Martin Semmens

[OldNick]

I had much admiration of Semmens as I believed he navigated the ship skilfully during Gao's tenure. Hamstrung by the Chinese Government not allowing funds to leave China he did a marvellous job, IMO.

I read that when SR bought us, there were others interested with bigger pockets but he felt SR were the right fit.

I wonder if he now regrets his choice as he sees the whole project fall around his ears. 

Jokers, who have used us as some mad experiment. First not getting rid of Ralph when patently he had served his time, then expecting 18-19-20 years olds to hold their own in a real mans world, follow this by NJ experiment, and to compound this try and get JM!

Had he had the foresight I suspect SR would not have been given the pick

[Wade Garrett]

Him and Ankersen need replacing for their absolute shitshow this season.

[JamiSaint]

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

[melmacian_saint]

2 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Him and Ankersen need replacing for their absolute shitshow this season.

A clear case of two successful operators, who are completely out of their depth when they need to set as well as execute the direction of travel.

[revolution saint]

Difficult to comment without knowing who has made which decisions.  There were rumours that Semmens wasn't going to allow Romeu to leave but SR (Ankerson) overruled him.  How much of the summer transfer window (and lack of striker) was down to Semmens?  Crucially how involved was he in appointing Jones?  On the whole I think he did a pretty decent job whilst under Gao and with little to none financial backing.  Wonder what it would be like if SR had just given him more cash?

[OldNick]

57 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Difficult to comment without knowing who has made which decisions.  There were rumours that Semmens wasn't going to allow Romeu to leave but SR (Ankerson) overruled him.  How much of the summer transfer window (and lack of striker) was down to Semmens?  Crucially how involved was he in appointing Jones?  On the whole I think he did a pretty decent job whilst under Gao and with little to none financial backing.  Wonder what it would be like if SR had just given him more cash?

I do not blame him at all for the footballing side of things as Im sure he has nothing to do with this. It is more whether he regrets putting SR as the preferred bidders at that time

[S-Clarke]

I think it's hard to say what's gone on, to me it seems as if he has been side-lined massively in the last 10-6 months. I don’t think the rumours we’ve seen about him ‘on his way out’ are too far fetched either, I reckon things have changed in his mind compared to what he believed we’d signed up to.

Rightly or wrongly he pretty much ran the club and all decisions before SR, but it seems as if Ankerson runs the show on most fronts now. In this context, with a more hands on owner, Martin is now nothing more than an employee to them, so he will have to toe the line of whatever Ankerson says. 

But to me the problems have started since his involvement has been reduced and other people have started making key footballing decisions.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

Well some may describe Ankersen as a world class leadership expert but I think that's over-egging the guy. Anyone with an ounce of credibility would never have gone near Nathan Jones and it would not have taken much research to ascertain why. But Mr Clever Clogs with his spreadsheets and algorithms managed to overlook or miss all the alarm bells while, at the same time, failing miserably to do due diligence.  He then told the fans forum that him and his chums see things behind the scenes that we don't, implicating that Jones would turn out ok given time - as we now know Jones got one more game in which he gave away 3 valuable points by turning a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 defeat against ten men. Ankersen bears a large chunk of the responsibility for the mess we find ourselves in yet guys like him seem teflon coated and never seem to face accountability. He's a good talker I'll give him that much but there's little or no substance to him in reality. He's always praised for his role at Brenford but, from what I gather, Phil Giles was and is the brains behind their success. Ankersen left them, they didn't replace him and have continued on an upward curve suggesting that he wasn't in the least crucial to what they were doing. Along with Semmens these are two men with a large part to play in running our club...or should that be ruining our club.

[revolution saint]

1 hour ago, revolution saint said:

Difficult to comment without knowing who has made which decisions.  There were rumours that Semmens wasn't going to allow Romeu to leave but SR (Ankerson) overruled him.  How much of the summer transfer window (and lack of striker) was down to Semmens?  Crucially how involved was he in appointing Jones?  On the whole I think he did a pretty decent job whilst under Gao and with little to none financial backing.  Wonder what it would be like if SR had just given him more cash?

Gotcha, yeah, I imagine there might be a bit of remorse.

[Crab Lungs]

Better the devil you know.

[hackedoff]

1 hour ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

Successful businessmen with a distinct lack of footballing nous ?

[SaintsLoyal]

Romeu, i think wanted to go to Spain and was getting a longer contract than the one being offered here at his age.

