Sport Republic

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, Convict Colony said:

Ok on this I am calling utter bollocks on this.

Hes not worth 2billion or anywhere near to that cos he owns like 10% of shares in the group.

I would see Kraft more in the 10-20mil range.

All the UK papers said it, but they do frequently get things wrong.

[Matthew Le God]

Henrik Kraft left his roles at Valenciennes and Saints a few weeks ago.

He has now left his director role at Sport Republic...

 

Edited Wednesday at 20:17 by Matthew Le God

[SuperSAINT]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

Henrik Kraft left his roles at Valenciennes and Saints a few weeks ago.

He has now left his director role at Sport Republic...

 

Pretty big news, that.

[Weston Super Saint]

2 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Spors, it’s an incorrect spelling, it’s not as if I called him Harry Redknapp by mistake is it?

I spelt it wrong but that’s his name..

Believe or not, I have bigger priorities than the exact spelling of an SR employee…

I reckon you were hoping it would flower, in time.

[Gloucester Saint]

20 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

I reckon you were hoping it would flower, in time.

Or grow, like spores of mould.

[Gloucester Saint]

21 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Pretty big news, that.

Clearly did fall out with Dragan. Makes things potentially easier for Spors (look MLG) without a potential Kraft/Ankerson roadblock to key decisions. 

[Osvaldorama]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

Henrik Kraft left his roles at Valenciennes and Saints a few weeks ago.

He has now left his director role at Sport Republic...

 

Don’t let the door hit you on the arse on the way out you useless prick. 
 

Hopefully Rasmus and Dragan resign next too and fuck off 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Spors, it’s an incorrect spelling, it’s not as if I called him Harry Redknapp by mistake is it?

I spelt it wrong but that’s his name..

Believe or not, I have bigger priorities than the exact spelling of an SR employee…

Our new employee. Perfect for overseeing a lot of issues at once.

 

MLG's new purchase. Perfect for cleaning up the mess after a love-in over a favourite employee.

 

[Weston Super Saint]

9 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Or grow, like spores of mould.

Kraft had to go - there wasn't mushroom for all of them.

[Bakovnetski]

Hated his cheesy grin

[Saint Billy]

Kraft's failure's spreading throughout SR.

[capitalsaint]

12 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

Henrik Kraft left his roles at Valenciennes and Saints a few weeks ago.

He has now left his director role at Sport Republic...

 

He's still listed as a director of the Sport Republic Holding company though.

[OldNick]

I have always disliked the new owners and felt Semmens was doing ok with Gao (who ) It seems we are cursed, as we had a brilliant owner in Marcus, he sadly passed, then Gao whose intentions seemed to be good but then the Chinese govt.  cut him off at the knees who stopped the flow of money out of China.

We now have SR who I have been wary of, BUT I believe that we have to stay with them. I always was disappointed with Semmens choosing them over the other 2 bids, but I was told by somebody that the other 2 bidders were not cashed up and were gong to do it by loans. (this was a random person I dont know, but he seemedto be well informed) At least SR are using their own money.   

[Sunglasses Ron]

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

[beatlesaint]

22 minutes ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

"So, we have a pretty fed up fanbase who are totally dis-enagaged with the club. What do we do to win them back?"

"I know, lets release the 2003 European kit and charge them £50 for it that'll make them all nostalgic and get them back on side"

FFS !!! 

Edited yesterday at 12:37 by beatlesaint

[OldNick]

7 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

"So, we have a pretty fed up fanbase who are totally dis-enagaged with the club. What do we do to win them back?"

"I know, lets release the 2003 European kit and charge them £50 for it that'll make them all nostalgic and get them back on side"

FFS !!! 

the merchandising depatment are trying to make money for the club and so trying different ideas. We are down at the moment and so picking on the club, they are at least trying

[tdmickey3]

1 hour ago, OldNick said:

the merchandising depatment are trying to make money for the club and so trying different ideas. We are down at the moment and so picking on the club, they are at least trying

"Picking on the club" Are you for real...?

