Do you want Nathan Jones to Manage Southampton Football Club?

[FarehamSaintJames]

He’s on the south coast today, supposedly. 
I wonder if he’ll be at the game tonight.

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, St Louis said:

Im not trying to be antagonistic, but we are one of the smallest clubs in the league, with the smallest budget, etc. Football is so different now, we were on a more level playing field in this division through the 80's/90's/00's, but not anymore, we don't have the money to compete at the higher end of the table (or even mid-table in my opinion). We may have the occasional anomaly period where we finish in the top half, but that isn't our natural position.

Until we get big investment, we will always be fighting to stay in the league. We all love Saints, but from any neutral fans standpoint we are one of the smallest and most insignificant clubs in the division, and I'm absolutely OK with that.

Our model for now (due only to finances and stature) is that we need to buy young rough diamonds, develop them and sell them on for a big profit. And use our owners moneyball data-led approach to try and gain an advantage and a few extra points where we can. I don't know if Jones is the answer, and I personally was hoping for a more proven name, but I do think we have to trust the new owners and their new approach for the club. They made a good choice in giving Thomas Frank the Brentford job, against the fans 'better' judgement. 

See i dont buy this about the money and size thing. We've had 11 years of hundreds of millions of TV money, yes of course there are some clubs that we cant hope to compete with, but why cant we compete with the likes of Brighton, Palace, Leeds, and we should be much further ahead than Fulham, Brentford, Forest. All us fans can really ask for is a midtable finish and a good cup run, we dont want more than that and given the amount of time we've been in this league with the money coming in there is no reason why that is unrealistic. Even our transfers up to this season were funded by sales. We're being sold the line we should just be happy to be in the premier league but to me that is nonsense and to be honest if our sole ambition is just to stay up i'd rather go down, at least we'd be competitive and at least it wouldn't be as boring uninspiringly as the repeat of the mantra in the 90s of survival is success.

[LGTL]

The funniest thing on this forum at the moment are those desperately trying to compare him with other appointments, and why this means it’s not a completely shambolic appointment.
 

But but but Chris Nicholl

But but but Lawrie McMenemy

But but but Gordon Strachan 

But but but Nigel Adkins

But but but Mauricio Pochettino

Looking forward to adding to this list as the days go on. 

 

[Miltonaggro]

4 hours ago, Nolan said:

Maybe rephrase the question to.

Do you know more about football that the professionals who run the club?

Yes

No

Unsure

Fair point, but there are a lot of long suffering Saints supporters who know when they are being pissed on and told its raining. Painful deja vu for many of us, a luxury the brains trust at Sports Republic don’t possess. 

[Convict Colony]

Its their money they can do what they want.

I will always support whoever gets the job.

[Miltonaggro]

Just now, Convict Colony said:

Its their money they can do what they want.

I will always support whoever gets the job.

This is right too of course. 

[Killers Knee]

IMO this appointment smacks that SR is resigned to us being relegated and does not have the funds to support us in reversing the situation.  We will know by the end of January, regardless.  We either invest in a proven striker, plead poverty (sell before buy) or pretend to sign one only for him to get away last minute.

Edited 9 November, 2022 by Killers Knee

[harvey]

It's a no from me. At the beginning of the season is the time to experiment with a risky appointment like this .... there's not enough time left to rectify it if it goes tits up!

[aintforever]

I clicked no. He may turn out to be a genius appointment but it just seems to be a pointless gamble to me.  

For me our best Premier League managers have been Koeman, Poch, Strachan and Hoddle, all of them have played and/or managed at the highest level. It's obviously not a necessity for a manager but it helps. We have a Rookie in goal and probably the youngest back four in the league, we need a manager with some top-level knowhow IMO. There is no wriggle room for a gaffer on a learning curve.

I will happily be proven wrong. Jones does seem to be a bit of a character so if he gets the players onside and has some good ideas they buy into it may work.

Edited 9 November, 2022 by aintforever

[gio1saints]

I am pro the appointment and will support him and saints whatever. Win or lose. Youngish but passionate and principled no name unpretentious manager from lower leagues suits me right down to the ground.  

If NJ gets the job it should be made clear that IF we get relegated he is still in charge for next season. That is on the proviso that we are attempting to play saintly football and players are always giving 100%.   

If that is made clear then it should be a plus to the squad and support to have that certainty and reduces chances of players or support not trying for unknown manager syndrome, or indeed players looking to leave cost they don't fancy him. 