It all comes down to two clear issues as mentioned that didnt happen, namily a new manager was required last summer and a centre forward.

 

 

 

 

 

[Whitey Grandad]

14 minutes ago, hackedoff said:

Successful businessmen with a distinct lack of footballing nous ?

No sensible businessman would go anywhere near a football club.

[Killers Knee]

1 hour ago, JamiSaint said:

...and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert...

Being an author on world class leadership expertise, and having actual world class leadership expertise are totally different things.  I think some had the wool pulled over their eyes in this regard.

eg.  If I write a book about Pep, it doesn't make me as good as Pep.

[Chewy]

1 hour ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

I’d add to that 

6) not getting a striker for Jan 1st because it was blindingly obvious we needed one for that month’s fixtures 

7) not sacking Jones when it was obvious his appointment was a terrible mistake (I’d suggest by the Forest game … but certainly immediately after Brentford)

Its not just the errors made in the summer which clearly set us up to struggle; it’s compounding it all in the last 6 weeks, a critical time which has turned from a struggling side likely to be relegated into a total mess virtually guaranteed to go down.

But I think both of these sit squarely on Andersen and at least one of these is down to his ego. 

[tunit]

As much as I'm disappointed by the events this season and the catalogue of errors since SR came in, I am still happy they took over. Its only words so far but they have said they are in it for the long run and for the right reasons. We aren't just an asset to them like so many owners, they want to invest and grow us. Okay so things haven't gone to plan so far but I feel like they can turn it around. Maybe it'll take a year in the championship to strip down the club and build it back up again but I have no doubt that we are in a better position than we were two years ago. 

They have their hands tied with the manager situation, they messed up big time with the Jones appointment and the contract length. Giving another man a big contract is a huge financial risk when we have spent so heavily in the last two transfer windows and also had to pay £8m for Jones' 3 months work.

I expect a lot of people want them gone already which is fair enough as they haven't shown anything to warrant respect from the fans other than the funds spent in the transfer window. However there is no instant success in football and sometimes you need to regress to improve in the long run. 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

1 hour ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

 

9 minutes ago, Chewy said:

I’d add to that 

6) not getting a striker for Jan 1st because it was blindingly obvious we needed one for that month’s fixtures 

7) not sacking Jones when it was obvious his appointment was a terrible mistake (I’d suggest by the Forest game … but certainly immediately after Brentford)

Its not just the errors made in the summer which clearly set us up to struggle; it’s compounding it all in the last 6 weeks, a critical time which has turned from a struggling side likely to be relegated into a total mess virtually guaranteed to go down.

But I think both of these sit squarely on Andersen and at least one of these is down to his ego. 

My view:

1. Hindsight tells us he should have gone but there was a reasonable argument that with financial backing he may have been able to turn things around. He had had really good spells in the past with much less backing
2. This was a cock up, for sure. I think the plan was to get a striker but they chose ambitious targets and didn't have simple back up options
3. This was a mistake, it's so hard to bring keepers through young. This position should be treated separately within the overall strategy
4. Really hard to begrudge him the move when he wanted to leave. Players aren't just pawns that you do whatever you want with. What would morale in the rest of the team look like if we denied him his wishes? The problem was not replacing with enough depth
5. I don't think enough recognition is given to how good his record was with Luton but the interview process clearly needs to be looked at
6. It's difficult to bring in quality before the end of the window. Agents always want to spin things out and get the best offer
7. I think its understandable to give him every chance before pulling the trigger. Wolves was clearly the point it became untenable

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

1) Not parting company with Ralph after the summer

2) Not investing in a striker in the summer

3) Making a 20 year old goalkeeper with no top flight experience our number one (he may well be destined for great things)

4) Selling Oriel Romeu

5) Appointing Nathan Jones

Am sure they are working around the clock/trying really hard to make the right decisions, and SR have invested a huge amount to their credit, but I just find it baffling how they've essentially got every one of the major strategic calls wrong.

 

24 minutes ago, Chewy said:

I’d add to that 

6) not getting a striker for Jan 1st because it was blindingly obvious we needed one for that month’s fixtures 

7) not sacking Jones when it was obvious his appointment was a terrible mistake (I’d suggest by the Forest game … but certainly immediately after Brentford)

Its not just the errors made in the summer which clearly set us up to struggle; it’s compounding it all in the last 6 weeks, a critical time which has turned from a struggling side likely to be relegated into a total mess virtually guaranteed to go down.

But I think both of these sit squarely on Andersen and at least one of these is down to his ego. 

