Southampton buck the trend and are the biggest transfer window earners!

[ozzmeister]

I've read lots of the posts regarding how we think the squad now fairs but I have not seen a great deal about how the business side has faired especially against other clubs. The below link is awesome as details transfer earnings of all the clubs and guess who comes out WAYYYYY on top.

 

That's right - Southampton. We made a profit of 40.9million, the only other club to make a profit were Swansea and that was a poultry 2.5million. ALL the other clubs made a loss.

 

We may argue that the board may have been a bit naive from a football standpoint but from a business standpoint they have been spot on!

 

http://www.cityam.com/1409680422/crisis-what-crisis-southampton-are-premier-leagues-biggest-transfer-window-earners?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=140903+-+CMU

 

That 40million can in theory be in the pot for January, buy any of the players who are on loan or plug any operating gaps that were there from last year (wasn't there a 30million hole somewhere). This does not of course take into account the TV money which is even better this year.

 

The best run club in the BPL and maybe in Europe????? The futures bright the futures Red and White!!!

[JxgrSaint]

I've read lots of the posts regarding how we think the squad now fairs but I have not seen a great deal about how the business side has faired especially against other clubs. The below link is awesome as details transfer earnings of all the clubs and guess who comes out WAYYYYY on top.

 

That's right - Southampton. We made a profit of 40.9million, the only other club to make a profit were Swansea and that was a poultry 2.5million. ALL the other clubs made a loss.

 

We may argue that the board may have been a bit naive from a football standpoint but from a business standpoint they have been spot on!

 

http://www.cityam.com/1409680422/crisis-what-crisis-southampton-are-premier-leagues-biggest-transfer-window-earners?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=140903+-+CMU

 

That 40million can in theory be in the pot for January, buy any of the players who are on loan or plug any operating gaps that were there from last year (wasn't there a 30million hole somewhere). This does not of course take into account the TV money which is even better this year.

 

The best run club in the BPL and maybe in Europe????? The futures bright the futures Red and White!!!

 

That's hardly chicken feed...

[Pancake]

Why are Swansea dealing in chickens?

[SB]

That's what you get when you sell 4 england internationals and a world class centre back *rollyeyedsmiley

Not sure if that's something to be proud of? Although granted the club got good fees give or take a couple..

Let's hope the plan is to save the 40 million or so for January and/or the future

[Window Cleaner]

Why are Swansea dealing in chickens?

 

Makes a change from sheep I suppose.

[VectisSaint]

Less of course what we had to give to Bompey for Lallana and what we had to give to Brizzle Rovers and Stockport for SRL.

[aintforever]

It certainly looks promising IF this team turn out to be anywhere near as good as last season.

 

Early days yet though, one win over West Ham doesn't mean alot.

[Dellman]

As a business the key was to buy young players who improve and sell at a profit, give credit to NC for that. Their replacements are older and so when they move on the profit margin will be smaller and in some cases it would be a loss so in business terms we are unlikely to ever again have such a profitable set of sales.

[Dalek2003]

It won't be a good business move if we end up relegated.

[angelman]

It won't be a good business move if we end up relegated.

 

Who is this "we"? You clearly aren't Saints.

[Manuel]

Financially, roughly speaking If we end the season top half then it'll have been a success in my eyes. Less than that you'll have to do some number crunching.

 

We've done well with our purchases on paper. Lets see what Koeman can do with them.

[Horley CTFC Saint]

It certainly looks promising IF this team turn out to be anywhere near as good as last season.

 

Early days yet though, one win over West Ham doesn't mean alot.

Well it means we're still in 8th

[scotty]

It won't be a good business move if we end up relegated.

 

Surprising comment, given your usual positivity.

[the_emu]

Before getting too excited, let's not forget two of our "owned" players from last year sold on have been replaced by loanees that we don't own yet, so the figures are somewhat skewed.

 

In saying that, we would still be well into the black, if we were to include the buy out options after some canny business.

[dubai_phil]

Yawn.

 

We all know that the 40 million will fund the expansion of SMS to cope with CL football. It was all in the plan. First up to 40,000 then to 60,000 when Gazza gets sold to Barca for 45mil in 3 years

 

 

Honest.

 

Seriously.

 

You just wait.

