Matthew Le God Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Johannes Spors linked with Saints role... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14293695/Southampton-Jason-Wilcox-Man-United.html https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-spors-578a24140/ 3
Convict Colony Posted January 16 Posted January 16 1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said: Johannes Spors linked with Saints role... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14293695/Southampton-Jason-Wilcox-Man-United.html https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-spors-578a24140/ Not being funny but the only sport those 2 look like they should be directing is the McDonald's 5 a side team. I either want an Italian in suit smoking 30 a day with the phone glued to his ear or some trendy fit looking type who was raised by computers. Also why would that bloke leave a bigger 4 club model to join our shit club 3 model. 5
Gloucester Saint Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Sounds a very decent appointment on paper but needs total independence from Rasmus. No more ‘Mr Football’. Rasmus has to stick to Goztepe only. 2
EBS1980 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 When linked to Newcastle last year: He has experience and connections across Europe which could help Newcastle identify and entice targets, and is regarded as an expert in terms of analysing data and using a scientific approach to identifying transfer targets. 1
Gloucester Saint Posted January 16 Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, EBS1980 said: When linked to Newcastle last year: He has experience and connections across Europe which could help Newcastle identify and entice targets, and is regarded as an expert in terms of analysing data and using a scientific approach to identifying transfer targets. Sounds more like a replacement for Rasmus tbh. Maybe Dragan is keeping him in Turkey and focusing him on Goztepe operations? 2
Badger Posted January 16 Posted January 16 25 minutes ago, Convict Colony said: Not being funny but the only sport those 2 look like they should be directing is the McDonald's 5 a side team. I either want an Italian in suit smoking 30 a day with the phone glued to his ear or some trendy fit looking type who was raised by computers. Also why would that bloke leave a bigger 4 club model to join our shit club 3 model. In answer to your last point, I suspect ££££ is the answer And if you want a DOF with a phone fixed to his ear for transfers we probably don’t need to go to Italy. There used to be someone matching that description in Sandbanks 2
Badger Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Wolves fan told me Hobbs is quite divisive among their supporters, some good, some bad signings. ( Remember they signed Lemina !). Difficult assessing anyone like a DoF at Wolves because of their agent links. No idea how good or bad their scouting really is, or would be without it. Spors, no idea. Anyone with any knowledge of Genoa or his other clubs ?
Saint Fan CaM Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Better than nowt or its equivalent Rasmus? Must be surely?
Wiggles31 Posted January 17 Posted January 17 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6068089/2025/01/16/southampton-board-johannes-spors-director/ Not a bad CV.
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 9 hours ago, Disco Stu said: Hopefully he stays longer than 6 months... Be good if we can appoint someone who’ll be willing to stick around for a few years. (Assuming they’re any good). 1
bangkoksaint Posted January 17 Posted January 17 German? Out of interest do him and Rohl have a history
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 5 minutes ago, bangkoksaint said: German? Out of interest do him and Rohl have a history The skates will probably reveal their fathers were in the same SS division. You know, the one Markus Liebherr was in. (Despite the fact none of them were born at the time). 1
sambosa75 Posted January 17 Posted January 17 9 hours ago, Badger said: Wolves fan told me Hobbs is quite divisive among their supporters, some good, some bad signings. ( Remember they signed Lemina !). Difficult assessing anyone like a DoF at Wolves because of their agent links. No idea how good or bad their scouting really is, or would be without it. Spors, no idea. Anyone with any knowledge of Genoa or his other clubs ? In fairness, if Lemina were still with us now, he would be our best midfielder by quite some distance. Shows just how far we have declined the past few years. 2
Football Special Posted January 17 Posted January 17 39 minutes ago, sambosa75 said: In fairness, if Lemina were still with us now, he would be our best midfielder by quite some distance. Shows just how far we have declined the past few years. No he wouldn't Matty Fernandes is miles better than him 1