So unlike Boris Johnson, got all the big decisions wrong, yes?

[FarehamSaintJames]

I think he’s been sidelined massively.

The vibe given at the forum was that he was a bloke that didn’t have his hand on the wheel like he did previously in navigating the ship.

I don’t think he’s as much to blame as Rasmus “The Football Genius” is.

Rasmus Ankersen has said this time round that he’s very much owned this transfer window. The managerial appointment of Nathan Jones was all but confirmed that it was his decision too. He has more to answer for.

[stevegrant]

3 minutes ago, saintant said:

Well some may describe Ankersen as a world class leadership expert but I think that's over-egging the guy.

Indeed. I imagine most of us have come across "that guy" in our careers, the bloke who can speak with absolute crystal clear self-confidence about any subject and can convince most people in earshot that they know what they are talking about, and yet those with pre-existing knowledge can see him for what he is - a bit of a bluffer.

From what I gather from his time at Brentford, he was the "ideas guy" but also the vast majority of his ideas were ignored because there were checks and balances alongside and above him at the club to ensure he didn't go "off message". His job title was Joint-Director of Football. As mentioned elsewhere, he left Brentford 14 months ago and yet they didn't seek to hire a replacement, which seems to imply that they are happy to continue with the other DoF who remains at the club. Their record since that time would appear to back up that decision.

For all that he may have used the Thomas Frank defence when talking about the Nathan Jones situation, Frank was already a known quantity at Brentford as he was working at the club with their B team, so it was easier to give him a bit of rope when the early results weren't good because they had seen his management and coaching style in action over a long period of time.

[richardc]

add to the shambles of Academy and back room staff being in and out and everyone apparently wanting to jump ship

 

 

[saintant]

29 minutes ago, tunit said:

As much as I'm disappointed by the events this season and the catalogue of errors since SR came in, I am still happy they took over. Its only words so far but they have said they are in it for the long run and for the right reasons. We aren't just an asset to them like so many owners, they want to invest and grow us. Okay so things haven't gone to plan so far but I feel like they can turn it around. Maybe it'll take a year in the championship to strip down the club and build it back up again but I have no doubt that we are in a better position than we were two years ago. 

They have their hands tied with the manager situation, they messed up big time with the Jones appointment and the contract length. Giving another man a big contract is a huge financial risk when we have spent so heavily in the last two transfer windows and also had to pay £8m for Jones' 3 months work.

I expect a lot of people want them gone already which is fair enough as they haven't shown anything to warrant respect from the fans other than the funds spent in the transfer window. However there is no instant success in football and sometimes you need to regress to improve in the long run. 

I have no problem with most of what they say and the ambitions they have for the club. Where I struggle to be convinced is that any of them including Semmens has much idea about how to run a Premier League football club. They look totally out of their depth to me. Maybe there's something about them I'm missing. Very happy for them to prove me wrong but I don't have any confidence in these guys because they continue to make mistake after mistake.

Edited 16 February, 2023 by saintant

[miserableoldgit]

The problem is that Semmons/SR NEARLY got it right. IF they had appointed the right manager when Ralph departed we would all be saying how brilliant they were with the unprecedented (for us) money they spent in the transfer market and managerial appointment. As it is this one gamble that they took with NJ has soured the whole thing and made the situation worse. I am a bit ambivilant about the timing of RH's departure because had they had got his replacement  right there was enough time left including the WC break to have turned things around. That one diabolical decision has done for us.

[Morse]

I would imagine it won't be too long before Dragan Solak realises that Rasmus Ankersen is spunking his money up the wall and will step in and either clip his wings or throw his over board. 

[Pat from Poole]

Surely Semmens acted purely in self-interest in pushing through the Sport Republic takeover.

Any number of alternative buyers may well have wanted rid of him from Day 1, which would obviously play a part in his motivation in recommending a buyer to the Gao family.

 

[saintant]

46 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said:

The problem is that Semmons/SR NEARLY got it right. IF they had appointed the right manager when Ralph departed we would all be saying how brilliant they were with the unprecedented (for us) money they spent in the transfer market and managerial appointment. As it is this one gamble that they took with NJ has soured the whole thing and made the situation worse. I am a bit ambivilant about the timing of RH's departure because had they had got his replacement  right there was enough time left including the WC break to have turned things around. That one diabolical decision has done for us.

For me the problem is not that they didn't get Ralph's replacement right it's how far they got it wrong.