 

You already have the picture of the Jabba Sand Crawler thingy from last year's ST's

[Riin]

I think Southampton have had the best transfer window compared to other Premier League.

 

Basically, Saints FC have bought better and cheaper players than the players they have sold.

 

If you compare them:

 

Pellè vs Lambert, that's obvious for me, Pellè is ten times the striker Lambert is, if he is able to reach his usual level, he is world class, he will be one of the topscorers this season or next seaon.

 

Tadic vs Lallana, I believe Tadic is as good if not better than Lallana. Tadic and Pellè were the two best Eredivisie players last season, you've got them very cheap.

 

Alderweireld (on loan) vs Lovren, I don't think there is a huge difference between them, Alderweireld have had a worse year with Atletico but he has been outstanding in Amsterdam for years, if he is able to reach that level then I don't think Lovren is better.

 

Bertrand (on loan) vs Shaw, you have sold Shaw for so much money, one of the best deals in the history of football, Shaw is undeniable better than Bertrand but I don't think Saints have ever depended on Shaw, he is a huge talent but at the same time a young and unexperienced player, won't really mis him.

 

To be honest I haven't seen a lot of Mané but it's a well-known fact that RB Salzburg produces a lot of good player, their midfield is physically strong and very dynamic.

Chambers left Saints but there are still Clyne/Alderweireld at RB and Morgan in midfield, no problem at all.

 

The best signing is Koeman, great manager, good tactics and a lot of experiences, the fact that he made De Vrij Feyenoord captain at the age of 20 says a lot about Koeman and how he works with young players.

 

Saints are going to be top 6!

[Danbert]

I think these sorts of figures are misleading. There'll be agents' fees to pay, two of our new players are only here on loan and some of the Lallana money went to Bournemouth. Also, how anybody can say we've got as good or better a team as last year after three matches is beyond me. Maybe it'll turn out that way, maybe it won't. At least three of our new players have so far only worn the shirt for the photo shoot. They might turn out like Mayuka and Lorren.

[suewhistle]

Saints are going to be top 6!

 

Dank U vel! If we do, come over for the last game and I'll buy you een pils + noch een pils. No idea about the spelling, I'm afraid..

[sentry]

 

Pellè vs Lambert, that's obvious for me, Pellè is ten times the striker Lambert is, if he is able to reach his usual level, he is world class, he will be one of the topscorers this season or next seaon.

 

You ruined all your other comments with this one alone. My opinion of course and you are welcome to yours. But as soon as I read that I skipped on to the next post.

[sentry]

I think these sorts of figures are misleading. There'll be agents' fees to pay, two of our new players are only here on loan and some of the Lallana money went to Bournemouth. Also, how anybody can say we've got as good or better a team as last year after three matches is beyond me. Maybe it'll turn out that way, maybe it won't. At least three of our new players have so far only worn the shirt for the photo shoot. They might turn out like Mayuka and Lorren.

 

People know that it all depends what happens on the pitch. I just think people think we have a better squad on paper this year.

 

Also regarding loans etc. Many other teams have laons, and owe fees to previous clubs etc.

[Saintandy666]

I dunno about whether we have bought better players. But we certainly seem in the case of the younger players to leave have bought in players older yes (so perhaps less potential going forward), but just as good. And then in terms of other replacements, foreign (and so cheaper) alternatives who may be just as good or better than the options we had before. Let's see how the rest of the season goes though before declaring our new team the best or the worst. I reckon we will be fine and not near relegation, but as for whether we will be 8th again or more like 13th I want to wait another month or two!

[Professor]

If any other club wants to emulate Southampton in bucking the trend they could do so by selling 5 or 6 of their best players and buying cheaper ones to fill the gaps but many people would expect the level of a team to go down in doing that. Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal must believe that higher prices get them higher quality players and that they will improve their teams.

There are exceptions to the principle that value equates to quality. Torres is one well-publicised example but at Southampton we could look at Ramirez and Osvaldo as two who didn't fulfil the expectations of their purchase price and Lovren who exceeded expectations. Whether our transfers in are 'Osvaldos' or 'Lovrens', or if we have some of both, we will discover as time goes on. So will Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal.

