Les Reed

[saintmatt]

Deserves our support and another season

 

The guy was the one constant throughout our rise to 6th ffs

[Heisenberg]

Reed can **** off

 

Undid all the great work and foundation that Cortese and Mitchell laid.

 

We will not progress with this Muppet running thing

 

Little rat has been silent during our decline.

 

Needs to **** off asap

[SFC Forever]

To be fair we have had a good run up to the last two seasons with Les in position. If he has learned to be more sensible with the type of managers we need, he might just survive a tad longer.

[Crab Lungs]

He’s an absolute sh1t.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Looks like hes staying, not overly keen on the guy over the last couple of seasons but it is what it is, time to get on with it and prove he is worth keeping

 

 

Also it will keep the mouth frothers happy to be able vent some expletives about him for longer....

[saint1977]

Looks like hes staying, not overly keen on the guy over the last couple of seasons but it is what it is, time to get on with it and prove he is worth keeping

 

 

Also it will keep the mouth frothers happy to be able vent some expletives about him for longer....

 

I think it depends on which interview you look at Always. The DT one definitely places his future in doubt, Echo one is ambiguous and Solent one was slightly more supportive. Blackmore is clearly appalled by Reed popping up when things are going well and being a disappearing coward when they aren’t. By putting a proper manager, not just a coach who Les can dictate to, in there a la Koeman, the club are in effect sending a signal that if Les does stay, his role will be much reduced. Fans and media trust in him, not just local but Sky, broadsheets and Jonathan Pearce have been critical of his role recently, has gone. He has a little bit more credit left with the club but is seemingly on thin ice. I do wonder if Hughes is appointed, whether Les will walk? Let’s face it, he didn’t seem to have a great relationship with Ronald. From EricB’s posts and others, it seems Les has been looking at the exit door for a while.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

I think it depends on which interview you look at Always. The DT one definitely places his future in doubt, Echo one is ambiguous and Solent one was slightly more supportive. Blackmore is clearly appalled by Reed popping up when things are going well and being a disappearing coward when they aren’t. By putting a proper manager, not just a coach who Les can dictate to, in there a la Koeman, the club are in effect sending a signal that if Les does stay, his role will be much reduced. Fans and media trust in him, not just local but Sky, broadsheets and Jonathan Pearce have been critical of his role recently, has gone. He has a little bit more credit left with the club but is seemingly on thin ice. I do wonder if Hughes is appointed, whether Les will walk? Let’s face it, he didn’t seem to have a great relationship with Ronald. From EricB’s posts and others, it seems Les has been looking at the exit door for a while.

 

Fair comment, my guess he will stay in the reduced role you mention for a time until he sees a suitable exit

[Heisenberg]

Seems to me that hes ****ed up massively both individually and with his management appointments and player sign offs. not forgetting the declining academy and club profile.

 

Hes then applied for every job going and failed to secure any kind of move. Hes vanished throughout all our decline like a stinking runt hiding from any criticism. #coward

 

Despite all these failures and lack of leadership and the fact he proved to be a rat deserting a sinking ship he keeps his job and no doubt picks up another huge bonus for our net spend and "survival"

 

this snake needs to sliver out of the club asap

Edited 16 May, 2018 by Heisenberg
Les the RAT

[K,Billy's supersound]

Take a day off ffs

[Nordic Saint]

I think it depends on which interview you look at Always. The DT one definitely places his future in doubt, Echo one is ambiguous and Solent one was slightly more supportive. Blackmore is clearly appalled by Reed popping up when things are going well and being a disappearing coward when they aren’t. By putting a proper manager, not just a coach who Les can dictate to, in there a la Koeman, the club are in effect sending a signal that if Les does stay, his role will be much reduced. Fans and media trust in him, not just local but Sky, broadsheets and Jonathan Pearce have been critical of his role recently, has gone. He has a little bit more credit left with the club but is seemingly on thin ice. I do wonder if Hughes is appointed, whether Les will walk? Let’s face it, he didn’t seem to have a great relationship with Ronald. From EricB’s posts and others, it seems Les has been looking at the exit door for a while.