My personal fear is that last point- i feel we have a squad with excellent potential - but not a winning team - yet. I would love NJ to keep playing our young players here and to develop them - not just to offload to other EPL clubs in a mass evacuation this winter and next summer as might potentially happen in that circumstance.. 

  

 

[manji]

Anyone noticed all the Jones “ news” is from the Luton side ? Strikes me Luton want rid and of course the money. The Stoke game last night was dire and Jones post match interview made him sound like a nutter.

[Sheaf Saint]

1 hour ago, Nordic Saint said:

No, he wasn't. Moyes had no failure in his managerial career whatsoever when Everton appointed him. His win rate at Preston was 47.86%.

Nathan Jones was a disaster in his year at Stoke and his win rate was just 15.8%. His current Luton team have won just 1 of their last 5 games and only scored 22 goals in 20 games this season. He's hardly on the crest of a wave.

 

And yet they are still sat in 9th, only 2 points outside the playoff places.

If he can get a team to grind out results and be comfortably top half despite a lack of firepower up front, surely that is exactly what we need given the current limitations of our squad?

[John B]

11 minutes ago, Turkish said:

See i dont buy this about the money and size thing. We've had 11 years of hundreds of millions of TV money, yes of course there are some clubs that we cant hope to compete with, but why cant we compete with the likes of Brighton, Palace, Leeds, and we should be much further ahead than Fulham, Brentford, Forest. All us fans can really ask for is a midtable finish and a good cup run, we dont want more than that and given the amount of time we've been in this league with the money coming in there is no reason why that is unrealistic. Even our transfers up to this season were funded by sales. We're being sold the line we should just be happy to be in the premier league but to me that is nonsense and to be honest if our sole ambition is just to stay up i'd rather go down, at least we'd be competitive and at least it wouldn't be as boring uninspiringly as the repeat of the mantra in the 90s of survival is success.

I agree with what you are saying but surely it is down to the quality of attacking players we recruit 

 

If we had Mitrovic from Fulham Toney from Brentford or Saha from Palace we would be in a far better position do you not think

 

We once had Tadic Pelle Lallana and Mane and we did well but since then only Ings has done well Redmond Adams Lemina S Armsrong Djeneppo have had a few high spots but do not play well consistently

[edprice1984]

I don't particularly want Jones as manager, but will support him if he is appointed. I think there is still money in the pot and the situation is clearly not irretrievable. 

Based on the little I know of Luton and their style of football, Jones would be a surprising choice. But if the board and owners are looking at someone who can improve players then may be that is the reasoning.

As long as it isn't Dyche/Bruce/Allardyce hoof ball all the time then I think we can cope. 

[St Louis]

31 minutes ago, Turkish said:

See i dont buy this about the money and size thing. We've had 11 years of hundreds of millions of TV money, yes of course there are some clubs that we cant hope to compete with, but why cant we compete with the likes of Brighton, Palace, Leeds, and we should be much further ahead than Fulham, Brentford, Forest. All us fans can really ask for is a midtable finish and a good cup run, we dont want more than that and given the amount of time we've been in this league with the money coming in there is no reason why that is unrealistic. Even our transfers up to this season were funded by sales. We're being sold the line we should just be happy to be in the premier league but to me that is nonsense and to be honest if our sole ambition is just to stay up i'd rather go down, at least we'd be competitive and at least it wouldn't be as boring uninspiringly as the repeat of the mantra in the 90s of survival is success.

Yes I agree, we should be able to compete with the likes of Brighton, Palace, Fulham and Brentford... and we DO compete with them. In fact we finish above them more often than not and may again this season. Leeds and Forest are bigger clubs than us and I would imagine spend a lot more than us on wages for a start (we wouldnt be able to sign Jesse Lingard in a million years).
I think our (first) ambition each season is just to stay up and I personally (*controversial opinion alert*) wouldnt mind if we did go down. I fell out of love with the over sanitised Premier League and all its wealth a long time ago, especially as the gap between the Big 6 (and now Newcastle) increases every season. I have followed Saints since the mid-80's and my most enjoyable years were 09/10 to 11/12 (and maybe a few of those early seasons in the Prem).
Your ambition (like mine and most others) is to try and finish mid-table and have a cup run, and I dont think we have made a bad shot at that over the last 11 years and have done both on multiple occasions. But I dont think (or expect) it to happen most seasons.
I'm completely at ease with the pecking order and how the Premier League works. I hate the big clubs and their plastic fans and their media love-in. I quite enjoy us being one of the smaller pluckier clubs, looking for ways to compete. But I accept that we are one of 5-10 smaller clubs who are fighting to stay up each year, with the odd bonus season thrown in. And if we go down I wouldnt really mind at all.
What I cant get my head around is how people (not saying you @Turkish) believe that we should regularly be a Top-Half team and get annoyed when we arent, because based on finances, fanbase and stature (appeal to attract players) there is no way that's sustainable without more investment. Yes we get a lot of TV money, but so do the others.
Anyway... back to Jones, and I feel very underwhelmed and hope we go down a different route. But we all felt the same with Strachan & Adkins (what the hell had they achieved!?) and they both worked out OK.

