On The Assumption That This Is Correct

[Gemmel]

http://redsloscf.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Then it would explain an awful lot and also suggest that the board know exactly what they are doing.

 

An Interesting read regardless

[buctootim]

Indeed

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?51274-Scaling-down-spend&p=2015328#post2015328

[hypochondriac]

Would be a good point apart from the fact that Ralph point blank denied this was the case. An interesting read nonetheless.

[VectisSaint]

http://redsloscf.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Then it would explain an awful lot and also suggest that the board know exactly what they are doing.

 

An Interesting read regardless

Fundamentally flawed because you forgot Guly

[Gemmel]

Indeed

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?51274-Scaling-down-spend&p=2015328#post2015328

 

Lol - Sorry mate

[Matthew Le God]

http://redsloscf.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Then it would explain an awful lot and also suggest that the board know exactly what they are doing.

 

An Interesting read regardless

 

That article uses me as one of its key sources!

[Wes Tender]

This is my conspiracy theory.

 

Here we are at a stage where there is almost as much dissent on the forum as when Lowe returned in liaison with the Quisling and suddenly this erudite and capable American legal expert turns up, and by analysing the Financial Fair Play rules provides a very plausible theory that could explain the actions of the board in selling our star players and replacing some of them by loans as a way of circumventing the rules.

 

It is all being masterminded by Krueger, and Red is a board plant on here to calm the troubled waters.

 

If this is not the case, then he is a welcome addition to the forum as somebody who has a grasp of the implication of the FFP rules and akin to having Clapham Saint on board when we needed some expertise regarding Company matters financial and Administration Law

[sotonjoe]

This is my conspiracy theory.

 

Here we are at a stage where there is almost as much dissent on the forum as when Lowe returned in liaison with the Quisling and suddenly this erudite and capable American legal expert turns up, and by analysing the Financial Fair Play rules provides a very plausible theory that could explain the actions of the board in selling our star players and replacing some of them by loans as a way of circumventing the rules.

 

It is all being masterminded by Krueger, and Red is a board plant on here to calm the troubled waters.

 

If this is not the case, then he is a welcome addition to the forum as somebody who has a grasp of the implication of the FFP rules and akin to having Clapham Saint on board when we needed some expertise regarding Company matters financial and Administration Law

 

I think it's pretty bloody clear wes tbh.

[SaintBobby]

Possibly the worst ever subject tile for any thread in interweb history....

[Redslo]

This is my conspiracy theory.

 

Here we are at a stage where there is almost as much dissent on the forum as when Lowe returned in liaison with the Quisling and suddenly this erudite and capable American legal expert turns up, and by analysing the Financial Fair Play rules provides a very plausible theory that could explain the actions of the board in selling our star players and replacing some of them by loans as a way of circumventing the rules.

 

It is all being masterminded by Krueger, and Red is a board plant on here to calm the troubled waters.

 

If this is not the case, then he is a welcome addition to the forum as somebody who has a grasp of the implication of the FFP rules and akin to having Clapham Saint on board when we needed some expertise regarding Company matters financial and Administration Law

 

My real name is Rudy Kraft. Google me. Let me know what you find since I don't know how google would personalize the search in the UK.

[Saint_Abroad]

My real name is Rudy Kraft. Google me. Let me know what you find since I don't know how google would personalize the search in the UK.

 

I google Rudy Kraft and this is what I get. That illustration is absolutely terrifying but wicked awesome.

 

 

PS - if it is your book, please don't sue me for posting it. I won't be able to sleep because of the floating head so we'll call it even.

[Redslo]

That is me. I had nothing to do with the artwork however.

[buctootim]

My real name is Rudy Kraft. Google me. Let me know what you find since I don't know how google would personalize the search in the UK.

 

Unfortunately the first page of google results is all about the author. You do make it to page 2 though! You are officially 6.5 out of 10. I'd mark you higher than that. Rudy Kraft attorney gives a different set of results. You can check it out by putting http://www.google.co.uk into the address.

 

 

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/93406-ca-rudolph-kraft-295890.html

http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal4th/8/746.html

[Redslo]

Unfortunately the first page of google results is all about the author. You do make it to page 2 though! You are officially 6.5 out of 10. I'd mark you higher than that. Rudy Kraft attorney gives a different set of results. You can check it out by putting http://www.google.co.uk into the address.