 

Why should Reed be allowed to stay anyway? He has passed retirement age, he hasn't bothered to keep himself in shape, which has to be affecting both his physical and mental levels of energy, he seems to fall out with all of our best players and managers and his mistakes are costing the club a lot both on and off the pitch.

[alpine_saint]

To be fair we have had a good run up to the last two seasons with Les in position.

 

Dont agree with that at all.

 

Left over momentum from the reall whirlwind that came into the club. Markus and Cortese.

[manji]

Fair comment, my guess he will stay in the reduced role you mention for a time until he sees a suitable exit

I agree it’s clear from the fact that Krueger has conducted the interviews that Reeds influence will be reduced. The fact that he is looking for other jobs.

It’s easy to knock Krueger as he not a natural football man but if you read his Wikipedia page he has been a major success in every endeavour he has been involved in. He doesn’t need the money he is a rich man. I suspect after getting Gao involved in the club followed by a disastrous season his professional pride has been hurt.

One thing that has been left out is the comment from a couple of weeks ago that Nelly Gao would be taking a more prominent role in the club.

I think Reed will be edged out. Hughes as manager and a shuffle around in the line up at the top can only be a good thing.

I’m expecting more positive developments this week.

[Nordic Saint]

In the world of professional football, where even a few months of failure cost most managers and DOFs their jobs, the two years of decline we've experienced under Reed would be enough to see most people fired. This isn't the Civil Service, where people have a job for life. It's a high stakes, high earning game. When someone has passed retirement age anyway, looks physically in bad shape and his performance is clearly deteriorating and it's having an adverse effect on those around him, even the Civil Service would get rid of him, espcially when he must already have more money in the bank and a bigger pension fund than 95% of the population so there's really no need to feel sorry for him.

[eelpie]

I certainly blame him rather than Puel. We all knew that a striker was needed in the summer, and of course a CB this window. But also a couple of seasons ago when we had a real shot at top 4 he blew it by not bringing in a decent back up goalie. Forster duly got injured after the window closed, and we were left with Laurel and Hardy as goalkeepers for most of the rest of the season, with a top 4 finish obviously going down in flames.

 

I certainly believe that Les has made a series of poor decisions that, but for Mark Hughes would have been catastrophic. Employing Mark was a better decision by Read.

 

But I caution against a witch hunt calling for Read to be sacked. Remember the hedgefund that nearly took SFC over when Lowe resigned, and remember Coventry!

Let's see a better alternative to Les Read available before we hound him out just as we the fanbase hounded out Puel. Fans do not always have the answer.

[OldNick]

Reed should be gone, by now we should have had a stream of good young players coming through, as his much hailed Acadamy should be producing the results of his stewardship. Seems to me it has gone backwards

[Nordic Saint]

I certainly believe that Les has made a series of poor decisions that, but for Mark Hughes would have been catastrophic. Employing Mark was a better decision by Read.

 

But I caution against a witch hunt calling for Read to be sacked. Remember the hedgefund that nearly took SFC over when Lowe resigned, and remember Coventry!

Let's see a better alternative to Les Read available before we hound him out just as we the fanbase hounded out Puel. Fans do not always have the answer.

 

Reed fired Puel, not the fans. You clearly know very little about Reed anyway as you can't even spell his name.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Seems to me that hes ****ed up massively both individually and with his management appointments and player sign offs. not forgetting the declining academy and club profile.

 

Hes then applied for every job going and failed to secure any kind of move. Hes vanished throughout all our decline like a stinking runt hiding from any criticism. #coward

 

Despite all these failures and lack of leadership and the fact he proved to be a rat deserting a sinking ship he keeps his job and no doubt picks up another huge bonus for our net spend and "survival"

 

this snake needs to sliver out of the club asap

 

Froth..froth ...

[Saints foreva]

Deserves our support and another season

 

The guy was the one constant throughout our rise to 6th ffs

 

He also played a big part in the downgrades that followed that summer.

[aintforever]

the fanbase hounded out Puel.

 

Why do people keep saying this nonsense, it's just complete made up bullsh!te.

 

There was a bit of booing and a few chants from the back of the Northam at the final game, the only impact made by the the fans would have been by those who didn't buy tickets because they were bored out of their mind. That's like Tescos blaming their customers for not buy their food that tastes like sh!t.