sambosa75 Posted January 17 Posted January 17 1 minute ago, Football Special said: No he wouldn't Matty Fernandes is miles better than him In fairness, I wasn't thinking of Fernandes - more Aribo, Smallbone, Downes etc.. my point should have been that he would comfortably be in the first team. 1
S-Clarke Posted January 17 Posted January 17 45 minutes ago, sambosa75 said: In fairness, if Lemina were still with us now, he would be our best midfielder by quite some distance. Shows just how far we have declined the past few years. He'd have refused to play by mid-September once the going got tough, so it's a moot point really as he wouldn't have been available. He runs away from trouble, only likes basking in the success of others. 4
S-Clarke Posted January 17 Posted January 17 11 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said: Sounds a very decent appointment on paper but needs total independence from Rasmus. No more ‘Mr Football’. Rasmus has to stick to Goztepe only. SR are odd - they do make some good appointments like this. On paper both Shields and Wilcox were good appointments, but we never seem to be able to keep them longer than a few months. I guess it's because the good appointments see the reality once they've settled in and bail asap? 1
Nolan Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) 1 hour ago, bangkoksaint said: German? Out of interest do him and Rohl have a history Yes, they were at RB Leibzig at the same time, (according to Transfermarkt) When Spors was Chief scout there, Rohl was Liebzigs Video analyst. Obviously the manager at that time at Leibzig..... Ralf Hassenhuttl Edited January 17 by Nolan 9
Fabrice29 Posted January 17 Posted January 17 7 minutes ago, S-Clarke said: SR are odd - they do make some good appointments like this. On paper both Shields and Wilcox were good appointments, but we never seem to be able to keep them longer than a few months. I guess it's because the good appointments see the reality once they've settled in and bail asap? They both had better offers which is probably quite a big part of it. 1
Dusic Posted January 17 Posted January 17 A return to a high intensity model confirmed then after Juric hired too. Lets just hope for some stability. 6
Midfield_General Posted January 17 Posted January 17 10 hours ago, davefizzy14 said: ‘Was previously Sporting Director of 777’ - as in those chancers who tried to buy Everton and then strung them along for a year until it turned out they were bankrupt and were then wound up shortly after? https://www.sportspro.com/news/777-partners-high-court-winding-up-order/#:~:text=777 Partners%2C the US-based,up by the High Court.
trousers Posted January 17 Posted January 17 5 minutes ago, Midfield_General said: ‘Was previously Sporting Director of 777’ - as in those chancers who tried to buy Everton and then strung them along for a year until it turned out they were bankrupt and were then wound up shortly after? https://www.sportspro.com/news/777-partners-high-court-winding-up-order/#:~:text=777 Partners%2C the US-based,up by the High Court. Marvelous 1
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, sambosa75 said: In fairness, if Lemina were still with us now, he would be our best midfielder by quite some distance. Shows just how far we have declined the past few years. Not with his attitude he wouldn't be. Agree he could be, but he's not really shown the application over a sustained period for ages, possibly throughout his career.
Nolan Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Midfield_General said: ‘Was previously Sporting Director of 777’ - as in those chancers who tried to buy Everton and then strung them along for a year until it turned out they were bankrupt and were then wound up shortly after? https://www.sportspro.com/news/777-partners-high-court-winding-up-order/#:~:text=777 Partners%2C the US-based,up by the High Court. What relevance does an employee have over the finances of the company who employs him? Edited January 17 by Nolan 2
sambosa75 Posted January 17 Posted January 17 40 minutes ago, Badger said: Not with his attitude he wouldn't be. Agree he could be, but he's not really shown the application over a sustained period for ages, possibly throughout his career. Last time I looked he was wearing the captain's armband at Wolves. Someone's obviously seen some leadership ability in him.
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Nolan said: Yes, they were at RB Leibzig at the same time, (according to Transfermarkt) When Spors was Chief scout there, Rohl was Liebzigs Video analyst. Obviously the manager at that time at Leibzig..... Ralf Hassenhuttl Good work. 1
Midfield_General Posted January 17 Posted January 17 29 minutes ago, Nolan said: What relevance does an employee have over the finances of the company who employs him? Where did I say it did?