Edited 9 November, 2022 by St Louis

[LeBizzier69]

I don't see this in any way as us being resigned to relegation - how could the owners possibly take that view given we've got 24 games to go in the season and are 5 points off 11th. 

If we had £30m odd to spend on a striker recently, then i'm sure they'd splash the cash on a manager if they felt they were the right appointment for the club. I think the club must genuinely believe he's the right man to take us forward this season and beyond. If we were bottom, and almost cut adrift then i could possibly buy into that view but we're far from it. 

Get him in, get him a goalscorer, get behind the team and let's see what happens then.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

I assume that the vast majority of the 11% who do want him are Pompey fans?

I saw another poll that only had yes or no as the options. 98% didn't want him. 

[Wade Garrett]

Voted no, but wish him well.  At least he's not Ralph.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

How have we gone from the likes of Poch, Puel, Koeman and Hassenhuttl to Nathan fucking Jones? 

Honestly, this club. They've been taking the piss out of us fans for years. 

This is the final straw for me. I can't support Jones' appointment. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

29 minutes ago, Killers Knee said:

IMO this appointment smacks that SR is resigned to us being relegated and does not have the funds to support us in reversing the situation. 

Dear God
 

If that was the case surely they’d keep Ralph, thus saving paying him off and not having to pay Luton compo. 

[FarehamSaintJames]

9 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

How have we gone from the likes of Poch, Puel, Koeman and Hassenhuttl to Nathan fucking Jones? 

Honestly, this club. They've been taking the piss out of us fans for years. 

This is the final straw for me. I can't support Jones' appointment. 

What will you do instead? 😂

No one is forcing you to go.

I agree it’s underwhelming but this is the level we are now. 

[LuckyNumber7]

11 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

How have we gone from the likes of Poch, Puel, Koeman and Hassenhuttl to Nathan fucking Jones? 

Honestly, this club. They've been taking the piss out of us fans for years. 

This is the final straw for me. I can't support Jones' appointment. 

Do us all a favour and go back to supporting Luton then?

I'm sure you'll be delighted they can now get a good manager in after the terrible job Jones has done.

[Toussaint]

12 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

I assume that the vast majority of the 11% who do want him are Pompey fans?

I saw another poll that only had yes or no as the options. 98% didn't want him. 

I voted yes on the assumption it's a done deal,  I cannot see how we benefit from turning against him before he has had a chance to show what he can do. My first choice, given our situation,  would  be Dyche, but that would attract just as much negativity. 

[CB Fry]

13 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

How have we gone from the likes of Poch, Puel, Koeman and Hassenhuttl to Nathan fucking Jones? 

Honestly, this club. They've been taking the piss out of us fans for years. 

This is the final straw for me. I can't support Jones' appointment. 

Pretty sure you moaned like fuck throughout all of their tenures as well to be fair.

[teamsaint]

34 minutes ago, Killers Knee said:

IMO this appointment smacks that SR is resigned to us being relegated and does not have the funds to support us in reversing the situation.  We will know by the end of January, regardless.  We either invest in a proven striker, plead poverty (sell before buy) or pretend to sign one only for him to get away last minute.

Why on earth would they be resigned to relegation ?  Things don’t look that great, but we have the basis of a reasonable side, we aren’t in a disastrous points position, and the striker situation can surely be improved in Jan, one way or another.

[skintsaint]

Only 9% say yes at this stage. Safe to say he will have his work cut out and little time to win fans over if he joins.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

I'm not against him, I'm just surprised he's the main target and the one they want.  The owners aren't stupid, and there was a report that they wanted him at Brentford before Frank.  They obviously see something in him.  It must be more than meets the eye but you also can't disrespect what he has done at Luton.

I'm torn between being excited with any change, the unknown of Nathan Jones and the track record of the owners meaning they rarely miss versus the risk that this is.