 

 

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/93406-ca-rudolph-kraft-295890.html

http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal4th/8/746.html

 

I am also the author. I seem to own my name on the internet. The Rudy Kraft (American) football player may be my grandfather. We are not sure.

[Cascadia Saint]

I google Rudy Kraft and this is what I get. That illustration is absolutely terrifying but wicked awesome.

 

 

PS - if it is your book, please don't sue me for posting it. I won't be able to sleep because of the floating head so we'll call it even.

 

What a bizarre thread.

 

This book cover is amazingly hilarious though... And the hero seems to be wearing our grey / yellow / white training colours. :0

[georgeweahscousin]

Initials:- RK

 

[dubai_phil]

Reading the core concept of that Blog and then thinking back, so many pieces of the jigsaw and comments start to make some sense. I'm having Paypal troubles and no doubt there will be a zillion interpretations but hey..

 

NC's opposition to FFP - well now we see why - we were too successful too quickly and would have hit the Salary Cap.

 

New Board come in "Inherited a difficult Financial Position" but we also heard "The Club has no Financial Issues" So yes we were solvent, the problem was what the hell to do with the squad in this summer and to stop a meltdown.

 

No players will be sold/do not need to sell - true. Just none of the squad could get a pay rise and we could afford to pay new player salaries BUT would be smashed by FFP. No wonder players got hacked off.

 

Delaying the dates of Transfers for the relevant Financial Year. Again no wonder AL was annoyed, he'd expected to go to the WC & come back & have already had his pad all set up in scouseville.

 

Nice Blog Redslo. The details like you say are blurred, many will tear it to shreds, and like you say, it makes no sense with the likes of Chambers, but with the money in the bank and the Academy players replacing many of the squad it does give much better options IF we can survive this year.

 

It now allows KL to sell to a Big Ego who COULD splash the cash without being fined in 2015/16. It ALSO enables KL to invest herself IF she really wants to move to the next level.

 

(It also is can be argued that you are a great attempt at a PR plant by Ralph to give a better cover story to the Asset Stripping!)

 

Hell, analysing the possible NEW conspiracy theories this brings up could keep Pap amused for years!

 

Not gonna take it as a Bible, but thanks for adding some better context to the Summer of Sales

[georgeweahscousin]

Rudy Kraft is an anagram of Frdy Kraut......

 

Frdy = Freddy (Krueger)

 

Kraut = Insulting name for a German.

 

Or is it way too early for me to be analysing stuff?

[Minsk]

http://redsloscf.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Then it would explain an awful lot and also suggest that the board know exactly what they are doing.

 

An Interesting read regardless

 

Cheers for the link Gemmel, and for your thoughts Red.

 

It is certainly interesting and could very well be plausible.

[Minsk]

Reading the core concept of that Blog and then thinking back, so many pieces of the jigsaw and comments start to make some sense. I'm having Paypal troubles and no doubt there will be a zillion interpretations but hey..

 

NC's opposition to FFP - well now we see why - we were too successful too quickly and would have hit the Salary Cap.

 

New Board come in "Inherited a difficult Financial Position" but we also heard "The Club has no Financial Issues" So yes we were solvent, the problem was what the hell to do with the squad in this summer and to stop a meltdown.

 

No players will be sold/do not need to sell - true. Just none of the squad could get a pay rise and we could afford to pay new player salaries BUT would be smashed by FFP. No wonder players got hacked off.

 

Delaying the dates of Transfers for the relevant Financial Year. Again no wonder AL was annoyed, he'd expected to go to the WC & come back & have already had his pad all set up in scouseville.

 

Nice Blog Redslo. The details like you say are blurred, many will tear it to shreds, and like you say, it makes no sense with the likes of Chambers, but with the money in the bank and the Academy players replacing many of the squad it does give much better options IF we can survive this year.

 

It now allows KL to sell to a Big Ego who COULD splash the cash without being fined in 2015/16. It ALSO enables KL to invest herself IF she really wants to move to the next level.

 

(It also is can be argued that you are a great attempt at a PR plant by Ralph to give a better cover story to the Asset Stripping!)

 

Hell, analysing the possible NEW conspiracy theories this brings up could keep Pap amused for years!