[Smirking_Saint]

2 hours ago, OldNick said:

I do not blame him at all for the footballing side of things as Im sure he has nothing to do with this. It is more whether he regrets putting SR as the preferred bidders at that time

I believe Semmens led far more on the transfer side of things in the summer, atleast as far as negotiations are concerned however actual target acquisition is more of a group discussion. Ankerson took over in January, it ‘should’ of been Shields but obviously that was another clusterfuck of a situation

Ankerson is effectively leading now as the DoF until Wilcox takes over in the summer, I think generally its s situation within which SR have attempted to make the necessary changes from a footballing perspective and we’re paying the price for the raft of changes happening now

I think Ankerson is probably a half decent DoF, but the Jones debarcle was absolutely awful and shows how metrics really aren’t the be all and end all

As far as Dragan and Rasmus/Kraft is concerned, Ive said it before and Ill say it again, I think Dragan is more invested in SR and so Rasmus/Kraft then he necessarily is in Saints so, its more likely they all walk rather than Ankerson/Kraft being sacked.

I desperately just want the season tk end now tbh, however it ends. Get Wilcox appointed properly, have a reset and assessment and go from there

[Smirking_Saint]

59 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said:

The problem is that Semmons/SR NEARLY got it right. IF they had appointed the right manager when Ralph departed we would all be saying how brilliant they were with the unprecedented (for us) money they spent in the transfer market and managerial appointment. As it is this one gamble that they took with NJ has soured the whole thing and made the situation worse. I am a bit ambivilant about the timing of RH's departure because had they had got his replacement  right there was enough time left including the WC break to have turned things around. That one diabolical decision has done for us.

Agree tbh, outside of Jones its not been that bad but the sheer catastrophe that WAS Jones has damaged things so much.

Ralph had to go, I was told pre season that the idea was to give him until the WC break and then back a new manager if required. So that decision, although hindsight says we should of reset in the summer, probably wasn’t ‘that’ bad of a decision to give him time.

The issue is around what metrics Jones was signed, because there are very little positives, if any, that came out of his appointment.. tactically he didn’t fit, egotistically he was a problem abd his coaching was sub par… you ‘could’ argue he had the 6 week WC break to embed new tactics so a mid season tactical change shouldn’t have been as huge a problem as it was BUT he utterly failed to use that time effectively 

[S-Clarke]

2 hours ago, tunit said:

As much as I'm disappointed by the events this season and the catalogue of errors since SR came in, I am still happy they took over. Its only words so far but they have said they are in it for the long run and for the right reasons. We aren't just an asset to them like so many owners, they want to invest and grow us. Okay so things haven't gone to plan so far but I feel like they can turn it around. Maybe it'll take a year in the championship to strip down the club and build it back up again but I have no doubt that we are in a better position than we were two years ago. 

They have their hands tied with the manager situation, they messed up big time with the Jones appointment and the contract length. Giving another man a big contract is a huge financial risk when we have spent so heavily in the last two transfer windows and also had to pay £8m for Jones' 3 months work.

I expect a lot of people want them gone already which is fair enough as they haven't shown anything to warrant respect from the fans other than the funds spent in the transfer window. However there is no instant success in football and sometimes you need to regress to improve in the long run. 

I think we almost certainly needed investment, so on that point alone I’m happy it happened. One thing I've said all along is that they have put their money where their mouth is - they've invested and they've shown a willingness to make decisions, make changes and improve things.

The absolute killer has been the decision making. You can have all the investment and best intentions in the world, but if your decision making is skewed then it's all rather pointless.

The jury is well and truly out for me now. From where I sit on the outside all I can really say is that they've invested, but with that investment has come chaos with everything they've touched. I have no doubt the right intentions are there, but how they're executing everything is so, so wrong and has been incredibly damaging.

Edited 16 February, 2023 by S-Clarke

[saintant]

44 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think we almost certainly needed investment, so on that point alone I’m happy it happened. One thing I've said all along is that they have put their money where their mouth is - they've invested and they've shown a willingness to make decisions, make changes and improve things.

The absolute killer has been the decision making. You can have all the investment and best intentions in the world, but if your decision making is skewed then it's all rather pointless.

The jury is well and truly out for me now. From where I sit on the outside all I can really say is that they've invested, but with that investment has come chaos with everything they've touched. I have no doubt the right intentions are there, but how they're executing everything is so, so wrong and has been incredibly damaging.

