like that throughout it and isn't in the slightest bit reliable. In any case clubs haven't even revealed accounts for 2013/14 season yet, so where on earth are those figures from?

Edited 21 July, 2014 by Matthew Le God