[SKD]

Why do people keep saying this nonsense, it's just complete made up bullsh!te.

 

There was a bit of booing and a few chants from the back of the Northam at the final game, the only impact made by the the fans would have been by those who didn't buy tickets because they were bored out of their mind. That's like Tescos blaming their customers for not buy their food that tastes like sh!t.

 

It was the players that hounded him out, not the fans

[Raging Bull]

Take a day off ffs

 

Hi Billy, in your opinion how's the transfer window going to shape up for us, bearing in mind it opens tomorrow.

 

Any idea on Gao's intentions/ambitions?

 

Cheers

[Saint Albert]

Why do people keep saying this nonsense, it's just complete made up bullsh!te.

 

There was a bit of booing and a few chants from the back of the Northam at the final game, the only impact made by the the fans would have been by those who didn't buy tickets because they were bored out of their mind. That's like Tescos blaming their customers for not buy their food that tastes like sh!t.

 

After all, if the fans’ opinions really mattered to the club, they would have fired Pellegrino in December.

[Heisenberg]

Owners ambitions and Ralph's "learning from mistakes" chat is irrelevant if you still have Stevie Wonder driving the bus

Edited 16 May, 2018 by Heisenberg

[Saint Albert]

From today’s Telegraph piece by Wilson...

 

“The future of executive director Les Reed is also likely to depend on talks with the Gao family about his ongoing control over the football operation.

 

So far, the Gaos have had complete faith in the existing executive team to drive the club’s direction and transfer strategy.”

[Heisenberg]

Would be a huge bonus if this little runt moves on.

 

I genuinely can't see the club moving forward again with that snake pulling strings

 

Reed has been a failure at every level of the game

[EBS1980]

If Reed went do you really think they would appoint anybody who had a different view to what Kruger and Wilson have in regards to the way we operate??

[Saint Albert]

If Reed went do you really think they would appoint anybody who had a different view to what Kruger and Wilson have in regards to the way we operate??

 

I always assumed that Ross Wilson was being groomed to be Les Reed’s successor.

[pluto]

Ross Wilson is director of football now and Reed sits on the board with him.

 

Wilson arrived in 2015 and was originally in charge of scouting and recruitment i think.

 

I dont know when he took the DOF title, but has been working alongside Reed for a number of years.

 

The last 18 months have seen the worst managerial and player recruitment that led us to this seasons mess, so i would say Ross Wilson must take some blame that Reed seems to be getting, Reed is not clean however.

 

Who decided on bringing in Guido Carrillo for £17M ? That wasnt really a position that needed filling badly as most would say CB was left wide open with VVD leaving in early January.

[GGalpin]

Ross Wilson is director of football now and Reed sits on the board with him.

 

Wilson arrived in 2015 and was originally in charge of scouting and recruitment i think.

 

I dont know when he took the DOF title, but has been working alongside Reed for a number of years.

 

The last 18 months have seen the worst managerial and player recruitment that led us to this seasons mess, so i would say Ross Wilson must take some blame that Reed seems to be getting, Reed is not clean however.

 

Who decided on bringing in Guido Carrillo for £17M ? That wasnt really a position that needed filling badly as most would say CB was left wide open with VVD leaving in early January.

 

Considering Guan hinted the black box didn't rate Carrillo and he had played under Pellegrino at Estuadiantes, I think it's fairly obvious who was the main driver behind that particular deal.

[beancounter saint]

Would be a huge bonus if this little runt moves on.

 

I genuinely can't see the club moving forward again with that snake pulling strings

 

Reed has been a failure at every level of the game

 

Yes, apart from pretty well all the levels at which he has operated with Saints

[Dark Munster]

Ross Wilson is director of football now and Reed sits on the board with him.

 

Wilson arrived in 2015 and was originally in charge of scouting and recruitment i think.

 

I dont know when he took the DOF title, but has been working alongside Reed for a number of years.

 

The last 18 months have seen the worst managerial and player recruitment that led us to this seasons mess, so i would say Ross Wilson must take some blame that Reed seems to be getting, Reed is not clean however.

 

Who decided on bringing in Guido Carrillo for £17M ? That wasnt really a position that needed filling badly as most would say CB was left wide open with VVD leaving in early January.

