Johannes Spors

[Gloucester Saint]

16 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Yes, don't know what I was trying to ask. I was thinking if we get £25m for Dibling/Fernandes, does Spors then have that to spend on the rebuild because £25m goes a long way in the Championship. It becomes a bit like when we bought Ricky Lambert which I vaguely recall cost a lot more than other teams in that league could afford at the time.

It wont be £ for £ as some needs to be held back in case we don’t make it back up in 2 years/huge investment in a whole squad if promoted. It’s better than 2023 as there isn’t the damage from a January splurge, SAA brought in a bit and if Sheff Utd get autos that’s probably £10m in the bank from BBD so a small profit there. Dibling, Fernandes and THB should get buyers by pre-season starting, Ramsdale might take longer.

So we should have a very good Champ promotion squad budget overall but the amount of transactions is daunting plus a new manager. Hope Spors doesn’t have a holiday planned. 

[Badger]

On 06/03/2025 at 22:19, S-Clarke said:

 

What people are saying is that there's no issue buying young players, but filling the squad up with those £10-15m signings isn't a good tactic. We'd have been better off buying 1 or 2 £30m players, and then using the rest …, We didn't need to splurge what we did on BBD, Archer, Wood, Suguwara etc - there's around £30m right there which could have gone on a 'match starter'. We'd have lost nothing if we hadn't sign those, such has been their involvement.

It’s often said that we’d be better off with a couple of £30-40m starters than several £15m prospects who we hope to ‘grow’ and I agree with it to a point.

But there are still players available within ‘our’ preferred price bracket (to compliment the ‘starter’ signings, not instead of). How much did Bournemouth pay for the Hungarian LB, or Semenyo (rather than Sulemana) , and Huijsen, all now linked with £50m bids ?

Bowen cost West Ham c£20m. You mention Bottman. Lille signed him for less than we paid for Salisu the same summer ffs. Criminal waste. 
 

The players are out there but time after time we regularly make poor selections and recruitment, irrespective of the price. 

Edited Sunday at 12:51 by Badger

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Gloucester Saint said:

It wont be £ for £ as some needs to be held back in case we don’t make it back up in 2 years/huge investment in a whole squad if promoted. It’s better than 2023 as there isn’t the damage from a January splurge, SAA brought in a bit and if Sheff Utd get autos that’s probably £10m in the bank from BBD so a small profit there. Dibling, Fernandes and THB should get buyers by pre-season starting, Ramsdale might take longer.

So we should have a very good Champ promotion squad budget overall but the amount of transactions is daunting plus a new manager. Hope Spors doesn’t have a holiday planned. 

Isn’t BBD only an option for them though ? I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back with us however Sheff Utd do. 

[Gloucester Saint]

3 hours ago, Badger said:

Isn’t BBD only an option for them though ? I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back with us however Sheff Utd do. 

Yes, not compulsory but he’s been scoring every other game for them so far, and he did well for Wilder before in the PL for half a season on Wilder’s return, even if Sheff Utd didn’t. Wilder did well first season up.

Edited Sunday at 18:03 by Gloucester Saint

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Yes, not compulsory but he’s been scoring every other game for them so far, and he did well for Wilder before in the PL for half a season on Wilder’s return, even if Sheff Utd didn’t. Wilder did well first season up.

Which begs the obvious question ... 

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

Which begs the obvious question ... 

He played BBD feeding off a target man in McBurnie. Not as a flippin’ winger.

[miserableoldgit]

14 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He played BBD feeding off a target man in McBurnie. Not as a flippin’ winger.

Yes.....whenever he came on, he just stuck close to the touchline.......closer than a flea on Sellotape....could never understand it...

[trousers]

 

 

[Pamplemousse]

Obviously actions speak louder than words but I look forward to hearing what he has to say. We need some clear leadership on the footballing side of things.

[Turkish]

On 07/03/2025 at 21:12, Saint86 said:

This video from 37:00 onwards talks about Johannes Spors (albeit from a Newcastle standpoint). Breaks down his career history and transfer record etc at the various clubs. 

Being the architect at  the centre of 777's football operations does concern me - Leave a trail of rather badly performing clubs in his recent wake though...
 

doesn't stay long anywhere does he.

[AlexLaw76]

43 minutes ago, Turkish said:

doesn't stay long anywhere does he.

He'll be gone (or committed to leaving) by Easter

[CSA96]

18-minute interview with BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kxqm1r

[Badger]

39 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

18-minute interview with BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kxqm1r

Thanks for posting the link to this. 

A good listen. Didn’t learn too much. Not surprisingly both skirted some of the key questions, although the way he navigated round the question of Rohl leaves you thinking there is something in it. At least he didn’t make lavish commitments over Juric etc. 