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) 33 minutes ago, sambosa75 said: Last time I looked he was wearing the captain's armband at Wolves. Someone's obviously seen some leadership ability in him. That ended well. Suggest you look again. (Unashamedly borrowed off Defectors thread). https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14290017/Wolves-boss-Vitor-Pereira-reveals-Mario-Lemina-wants-LEAVE-left-defeat-Newcastle-midfielder-stripped-captaincy-following-pitch-scuffle-Jarrod-Bowen-month.html Agree with you that he has skill, and the potential, but also his ego and head give him a self-destruct button that seems to override his talent wherever he goes. Edited January 17 by Badger 2 1
manji Posted January 17 Posted January 17 12 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said: Sounds more like a replacement for Rasmus tbh. Maybe Dragan is keeping him in Turkey and focusing him on Goztepe operations? I brilliant appointment and yet the ( let’s find a negative crew ) talking about Lemina.
trousers Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Just now, manji said: I brilliant appointment and yet the ( let’s find a negative crew ) talking about Lemina. Stop moaning all the time about people moaning all the time, FFS 5
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 3 minutes ago, manji said: I brilliant appointment and yet the ( let’s find a negative crew ) talking about Lemina. The Lemina ‘connection’ started with reference to Hobbs (DoF from Wolves) who was also linked. Spors certainly isn’t tarnished by this at all. And agree, appears a potentially good appointment. 2
manji Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Just now, trousers said: Stop moaning all the time about people moaning all the time, FFS Good point. Well made . I only had two posts a day after years of being on this forum and its predecessors . So I had to limit my posts to moaning but I decided to reinvest in the £5. Cmon all that ripping the shit out of Smallbone was disgraceful. Idiots on here can moan about the pitch , the attendance at the Swansea match whatever . I’m going to have a dip at some forum members. There are a lot of people on here that are sick of the moaning but don’t stick thier head over the parapet but it’s easier to get likes by making dopey comments. unless the forum has monetarised “ likes “ can’t quite see their motivation . 3
trousers Posted January 17 Posted January 17 9 minutes ago, manji said: Good point. Well made . I only had two posts a day after years of being on this forum and its predecessors . So I had to limit my posts to moaning but I decided to reinvest in the £5. Cmon all that ripping the shit out of Smallbone was disgraceful. Idiots on here can moan about the pitch , the attendance at the Swansea match whatever . I’m going to have a dip at some forum members. There are a lot of people on here that are sick of the moaning but don’t stick thier head over the parapet but it’s easier to get likes by making dopey comments. unless the forum has monetarised “ likes “ can’t quite see their motivation . Agree that some of the criticism of Smallbone is too vitriolic. I was also critical of Smallbone last night (and Juric's decision to bring him on) but hopefully I did it in a constructive way. I still don't get what he brings to the team, especially at this level, but that applies to most of our fringe players to be fair. 3
S-Clarke Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) 44 minutes ago, manji said: Good point. Well made . I only had two posts a day after years of being on this forum and its predecessors . So I had to limit my posts to moaning but I decided to reinvest in the £5. Cmon all that ripping the shit out of Smallbone was disgraceful. Idiots on here can moan about the pitch , the attendance at the Swansea match whatever . I’m going to have a dip at some forum members. There are a lot of people on here that are sick of the moaning but don’t stick thier head over the parapet but it’s easier to get likes by making dopey comments. unless the forum has monetarised “ likes “ can’t quite see their motivation . I think structured criticism of Smallbone is fair, but when it gets personal it's just pointless and not based on anything. From a footballing point of view I just don't think he's good enough. He wasn't particularly good enough last year either, especially when he played in a 2. He was food and drink to anyone with a bit of physicality. He is your typical lower league journeyman midfielder to me. There is nothing to do but moan and complain at the moment though. There's nothing positive. We sit bottom of the PL with 6 points at the end of January, -34 goal difference and adrift of absolutely everyone. We're already relegated and from where I'm sat right now I'm fearing for the future, because this sort of season can take a long time to recover from at a club level. I get that Dragan is trying to get more involved, but there is significant damage here that is going to take a long time to bottom out. Edited January 17 by S-Clarke 8