[farawaysaint]

This is a good thing but I can't get too excited about it for fear the board decide they can pull off the same feat every year and we start to have a Newcastle like situation where all our best players are sold annually and we attempt to replace them on a shoestring. (I am very happy with this window by the way).

[Wes Tender]

If any other club wants to emulate Southampton in bucking the trend they could do so by selling 5 or 6 of their best players and buying cheaper ones to fill the gaps but many people would expect the level of a team to go down in doing that. Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal must believe that higher prices get them higher quality players and that they will improve their teams.

There are exceptions to the principle that value equates to quality. Torres is one well-publicised example but at Southampton we could look at Ramirez and Osvaldo as two who didn't fulfil the expectations of their purchase price and Lovren who exceeded expectations. Whether our transfers in are 'Osvaldos' or 'Lovrens', or if we have some of both, we will discover as time goes on. So will Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal.

 

The essence of what we did is not easily copied by other teams in that the best business we did involved the sale of Shaw, Chambers and Lallana, who were our academy products. Therefore they cost little beyond their development costs compared to the massive sums we received for them, largely because they were all very good and several top teams coveted them. Lambert was small fry in the profit earned for him and Lovren was just too good a deal to turn down, considering that we sold him for nearly three times what he cost us. To replicate what we did requires teams to invest serious money into their academies, which is a long term plan and most teams only think in terms of short term fixes. Otherwise, it requires them to be very adept at unearthing rough diamonds and then having the nerve to sell them and gamble on turning the profits over again when the natural instinct is to keep them, unless the top teams make eye-wateringly high offers for them.

 

For us, because we have one of the best academies even when compared to anywhere in the World, that initial investment has been made long ago and we have recently invested further. When all is said and done, the £30 million spent recently on it can be recouped by the sale of just one good product of the academy as an extreme example. £30 million could also be viewed in terms of investment in the infrastructure of the stadium too, to increase capacity if needed. Certainly the way that we have operated these past few seasons since the Liebherrs took us over makes us one of the stand-out examples of how to run a football club efficiently and effectively, and maybe some other similar sized clubs will seek to emulate what we have done. But I doubt whether there will be more than one or two.

[The9]

You ruined all your other comments with this one alone. My opinion of course and you are welcome to yours. But as soon as I read that I skipped on to the next post.

 

Me too, and I think most of you know that I felt Lambert was holding us back a bit - but my ar5e is Pelle "ten times the player Lambert is", we can't even tell if he's better, yet.

[SaintSteve]

Pellè vs Lambert, that's obvious for me, Pellè is ten times the striker Lambert is, if he is able to reach his usual level, he is world class, he will be one of the topscorers this season or next seaon.

 

Tadic vs Lallana, I believe Tadic is as good if not better than Lallana. Tadic and Pellè were the two best Eredivisie players last season, you've got them very cheap.

 

As yet, I've seen nothing to suggest your Eredivisie stars are an upgrade on Lambert and Lallana.. sorry.

Hope to be proven wrong.

[The9]

As yet, I've seen nothing to suggest your Eredivisie stars are an upgrade on Lambert and Lallana.. sorry.

Hope to be proven wrong.

 

I've seen plenty to suggest they MIGHT be, but the departing players had a certain level of ability and performance you knew you'd get - we haven't had enough matches to know if someone's having a good game or a bad game by their standards yet. For instance, Tadic's flick at Liverpool was brilliant, do we know if he's going to do that practically every match, or if it's the only time he's ever going to manage something like that in the Premier League? Not yet. Pelle got slated for his first matches and lauded for his last one (...and a bit), is he going to improve, or is this as good as he gets?

 

Mind you, Lambert wasn't a Prem player in 2009/10 and he had 3 years' development to get to his peak.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

The club have given it a go and that is all we can ask for. We've let 5 very good players leave and attempted to replace them. Some will work, some won't. That's why I always prefer to keep players regardless of the fee offered. Replacing them is always a 50/50 risk no matter how good you think your scouting is. Bucking the trend would not be selling high and buying low, it would be to do so and maintain or improve league position - and we have no idea if that will happen or not for several months.

[hasper57saint]

It certainly looks promising IF this team turn out to be anywhere near as good as last season.

 

Early days yet though, one win over West Ham doesn't mean alot.

A win over Wetspam means a lot to some of us.You speak for yourself sailor!