At least it will be different, and being different was the only way we were going to stay up.  If he can motivate the players and Selles gets stuck into them tactically then we have every chance.

[Convict Colony]

2 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Out of interest, what are people seeing in that interview from last night that they like?

To me he comes across as an inarticulate, jabbering bag of nerves. His body language is terrible and his communication style is jittery and unfocused. It reminds me of when a coach has been made into a caretaker manager and has to give a TV interview for the first time. Like when Wigley for us or Terry Connor for Wolves first had the cameras put on them - no gravitas, just like a rabbit in the headlights. 

It’s not the be and end all, but if you’re inarticulate or a poor communicator it puts you at a real disadvantage from the beginning. 

I watch that from last night, and some of his other interviews, and it’s like watching someone on the Apprentice going on stage and nervously stuttering their way through an awful pitch. It doesn’t exactly instil confidence.

But who knows, maybe when he’s behind the scenes he suddenly transforms into David Dimbleby.

pretty sure we are not employing him to be a tv presenter

[whelk]

6 minutes ago, Lallana's Left Peg said:

I'm not against him, I'm just surprised he's the main target and the one they want.  The owners aren't stupid, and there was a report that they wanted him at Brentford before Frank.  They obviously see something in him.  It must be more than meets the eye but you also can't disrespect what he has done at Luton.

I'm torn between being excited with any change, the unknown of Nathan Jones and the track record of the owners meaning they rarely miss versus the risk that this is.

At least it will be different, and being different was the only way we were going to stay up.  If he can motivate the players and Selles gets stuck into them tactically then we have every chance.

Sums up my view. Quite pathetic seeing some getting so worked up.

[John Boy Saint]

24 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

How have we gone from the likes of Poch, Puel, Koeman and Hassenhuttl to Nathan fucking Jones? 

Honestly, this club. They've been taking the piss out of us fans for years. 

This is the final straw for me. I can't support Jones' appointment. 

Come on when he came in this place went into the same level of meltdown as we are seeing here now - there was a call for everyone to do the Spanish thing and twirl white handkerchiefs above our heads as a sign of protest. 

 

[tajjuk]

Personally I don't understand the vitriol and very extreme reactions. If we were going to sign a young player who had just been Championship player of the year last year I think most here would be excited about the signing, or at the very least understand it. Yet doing the same with a manager, a guy who has consistently made a lower resourced team punch above its weight (and ok has a very short failed spell at Stoke) and people are somehow convinced the guy is going to be terrible and should be nowhere near the club.

It doesn't really make any sense, there is no logic behind from what I can see, many just seem to not know much about him and thus that ignorance seems to propel them to being fully convinced he is not the right choice. I mean if this is how many of you seem to make decisions I don't really know how you get through life. 

I voted unsure because I just don't know enough to make an informed decision, but the little I have seen I can't see many alarm bells. He is a young manager, who seems very dedicated and passionate about his job, seems known to be a good man manager (something clearly missing with Ralph), seems to have been praised for helping young players develop (ticks a box with us again), and as said has consistently made a team with resources lower than many around them perform better than their level. 

It's also not a particularly unusual appointment for us considering how we have appointed managers in the past and its pretty similar to how we approach player recruitment as well. 

It's just baffling that you see people preferring a known failure like Gerrard over someone like Jones who is more of an unknown but has IMO more chance of being very successful.  Then you have people being envious of Lopetegui, and again I have to ask why? A guy who has only ever managed in Portugal or Spain, failed spectacularly at Real Madrid and despite being given vast resources didn't win anything with Porto either, one decent season aside with Sevilla he's hardly been that successful yet again we people seeing that as some sort of coup, but Nathan Jones is some sort of disaster that should be nowhere near the club, it just makes no sense. 

[CB Fry]

5 minutes ago, whelk said:

Sums up my view. Quite pathetic seeing some getting so worked up.

Are you going to come and help me paint "Nathan Jones Not Welcome Here" on this bedsheet or not?

[whelk]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

Are you going to come and help me paint "Nathan Jones Not Welcome Here" on this bedsheet or not?

I’m more crayon on A4.  Was thinking ‘boo hiss arse piss Jones’ but then actually thought the more it winds up people here the more fun it will be.

[West end Saints]

It's unsure for me, as I have no idea what the other options are, who is possible etc. 

I would prefer Poch, Gallardo sounds bit wow, but would we stand a chance? 

I would prefer Jones to Gerrard, Dyche, as at least I can see potential which, for me out ways those who have experience but maybe are not great. 

