stevegrant Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/11366206/Gary-Neville-The-era-of-the-gaffer-is-over.html The biggest thing I take from this article is that it's STILL seen as a novel concept for all departments within a football club to work together. It's absolutely nuts, and just shows how completely blinkered the majority of those within the game are, and why we're so far behind the likes of Spain, Germany, France, etc in terms of domestic player development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSAINT Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Great article Steve. A really good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Great article Steve. A really good read. So who is responsible for identifying the next director of football when Les leaves? It is surely inevitable that eventually someone will poach Uncle Les. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Saint Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Really enjoyed that. He talks a lot of sense, does les. Glad he is a saint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Great article and it sums up why Redknapp and his ilk are dinosaurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeBee Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Very good article. Think Neville would quite like to come to Southampton if he decided to go down the coaching route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucks Saint Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Very good article. Think Neville would quite like to come to Southampton if he decided to go down the coaching route. He already is down that route, with England. Great article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Brilliant article and surely shows the importance of Reed. Funny how those that commented on the progress made by the club under Reeds leadership were shouted down. That the bloke was a failure etc etc and that nothing could ever function unless under the complete autonomy of the manager. Like Steve, and Neville have said, its obvious this is the future. You only have to look at the constant upheaval of clubs such as QPR that it is not a sustainable model to allow managers full power to change. I think the problem with us as a country adopting more DOF is that many managers, or even some DOF out there dont understand the role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellone Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 So who is responsible for identifying the next director of football when Les leaves? It is surely inevitable that eventually someone will poach Uncle Les. We are lacking depth in this area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 So who is responsible for identifying the next director of football when Les leaves? It is surely inevitable that eventually someone will poach Uncle Les. Katrina? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewYorkSaint Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 I'm impressed by Reed and his philosophy... but just a tad concerned at his apparent need for recognition. When you see that, you always worry about the potential ego clashes that may be going on behind the scenes. "“I’m basically responsible for everything to do with football at the club" is reminiscent of the slightly odd episode when Reed sought to upstage Poch at one of his final press interviews. There may just be a slight rewriting of history going on (Cortese who?). I hope that with the recent coverage of him here, and in the NBC documentary that he can now relax a bit. The last thing we want is for the Koemans to feel slighted and to leave. Having said that, it's definitely exciting to support the club that's leading English football's 'Moneyball' revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coxford_lou Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 Great article. "My role is getting Ronald what he wants." all of this sounds very healthy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redslo Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 So who is responsible for identifying the next director of football when Les leaves? It is surely inevitable that eventually someone will poach Uncle Les. I strongly suspect that even this issue is currently being addressed. Maybe we would still Paul Mitchell back from Spurs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 I strongly suspect that even this issue is currently being addressed. Maybe we would still Paul Mitchell back from Spurs? I'm sure the black box is currently analysing the data of whole host of mongboard posters, assessing their suitability for the role, plenty seem to know how the club should be run so they'll want to take advantage into this previously untapped pool of expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted 23 January, 2015 Share Posted 23 January, 2015 I strongly suspect that even this issue is currently being addressed. Maybe we would still Paul Mitchell back from Spurs? Write a blog about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coxford_lou Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Hi NewYorkSaint, Interesting observation. I haven't picked on this, but will be on the look out now you've mentioned it. I don't get a sense of ego from Les reed, but that doesn't mean it's not there. We all have our weaknesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoru Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Good article, but I do fret slightly over the exposure of the Saints model! The 'Southampton Way' is our competitive edge - we don't want other teams copying it, least of all the ones with more money than us. Imagine if the likes of Man Utd and Man City combined their bank accounts with sensible backroom management ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadgerBadger Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Good article, but I do fret slightly over the exposure of the Saints model! The 'Southampton Way' is our competitive edge - we don't want other teams copying it, least of all the ones with more money than us. Imagine if the likes of Man Utd and Man City combined their bank accounts with sensible backroom management ... Our edge is we pretty match started from a blank sheet of paper (as far as structure is concernered) and built it up from L1, it allowed us to develop at a steady pace and with Don Cortese ripping out the deadwood and laying the foundations, everyone else in the top tier will have instituitionalised set ups that will take time to undo and will not have or accept a dictator type that is required to do the dirty work. There's more to it than just overlaying a template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redslo Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Our edge is we pretty match started from a blank sheet of paper (as far as structure is concernered) and built it up from L1, it allowed us to develop at a steady pace and with Don Cortese ripping out the deadwood and laying the foundations, everyone else in the top tier will have instituitionalised set ups that will take time to undo and will not have or accept a dictator type that is required to do the dirty work. There's more to it than just overlaying a template. Also, it requires patience and a willingness to spend money on things that won't help you right away. This was far easier for us to do in L1 with no FFP restrictions than it is for a Premier League team now. On the other hand, the danger of the big clubs doing this