[saintbob40]

I love all my shiny new toys and anybody who used to play for Saints is crap.........:badger:

[positivepete]

Interesting article, including an analysis of players values. BTW Monaco made a bigger profit than we did.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11076666/David-Luiz-Luke-Shaw-Eliaquim-Mangala-Dejan-Lovren-why-are-defenders-becoming-more-expensive.html

[Professor]

The essence of what we did is not easily copied by other teams in that the best business we did involved the sale of Shaw, Chambers and Lallana, who were our academy products. Therefore they cost little beyond their development costs compared to the massive sums we received for them, largely because they were all very good and several top teams coveted them. Lambert was small fry in the profit earned for him and Lovren was just too good a deal to turn down, considering that we sold him for nearly three times what he cost us. To replicate what we did requires teams to invest serious money into their academies, which is a long term plan and most teams only think in terms of short term fixes. Otherwise, it requires them to be very adept at unearthing rough diamonds and then having the nerve to sell them and gamble on turning the profits over again when the natural instinct is to keep them, unless the top teams make eye-wateringly high offers for them.

 

For us, because we have one of the best academies even when compared to anywhere in the World, that initial investment has been made long ago and we have recently invested further. When all is said and done, the £30 million spent recently on it can be recouped by the sale of just one good product of the academy as an extreme example. £30 million could also be viewed in terms of investment in the infrastructure of the stadium too, to increase capacity if needed. Certainly the way that we have operated these past few seasons since the Liebherrs took us over makes us one of the stand-out examples of how to run a football club efficiently and effectively, and maybe some other similar sized clubs will seek to emulate what we have done. But I doubt whether there will be more than one or two.

 

Quite true. It is the Southampton Academy that makes the difference as the only big sale that wasn't an academy product was Lovren. The trouble is that as a Saints' fan I don't feel the same sense of pride about our academy when the players are playing elsewhere. Whilst it's unrealistic to include the Walcottt, Bale and Chamberlain sales in the equation, you can't help wondering if we might have had a Southampton team capable of holding it's own in European competition if all the players were still here. The new squad still has to prove itself before we can think in those terms.

[Professor]

The club have given it a go and that is all we can ask for. We've let 5 very good players leave and attempted to replace them. Some will work' date=' some won't. That's why I always prefer to keep players regardless of the fee offered. Replacing them is always a 50/50 risk no matter how good you think your scouting is. Bucking the trend would not be selling high and buying low, it would be to do so and maintain or improve league position - and we have no idea if that will happen or not for several months.[/quote']

 

This sums it up very nicely. It really isn't possible to be happy overall with a transfer window that saw a successful squad dismantled unless you count the profit as part of the success. How the team performs is what actually matters and we can be pleased that the gaps have been filled with players that look the part, albeit at lower costs. This may work out, and not every transfer in has to succeed for that to happen, but only time will tell. The bonus may be that the most significant signings may turn out to be Koeman and his coaching team, who have quickly gained the confidence of the fans.

[kwsaint]

In my view we have come out of the transfer window in a better place than we were going in, stronger squad, healthier bank balance. Agree with the comment that getting Koeman was the best bit of business done over the summer.

 

Only concern is that a bigger squad may limit the chances of academy players coming through. We only have JWP as a regular team member from the academy now. Good to see Matt Targett get a chance in the LC. But Harry Reed's chances may now be more limited. Not sure who else is even close to getting in the frst team squad

[Convict Colony]

I think Southampton have had the best transfer window compared to other Premier League.

 

Basically, Saints FC have bought better and cheaper players than the players they have sold.

 

If you compare them:

 

Pellè vs Lambert, that's obvious for me, Pellè is ten times the striker Lambert is, if he is able to reach his usual level, he is world class, he will be one of the topscorers this season or next seaon.

 

Tadic vs Lallana, I believe Tadic is as good if not better than Lallana. Tadic and Pellè were the two best Eredivisie players last season, you've got them very cheap.

 

Alderweireld (on loan) vs Lovren, I don't think there is a huge difference between them, Alderweireld have had a worse year with Atletico but he has been outstanding in Amsterdam for years, if he is able to reach that level then I don't think Lovren is better.