 

Not gonna take it as a Bible, but thanks for adding some better context to the Summer of Sales

 

Good post DP. I didn't have time to write all that.

[georgeweahscousin]

The salary cap rules are massively flawed.

 

I might be wrong on this, so prepare to shoot me down....

 

...but every club can increase their wages by £4 million a year? Which would be great, but some clubs started on a much higher amount anyway? So what is the point?

 

If Saints start on £52 million, and Liverpool start on £70 million, yet both get to increase by £4 million every year, how is that possibly fair?

[Saint Fan CaM]

Plausible and an interesting insight.

[alehouseboys]

Dear Kat, Ralph, Les, et al,

 

Sorry.

 

Kind Regards,

 

The Bedwetters

[Greenridge]

Dear Kat, Ralph, Les, et al,

 

Sorry.

 

Kind Regards,

 

The Bedwetters

 

Why do you think the Club haven't come out and explained this is the reason behind the playing staff changes?

[dubai_phil]

Why do you think the Club haven't come out and explained this is the reason behind the playing staff changes?

 

Because it isn't..... On it's own.

 

ASSUMING this is a key part of the reason for our summer of discontent.

 

We still had a meltdown. It still was not handled well.

 

"They" might have thought they could just sell SRL & Shaw, but the close knit Team Spirit we saw last season meant the group as a whole felt let down.

 

Things still spiralled out of control.

 

It adds context it is not a get out of Jail Free card for the mistakes of the summer (see every other thread on TSW for the opinions on the definition of mistakes!)

[Sour Mash]

Reading the core concept of that Blog and then thinking back, so many pieces of the jigsaw and comments start to make some sense. I'm having Paypal troubles and no doubt there will be a zillion interpretations but hey..

 

NC's opposition to FFP - well now we see why - we were too successful too quickly and would have hit the Salary Cap.

 

New Board come in "Inherited a difficult Financial Position" but we also heard "The Club has no Financial Issues" So yes we were solvent, the problem was what the hell to do with the squad in this summer and to stop a meltdown.

 

No players will be sold/do not need to sell - true. Just none of the squad could get a pay rise and we could afford to pay new player salaries BUT would be smashed by FFP. No wonder players got hacked off.

 

Delaying the dates of Transfers for the relevant Financial Year. Again no wonder AL was annoyed, he'd expected to go to the WC & come back & have already had his pad all set up in scouseville.

 

Nice Blog Redslo. The details like you say are blurred, many will tear it to shreds, and like you say, it makes no sense with the likes of Chambers, but with the money in the bank and the Academy players replacing many of the squad it does give much better options IF we can survive this year.

 

It now allows KL to sell to a Big Ego who COULD splash the cash without being fined in 2015/16. It ALSO enables KL to invest herself IF she really wants to move to the next level.

 

(It also is can be argued that you are a great attempt at a PR plant by Ralph to give a better cover story to the Asset Stripping!)

 

Hell, analysing the possible NEW conspiracy theories this brings up could keep Pap amused for years!

 

Not gonna take it as a Bible, but thanks for adding some better context to the Summer of Sales

 

I posted something similar to the original post of his blog. It's certainly interesting reading, worth looking at all his posts, they ask some good questions.

 

The only thing I'm not clear on is where the tv money sits in all this? We've had a big rise in tv/prize money, shouldn't that be factored in? Or is it too late to be included in FFP spend this year?

[Turkish]

The salary cap rules are massively flawed.

 

I might be wrong on this, so prepare to shoot me down....

 

...but every club can increase their wages by £4 million a year? Which would be great, but some clubs started on a much higher amount anyway? So what is the point?

 

If Saints start on £52 million, and Liverpool start on £70 million, yet both get to increase by £4 million every year, how is that possibly fair?

 

Liverpool have a much bigger income than us. I'm no expert but FFP means you can only spend what you earn, hence why comments about raising commercial income which was pitifully low under Cortese. The bottom line of FFP is that the bigger clubs will be allowed to spend more so it's even more difficult for clubs like is to close the gap.

[Plastic]

I thought it was a very interesting blog. But what possible benefit to the club is there in hiding it?

If this is the plan, come out and say it, the fans would appreciate the honesty.