 

Edited Wednesday at 19:23 by Badger

[CSA96]

Written version here, if useful 

-

You've been here for two or three weeks now, how are you finding it?
Well, thank you first of all. I am here for three weeks now, as you said. I am still observing a lot and trying to speak to everybody as much as I can. I'm having a lot of one-on-one conversations and of course I watch the training sessions and follow the games. The picture is getting clearer. I would not say I know everything and everybody but the picture is getting clearer and I find myself very well here, I would say.

You have come to the club at quite a traumatic time. A lot of churn, a lot of change. You've come here with quite an impressive CV so what made you think that Sport Republic was a good move for you?
I had some very exciting last years working in many different countries, but in the last three years I was very lucky to work in parallel for many clubs in a multi-club structure. That was very successful and we had three promotions in less than two years and the player trading worked well too. At one point, I thought about what is next and obviously the Premier League is very attractive. So in the combination of also having a multi-club structure on the side of Southampton, that's what really attracts me. It's Premier League now, and then obviously, we have to work on getting more Premier League games again hopefully soon.

That leads me onto wanting to know what your priorities are. What are your top priorities for this initial time with the club?
First of all, I think there is a great idea and vision behind the football club but now I think it's important that I am here to execute. I have to make sure that we have a good structure and communication from one department to the other. That we have a clear structure of who is doing what in my team and in the other teams too. That's the priority for the beginning, to make sure we have a set up that has a punch for the future.

So I have my own view on your role because I think maybe I understand a bit about what it is. In my head, the important bit of your role is to be the lead person with recruitment and structure on the footballing side. So how do you see your role? Where do you come in the hierarchy of the club?
I am here to help with every decision in the football side. Ultimately, they are my responsibility. Scouting and recruitment, of course, is extremely relevant and is one of my very first priorities here. That's not to forget the academy. In times like these, sometimes an academy is not getting the attention it needs. By the way, they've had great results and are doing a great job, but then obviously the first team. That's my main focus. I am here to take responsibility, no question.

I ask you that with regards to the future, going forward about transfers. The summer is set to be a very difficult and long one, with the turnover of players that we all expect after a relegation. Do you work by committee or do you, as the man that Dragan has put in charge of football, do you make the decision on recruitment?
I am here to take responsibility and to take decisions. The way I work, the way I lead is very integrating and not excluding. I have been fortunate to work in many different cultures and every culture has a little bit of a different way to come to a decision. My experience is that we need a clear responsibility. Under my umbrella, I make sure that every internal stakeholder is close to me and is heard and can have their opinion. That includes, of course, the manager, the scouting and recruitment, our CEO, the ownership. Sometimes I laugh a little bit when I hear these statements because surely that is the most natural thing in the world, that I include everybody who has a say in this football club. But then, again, ultimately it is my responsibility.

You can work democratically before making a decision...
100%. Things need to get signed off, yes there are budgets and all of these considerations to take. That's the interesting part of the job. It's not just find one player and sign him, it's the complete picture of a puzzle that needs to fit together with internal and external factors influencing. I am very experienced with this, I did this in many different countries and cultures and it was successful most of the time. I am very confident that we will have the same results here.

One of the things I have been saying recently is that with Dragan taking control of the top of the club as chairman and bringing you in, there is hope amidst a disaster of a season. Do you see that linear messaging from Dragan, to you, to the manager starting to fall in line with the backbone you want from the club?
I think it is always very important to have a close connection with the owner and to understand, in both ways, what we need and what we want. To anticipate the other side of the same table, is how I would say. I worked with very different ownerships in the past. I worked in Germany in the Red Bull environment, also with Russian ownership and with Americans. One thing that is always in common is that it's about communication. It's about transparency and to communicate about the strategy that I have. I have had a very good start with Dragan and with the ownership in general.

What about the manager situation. How hard is it for you to walk into this situation and for Ivan to be in this situation. You obviously have a connection with Ralph Hasenhüttl from the past and Danny Röhl. There have been reports saying that Ivan is not staying beyond this season, so how do you navigate through that with a manager who might not be here after the summer?
Having relationships to managers in general is part of my job. I need to know the market, I need to know who is doing a job here and there in different countries and at different levels. That also means I know Ivan for a very long time, we didn't work together but we have both been working in Serie A in Italy. He did an impressive job there, especially with finding the right balance defensively with teams in different environments. That's something that has been very impressive. Unfortunately, it's not at that level here right now. He is the first person to say this, since you interview him I guess.