The club is a shower of shit and you think we should feel sorry for them.... 

Edited yesterday at 14:13 by tdmickey3

[Gingeletiss]

53 minutes ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

I’m ok with this, as I have the shirt already, signed by all the team and manager. Lucky me.

Edited yesterday at 13:07 by Gingeletiss

[Football Special]

3 hours ago, OldNick said:

I have always disliked the new owners and felt Semmens was doing ok with Gao (who ) It seems we are cursed, as we had a brilliant owner in Marcus, he sadly passed, then Gao whose intentions seemed to be good but then the Chinese govt.  cut him off at the knees who stopped the flow of money out of China.

We now have SR who I have been wary of, BUT I believe that we have to stay with them. I always was disappointed with Semmens choosing them over the other 2 bids, but I was told by somebody that the other 2 bidders were not cashed up and were gong to do it by loans. (this was a random person I dont know, but he seemedto be well informed) At least SR are using their own money.   

It's a shame as Gao was very passionate about Saints and his daughter Nelly had struck up a lovely friendship with Kat. 

[Chez]

1 hour ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

That shirt would suit the current side. It's fucking shit. 

[Sunglasses Ron]

23 minutes ago, Chez said:

That shirt would suit the current side. It's fucking shit. 

It was only worn twice too wasn't it as we got knocked out at the first hurdle.

Not iconic, not particularly nice and definitely not worth £50.

Edited yesterday at 14:16 by Sunglasses Ron

[Football Special]

3 minutes ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

It only worn twice too wasn't it as we got knocked out at the first hurdle.

Not iconic, not particularly nice and definitely not worth £50.

It's a bit of a collectors item though as not many were produced? 

I think the trip to Bucharest was iconic , the shirt worn not so much 

[OldNick]

2 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

"Picking on the club" Are you for real...?

The club is a shower of shit and you think we should feel sorry for them.... 

I not saying to feel sorry for the owners, but if the merchandising department are trying to find ways to help the club generate income then whats the problem? Yes the team are shit, and I never expected a team that finished 4th in the Championship to do nothing more than struggle. OK it is worse than expected but no good taking it out on people who are trying to help. No doubt a lot of them are concerned about their famillies and own future as redundancies will be on the way.A very sad state of affairs, and boycottig products or going is going to change SFA. 

[The Kraken]

One of my least favourite shirt designs that one, thought it looked really naff.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

21 hours ago, manji said:

Because Sports Republic is a relatively small part of United Group .

Well that makes it all ok then

[Sunglasses Ron]

45 minutes ago, OldNick said:

I not saying to feel sorry for the owners, but if the merchandising department are trying to find ways to help the club generate income then whats the problem? Yes the team are shit, and I never expected a team that finished 4th in the Championship to do nothing more than struggle. OK it is worse than expected but no good taking it out on people who are trying to help. No doubt a lot of them are concerned about their famillies and own future as redundancies will be on the way.A very sad state of affairs, and boycottig products or going is going to change SFA. 

It's ok, I get it.

Unfortunately, I think the club have alienated supporters so much that even good-natured moves like this are a bit of a red rag to a bull at the moment.

All we want it to see some heart and fu@king effort on the pitch.  When that happens they can start asking us for more of our hard-earned money.

[OldNick]

Just now, Sunglasses Ron said:

It's ok, I get it.

Unfortunately, I think the club have alienated supporters so much that even good-natured moves like this are a bit of a red rag to a bull at the moment.

All we want it to see some heart and fu@king effort on the pitch.  When that happens they can start asking us for more of our hard-earned money.

I believe there is heart and effort but the players must have very low moral and confidence. The squad is so thin ofquality,in other seasons and things were going badly, I used think when XYZ get fit things will get better but this season there is nobody there where you can feel 'when he returns things will look up.'

Many fans pre season were optimistic and believed we would cope easily , bragging and happy that we had had a snip by getting THB and the midfield dynamo of FD. Sadly those hopes have been extinguished by the jump in quality they were facing. The purchase of Frazer and the 2 forwards was a mystery and whilst I think Ramsdale is very good, it seemed mad that we spent 20m on a keeper.

