D
Deleted member 18477
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Jay Rodriguez...
Are Southampton being sold down the river?
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Jay Rodriguez...
The Large One
Who's Next?
Are Southampton being sold down the river?
It's a Test for them, certainly. They'll be Itchen to find out.
It's a Test for them, certainly. They'll be Itchen to find out.
Bladders
Twats everywhere
Looks like Schneidelin and Rodriguez are close to a Spurs move, with Liverpool also possibly after the latter
They'll have no first team left soon.
Vast amounts of wet bed sheets in Southampton at the moment I reckon
They'll have no first team left soon.
Vast amounts of wet bed sheets in Southampton at the moment I reckon
Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
Well, they do say that a joke's not funny if you need to explain it ...
D
Deleted member 18477
Guest
smudge
Up the Albion!
Song for the friendly.
Where's your Lambert, Lallana, Shaw, Chambers, Lovren, Rodriguez, Scneidelin, gone?
Have I missed anyone?
Where's your Lambert, Lallana, Shaw, Chambers, Lovren, Rodriguez, Scneidelin, gone?
Have I missed anyone?
Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
For just £5 million more than Lallana cost Liverpool, Chelsea got Fabregas, only one year older and a proven international, who has provided the third-highest number of assists among Premier League players still playing, and that despite a couple of seasons out of the league.
Lovren cost Southampton £8.5 million a year ago, so they've shown an £11.5m profit on a player few had even heard of when he arrived.
I've seen Chambers a few times, and he's okay - but Saints already have Nathaniel Clyne at right back, and he's only four years older. A deal rising to £16m is a gamble by Arsenal.
I think Les Reed has been thinking of a number, doubling it, and then been amazed to find that clubs are willing to pay up. Jay Roriguez is a long way from fitness, and no-one knows how well he'll recover. If Liverpool make an offer, he'd be mad not to bite their hand off - again.
Lovren cost Southampton £8.5 million a year ago, so they've shown an £11.5m profit on a player few had even heard of when he arrived.
I've seen Chambers a few times, and he's okay - but Saints already have Nathaniel Clyne at right back, and he's only four years older. A deal rising to £16m is a gamble by Arsenal.
I think Les Reed has been thinking of a number, doubling it, and then been amazed to find that clubs are willing to pay up. Jay Roriguez is a long way from fitness, and no-one knows how well he'll recover. If Liverpool make an offer, he'd be mad not to bite their hand off - again.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,639
I find it hard to believe clubs are offering any large sum for a player who screwed his cruciate ligaments earlier in the year.
I know medical science is impressive now, but how can that possibly make sense? Especially if Liverpool's reasons for rejecting Loic Remy are true.
I know medical science is impressive now, but how can that possibly make sense? Especially if Liverpool's reasons for rejecting Loic Remy are true.
albion534
Well-known member
Sneiderlin and Rodreguiz going Tottenham
the sad news in this story is the continued over evaluation of English players
young English talent often languish on the bench of the very top clubs
and for smaller clubs unless they can bring through their own youngsters
the smart money is on foreign players which means less opportunities for
English players in the premiership and increasingly in the champinship
young English talent often languish on the bench of the very top clubs
and for smaller clubs unless they can bring through their own youngsters
the smart money is on foreign players which means less opportunities for
English players in the premiership and increasingly in the champinship
Thought I'd give you my perspective.
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
scooter1
How soon is now?
That's a great read, and before I read it I would have said you were looking pretty ****ed for next season. Now I'll watch with intrigue
Thought I'd give you my perspective.
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
Great read, thanks for this.
Seasider78
Well-known member
- Nov 14, 2004
- 6,011
Thought I'd give you my perspective.
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
A good summary and whilst being reported as a mass exodus I think people underestimate the incredible appointment of Koeman who (with his excellent contacts) will make those who have left a distant memory.
I admire southampton for the first class academy and setup that is now delivering an endless conveyor belt of top premier league talent and who always get top whack for their prize assets.
Couple this with a board who have made a number of decisions that whilst criticised at the time have proven to be in the best interests of the club.
Thought I'd give you my perspective.
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
Might be a place for the young Worthing lad, Harrison Reed.??
Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,269
That's an interesting assessment of Southampton's situation. I get a lot of the logic, but once Spurs have done their business there will be little left of the 2013/14 side, so The Class Of 2014/15 will be all new and with a brand new manager. That's a tall order because the Prem is so competitive and there's no room to hide.
QPR should be fine, Sunderland, West Brom and Villa should be better but Burnley should lock up a relegation spot whilst Leicester and Swansea should struggle.
QPR should be fine, Sunderland, West Brom and Villa should be better but Burnley should lock up a relegation spot whilst Leicester and Swansea should struggle.
Didn't know he is from Worthing!
He has already got Prem first team caps. Three I believe..
He has just signed a four year deal with the club and will definitely play a major role this season. I've watched his development over the last two years and he is a really exciting player. Comparisons with Scholes are not wayward. And not just because of his hair
Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
Thought I'd give you my perspective.
Katrina Liebherr is worth something like 3 billion euros. I fail to see why on earth she would be interested in 'asset stripping'. Her father bought SFC for the princely sum of £15 million plus £15 million of debt. He then put in another £20 million, and it appears a further £15 million since his untimely death. So a total investment by the Liebherrs of £65 million all told. Over the last three years - while KL has been the owner - the club has spent about £25 million turning Staplewood (the training ground) into one of the very, very best training centres in Europe. And that is not an exaggeration. It lacks nothing. Twelve pitches all with different types of turf to mimic the other Prem grounds etc.