I think it hurts him that he's conceded so many goals... 
Exactly. He is the first person that is extremely driven, emotional even, to make this as successful as it can be in the last 10 match days of the season. That's a very positive fact. 

Are you open-minded about that with regard to his future? Is that still something to be talked about?
He came here in a very difficult moment. I arrived here later. I am still trying to evaluate everything. Again, I can say that he is extremely driven and motivated and hard-working to make this successful. And that's a very positive part.

He's also very humble and he takes responsibility. I admire him for that...
Yes, absolutely. As a manager of this size of football club, that's very important.

That takes me onto the players. I said to you about a churn in the summer, when you get relegated you need to raise income. The obvious way is to sell your best assets. I'm fascinated with your knowledge of the market. We always worry about an English phrase 'a fire sale' of all the best players. But that can work if you have your finger on the pulse of the transfer market and you can change it. It doesn't have to be the same players. How do you view it with a group of players who get it, who understand the club - or is that irrelevant in the modern market?
It is relevant. To build a squad is really a little bit like a piece of art, where you have to consider many different angles. There are so many different considerations that I have to take now to really make that picture a nice one and complete it. It's about leadership, it's about talent, it's about above-average quality for the competition that you are in.

And contracts and the rest of it...
Of course, contracts and then also the willingness to be here and to really fight for it. We need people in general that really want to be here in the next season and fight for our goal. On the player trading side, if all the players are coming back including those that are on loan and those that are here already it's quite a big squad, right? It's around 40 players or even a little bit more. So of course, there will be changes. That's the most natural thing that happens in a long window. I see this as an opportunity for this club. Some changes will be made, 100% and it's good that we have this possibility in the summer and I'm really looking forward to it.

Some players have, to the frustrations of many people, been allowed to see out their contracts. More than probably the club should have let see out their contracts and walk away in recent times. Tyler Dibling is the young talent that so many people are focusing on. Can you get him to sign a new contract maybe? Even if you need to sell him for the benefit of the club. It's obviously better for the club for you to be in a position of strength if you have to negotiate for him...
At the moment, I see Tyler Dibling as a great success story for this club. It's the great result of a combination of academy work and then first team work to put him in the right moment. I think it's exciting to see him on the pitch, he is still very young and has a lot of potential still and a lot of areas where he can and will be better. It's a good situation for us to have a situation like him in our club and everything else in the future will show, honestly.

I asked you because when I spoke to him, I get the feeling he doesn't want to be worrying about it because he's only 19 years of age. So I guess his family and people around him are important and your relationship with them then becomes important?
Yeah. At the end, we all have the same goal. It is about development. Development in general, I think, is a headline for this football club. Because this is an environment where development is possible and needed. He is a good example, like a role model even for other young players to join. When you want to answer the question, when you want to work on development, relationship is important. Relationship to the player, relationship to his agents and maybe his family. Of course, it's a factor, yes.

The last manager to survive more than 18 months here was Ralph Hasenhüttl, who you of course worked with at RB Leipzig. Of the success story that is the RB story, what are the traits of that, the qualities or the successes of that which you want to try and replicate here after what you've learnt on your journey?
So, I worked very closely with Ralph Hasenhüttl in that time and also Ralf Rangnick was in the same period. They were together like Sporting Director and Head Coach. What I have mostly learned is especially to drive every single department to its best version of itself. To innovate every single department and achieve the best version this department can be, from every season to the other, because that creates an energy. Again, what I said about development, development cannot just be player development. It's also staff development. I want the analysts and the scouts to be the same kind of person, someone who wants to make the next step because we need this kind of energy. It creates power to develop player, to develop coaches and this is the environment I want to see here. This is where Red Bull and Ralph Hasenhüttl in that time was very successful. That makes a difference to other environments where you don't see that.

And the player sales that Red Bull have made in the last five, six, seven years and then just carried on being successful at a good level. That's the skill, isn't it? To develop talent and turnover whilst maintaining your standards. That's possibly the hardest thing in football?
Yes and that's always a togetherness. If you speak about development, then you need a couple of layers that are young, that really have the future in front of them and are working on it. But then you also need the whole environment to be able to allow them to grow. The coach, the assistants, everybody around them... that's very important.

I have got to ask you about Danny Röhl. You might not be able to say anything about Danny but he is a young man you know and he has done a very good job at Sheffield Wednesday. In fact, they had a remarkable win from 2-0 down last night. Is he someone that you can say anything about, whether he fits your profile of the sort of manager you want for the future?
I've known Danny for a long time, because as you mentioned, the Ralph Hasenhüttl time was the same time that Danny was assistant coach and on the analytics. So he has been in a very different role to the one he is in now and I have been in different roles to the role I am in now. When you know each other and you both make a career, then you follow each other. I was really happy for him when I saw that he took the job in the Championship and when he had the success of staying in the competition. I said it earlier, it's one of the important parts of my job, to know coaches and managers, whatever you want to call them, all around the globe and in different countries. It is important to follow talent in general, because I want to bring talent to this football club. On the pitch and off the pitch. That's why I am always following talented people.