Do they even get any credit for the investment side? My understanding would be that the money spent came from Dragan. It's very easy to spend other people's money, the skill is knowing what to do with it to progress the club. We're in a race to the bottom with no sign of it stopping yet.

[miserableoldgit]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

Do they even get any credit for the investment side? My understanding would be that the money spent came from Dragan. It's very easy to spend other people's money, the skill is knowing what to do with it to progress the club. We're in a race to the bottom with no sign of it stopping yet.

Isn't the Dragon part of SR then?

[Weston Super Saint]

4 hours ago, JamiSaint said:

I find it hard to understand how two such competent - and in Ankersen's case, world class leadership expert - people have made such disastrous key strategic decisions:

 

I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that being a world class leader is a little more complex than telling anyone who will listen that you are a world class leader.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, miserableoldgit said:

Isn't the Dragon part of SR then?

He is but isn't he also the major investor by a long way?

[Weston Super Saint]

Just now, saintant said:

He is but isn't he also the major investor by a long way?

Only Investor.

[miserableoldgit]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

He is but isn't he also the major investor by a long way?

So "they" (SR) do get some credit for investment? Or is it a case of looking for something else to nit-pick about?

[saintant]

Just now, Weston Super Saint said:

Only Investor.

Right so my take is that he's providing the money and the guys actually running SR are busy shoving it down the nearest drain. I would imagine Dragan trusted the likes of Ankersen and Kraft plus maybe Semmens to run things and make the decisions. He may now be regretting having been persuaded to back these people.

[saintant]

Just now, miserableoldgit said:

So "they" (SR) do get some credit for investment? Or is it a case of looking for something else to nit-pick about?

I'm not nit-picking because there is plenty to pile on to SR about. It's clear that Dragan is the big investor, it's his money they're freely spending so if I want to credit anyone with putting investment into the club it goes to Dragan not the other clowns.

[once_bitterne]

2 hours ago, miserableoldgit said:

The problem is that Semmons/SR NEARLY got it right. 

They couldn't be further from getting it right.  They took a very poor squad from last season (won something like 1 of the last 14 games) which then lost a capable, if not brilliant, Goalkeeper, our best defensive Midfield player and leading striker, and instead of realising what was left would almost certainly take us down and buying players who would improve us on the pitch THIS SEASON instead bought a great load of kids nowhere near ready for a PL relegation fight.

This January's window was a just a blind panic signing a 30 something winger who seems no better than what we have a 6ft 7 inch beanpole striker, who now that we aren't playing hoof-ball is presumably surplus to requirements and the golfing buddy of the now sacked manager.

They couldn't be further from nearly getting it right!  

[S-Clarke]

12 minutes ago, saintant said:

Do they even get any credit for the investment side? My understanding would be that the money spent came from Dragan. It's very easy to spend other people's money, the skill is knowing what to do with it to progress the club. We're in a race to the bottom with no sign of it stopping yet.

I'd class Dragan as part of SR to be honest, he's their lead investor but given that he's also at games suggests he takes an active role in this as well.

He's not just a name on a bit of paper who writes the cheques in my eyes.

[miserableoldgit]

2 hours ago, miserableoldgit said:

The problem is that Semmons/SR NEARLY got it right. IF they had appointed the right manager when Ralph departed we would all be saying how brilliant they were with the unprecedented (for us) money they spent in the transfer market and managerial appointment. As it is this one gamble that they took with NJ has soured the whole thing and made the situation worse. I am a bit ambivilant about the timing of RH's departure because had they had got his replacement  right there was enough time left including the WC break to have turned things around. That one diabolical decision has done for us.

Are you saying that IF they had got the manager appointment right and we were giving it a real good go that you would still be moaning about them? I suspect that I know the answer.....

[saintant]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I'd class Dragan as part of SR to be honest, he's their lead investor but given that he's also at games suggests he takes an active role in this as well.

He's not just a name on a bit of paper who writes the cheques in my eyes.

I'd also class him as part of SR.  However, with his other business interests to run, I'd be surprised if he has much time to get involved with day to day decisions at our club. I would imagine he leaves it to the guys running SR to make decisions and they go to him with proposals and requests for money to facilitate their plans. Ok, he then has to make a decision whether to release funds but I'd expect that to be about as involved as he gets. Ankersen and Kraft are supposedly clever guys so Dragan wouldn't expect to have to hold their hands.