 

[Morse]

On 24/02/2025 at 14:48, Football Special said:

What a funny old game football is , paying millions a week on players and then doing stuff like this 

Since when did Albert Steptoe buy into Man U ? 

[Sunglasses Ron]

14 minutes ago, OldNick said:

I believe there is heart and effort but the players must have very low moral and confidence. The squad is so thin ofquality,in other seasons and things were going badly, I used think when XYZ get fit things will get better but this season there is nobody there where you can feel 'when he returns things will look up.'

Many fans pre season were optimistic and believed we would cope easily , bragging and happy that we had had a snip by getting THB and the midfield dynamo of FD. Sadly those hopes have been extinguished by the jump in quality they were facing. The purchase of Frazer and the 2 forwards was a mystery and whilst I think Ramsdale is very good, it seemed mad that we spent 20m on a keeper.

 

Maybe if we somehow find two points to match Derby's record points total, the club shop could sell a half-and-half scarf for us to all buy! 😄

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

14 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Many fans pre season were optimistic and believed we would cope easily , bragging and happy

I honestly don't know of any fan that really believed we'd stay up this season, none of my mates anyway. Plenty of us on here were saying if RM stuck to his possession malarkey we'd probably be down with the Christmas decorations.

[Chez]

3 hours ago, Football Special said:

It's a bit of a collectors item though as not many were produced? 

I think the trip to Bucharest was iconic , the shirt worn not so much 

The shirt and performance in it, pretty crap, the actual trip to Bucharest, legendary. I guess that's one good thing about this load of old bollocks kit rerelease is that it has just brought back some great memories. 

 

[Weston Super Saint]

6 hours ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

Work experience kid found 20 boxes of them when clearing out the stock room.

[bpsaint]

6 hours ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I swear this club is trying to wind us up on purpose.

I guess sales of the crappy current kits have absolutely tanked.

 

Re-releasing the black retro is a bit naughty,the first run was marketed as a limited edition of 300.

[Give it to Ron]

3 hours ago, OldNick said:

I believe there is heart and effort but the players must have very low moral and confidence. The squad is so thin ofquality,in other seasons and things were going badly, I used think when XYZ get fit things will get better but this season there is nobody there where you can feel 'when he returns things will look up.'

Many fans pre season were optimistic and believed we would cope easily , bragging and happy that we had had a snip by getting THB and the midfield dynamo of FD. Sadly those hopes have been extinguished by the jump in quality they were facing. The purchase of Frazer and the 2 forwards was a mystery and whilst I think Ramsdale is very good, it seemed mad that we spent 20m on a keeper.

 

Southampton’s Premier League record under Sport Republic’s ownership:

84 matches
13 wins
14 draws
57 defeats
78 goals scored
176 goals conceded
15.5% win percentage
53 points from a possible 252
2 relegations*
 

Needs more than a retro shirt doesn’t it !

[sfc4prem]

4 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

Southampton’s Premier League record under Sport Republic’s ownership:

84 matches
13 wins
14 draws
57 defeats
78 goals scored
176 goals conceded
15.5% win percentage
53 points from a possible 252
2 relegations*
 

Needs more than a retro shirt doesn’t it !

Wow. That is overwhelmingly damning. Fuck off the lot of them.

[Convict Colony]

On 26/02/2025 at 9:14 PM, Matthew Le God said:

Henrik Kraft left his roles at Valenciennes and Saints a few weeks ago.

He has now left his director role at Sport Republic...

 

Guess Kraft got one of these early morning phones calls about a signing

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

On 24/02/2025 at 10:33, ChristopheVAFC said:

Finally, as far as my club, Valenciennes, is concerned, I can tell you that before the arrival of Sport Républic, things were really very complicated for us, with absentee management, a president whose management bordered on dictatorship, and we were very close to bankruptcy.