I do think loads of those criticising would have been more positive if he was coming from abroad. 

The championship compares with a lot of more trendy European leagues, and he was manager of the year

[Toussaint]

32 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

Only 9% say yes at this stage. Safe to say he will have his work cut out and little time to win fans over if he joins.

This forum doesn't necessarily represent the consensus of Saints fans at large.

[saintant]

5 hours ago, Yorkshire Saint said:

No from me, but this was before I watched his post match interview on Sky last night. With this I will say unsure. It does not feel right but he seems authentic so who knows what we might get. 

He will get my complete support until he doesn't.

 

I reckon if the average fan knew nothing about Pep and then watched one of his interviews they'd probably end up thinking he was as mad as a box of frogs and not cut out for this Premier League management malarky.

[Chris cooper]

59 minutes ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

What will you do instead? 😂

No one is forcing you to go.

I agree it’s underwhelming but this is the level we are now. 

That’s the P O postcode in ya ! 

[wild-saint]

My initial thoughts were FFS we will be relegated for sure.   

Spoken to a few friends that are long term Luton fans (from a time i worked there many years ago). They have nothing but great words about NJ and seems to be exactly the type of manager we need.  

I am little happier now but still slightly underwhelmed but will support him to the hilt until I can bear no more or slag him off when as a success pisses off to somewhere better. 

 

[skintsaint]

28 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

This forum doesn't necessarily represent the consensus of Saints fans at large.

Might do though.

[suewhistle]

6 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Four years ago, with a poor squad and in our exact current position, we appointed a man who had recently finished second in the Bundesliga and had Champions League experience, and we were paying him six million a year.

So from what you are saying earlier about RH we really don't want one of those then?

[Convict Colony]

To be honest this question and our answers are a moot point.

If in the first few games if we see a big improvement in players performances and our formation/tactics then everyone on here will be aboard the Jones express.

[ally_uk]

I thought our owner was a billionaire? Surely the tight sod can put some money on the table and sell a project to Poch or someone with the same calibre.... 

 

We are in a relegation battle this isn't the the time to be pissing about with inexperienced cheap options.... 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, John B said:

I agree with what you are saying but surely it is down to the quality of attacking players we recruit 

 

If we had Mitrovic from Fulham Toney from Brentford or Saha from Palace we would be in a far better position do you not think

 

We once had Tadic Pelle Lallana and Mane and we did well but since then only Ings has done well Redmond Adams Lemina S Armsrong Djeneppo have had a few high spots but do not play well consistently

Yeah we would have been but Toney cost Brentford about £5m he was an absolute steal, Mitrovic cost Fulham about £20m he didn't have a great premier leauge record until this season but definitely better to sign one of him than gambling and trying to be clever and buy YHGTI players or ones from abroad in key postions rather than signing players under our noses who might cost a bit more. 

It's like the whole nonsense with the centre back, we've been desperate to for a quality centre back since the winter of 2017 but rather than going out and getting a decent one we've tried to be clever and gone through a load of shite and 60 million quid, now we've finally got one or two.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

1 hour ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Do us all a favour and go back to supporting Luton then?

I'm sure you'll be delighted they can now get a good manager in after the terrible job Jones has done.

When did I say Jones had done a terrible job? I said there's no denying that he's done a great job at Luton but he's at his level and a lot of Luton fans don't like him. 

 

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, St Louis said:

Yes I agree, we should be able to compete with the likes of Brighton, Palace, Fulham and Brentford... and we DO compete with them. In fact we finish above them more often than not and may again this season. Leeds and Forest are bigger clubs than us and I would imagine spend a lot more than us on wages for a start (we wouldnt be able to sign Jesse Lingard in a million years).
I think our (first) ambition each season is just to stay up and I personally (*controversial opinion alert*) wouldnt mind if we did go down. I fell out of love with the over sanitised Premier League and all its wealth a long time ago, especially as the gap between the Big 6 (and now Newcastle) increases every season. I have followed Saints since the mid-80's and my most enjoyable years were 09/10 to 11/12 (and maybe a few of those early seasons in the Prem).
Your ambition (like mine and most others) is to try and finish mid-table and have a cup run, and I dont think we have made a bad shot at that over the last 11 years and have done both on multiple occasions. But I dont think (or expect) it to happen most seasons.
I'm completely at ease with the pecking order and how the Premier League works. I hate the big clubs and their plastic fans and their media love-in. I quite enjoy us being one of the smaller pluckier clubs, looking for ways to compete. But I accept that we are one of 5-10 smaller clubs who are fighting to stay up each year, with the odd bonus season thrown in. And if we go down I wouldnt really mind at all.
What I cant get my head around is how people (not saying you @Turkish) believe that we should regularly be a Top-Half team and get annoyed when we arent, because based on finances, fanbase and stature (appeal to attract players) there is no way that's sustainable without more investment. Yes we get a lot of TV money, but so do the others.
Anyway... back to Jones, and I feel very underwhelmed and hope we go down a different route. But we all felt the same with Strachan & Adkins (what the hell had they achieved!?) and they both worked out OK.

