08 Jul 2016 20:22:30
Just a feeling that other clubs are panic buying so that other clubs can't get them . SFC have proved that gently does it and by the time the big money clubs have all bought what is currently available they are done. We sit in the wings and produce a few little gems and move on, we have been doing this carefully which I think shows our board is far superior to the so called big clubs . We have proved this over the last couple of seasons.

1.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 10:24:11
Do you honestly think that? By "a few little gems" do you mean the likes of Ramirez, Juanmi, Cedric etc? I agree we have made a few brilliant signings such as Tadic, Van Dijk and so on. But as a Saints fan I'm completely fed up with the way the club is run. Selling our main assets for huge amounts of money and hardly reinvesting it back in to the club.

We have made some great signings, but could have made even better. If we really want to start being a threat in Europe and work our way towards the champions league, we need to make some bigger signings. Not just replacements after we've sold off our best players. Seems to me like its just being run as a very profitable business for the owner. I think its about time us saints fans admit this and stand up to it. After selling Mane for £35 million, I expect southampton to sign a BIG name. Not a couple of average players from the Dutch/ Spanish league who none of us have ever heard of until we've watched some poorly made YouTube compilation. It's not going to be easy to top our performance last season with the players some of the top teams are linked with.

2.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 10:53:57
I agree sainty, to some extent. I fear we will come unstuck one day and will rue our model however right now the club is being run as a successful business, unfortunately as football has become. To survive we, as a relatively small club have to live within our means. Superstar players come with superstar salarys then our current players who have remained loyal want huge wages which we match or risk losing them. Which could risk the clubs future financially.

3.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 11:20:47
I think you are missing the point. The profit will feed back into the academy. Their target is to have the world's best academies across the globe. Once this is achieved you wait to see the type of players they feed through the first team. And all from some clever investment. Selling for profit makes good sense but at the same time it is within their interest to keep the first team in Europe. A perfect business plan and a clever way to maintain a healthy bank balance.

4.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 11:49:32
Sainty McGee apparently clueless. Cedric as one of our worst signings? He's quality and Barcelona are after him lol.

This is modern football and we're very very lucky we have such a good boardroom with Les to manage us. God forbid if we were run by villa/ west brom. They splash out money on crap and look how that goes. Hell, Stoke signed good players with a lot of money and we're still doing better. How on earth can any of our fans have any complaints unless they just want quick success, even if that means financial trouble. I'm assuming half the people on here only switched to saints when we came back to the premier league?

5.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 11:57:02
I doubt anyone on here has experience running a Football Club - I also expect only a minimal fee run there very own business. Therefore, why does everyone claim to know what needs to be done - suppose life would be easy if you could just make other people spend Millions and millions just for your satisfaction.

We have to be realistic - the club is being ran far better than before, we are a business. Seems like people are complaining more now than they were when we were being relgated to League 1 - BEHAVE!

6.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 13:27:38
Yh I think we used to sell a lot less then Too
That is how lallana and co did so well
But since we hit the prem
Club has been rinsed!

7.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 14:01:10
We should all look at the plaque on the wall of Staplewood for a bit of perspective. It says, 'Marcus Liebherr. Saved Southampton Football Club and blessed it with his vision; high-quality football, a respectful environment and a sustainable future. Thank you Markus. This is your legacy'. (I do hope we buy a worldy number 10 though) .

8.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 14:17:15
mturner93, you really think cedric has been that good? He's had a fairly decent euros but was poor for us last season, and as for your last point, i've been a Southampton fan my whole life. I may be wrong in some of my original points, but all I am really trying to say is this: I am pretty fed up of the club constantly passing on our best assets. I feel like its come to a point where the majority of our players have no reason to remain faithful to Southampton, and its a bad reputation to build. Players will start joining to try and impress in their first season, in order to get a transfer to a bigger club the next season. Managers too.

We've just signed Redmond. That's great. But, one good season and he will be off to a bigger club next year, and the club will profit. Seem's that's all they're interested in doing. Not maintaining and building the squad.

9.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 15:37:58
What part of the way the club is run has you fed up Sainty McGee? The fact we've improved year after year using this method? The fact three consecutive record breaking league finishes? We've proven that this works so why would we abandon it now?

10.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 15:55:58
No, the profit doesn't feed back into the academy. It goes on the balance sheet and the director decided where he/ she puts it. Often it is taken as a dividend.

11.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 17:13:58
I disagree with those saying this is a sustainable model, we've 2 or 3 seasons to back that assertion. Instability is not beneficial in any walk of life. However, I like other Saints fans hope it works, but there are no guarantees and some of you talk as if there are

Saints have to rebuild again, top-down again - risky business and to use the argument that it has worked in the past it will work again, well that's not logic especially so within a very fluent and ever changing market such as football.

I understand and respect the perspectives of others on this site but to call others 'clueless' for having a different opinion/ perspective, well that's just juvenile and dismissive.

12.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 20:29:46
I agree with chrisdownj entirel. Have people forgotten that we nearly went out of existence a little while back? Katarina may be extremely rich but her family was and is still run on the on a basis of not over borrowing and not overspendinding. Our club is run by an excellent team of professional people. The academy is the envy here and all over the world. Koeman for some unknown reason bad mouthed the up and coming youngsters. The new manager has shown high confidence in the academy. I personnely don't want to see over the top money being shelled out on so called foreign talent . The rest of Europe and Asia know that billions of pounds is being directed to the premier league. Keep faith in the owner and board especially the new manager. We March On!,

13.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 22:32:45
There's only so many times you can knock down the foundations and rebuild. If the club keep selling the team will calapse and we'll be back in the championship.

14.) 09 Jul 2016
09 Jul 2016 23:37:01
Collapse*

^^^^ how would you know? You ran a football club before?

15.) 10 Jul 2016
10 Jul 2016 00:58:10
Sorry Steve didn't it happen some years ago? Or can't you remember? Lowe sold all the tea and China replaced with cheap imitations they didn't gel and it fell apart.

16.) 10 Jul 2016
10 Jul 2016 01:56:24
We're hardly rebuilding the foundations, we're replacing two important players who we are not completely reliant on. Not sure why you see this as a massive rebuilding job? We've proven we can do this so we will continue to do so.

17.) 10 Jul 2016
10 Jul 2016 08:44:03
How many of the players we have sold do we desperately need back.

My friends who support Liverpool aren't hugely impressed with Lovren and Lallana. Schnderlain is great but isn't getting played and Mane is replaceable.

The bigger teams are being ripped off but they can afford it we cant. Everton are now being linked with 40mill players and we all know that will end in tears.

In the 90's we used to celebrate not getting relegated so this is the most consistent success I can remember.

Also I found Long's signing underwhelming but he's been great, we're fans the situation is to emotive for us to be completely rational.

18.) 10 Jul 2016
10 Jul 2016 09:47:56
Why do people think the value of a player makes any difference?

We bought Mane for 10 million, Liverpool bought him for 34 million. He is still the same oerson and the same player, no matter the cost. A higher cost now just grants more pressure and more expectation for him.

I would rather use that 34 million to buy 3 x 10 million players (that some people stupidly refer to as cheap imitations) as they may be as good or better than Mane and Pelle etc.

Also I don't remember everything about Lowe as I do not live in the past - however, I am aware we were in administration and needed money to be saved. So think most Saints fans would agree that we do not want to soend over the odds and have that happen again!

19.) 10 Jul 2016
10 Jul 2016 09:58:48
St Sam what's to say it will be just 2? What's to say that the club can get 40mill a piece for VVD and FF?