is real. In some ways our approach resembles the Moneyball approach of the Oakland As. They never won a championship with that approach but the Boston Red Sox did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redslo Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Write a blog about it. It's on my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoru Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Our edge is we pretty match started from a blank sheet of paper (as far as structure is concernered) and built it up from L1, it allowed us to develop at a steady pace and with Don Cortese ripping out the deadwood and laying the foundations, everyone else in the top tier will have instituitionalised set ups that will take time to undo and will not have or accept a dictator type that is required to do the dirty work. There's more to it than just overlaying a template. I appreciate it's not going to happen overnight, but it's a real 'threat' nonetheless. Man City just unveiled their new training and academy facilities which are very impressive, so they are obviously laying the groundwork for future sustainable growth. With their wealth, they won't struggle to hold on to their equivalents of Luke Shaw and Theo Walcott if and when they emerge. We're forced to sell because those players know they have the talent to demand more than we can pay. This is actually one of the more insidious ways big clubs buy their success - when they do produce homegrown talent, they can offer a salary that keeps them at the club. We're not in that position yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 If the "black box" uses specially created software, I wonder if we hold the patent/copyright to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 I'm not sure we can cope without Jason Dodd and Paul Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefoggy Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 I appreciate it's not going to happen overnight, but it's a real 'threat' nonetheless. Man City just unveiled their new training and academy facilities which are very impressive, so they are obviously laying the groundwork for future sustainable growth. With their wealth, they won't struggle to hold on to their equivalents of Luke Shaw and Theo Walcott if and when they emerge. We're forced to sell because those players know they have the talent to demand more than we can pay. This is actually one of the more insidious ways big clubs buy their success - when they do produce homegrown talent, they can offer a salary that keeps them at the club. We're not in that position yet. Apart from Man Utd in 1992, when was the last time a so called 'big club' brought through any youngsters? We have been consistently doing it for years at a very high standard. I cant ever remember City bringing ANY young player through their ranks and actually holding down a place in their first team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 I appreciate it's not going to happen overnight, but it's a real 'threat' nonetheless. Man City just unveiled their new training and academy facilities which are very impressive, so they are obviously laying the groundwork for future sustainable growth. With their wealth, they won't struggle to hold on to their equivalents of Luke Shaw and Theo Walcott if and when they emerge. We're forced to sell because those players know they have the talent to demand more than we can pay. This is actually one of the more insidious ways big clubs buy their success - when they do produce homegrown talent, they can offer a salary that keeps them at the club. We're not in that position yet. Except the chances of them producing players to go straight into a Champions League level squad are very small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Really good read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoru Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Apart from Man Utd in 1992, when was the last time a so called 'big club' brought through any youngsters? We have been consistently doing it for years at a very high standard. I cant ever remember City bringing ANY young player through their ranks and actually holding down a place in their first team We're not talking about what they've done in the past, but what they could do in the future. We're talking about them taking a Southampton-style approach hereafter, while still financed by their substantial bank balances. City's new academy facility has only just opened. Given time, it will produce talented youngsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Listening to /Watching interviews with Les Reed, Ronald Koeman, Jose Fonte ....and even lads in the U18 side, I would say EGO is the least of our problems. Les is the " spider in the web " as he is the only " Football person on the Board ". People are fond of highlighting his " failures", but IMO I learned more from my failures in life, than I did from my successes. What I do see...... is a high level of trust (in the system) and genuine confidence in their own ability to do (their own) particular job. The answer to (Vectis Saint's question on #3).... about Les Reed's (eventual) successor is ......if the Black Box has done its job properly..... Les already knows who it will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Incidentally..I was going to say that Gary Neville was never my favourite footballer... by a long shot, but he is (IMHO).....excellent at analysis, and communication. Good article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Les seems to have come on in leaps and bounds since his Charlton days when there was many in football who derided him, plus I gather he had a few enemies when involved in the England set up. But good luck to him he seems to have hit on a winning formula. All this talk of black boxes, bespoke software etc etc does make me smile especially when we have subs who leave their pads and shirts in the dressing room at half time. Sometimes the basics are overlooked. The owner and the chairman should be applauded for letting the football people run the football part of the business, that is one fundamental reason we are doing so well, no interference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonraker Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Brilliant article and surely shows the importance of Reed. Funny how those that commented on the progress made by the club under Reeds leadership were shouted down. That the bloke was a failure etc etc and that nothing could ever function unless under the complete autonomy of the manager. Like Steve, and Neville have said, its obvious this is the future. You only have to look at the constant upheaval of clubs such as QPR that it is not a sustainable model to allow managers full power to change. I think the problem with us as a country adopting more DOF is that many managers, or even some DOF out there dont understand the role. Goes to show that the vast majority of us fans don't really know anything about running a football club. Thats the nature of being a fan and a very strong argument against fan owned clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 24 January, 2015 Share Posted 24 January, 2015 Goes to show that the vast majority of us fans don't really know anything about running a football club. Thats the nature of being a fan and a very strong argument against fan owned clubs. never a truer word spoken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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