[miserableoldgit]

11 minutes ago, once_bitterne said:

They couldn't be further from getting it right.  They took a very poor squad from last season (won something like 1 of the last 14 games) which then lost a capable, if not brilliant, Goalkeeper, our best defensive Midfield player and leading striker, and instead of realising what was left would almost certainly take us down and buying players who would improve us on the pitch THIS SEASON instead bought a great load of kids nowhere near ready for a PL relegation fight.

This January's window was a just a blind panic signing a 30 something winger who seems no better than what we have a 6ft 7 inch beanpole striker, who now that we aren't playing hoof-ball is presumably surplus to requirements and the golfing buddy of the now sacked manager.

They couldn't be further from nearly getting it right!  

Are you saying that IF they had got the manager appointment right and we were giving it a real good go that you would still be moaning about them? I suspect that I know the answer....

[once_bitterne]

21 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said:

Are you saying that IF they had got the manager appointment right and we were giving it a real good go that you would still be moaning about them? I suspect that I know the answer.....

About SR?  What have they done right?  Even if we had appointed a decent manager in November we still were in a bad position with a very bad squad.

SR deserved to be moaned about.  They've spent around £100m on transfers on a team that will go down (literally) as of the worst in PL history.

[OldNick]

Are we 100% sure the money isnt leveraged and the club has taken those debts on? My understanding of Dragan is that he is very wealthy, but is he able to splash 100M just like that?

We have a squad without a dominant centre back, who clears the ball and everything else or a centre forward who does likewise at the other end. No midfielders who do the dirty work. I am not knocking Lavia or JWP in that but we need scrappers at this time and we dont have a squad equipped for a fight.

I so hope I'm wrong but how many are prepared to get the ball in the face to stop a goal. ( I respectfully suggest that the freekick by JWP at St James our players would have ducked, unlike the Newcastle forward)

[SW11_Saint]

2 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said:

I believe Semmens led far more on the transfer side of things in the summer, atleast as far as negotiations are concerned however actual target acquisition is more of a group discussion. Ankerson took over in January, it ‘should’ of been Shields but obviously that was another clusterfuck of a situation

Ankerson is effectively leading now as the DoF until Wilcox takes over in the summer, I think generally its s situation within which SR have attempted to make the necessary changes from a footballing perspective and we’re paying the price for the raft of changes happening now

I think Ankerson is probably a half decent DoF, but the Jones debarcle was absolutely awful and shows how metrics really aren’t the be all and end all

As far as Dragan and Rasmus/Kraft is concerned, Ive said it before and Ill say it again, I think Dragan is more invested in SR and so Rasmus/Kraft then he necessarily is in Saints so, its more likely they all walk rather than Ankerson/Kraft being sacked.

I desperately just want the season tk end now tbh, however it ends. Get Wilcox appointed properly, have a reset and assessment and go from there

Though part of me now wonders if Wilcox will even take up his role. Did he bank on being in the Championship? 

As we have seen with Joe Shields it just takes a flash of leg from elsewhere and they’re off…

[Miltonaggro]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that being a world class leader is a little more complex than telling anyone who will listen that you are a world class leader.

By any measure or metric Rasmus Ankersen is not world class in anything he does or has done, even the books are hackneyed biz-speak nonsense.  He's a hipster incarnation of a snake oil salesman.  

[Dellman]

26 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

By any measure or metric Rasmus Ankersen is not world class in anything he does or has done, even the books are hackneyed biz-speak nonsense.  He's a hipster incarnation of a snake oil salesman.  

Is that helpful? I am happy with his investment, much needed, just disappointed at recent ludicrous appointment.

[bpsaint]

6 hours ago, OldNick said:

I had much admiration of Semmens as I believed he navigated the ship skilfully during Gao's tenure. Hamstrung by the Chinese Government not allowing funds to leave China he did a marvellous job, IMO.

I read that when SR bought us, there were others interested with bigger pockets but he felt SR were the right fit.

I wonder if he now regrets his choice as he sees the whole project fall around his ears. 

Jokers, who have used us as some mad experiment. First not getting rid of Ralph when patently he had served his time, then expecting 18-19-20 years olds to hold their own in a real mans world, follow this by NJ experiment, and to compound this try and get JM!

Had he had the foresight I suspect SR would not have been given the pick

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sports Republic were the only interested party that agreed to keep Semmens employed in his role on a nice 6 figure salary.

[Spark]

aboslutely disagree, fact is he has always been crap. what is happening to saints is what happens when non football people like semmens run things.

[Farmer Saint]

Semmens is like this bloke from Big Train, especially when it comes to fans at the Fans Forums...