I won't ask you if you're going to speak to Danny in the summer because that wouldn't be fair on Ivan or Danny, both of whom are in jobs at the moment. Just finally, what do you do to help you cope with the stresses of the top level of this sport which we all love. How do you escape? I like speaking to Ivan about his love of heavy rock music and Ralph of course liked his music too. What's Johannes Spors, are you on the golf course or the tennis court? What are you doing to switch off when you can? Do you ever?
When I worked in Italy, my house was directly next to the golf course so I tried my luck. I loved it but I am horribly bad, so it doesn't really relax me. It's my family honestly, it's my wife and my three kids. That's what calms me down. Not always calms me down to be honest! That's my number one.

Edited Wednesday at 19:20 by CSA96

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

He'll be gone (or committed to leaving) by Easter

In a month? 

[Saint86]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

doesn't stay long anywhere does he.

Nope, and that is a concern for us as fans I think. Sports republic probably see it as par for the course though 😂

[The Kraken]

34 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Nope, and that is a concern for us as fans I think. Sports republic probably see it as par for the course though 😂

It’s a concern but there’s nothing we can do about it if a better club come calling. We’ll be in the Championship. And hopefully, if someone notices him it’ll mean it’s because he’s done well with us. So we’ll have benefitted, if only in the short term.

Or he could do a Joe Shields / Jason Wilcox, have an average recruitment summer then get poached by someone massive.

[CSA96]

Some more quotes on style of play and transfer strategy...

"The direction in the style of play we are going for is a good fit for this club. A very intense style of football is something that fits here.

"This leads to scouting processes. I think players need to be physically strong. They need to be fast. They need to have some aggressiveness in their mentality. If you just give these headlines to a scouting department there is already a clear profile. Then we go into much more detail with our data analytics and traditional scouting.

"We should not change the style of play very often. Most important is that when you do change, it has to be an active decision. That is what happened recently. It was not my decision, it was quite long before my time, but from what I have understood, this was exactly what was wanted.

"What happens often is that clubs change a manager in the past without really defining what style of play they want to have. We go into the Championship and there we will play every couple of days. Regeneration is very important.

"You can either manage that with the size of the squad, by using many players, or you can make sure that you have players that regenerate very fast. Not that older players can't do that, they absolutely can - but it's a bit easier the younger they are.

"I think it's essential (to make a profit) but I don't want to give the impression that we are doing this here as a business model. We are doing things here as a football club, but both go in the same direction. I think this club can only be very successful if you have development and growth in revenues.

"The best thing that can happen for us is that we develop players and then we can decide if we want to use the revenue or if we want to keep the quality of the players. I'm pretty sure in the future we will decide that quite often we want to keep the quality of the player, but it gives the ownership the possibility. That's what I want to create."

Edited Thursday at 09:58 by CSA96

[OldNick]

13 hours ago, The Kraken said:

It’s a concern but there’s nothing we can do about it if a better club come calling. We’ll be in the Championship. And hopefully, if someone notices him it’ll mean it’s because he’s done well with us. So we’ll have benefitted, if only in the short term.

Or he could do a Joe Shields / Jason Wilcox, have an average recruitment summer then get poached by someone massive.

I do wonder if Wilcox has been a massive success at Utd. I assume only after the summer window can they assess. He had a hit with getting a couple of Man city players, of which one was sold for a good fee, my mind may be fuzzy but were any of the others startling bargains???

Edited Thursday at 10:00 by OldNick

[Raging Bull]

Well it ain’t gonna be boring this summer. 

 

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

1 hour ago, Raging Bull said:

Well it ain’t gonna be boring this summer. 

 

Good that we will be active in the summer but I’m gonna suggest that almost all business (for most clubs) won’t be concluded until the last few days of the transfer window.

[hypochondriac]

Great news. The more active we are, the more likely we are to bin off as many of our players as possible. 

[Verbal]

Just can't read his first name without replaying the Amandaland joke in my head.

[Turkish]

4 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Some more quotes on style of play and transfer strategy...

"The direction in the style of play we are going for is a good fit for this club. A very intense style of football is something that fits here.

"This leads to scouting processes. I think players need to be physically strong. They need to be fast. They need to have some aggressiveness in their mentality. If you just give these headlines to a scouting department there is already a clear profile. Then we go into much more detail with our data analytics and traditional scouting.