Actually that is a position we badly need filling (along with an experienced CB). Unfortunately Reed and co. wasted the £19m on the clown's donkey, and both positions still need filling.

[Miltonaggro]

I always assumed that Ross Wilson was being groomed to be Les Reed’s successor.

 

Like a pair of flea ridden baboons!

[swannymere]

We overachieved for years, Poch and Koeman were great, Puel was OK but lacked style and Pell was a disaster. I fail to see what getting rid of Reed achieves? Does it push us forward? The Academy produced consistently for years and is now going through a lean spell, anyone care to name an Academy that's produced more in the last ten years? Even Liverpool and Man Utd. go through lean times academy wise.

[sadoldgit]

Would be a huge bonus if this little runt moves on.

 

I genuinely can't see the club moving forward again with that snake pulling strings

 

Reed has been a failure at every level of the game

 

Do you seriously regard 4 top ten finishes in a row a failure?

[saintmatt]

Do you seriously regard 4 top ten finishes in a row a failure?

 

He'll attribute that to the cortese after effect because it fits his narrative

 

Don't get me wrong, I like cortese, but I also recognise he was operating with far more (financial) freedom - the purse strings were tightened after he left; that's why he left

 

Seriously cannot understand the negative views (and in some cases outright vitriol) pouring les' way - yes it was a bad season but we all make mistakes and he's done more than enough to justify his position imo

[Dark Munster]

He'll attribute that to the cortese after effect because it fits his narrative

 

Don't get me wrong, I like cortese, but I also recognise he was operating with far more (financial) freedom - the purse strings were tightened after he left; that's why he left

 

Seriously cannot understand the negative views (and in some cases outright vitriol) pouring les' way - yes it was a bad season but we all make mistakes and he's done more than enough to justify his position imo

Not addressing the obvious striker hole for 4 or so windows.

Not addressing the obvious CB holes over several windows.

Not addressing the obvious GK inadequacies over several years.

Extending the contract of a statue of a GK that we do have.

Hiring the clown.

Not firing the clown months ago.

 

HTH.

[alpine_saint]

Not addressing the obvious striker hole for 4 or so windows.

Not addressing the obvious CB holes over several windows.

Not addressing the obvious GK inadequacies over several years.

Extending the contract of a statue of a GK that we do have.

Hiring the clown.

Not firing the clown months ago.

 

HTH.

 

And now hes considering employing Joe Hart.

 

I’m very surprised hes still here, tbh....

[Heisenberg]

Sounds like he's on his last legs....

 

Could be a great summer

[shurlock]

Sounds like he's on his last legs....

 

Could be a great summer

 

Never underestimate a rat's ability to bite, claw and hang onto dear life.

[CB Fry]

My contacts in Zimbabwe close to the club have confirmed to me that it is likely that possibly Les Reed will leave this summer.

[corky morris]

True test of a person is their ability to take responsibility for poor decisions.

Reed loved all the plaudits & acolades. So much so he publicly wallowed in his self gratifying interviews.

As soon as the going gets tough, he hides.

Shows a distinct lack of integrity in my opinion.

Ralph just talks ********!!

[Nordic Saint]

Do you seriously regard 4 top ten finishes in a row a failure?

 

Well, as we have the 12th biggest average gates in the country this century, in spite of our limited capacity, and social media figures indicate that we have one of the 10 biggest fanbases, that was hardly a massive overachievement, was it? Admittedly, in terms of trophies won, for a club of our size, we are historically just about the most underachieving team in the country and last season was another example of it. It's still underchievment though. If you want to see real overachievement, you need look no further than Bournemouth, who finished above us.

[saintmatt]

Not addressing the obvious striker hole for 4 or so windows.

Not addressing the obvious CB holes over several windows.

Not addressing the obvious GK inadequacies over several years.

Extending the contract of a statue of a GK that we do have.

Hiring the clown.

Not firing the clown months ago.

 

HTH.

 

You do know there's a table out there which represents a very good proxy for a club's success (or otherwise) across a range of measures, including recruitment? It's the one we had four consecutive top 8 finishes in.

[Saint86]

True test of a person is their ability to take responsibility for poor decisions.

Reed loved all the plaudits & acolades. So much so he publicly wallowed in his self gratifying interviews.