revolution saint Posted January 17 Posted January 17 48 minutes ago, S-Clarke said: I think structured criticism of Smallbone is fair, but when it gets personal it's just pointless and not based on anything. From a footballing point of view I just don't think he's good enough. He wasn't particularly good enough last year either, especially when he played in a 2. He was food and drink to anyone with a bit of physicality. He is your typical lower league journeyman midfielder to me. There is nothing to do but moan and complain at the moment though. There's nothing positive. We sit bottom of the PL with 6 points at the end of January, -34 goal difference and adrift of absolutely everyone. We're already relegated and from where I'm sat right now I'm fearing for the future, because this sort of season can take a long time to recover from at a club level. I get that Dragan is trying to get more involved, but there is significant damage here that is going to take a long time to bottom out. I dunno, I still think next season could be decent. Sheff Utd were appalling last season and they're currently 3rd and only a point behind Leeds in first. Plus I think we're probably better equipped for the championship this time around - we'll have players leave but I don't think it'll be on the same scale as at the start of last season and the ones left are still good (mostly) proven championship players. Obviously could go the other way but it shouldn't be cataclysmic. Important thing for me is to be clear on getting everything ready for next season now. That means getting a DoF in, a decision on the manager relatively early, identifying players and all that stuff. 2
Disco Stu Posted January 17 Posted January 17 2 hours ago, manji said: Good point. Well made . I only had two posts a day after years of being on this forum and its predecessors . So I had to limit my posts to moaning but I decided to reinvest in the £5. Cmon all that ripping the shit out of Smallbone was disgraceful. Idiots on here can moan about the pitch , the attendance at the Swansea match whatever . I’m going to have a dip at some forum members. There are a lot of people on here that are sick of the moaning but don’t stick thier head over the parapet but it’s easier to get likes by making dopey comments. unless the forum has monetarised “ likes “ can’t quite see their motivation . Besides one very inappropriate comment made by Ottowa, the rest were merely stating the obvious. He's severely out of his depth at this level and shouldn't have been Dibling's replacement. At least he'll be a decent squad option in the Championship. 2
Matthew Le God Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 Johannes Spors technical director Mark Bitcon director of football operations
Turkish Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Looks decent on paper anyway. Worked at Hamburg, Hoffenheim and notably RB Leipzeig when they finished second and got to the champions league, also credited with the signings of Werner and Upamecano 3
Matthew Le God Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 1 minute ago, Turkish said: Looks decent on paper anyway. Worked at Hamburg, Hoffenheim and notably RB Leipzeig when they finished second and got to the champions league, also credited with the signings of Werner and Upamecano With Hassenhüttl!
coalman Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) Somewhere better than makes-me-wish-for-Rasmus or fucks-off-to-a-bigger-club-after-three months would still be a step up. Hell, I'd even settle for one-non-awful-transfer-window these days. Edited January 17 by coalman
saintant Posted January 17 Posted January 17 49 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said: Hopefully he'll make one of his first jobs weeding out the scouts who aren't cutting the mustard and bringing in replacements who can spot a decent player. 2
Badger Posted January 17 Posted January 17 What exactly is the distinction between Technical Director, and Sporting director ? 3
malcolm waldron Posted January 17 Posted January 17 6 minutes ago, Badger said: What exactly is the distinction between Technical Director, and Sporting director ? About £120K 3
Gloucester Saint Posted January 17 Posted January 17 (edited) 6 hours ago, S-Clarke said: I think structured criticism of Smallbone is fair, but when it gets personal it's just pointless and not based on anything. From a footballing point of view I just don't think he's good enough. He wasn't particularly good enough last year either, especially when he played in a 2. He was food and drink to anyone with a bit of physicality. He is your typical lower league journeyman midfielder to me. There is nothing to do but moan and complain at the moment though. There's nothing positive. We sit bottom of the PL with 6 points at the end of January, -34 goal difference and adrift of absolutely everyone. We're already relegated and from where I'm sat right now I'm fearing for the future, because this sort of season can take a long time to recover from at a club level. I get that Dragan is trying to get more involved, but there is significant damage here that is going to take a long time to bottom out. Agree with all of that. If Smallbone wants to be a leading Champ player and RoI international starter in central areas of the pitch, he needs to hit the weights and protein diet starting now and he may be more in contention by pre-season. It’s not just Saints in the PL, he looked like a Tyro League player in the Nations League game against Rice et al. Martin should have done it but bottled it. Juric needs to give him the same pep talk Ralph gave JWP - get physically and mentally more robust or you can’t feature regularly in the 18. Then we might see if he can step up. Has the touch and eye for goal, not sure if athletic enough but being a couple of stone and a shirt size bulkier with muscle will help with competing, holding opponents off and pressing effectively. Edited January 17 by Gloucester Saint 4
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