 

Bertrand (on loan) vs Shaw, you have sold Shaw for so much money, one of the best deals in the history of football, Shaw is undeniable better than Bertrand but I don't think Saints have ever depended on Shaw, he is a huge talent but at the same time a young and unexperienced player, won't really mis him.

 

To be honest I haven't seen a lot of Mané but it's a well-known fact that RB Salzburg produces a lot of good player, their midfield is physically strong and very dynamic.

Chambers left Saints but there are still Clyne/Alderweireld at RB and Morgan in midfield, no problem at all.

 

The best signing is Koeman, great manager, good tactics and a lot of experiences, the fact that he made De Vrij Feyenoord captain at the age of 20 says a lot about Koeman and how he works with young players.

 

Saints are going to be top 6!

 

Riin is the best poster in saintsweb history and should be added to the banner

[Riin]

You ruined all your other comments with this one alone. My opinion of course and you are welcome to yours. But as soon as I read that I skipped on to the next post.

 

Graziano Pellè is world class, everything is perfect about him, his hair, his body, his anger issues, his interviews, his girlfriend, his playing style, everything!

 

Haha no in all seriousness, Lambert was a proper striker, it's kind of overreacting from me to say Pellè is ten times the striker he was, but I like Pellè very much.

I've seen at least 60 games of Pellè so I know where I'm talking about and I'm not the only one who loved him.

Ex-striker Pierre van Hooijdonk would have wanted him in the Dutch squad if he was Dutch, I still want it due to the fact he never played for Italy.

 

I'm sure a lot of Dutch journalists who are more knowledgeable than me would have preferred him over Huntelaar, thay says a lot, Huntelaar is one of the Bundesliga topscorers.

 

There aren't a lot of players who are able to improve after the age of 27 but it seems Pellè does and why couldn't he be one of the PL topscorers? In 2013 Bony and Pellè were pretty equal and look at how Bony developed..

 

Pellè can be the perfect striker when you use him right, he is a typical 433 striker like Kluivert, he is strong in the air, can hold te ball (wins a lot of aerial duels), can score easy with both his head and foot.

[KMondo]

In my view we have come out of the transfer window in a better place than we were going in, stronger squad, healthier bank balance. Agree with the comment that getting Koeman was the best bit of business done over the summer.

 

Only concern is that a bigger squad may limit the chances of academy players coming through. We only have JWP as a regular team member from the academy now. Good to see Matt Targett get a chance in the LC. But Harry Reed's chances may now be more limited. Not sure who else is even close to getting in the frst team squad

 

Not sure our squad is that much larger. The lack of players coming through from the academy is more to do with the fact that we've just sold the best ones.

[Chez]

Why are Swansea dealing in chickens?

 

lower league tie up with Blackburn innit

[Professor]

Not sure our squad is that much larger. The lack of players coming through from the academy is more to do with the fact that we've just sold the best ones.

There are still 6 or 7 Academy players, or u-21s at least, who have been allocated squad numbers as well as 2 or 3 out on loan. Having, rightly or wrongly, sold 3 who have been picked for England, doesn't mean there aren't others coming through. Just hope this isn't the future because the concept of a Saints' team consisting of 50% academy products was an attractive proposition and something fans would be proud of.

[The9]

There are still 6 or 7 Academy players, or u-21s at least, who have been allocated squad numbers as well as 2 or 3 out on loan. Having, rightly or wrongly, sold 3 who have been picked for England, doesn't mean there aren't others coming through. Just hope this isn't the future because the concept of a Saints' team consisting of 50% academy products was an attractive proposition and something fans would be proud of.

 

I honestly don't give a toss about where Saints players come from - it's not like any of them are actually local, and this summer has proven beyond all doubt that it doesn't get you any more loyalty from players than signing them. Supporting individuals is clearly a mug's game.

 

I do think that investing in an academy that can be profitable, and occasionally produce first team players is a fundamentally sound philosophy and business model which we should continue to pursue, though for those reasons alone.

 

In summary, Academy players are cheap.

[Wes Tender]

I honestly don't give a toss about where Saints players come from - it's not like any of them are actually local, and this summer has proven beyond all doubt that it doesn't get you any more loyalty from players than signing them. Supporting individuals is clearly a mug's game.