It's true that SR's first year at the head of Valenciennes was very complicated and we went down to the 3rd division, but a lot of things are improving every day.

I don't think that SR is as bad as that, he makes mistakes that I think are sometimes avoidable and tries to do the best he can, it's a shame because I think that with a better entourage, he could do a lot better for our 3 clubs...

Like Christophe, I think SR could be a long term bonus to our club. We were on a downward slippery slope until they came in and while we're still sliding, I think SR have the financial clout to stop the rot.

When SR first came on the scene, I was pissed off because they side-lined Ralph. But there's no denying they've spent money. It was completely wasted on that January window two years ago, but even last summer we spent £120m and were the fourth largest spenders in the premier league. Yes, it was again wasted but their positive intention has always been there; it's just the wrong people were at the top.

Now there's been a change in personnel at senior management. Some doom mongers are saying that the club is rotten and failure is ingrained and we'll sink next year too but I don't subscribe to that. We will be one of the rich clubs of the championship next year. We have every chance of bouncing straight back. 

[HarvSFC]

2 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

Southampton’s Premier League record under Sport Republic’s ownership:

84 matches
13 wins
14 draws
57 defeats
78 goals scored
176 goals conceded
15.5% win percentage
53 points from a possible 252
2 relegations*
 

Needs more than a retro shirt doesn’t it !

And Hasenhuttl got 8 of those wins!

[Weston Super Saint]

11 hours ago, bpsaint said:

Re-releasing the black retro is a bit naughty,the first run was marketed as a limited edition of 300.

Not 'naughty' at all - there are still 186 left from the original release  

[S-Clarke]

11 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

And Hasenhuttl got 8 of those wins!

That illustrates that point even more, those 8 wins are 'in spite' of SR's involvement.

A true figure would be 5 wins in 76 PL matches, 2 relegations and 4 PL managers under their full leadership.

Awful doesn't even come close to describing that record.

Edited 13 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Saint Billy]

11 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Like Christophe, I think SR could be a long term bonus to our club. We were on a downward slippery slope until they came in and while we're still sliding, I think SR have the financial clout to stop the rot.

When SR first came on the scene, I was pissed off because they side-lined Ralph. But there's no denying they've spent money. It was completely wasted on that January window two years ago, but even last summer we spent £120m and were the fourth largest spenders in the premier league. Yes, it was again wasted but their positive intention has always been there; it's just the wrong people were at the top.

Now there's been a change in personnel at senior management. Some doom mongers are saying that the club is rotten and failure is ingrained and we'll sink next year too but I don't subscribe to that. We will be one of the rich clubs of the championship next year. We have every chance of bouncing straight back. 

SR can spend all the dosh they want but if the club is run and managed badly it makes fuck all difference.

Too much damage has been done for a quick fix now or in the near future.

[the colonel]

Well here goes......Rather than Nicola Cortese being involved with a buy out of Sunderland.......I'd have him back as CEO in a flash to sort this mess out......I know it was Liebherr's money but generally he took no shiite and arguably when he was in charge we were one of the best run clubs in the country....I'd always be one to argue never go back but looking at the state we are in, he is one man I'd have back.

[Dman]

On 25/02/2025 at 22:49, Pamplemousse said:

They're not going anywhere but they have this season to really sort things out. If we're not in the promotion mix next season I suspect that is when the fans' patience will run out.

We have new DOF so let's see. But they are on notice.

Have they not done that though? This year alone, they've hooked out senior memebers of the ownership board. Appointed a new DOF. 

Thats fairly substantial changes. It'll take a while for those new figures to make an impact, that being said, its a big summer for the club. 

[Gloucester Saint]

15 minutes ago, Dman said:

Have they not done that though? This year alone, they've hooked out senior memebers of the ownership board. Appointed a new DOF. 

Thats fairly substantial changes. It'll take a while for those new figures to make an impact, that being said, its a big summer for the club. 