If true, concealing it with grand statements will simply serve to upset the fan base (just look at the state of this forum).

[Professor]

A theory that fits with some of the evidence but to work it requires the participants to behave in a particular way, that could not have ben guaranteed. For example, the delay in the Lallana/Shaw transfers was caused by Hodgson's requirement that no transfers be completed while players were away with the England WC squad. Had the players not been in the England squad the timing would have been different and may not have fitted the theory. Secondly, Lovren sought to force his move apparently against the club's wishes. The new manager wanted him to stay if he could be persuaded and if he had, £20m would have been lost to the theory calculations. Thirdly, why resist the Schneiderlin move which would have freed up more salary whilst agreeing to break Chambers' contract which was much lower. On this theory, surely it would have been Schneiderlin who would have gone and Chambers would have stayed, especially as Chambers value would have been likely to increase over time.

The theory is good but somewhat contrived to fit the events. Certainly FFP is an issue but I'm not sure our Board is so clever as to have put all this together, got the players to behave as required, and issued public statements knowing that events would leave them open to charges of lying. Good work but suspect conclusions.

[St Chalet]

I have been of the view that our sales and purchases have been more about accounting than a need to raise cash.

 

The salient point in the blog is where we realise transfer income immediately but outgoings over the duration of the contract. One thing he overlooked is that when you sell a player mid contract you will take the full hit for the original transfer fee on the remained of the contract. In the cases of Lambert, Lallana, Shaw and Chambers this would have been nil.

 

Whether the motives are to sell the club with a strong balance sheet or are to allow us to grow under FFP restrictions I will reserve my judgment.

[Sour Mash]

A theory that fits with some of the evidence but to work it requires the participants to behave in a particular way, that could not have ben guaranteed. For example, the delay in the Lallana/Shaw transfers was caused by Hodgson's requirement that no transfers be completed while players were away with the England WC squad. Had the players not been in the England squad the timing would have been different and may not have fitted the theory. Secondly, Lovren sought to force his move apparently against the club's wishes. The new manager wanted him to stay if he could be persuaded and if he had, £20m would have been lost to the theory calculations. Thirdly, why resist the Schneiderlin move which would have freed up more salary whilst agreeing to break Chambers' contract which was much lower. On this theory, surely it would have been Schneiderlin who would have gone and Chambers would have stayed, especially as Chambers value would have been likely to increase over time.

 

The theory is good but somewhat contrived to fit the events. Certainly FFP is an issue but I'm not sure our Board is so clever as to have put all this together, got the players to behave as required, and issued public statements knowing that events would leave them open to charges of lying. Good work but suspect conclusions.

 

See Dubai Phil's last post. It was badly managed and didn't intend to sell all the players that it did. Could be true.

[Redslo]

The salary cap rules are massively flawed.

 

I might be wrong on this, so prepare to shoot me down....

 

...but every club can increase their wages by £4 million a year? Which would be great, but some clubs started on a much higher amount anyway? So what is the point?

 

If Saints start on £52 million, and Liverpool start on £70 million, yet both get to increase by £4 million every year, how is that possibly fair?

 

That's an easy question to answer--it is not. Financial Fair Play has never been about fairness. If you want to assume good faith on the part of its creators, their goal was football club bankruptcy avoidance. If you don't assume good faith, there are lots of other likely goals.

[Giordano]

Interesting read (s) Mr. Kraft. Thank your for writing them and putting the effort into doing so then sharing.

It does bring to mind the tyrants plea "necessity" ....and as mentioned elsewhere it also, if true, directly implies that public statements regarding player transfers made by senior officers of the club have at best been disingenuous and at worst blatant lies. I'm not a wetback shocked at the notion that people say things that are not true -alls fair in love and war after all - and of course the public notification that we were selling players and doing so for the purposes you outline is hardly going to enable the best prices to be achieved but, but, something still does not sit right about it....

I think your analysis looks plausible and fits the events and chronology nice and tight - you were clear to point out this does NOT preclude a club sale down the line, indeed you allude that it leaves the club as a more attractive proposition for the deep pocketed next investor due to our ability to splurge on mega wages - which seems to have a big impact on on field success reading your other blogs ( who knew? :-)..)