"We should not change the style of play very often. Most important is that when you do change, it has to be an active decision. That is what happened recently. It was not my decision, it was quite long before my time, but from what I have understood, this was exactly what was wanted.

"What happens often is that clubs change a manager in the past without really defining what style of play they want to have. We go into the Championship and there we will play every couple of days. Regeneration is very important.

"You can either manage that with the size of the squad, by using many players, or you can make sure that you have players that regenerate very fast. Not that older players can't do that, they absolutely can - but it's a bit easier the younger they are.

"I think it's essential (to make a profit) but I don't want to give the impression that we are doing this here as a business model. We are doing things here as a football club, but both go in the same direction. I think this club can only be very successful if you have development and growth in revenues.

"The best thing that can happen for us is that we develop players and then we can decide if we want to use the revenue or if we want to keep the quality of the players. I'm pretty sure in the future we will decide that quite often we want to keep the quality of the player, but it gives the ownership the possibility. That's what I want to create."

another change of style then, lol

Sounds like we're going back to a high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting 

[AlexLaw76]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

another change of style then, lol

Sounds like we're going back to a high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting 

Sean Dyche it is then 

[miserableoldgit]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

another change of style then, lol

Sounds like we're going back to a high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting 

Get Ralph back!!

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said:

Get Ralph back!!

That's spooky... I was litterally just contemplating whether to post exactly the same....

Never say never, I guess...?

In all seriousness, I'd love to see a rejuvenated Hassenhutl back here under Spors with Dragan's money being spent more wisely than it has been to date....

Edited Thursday at 16:12 by trousers

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Sounds like we're going back to a high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting 

 

19 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Sean Dyche it is then 

He doesn't use a Red Bull style high press.

[miserableoldgit]

1 minute ago, trousers said:

That's spooky... I was litterally just contemplating whether to post exactly the same....

Never say never, I guess...?

TBH, I would love it! He was a great manager for us.....a really good fit. I felt "dirty" when we sacked him. He, sadly, had to go in the end. He looked a beaten man, but this was due to the lack of support that he had. With the right squad addiitions at that time, I genuinely believe that the last two/three years would have been a completely different story. A refreshed, successful Ralph alongside Spors would be a good prospect in my opinion.

[CB Fry]

6 hours ago, Raging Bull said:

Well it ain’t gonna be boring this summer. 

 

New name for the Summer Transfer Window thread on here just dropped.

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

He doesn't use a Red Bull style high press.

no one said he did

[Weston Super Saint]

4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Great news. The more active we are, the more likely we are to bin off as many of our players as possible. 

Let's not be counting those chickens too soon.

Knowing our history of transfers we'll end up buying even more shite.

[Matthew Le God]

10 minutes ago, Turkish said:

no one said he did

Do you think you saying "high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting" links with Alex quoting you and replying with "Sean Dyche it is then"?

Edited Thursday at 18:54 by Matthew Le God

[Weston Super Saint]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Yes they did! Do you think you saying "high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting" links with Alex quoting you and replying with "Sean Dyche it is then"?

Have you ever heard of sarcasm?

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Do you think you saying "high press, high energy style so football might be more exciting" links with Alex quoting you and replying with "Sean Dyche it is then"?

No.

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, Turkish said:

No.

Great! So you've now contradicted yourself. Well done.

[Turkish]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Great! So you've now contradicted yourself. Well done.

No i haven't.

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Let's not be counting those chickens too soon.

Knowing our history of transfers we'll end up buying even more shite.

Maybe but the alternative would be trying to get a tune out of players we know aren't up for it. 

[Weston Super Saint]

31 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Maybe but the alternative would be trying to get a tune out of players we know aren't up for it. 

Nothing stopping us keeping the dross and buying more. That's the fear.

[Oisin]

4 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

He doesn't use a Red Bull style high press.

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Nothing stopping us keeping the dross and buying more. That's the fear.

Sounded like the new bloke in charge explicitly ruled that out. Besides, most of them should have a market for them as they are half decent championship players. The likes of Onuachu, Sulemana, Downes, THB, Ramsdale, Dibling, Aribo, Bednarek, Archer, Armstrong should all be relatively easy to sell if we want to. Lallana, kwp, ugochukwu and the bloke on loan will also be going as well so that's the vast majority of the team binned off if we fancy it. 

[saintant]

Hope he is smart enough to spot we are a squad packed full of too many small, slow and weak players. We need an influx of big, strong, quick athletes who don't get bullied.

[Farmer Saint]

Be nice to put the transfer windows of 2022-2023 behind us and have some freedom in the market.