I’m somewhere inbetween yours and Pampelmousse’s posts. Dragan has made some serious changes at SR board level, I didn’t realise Kraft had been jettisoned not only from SFC but SR as well, Spors has come in, new SR board members aligned to Dragan. Hopefully Rasmus has been told to focus on Goztepe operationally. 

Where they need to go further still is bringing in a good, proven UK football CEO who can run things day to day and provide close counsel to the new manager. And that’s not Mark Bitcon. Even if SR make a rare sensible decision and hire Steve Cooper, they still need that. A firm hand might have steered/dragged Russell Martin away from the rocks with a first warning after the Brentford game so that the later debacles didn’t happen eg adapt your style again or the board will act very swiftly in the interests of the club.

Not sure where Darren Mowbray will fit into the equation.

Also, the club ought to be more able to recruit right across the spine of the team with strong, quick athletes before having to make multiple large sales first than it was in 2023 after the January spunk up the wall.

Edited 13 hours ago by Gloucester Saint

[beatlesaint]

4 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Not 'naughty' at all - there are still 186 left from the original release  

To be honest the black one is quite appropriate at the moment.

[leesaint88]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Have they not done that though? This year alone, they've hooked out senior memebers of the ownership board. Appointed a new DOF. 

Thats fairly substantial changes. It'll take a while for those new figures to make an impact, that being said, its a big summer for the club. 

Absolutely. I'm feeling reasonably positive about this summer and I have a feeling SR will appoint a solid manager (still putting money on Cooper) and will make some smart signings. 

It's easy when we have such a bad season to want the owners gone but the replacement could be so much worse. At the moment, it looks like finally the club are starting to wake up a little bit and change those at the top.  

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

I agree, Dragan Solak is not the problem here, far from it. I think it was said that he wasn’t a big football man when he came in, he put his trust in others that he was convinced by. And to be fair, last season, despite flaws, was a successful one, so he had to give them the opportunity in the PL.

But once he seen what’s happening he’s acted. In the relatively short time Solak’s been more hands on he’s moved people out, brought in Spors and a new manager. Juric hasn’t worked out but he has started addressing the issues.

Who knows what will happen back in the Championship, we’ll likely have a new, unrecognisable team, and probably manager, but I’m happy DS is the right man at the helm.

[Saint Fan CaM]

17 hours ago, bpsaint said:

Re-releasing the black retro is a bit naughty,the first run was marketed as a limited edition of 300.

Not really - they’ve still got 277 of those 300 shorts to shift! 🤣🤣🤣

[Badger]

2 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

 

Where they need to go further still is bringing in a good, proven UK football CEO who can run things day to day and provide close counsel to the new manager. And that’s not Mark Bitcon. Even if SR make a rare sensible decision and hire Steve Cooper, they still need that. 

This would be an important step in my book. Happy to have Spors for  recruitment and other areas of the back room works, would be pleased by the appointment of a good coach from Europe (Rohl for example), so by no means is it a Little Englander stance, but I’d like to see someone as you describe a proven UK Director who understands the club, supporters etc. 

If you go back, when Liebherr and Cortese arrived they had Andy Oldknow for local knowledge and understanding of the game here. Admittedly replaced early on. I think NC appointed Les Reed around this time. And despite how he was perceived later on with us, I suspect his early contribution was vital. 

[SaintNewForest]

40 minutes ago, Badger said:

This would be an important step in my book. Happy to have Spors for  recruitment and other areas of the back room works, would be pleased by the appointment of a good coach from Europe (Rohl for example), so by no means is it a Little Englander stance, but I’d like to see someone as you describe a proven UK Director who understands the club, supporters etc. 

If you go back, when Liebherr and Cortese arrived they had Andy Oldknow for local knowledge and understanding of the game here. Admittedly replaced early on. I think NC appointed Les Reed around this time. And despite how he was perceived later on with us, I suspect his early contribution was vital. 

Les was very under appreciated in those early days; we all hear about Cortese this, Cortese that but Reed was a huge part of those early years, double promotions & europe ... it's a shame it went sour at the end and clouded the contributions he made to the club when people evaluate and judge his time here.