So, Chambers was the only weird decision but the sales the loans all kind of make sense. And survival this year means big buying ( maybe) but simultaneously big wages also for next season and beyond.

Nice story.

It might be churlish of me to agree the gist of what you say as being the truth but to then criticise the execution of this plan by the Board seeing as they've got a lot of ££ from doing it this way - for SFC benefit down the line - but given I am a paying customer of the business I still have that right. My best guess is there was no other way to do it " nicely" and the gamble is to win back fan sentiment, gullible fools we are for 3 points and a last minute winner at Anfield that we are - over a period of time. Ride out the PR storm and win the end game. Even including selling to a n other in 2025-16...

Again, nice read, nice work.

 

Saintly regards.

[trousers]

Reading the core concept of that Blog and then thinking back, so many pieces of the jigsaw and comments start to make some sense. I'm having Paypal troubles and no doubt there will be a zillion interpretations but hey..

 

NC's opposition to FFP - well now we see why - we were too successful too quickly and would have hit the Salary Cap.

 

New Board come in "Inherited a difficult Financial Position" but we also heard "The Club has no Financial Issues" So yes we were solvent, the problem was what the hell to do with the squad in this summer and to stop a meltdown.

 

No players will be sold/do not need to sell - true. Just none of the squad could get a pay rise and we could afford to pay new player salaries BUT would be smashed by FFP. No wonder players got hacked off.

 

Delaying the dates of Transfers for the relevant Financial Year. Again no wonder AL was annoyed, he'd expected to go to the WC & come back & have already had his pad all set up in scouseville.

 

Nice Blog Redslo. The details like you say are blurred, many will tear it to shreds, and like you say, it makes no sense with the likes of Chambers, but with the money in the bank and the Academy players replacing many of the squad it does give much better options IF we can survive this year.

 

It now allows KL to sell to a Big Ego who COULD splash the cash without being fined in 2015/16. It ALSO enables KL to invest herself IF she really wants to move to the next level.

 

(It also is can be argued that you are a great attempt at a PR plant by Ralph to give a better cover story to the Asset Stripping!)

 

Hell, analysing the possible NEW conspiracy theories this brings up could keep Pap amused for years!

 

Not gonna take it as a Bible, but thanks for adding some better context to the Summer of Sales

Nice summary Phil. All this fits in with my long held hunch that we can trace the events of the last 9 months to Cortese voting against the FFP rules. I'm ever so slightly chuffed that one of my many slightly bonkers hunches has finally come true (possibly....)

[Fan The Flames]

Because it isn't..... On it's own.

 

ASSUMING this is a key part of the reason for our summer of discontent.

 

We still had a meltdown. It still was not handled well.

 

"They" might have thought they could just sell SRL & Shaw, but the close knit Team Spirit we saw last season meant the group as a whole felt let down.

 

Things still spiralled out of control.

 

It adds context it is not a get out of Jail Free card for the mistakes of the summer (see every other thread on TSW for the opinions on the definition of mistakes!)

 

This is the first year of the salary cap regime so it is harsh to expect there to be no problems. Why is this not happening t other clubs, well maybe our wages are higher compared to our income, maybe we are interpreting the rules differently, maybe ewe are acting correctly and will benefit from it.

 

What is clear is we can not offer our players the same wages as the big boys, but is also true is that we can't even attempt to now because of the salary cap.

[pingwing]

This is the first year of the salary cap regime so it is harsh to expect there to be no problems. Why is this not happening t other clubs, well maybe our wages are higher compared to our income, maybe we are interpreting the rules differently, maybe ewe are acting correctly and will benefit from it.

 

What is clear is we can not offer our players the same wages as the big boys, but is also true is that we can't even attempt to now because of the salary cap.

 

I imagine most clubs are betting on not reaching Europe and when/if it happens they yo-yo in and out with squad limits that city and PSG have "suffered", I would imagine we are looking to show how FFP limits the access to Europe without already being there and our strategy is to get there sustainably.

[OldNick]

Clutching at straws, how clever of RK to get Man U and. Liverpool to want our players so that it would help the master plan. Nothing to do whatever with cashing out some of the investment. KL is not interested in football and just because she drapes a scarf around her head does not change the fact. I would be the same if I inherited a hockey team

[Beckenham Saint]

That article uses me as one of its key sources!