Behind the scenes, she clearly did not get on with her father's choice of CEO. Cortese did a lot of good for SFC - taking us from league one to the Prem and being hard-nosed in the extreme. He was, however, not popular. Banning MLT from SMS was about the most stupid thing you could do. So, he was sent packing. Since then the amount of spending on non-football recruitment - such as PR, Marketing, Hospitality etc - has almost tripled. The club is investing heavily in 'promoting the brand'. The club recently recruited the former head of marketing for Apple UK. I would imagine that does not come cheap. All these things do not, in my mind at least, suggest an owner who is bailing on the club. But if she had decided to bail, why not just put the club up for sale. Selling SFC after finishing 8th in the Prem, with the academy we have and the squad would have been ridiculously easy. The club turned over £120 million plus last season and has no debt. The value of SFC would be north of £250m of any Arab's money. £65 million in, £250 million out. Good business.
KL has also been very upfront with the fans. She has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants to remain part of SFC and keep on building. She might be lying, but if she is then she is going about it in a very peculiar way.
So then what about the 'exodus' that the media are so quick to mention?
Lambert to Livepool, his boy-hood club for £4m. Lambo's best years are most definitely behind him. A club legend, and one day someone will make a film about him because his story and his success are extraordinary. He struggled to get 60 mins a game last season, but was still effective. He had two years left on his deal, and by letting him go to his boyhood club we earn his love and respect for ever. We purchased him from Rovers for £1m and look where he has got us. Well repaid the investment. We have replaced him with Pelle who was the Dutch first division's second top scorer last season, and over the last two seasons scores an average of 0.85 goals per game. He is big, tall, and in every way an ideal replacement for Lambo. £12 million. Four year deal.
Lallana to Liverpool. Adam became a bit of a cock since playing for England. A shame really. Clatenburg may have been on to something. He made it totally clear to the board he was not going to play for SFC again. He rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way, even rudely refusing to at least have the courtesy to sit down with the new manager and talk about his future. He went for £25 million, and after Bournemouth's cut we get about £20 million. We bring in Dusan Tadic for £8.5 million, probably on lower wages too. He is a snap-in replacement for Lallana. Looks very, very neat.
Shaw to Untied for £30m + addons. There isn't a chairman alive who would have turned that down. That is not asset stripping. That is text-book good business. A quality Prem experienced left back would cost us no more than £10 million. £15 million max. And good as Shaw is, there is no way he is a thirty million pound player. But no worries, because there is this kid called Matt Targett, 18 years old. Plays left back and is every bit as good as Shaw was two years ago.
Lovren to Liverpool for £20m. We bought him for £8.5 million 13 months ago. Good player, no doubt but had an average second half of the season. He came back from the world cup and just plain refused to play for the Saints again. Massive ego. Head completely turned. What are we to do? Of course we sell! Twenty million is all about SFC mugging Liverpool, not KL asset stripping.
Chambers to Arsenal for £16m. The kid is good. No question. His is perhaps the most 'annoying' loss. I would have liked to have got another year out of him, but again sixteen million quid for a lad who has only played 20 odd games in the Prem is a lot of money. He is Arsenal's third most expensive player of all time. And his head was clearly turned too. I can't imagine what wages he is on.
If Schneiderlin and JRod go too, then there will be another £40 million at least. JRod is not irreplaceable. Schniederlin would be a loss, but if the figure of £25 million is correct then easily replaceable with clever scouting.
So confirmed we have sold £92 million and spent £20 million. We have £72 million burning a whole in the bank account, and that is before spending any of the £83 million in prize money we won last season. In each of the previous two seasons (when KL was the owner) we spent £30 million. SFC does not have a cash problem. We can now attract players by paying them more wages as well as higher fees. If we so wish. However, I actually don't want to see all that money spent a-la Spurs or QPR. This year we have six exceptional youngster coming into the first team setup. People have said that this years crop of youngsters is perhaps the best ever. I have followed them closely at games over the years and I can attest to that. Isgrove, Targett, Sinclair, Rowe, Reed, Turnbull, McQueen... These will be household names within two years. Probably because they will have been sold to the big clubs for stupid money. That is life.
Albion and SFC are two very similar clubs. Both in size, size of ground and catchment area of fans and talent. If Tony Bloom was offered the sort of money mentioned above for any Albion players he would do business. No question about it. Fans who sit around in La-La land dreaming of loyal players who will stick with the 'provincial' club over the Big Mega Club and commensurate Big Wage are delusional. Neither SFC, nor Albion will ever become a Big Club. We are what we are. There is no reason Albion can't join us in the Prem, and once your academy starts producing young talent their heads will be turned too and they will be off for the bright lights. But we will never be more than the 'best of the rest'. There is no reason to get upset about it. There are plenty of plastics in Southampton and Brighton who are from those respective towns but wear Big Club replica shirts and are probably really, really dull people.
What matters is can SFC put out a solid team who will play 100% and entertain the crowd? Yes, already we can. Can we put out a team which can maintain 8th position? Not yet, but £30-40 million of spending and no problem. Can we deepen the squad. Yes. Can we satisfy the dreamers and finish top four? No. Not even if we spent every penny of what has been a bonanza windfall.
I believe the club will bring in several more good quality players to strengthen an already good side. Talk of relegation is just nuts. Reality is that clubs our size will always be selling clubs. The trick is to get absolute top-dollar and SFC have done just that.
See y'all at the Amex on thursday. Our next wave of youngsters will be on display
So basically you agree with me, then.