Why should Leeds and Forest be able to outspend us? Yes they're historically bigger clubs than us with bigger fan bases and more history but they've been out of top flight for 20 years or so, our grounds are similar sizes, but we've had 11 years of premier league money, they've only had 3 between them, Sorry that's an excuse. Same with Brighton and Palace, whilst they build good squads with a mix of blend and experience we either buy bargain basement of kids and with the sole intention being to flog them for more money in 2 years time. NOw dont get me wrong, it's a brilliant model when it works, as we say in 2014-17 with Mane, Van Dijk and co but first off they weren't young kids with a handful of games between them and secondly if it goes wrong not only does it damage the club it also is unfair on any young player to expect them to rescue a team in a relegation battle, so how ridiculous is it that we've got almost a full squad of them.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

Pretty sure you moaned like fuck throughout all of their tenures as well to be fair.

Funny. I don't think I did, but if trying to belittle me helps you get some laughs from your little clique then I'm delighted for you. 

Edited 9 November, 2022 by Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

Come on when he came in this place went into the same level of meltdown as we are seeing here now - there was a call for everyone to do the Spanish thing and twirl white handkerchiefs above our heads as a sign of protest. 

 

Wouldn’t that just cover everybody in snot?

[the saint in winchester]

2 hours ago, manji said:

Anyone noticed all the Jones “ news” is from the Luton side ? Strikes me Luton want rid and of course the money. The Stoke game last night was dire and Jones post match interview made him sound like a nutter.

I have to say that crossed my mind also. Remember when we wanted shot of George Burley and the Scottish FA came and gave Saints compensation to take him?

I do wonder if secretly Luton would rather take the compensation and move on with cash in the bank.

[Miltonaggro]

8 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Wouldn’t that just cover everybody in snot?

or worse depending on the participants...

[Spark]

3 hours ago, St Louis said:

Im not trying to be antagonistic, but we are one of the smallest clubs in the league, with the smallest budget, etc. Football is so different now, we were on a more level playing field in this division through the 80's/90's/00's, but not anymore, we don't have the money to compete at the higher end of the table (or even mid-table in my opinion). We may have the occasional anomaly period where we finish in the top half, but that isn't our natural position.

Until we get big investment, we will always be fighting to stay in the league. We all love Saints, but from any neutral fans standpoint we are one of the smallest and most insignificant clubs in the division, and I'm absolutely OK with that.

Our model for now (due only to finances and stature) is that we need to buy young rough diamonds, develop them and sell them on for a big profit. And use our owners moneyball data-led approach to try and gain an advantage and a few extra points where we can. I don't know if Jones is the answer, and I personally was hoping for a more proven name, but I do think we have to trust the new owners and their new approach for the club. They made a good choice in giving Thomas Frank the Brentford job, against the fans 'better' judgement. 

About the moneyball approach, I've got a few questions , if you or anyone else could help me out......  Doesn't it still require good recruitment staff to do it properly, and didn't we lose our best recruitment staff?
How much input do SR have on player purchasing/sales, are they doing the spotting using their other clubs to help out too? 
What happens if you have two bad windows of not uncovering any gems , wouldnt you run the risk of having a  filled with players that arent quite good enough? 
Also, Manager pull/links. How important is that in the moneyball approach? Seems like it could make it or break it? 
Reason I ask is some of our diamonds in the rough later sold on for profit, have been pure manager buys. 

Oh and lastly , i know its rumours from on here, but if the board told Semmens to spend big for a striker and he fluffed it arguing over a couple mill,how does that fit into the moneyball approach? Spending big, but also relying on a non football guy to do your purchases (meaning he isnt aware of importance of things, like getting a striker in)? Seems a bit counter to the system no? 

Then on top of that you have them becoming more disconnected from the fanbase, treating fans poorly, blaming us fans for away fans causing issues etc. 

Honestly I dont trust their judgement atm. Can I ask , what have they done at Saints to convince you?