 

Must be a load of rubbish, then!

[Polaroid Saint]

Blimey. A football blog that actually attempts to makes sense and looks at the wider picture. Good work Red. And thank you. Some of us have been trying to get this sort of info over to our fellow Saints for some time now. To varying degrees of success!

 

Be nice to get the proper figures for some of the wages (Not sure FM ia the no.1 source for wages - sorry MLG!). And it is, of course, only one aspect of the modem game, allbeit currently the most important one.

 

There is no conspiracy, all of this has been quite apparent for a while! Red has put it nicely in his blog and there are a few posters on here have alluded to such things. Alas it so often gets utterly ignored and dismissed; either by doddery old farts who can no longer entertain novel ideas (see OldNick completely missing the salient points in his post above!) or arrogant and wilfully ignorant fans who cannot entertain the idea that their club is subject to the same (though varying) pressures as every other club.

[Redslo]

Clutching at straws, how clever of RK to get Man U and. Liverpool to want our players so that it would help the master plan. Nothing to do whatever with cashing out some of the investment. KL is not interested in football and just because she drapes a scarf around her head does not change the fact. I would be the same if I inherited a hockey team

 

To be fair, if you inherited an NHL hockey team you would be able to be both profitable and competitive because you would be in a league without relegation and where no teams had unbeatable systemic advantages.

[Redslo]

Blimey. A football blog that actually attempts to makes sense and looks at the wider picture. Good work Red. And thank you. Some of us have been trying to get this sort of info over to our fellow Saints for some time now. To varying degrees of success!

 

Be nice to get the proper figures for some of the wages (Not sure FM ia the no.1 source for wages - sorry MLG!). And it is, of course, only one aspect of the modem game, allbeit currently the most important one.

 

There is no conspiracy, all of this has been quite apparent for a while! Red has put it nicely in his blog and there are a few posters on here have alluded to such things. Alas it so often gets utterly ignored and dismissed; either by doddery old farts who can no longer entertain novel ideas (see OldNick completely missing the salient points in his post above!) or arrogant and wilfully ignorant fans who cannot entertain the idea that their club is subject to the same (though varying) pressures as every other club.

 

I am a little confused. Does this mean that MLG has something to do with the FM data for Southampton? If not, what does it mean? If so, how does one gather such data?

 

Also, I recognize that FM data is not a completely reliable source. It was just easy to use and internally consistent. I also recognize that I did not make full and accurate use of the information it did have. I was going to address that in another blog entry once some new players were signed. (Or, as some of you would say, never.)

[OldNick]

Blimey. A football blog that actually attempts to makes sense and looks at the wider picture. Good work Red. And thank you. Some of us have been trying to get this sort of info over to our fellow Saints for some time now. To varying degrees of success!

 

Be nice to get the proper figures for some of the wages (Not sure FM ia the no.1 source for wages - sorry MLG!). And it is, of course, only one aspect of the modem game, allbeit currently the most important one.

 

There is no conspiracy, all of this has been quite apparent for a while! Red has put it nicely in his blog and there are a few posters on here have alluded to such things. Alas it so often gets utterly ignored and dismissed; either by doddery old farts who can no longer entertain novel ideas (see OldNick completely missing the salient points in his post above!) or arrogant and wilfully ignorant fans who cannot entertain the idea that their club is subject to the same (though varying) pressures as every other club.

Doddery old fart I might be, but it is quite poignant that we have the anniversary of the First World War, what was the saying then? Lions let by Donkeys.Redsio gives an interesting side to the debate but your desperation for RK not to be misleading makes you grasp at straws. It was only a few weeks back that we had reached the glass ceiling, now all of a sudden we have sold the best of our squad, only a complete meltdown of the fanbase made the sale of MS stop. (surely the unrest would not have stopped their plan as that would have been part of the jig-saw for the FFP?) and now we have Baldricks cunnng plan wheeled out that we are selling the family silver so that we can afterall break the glass ceiling.

IMHO it is a risky throw of the dice to bring in a load of loans to cover a very thin squad. The interview of RK stopped all turmoil instantly as he assured us that the money in would be spent. Overnight the lions were tamed and the Donkeys could graze in peace. (although some might be signed on loan)

 

I do hope Koeman is aware of the complete strategy and is not losing confidence as he is at risk of losing his credibility if the team bombs.