 

I do think that investing in an academy that can be profitable, and occasionally produce first team players is a fundamentally sound philosophy and business model which we should continue to pursue, though for those reasons alone.

 

In summary, Academy players are cheap.

 

There will probably be a gap of a year or so purely because the next crop are a bit behind the last lot who were Shaw, Chambers, Reed and Gallagher who were ready or nearly ready to step up. They in turn were a little behind Walcott, Bale and Oxlade-Chamberlain. On the face of it, when each of those stepped up into the first team, there were doubts at first as to whether they were ready and each in turn proved that not only were they ready, but that they were exceptional talents. It would be interesting to know from those who have spent time developing them, how the next crop stack up in comparison. I get the impression that there are several others nearly there and another lot coming through behind them who look good too. The academy set-up is self-sustaining, as the more successful it is in bringing through good young players and then playing them in the first team in the top flight, the more encouraged talented youngsters will be to come to our academy. All of them will hope to be the next Bale, Walcott, Shaw, etc.

 

A shame if we have to sell them when they become good enough, but whereas all other clubs have the revenue streams from TV rights, we have the additional revenue from our academy products too and that gives us an edge over similar sized clubs. What is the pity is that the revenue that the top clubs generate from the worldwide shirt sales to their plastic fans goes into our coffers in return for the cream of our academy players.

[hutch]

I see Harry Reed trained with the full England squad today.

 

So that's him off then.

[Window Cleaner]

Anyone worked out exactly where the figure of 40.9 million comes from? Seems a bit high to me, I'd reckon nearer a 30 million excedent.

[angelman]

Anyone worked out exactly where the figure of 40.9 million comes from? Seems a bit high to me, I'd reckon nearer a 30 million excedent.

 

Did you include the fee for MP and the back room staff? Wasn't it £2m for MP and a total of £6m for the whole lot?

[Window Cleaner]

Did you include the fee for MP and the back room staff? Wasn't it £2m for MP and a total of £6m for the whole lot?

 

No idea, doubt if it was anywhere near 6 million though.

[Wes Tender]

I see Harry Reed trained with the full England squad today.

 

So that's him off then.

 

He'll have been telling them what a great set-up and manager we have here and they'll all be telling their clubs that their heads are already at Southampton when the January window comes around.

[Riin]

I think Southampton have had the best transfer window compared to other Premier League.

 

Basically, Saints FC have bought better and cheaper players than the players they have sold.

 

If you compare them:

 

Pellè vs Lambert, that's obvious for me, Pellè is ten times the striker Lambert is, if he is able to reach his usual level, he is world class, he will be one of the topscorers this season or next seaon.

 

Tadic vs Lallana, I believe Tadic is as good if not better than Lallana. Tadic and Pellè were the two best Eredivisie players last season, you've got them very cheap.

 

Alderweireld (on loan) vs Lovren, I don't think there is a huge difference between them, Alderweireld have had a worse year with Atletico but he has been outstanding in Amsterdam for years, if he is able to reach that level then I don't think Lovren is better.

 

Bertrand (on loan) vs Shaw, you have sold Shaw for so much money, one of the best deals in the history of football, Shaw is undeniable better than Bertrand but I don't think Saints have ever depended on Shaw, he is a huge talent but at the same time a young and unexperienced player, won't really mis him.

 

To be honest I haven't seen a lot of Mané but it's a well-known fact that RB Salzburg produces a lot of good player, their midfield is physically strong and very dynamic.

Chambers left Saints but there are still Clyne/Alderweireld at RB and Morgan in midfield, no problem at all.

 

The best signing is Koeman, great manager, good tactics and a lot of experiences, the fact that he made De Vrij Feyenoord captain at the age of 20 says a lot about Koeman and how he works with young players.

 

Saints are going to be top 6!

 

Remember I've got destroyed for this post, ha ha! ...

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Remember I've got destroyed for this post, ha ha! ...

 

People don't like "told you so's", but fairplay you!

[St Chalet]

People don't like "told you so's", but fairplay you!

 

This.

[mcjwills]

Remember I've got destroyed for this post, ha ha! ...

 

 

Saints are going to be top 6!

 

Dank U vel! If we do, come over for the last game and I'll buy you een pils + noch een pils. No idea about the spelling, I'm afraid..

 

Think Sue you may have to be paying out ;-)