As soon as the going gets tough, he hides.

Shows a distinct lack of integrity in my opinion.

Ralph just talks ********!!

 

The thing is, what he actually did was take the credit for work that wasn't his. Whilst simultaneously lying about his predecessors work and blaming him for anything bad. The signs of a true brown nose floater from the start. Is it any wonder he's turned a top 6 side that just missed champions league football into a relegation side... Found out and not facing the music. I'd actually have some respect for him if he came before the fans and held his hands up. The fact that he won't is just another nail is his coffin... though I am amazed there is any space left tbh.

 

It is literally beyond me how 42% of the fans were backing him when this poll was done. Would be shocked if he got over 10% now.

[Heisenberg]

 

It is literally beyond me how 42% of the fans were backing him when this poll was done. Would be shocked if he got over 10% now.

 

Don't underestimate stupid!!

[Saint86]

Don't underestimate stupid!!

 

The thing is Glasgow, if he at least had the balls to acknowledge he has failed and has learnt from it that would be something... But no. He's just been happy to receive praise for the work of others and then disappears from sight the minute his work hasn't remotely lived up to even the lowest expectations.

 

Huddersfield have just had a cracking season.... And the first thing they do in the off season is improve their off the field team and hire a new DoF...

 

And our fans think we should stick with Reed because we can't improve on him. Madness.

 

When a newly promoted club, who've just had their best season in decades, are making off the field changes; then a saints team that have plummeted from one of the best in the county to relegation candidates should be as well.... wasn't it part of the Southampton way to always improve and look to new ways to gain the extra percentages? Obviously doesn't apply at board level! We just to be smiling because we won two games and stayed up ffs. The complacency (even after this season) is staggering... and has been since Koeman and even Poch.

Edited 20 May, 2018 by Saint86

[Lord Duckhunter]

I think I'm getting it. Anything good since Cortese left was nothing to do with Reed and he's just taking credit for it, but anything bad, is. Therefore when we finished higher than Cortese ever did, played in Europe which Cortese never did, went further in both cup completions than Cortese ever did, it was nothing to do with Reed. Yet the one, ONE season that we finish lower than we did under Cortese (but still went further in the FA cup) its all down to Reed. **** me, and there was me thinking it was a bit more nuanced than that. The Reed haters have really opened my eyes with their well thought through precise analysis of the situation. It's all on Reed (apart from the good bits).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited 20 May, 2018 by Lord Duckhunter

[Dellman]

I think I'm getting it. Anything good since Cortese left was nothing to do with Reed and he's just taking credit for it, but anything bad, is. Therefore when we finished higher than Cortese ever did, played in Europe which Cortese never did, went further in both cup completions than Cortese ever did, it was nothing to do with Reed. Yet the one, ONE season that we finish lower than we did under Cortese (but still went further in the FA cup) its all down to Reed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, you've got, that's it

[saintmatt]

I think I'm getting it. Anything good since Cortese left was nothing to do with Reed and he's just taking credit for it, but anything bad, is. Therefore when we finished higher than Cortese ever did, played in Europe which Cortese never did, went further in both cup completions than Cortese ever did, it was nothing to do with Reed. Yet the one, ONE season that we finish lower than we did under Cortese (but still went further in the FA cup) its all down to Reed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think it's just clicked with me too

 

Don't underestimate stupid!!

 

Oh, the irony

[Heisenberg]

^ it is really very difficult to understand so I'll try and help you.

 

If I (Cortese) build a new house (a great house) and then you (Reed) move in and I move out.... It's still a great house. I don't knock it all down and tell you to start again...

 

I (Cortese) built it so you (Reed) probably shouldn't take credit for building the house... Right? The house is newly built so doesn't need maintaining or TLC initially.

 

The new house should really be good for 7-10 years before any work or repairs are needed... Just don't do anything crazy and the house will be absolutely fine.

 

Les inherited a great house and just needed to maintain it. Instead he set about trying to take credit for building the house and immediately started selling off all the quality materials Cortese had used. Thankfully the original house build was solid so despite some initial asset stripping the house wins a few local housing awards.

 

Fast forward just a couple years and now the house is a mess and Reed has locked himself inside.

 

HTH