 

Rejoice we have won 5 friendlies (a pleasant surprise) but if the squad stays like it is the atmosphere at SMS will be pretty glum.

[OldNick]

To be fair, if you inherited an NHL hockey team you would be able to be both profitable and competitive because you would be in a league without relegation and where no teams had unbeatable systemic advantages.

I was talking about Hockey not your dancing on ice game. KL had no interest in football and I believe she has not much interest in it now. Yes she has vested interest but not the love of the game people do on here. Therefore if I took the ownership of a Hockey/Rugby club i would go along and see how the business was going along, enjoy the corporate entertainment and then go home and watch the football.

[Redslo]

I was talking about Hockey not your dancing on ice game. KL had no interest in football and I believe she has not much interest in it now. Yes she has vested interest but not the love of the game people do on here. Therefore if I took the ownership of a Hockey/Rugby club i would go along and see how the business was going along, enjoy the corporate entertainment and then go home and watch the football.

 

Sorry I misunderstood. But I still think you would do well to inherit an NHL team.

[Dan Johnson]

Reading the core concept of that Blog and then thinking back, so many pieces of the jigsaw and comments start to make some sense. I'm having Paypal troubles and no doubt there will be a zillion interpretations but hey..

 

NC's opposition to FFP - well now we see why - we were too successful too quickly and would have hit the Salary Cap.

 

New Board come in "Inherited a difficult Financial Position" but we also heard "The Club has no Financial Issues" So yes we were solvent, the problem was what the hell to do with the squad in this summer and to stop a meltdown.

 

No players will be sold/do not need to sell - true. Just none of the squad could get a pay rise and we could afford to pay new player salaries BUT would be smashed by FFP. No wonder players got hacked off.

 

Delaying the dates of Transfers for the relevant Financial Year. Again no wonder AL was annoyed, he'd expected to go to the WC & come back & have already had his pad all set up in scouseville.

 

Nice Blog Redslo. The details like you say are blurred, many will tear it to shreds, and like you say, it makes no sense with the likes of Chambers, but with the money in the bank and the Academy players replacing many of the squad it does give much better options IF we can survive this year.

 

It now allows KL to sell to a Big Ego who COULD splash the cash without being fined in 2015/16. It ALSO enables KL to invest herself IF she really wants to move to the next level.

 

(It also is can be argued that you are a great attempt at a PR plant by Ralph to give a better cover story to the Asset Stripping!)

 

Hell, analysing the possible NEW conspiracy theories this brings up could keep Pap amused for years!

 

Not gonna take it as a Bible, but thanks for adding some better context to the Summer of Sales

 

I think if you also have a look at players like Sharp, who is available on a free and is a very good championship player yet no one seems willing to take him because of his wages, adds more weight to the argument.

 

As you say, success to quickly. Players likely (in the lower leagues) had big achievement related bonuses, big pay rises for promotions.

[Depressed of Shirley]

Having read Moneyball as a holiday read many years ago, this blog really does seem to cover a lot of the issues raised this summer. For those who haven't read it, it is the analysis of how the Oakland A's baseball team outthought and out played all their much richer rivals by use of statistical analysis of what actually won games of baseball. They used a number of highly educated people to work out what a player was worth to the team and recruited players who would make the team better. If a really rich underachieving team wanted to sign one of their players for more than he was worth, then they let him go, and made the team stronger by recruiting lower paid players who actually would make a difference. The success of the operation, was and still is astonishing for a team with one of the lowest budgets in the league.

 

Why this is important for us is that we have a strong team of analysts and coaches doing exactly this, but like the Oakland A's, we effectively have a salary cap, FFP.

 

If you want to know why other teams aren't doing the same, it is because they often don't have the players to sell, or have buyers falling over themselves to buy them. I mean I'm not sure there are many CL scouts at West Ham v Stoke. A lot of the transfer talk around all clubs is about players moving from mid table teams to CL teams, there is little appetite for players to move from say Sunderland to Swansea, and this is because FFP means that the salary you get at one club is going to be pretty similar to that you get at another.

 

The other issue is that Saints don't want to be the first team to fall foul of FFP in the PL. For anyone outside the top six, falling foul of this could be a real problem if we are faced with a punishment that serves as a warning to everyone else. Of course, if you are in the top six and breach it, there is likely to be no punishment whatsoever.

[Polaroid Saint]

Doddery old fart I might be, but it is quite poignant that we have the anniversary of the First World War, what was the saying then? Lions let by Donkeys.Redsio gives an interesting side to the debate but your desperation for RK not to be misleading makes you grasp at straws. It was only a few weeks back that we had reached the glass ceiling, now all of a sudden we have sold the best of our squad, only a complete meltdown of the fanbase made the sale of MS stop. (surely the unrest would not have stopped their plan as that would have been part of the jig-saw for the FFP?) and now we have Baldricks cunnng plan wheeled out that we are selling the family silver so that we can afterall break the glass ceiling.

IMHO it is a risky throw of the dice to bring in a load of loans to cover a very thin squad. The interview of RK stopped all turmoil instantly as he assured us that the money in would be spent. Overnight the lions were tamed and the Donkeys could graze in peace. (although some might be signed on loan)

 

I do hope Koeman is aware of the complete strategy and is not losing confidence as he is at risk of losing his credibility if the team bombs.

 

Rejoice we have won 5 friendlies (a pleasant surprise) but if the squad stays like it is the atmosphere at SMS will be pretty glum.

 

I meant no direct offence OldNick, you just posted an example of a certain way of thinking that comes with age. We are all guilty of it: Gradually we become less able, and less willing, to grasp new ideas and more vehemently stick to the ones we know. It is human nature.

 

For example, here I have entered the conversation about football in general, the FFP and how it all currently relates to Saints. But then you start banging on about how I am 'desperate for RK not to be misleading' and that I am 'grasping at straws'!? Completely missing my point and my stance. I have been talking about this, posting about this and writing about this for a lot longer than either of the RKs tenure at our club. My interest in this goes beyond Saints, yet you still only think narrowly about your club - which is fine, but exactly what I said the problem was - it is forcing you to see things skewed, when a little perspective would really help you see things clearer.

 

Believe what you like, but I am not holding Redslo's blog up as some sort of 'justification' at what is happening at Saints, I just feel if more people were educated to the facts of football then they would say less naive things like 'selling the family silver' in regard to player transfers and be more open to different (new) ways of running a football club.

[The9]

The salary cap rules are massively flawed.

 

I might be wrong on this, so prepare to shoot me down....

 

...but every club can increase their wages by £4 million a year? Which would be great, but some clubs started on a much higher amount anyway? So what is the point?

 

If Saints start on £52 million, and Liverpool start on £70 million, yet both get to increase by £4 million every year, how is that possibly fair?

 

It isn't, that's why the top clubs want it.

 

All the noise about the top sides pulling up the drawbridge so that no-one is even allowed to spend massively even if they want to was gone over hundreds of times when the rules were passed (and Cortese voted against it).

 

As for the "Saints trying to meet FFP by selling loads of players and getting loans in", it just doesn't add up. As already noted Ralph said this was nothing to do with FFP when asked (on Sky Sports).

 

What I CAN believe is that Cortese promised the players huge bonuses for coming 8th and it wouldn't have been financially prudent to keep them IF all we wanted to do was establish ourselves in midtable, but even that makes no sense when you consider Gaston is still here.

 

I'm afraid this is nothing more than the club not realising the full implications of Cortese leaving on the playing staff he'd been mollycoddling, and the degree to which the top players leaving will affect results. This was not a the plan - Krueger himself also stated they weren't looking to sell.

 

All of those things considered, the failure to get the replacements in place before the players left was still a mistake - I can only assume on THAT front that FFP might have been an issue and the club wouldn't go over the wage cap for a month or two whilst sales were agreed, but it didn't really take long for the leavers to go, so that's a pretty weak excuse too.

Edited 5 August, 2014 by The9

[OldNick]

Sorry I misunderstood. But I still think you would do well to inherit an NHL team.

I would love to inherit a NHL team but i would not have the love of the game as i would if it was SFC. My point of course is that i would not be devoted as I believe KL is not

[The9]

Of course, if you are in the top six and breach it, there is likely to be no punishment whatsoever.

 

Read: "A big fine". i.e. Big whoop.