09 Aug 2015 22:08:04
I still am of the belief that ROKO builds from a strong defence and therefore will look for 2 more defenders, preferable mobile ones.

Personally I think we are OK in attack but we are still missing someone on the engine room. I hope Classie will fit the bill.

I am alone in think that the Europa Cup is more of a hindrance than a help? Personally I think we should use the Europa Cup as practice for our squad players, and save some of our best players for the PL. We only need snother couple of injuries and we are in trouble. How many games would we have to play to reach the semi finals of the cup? Is it financially worth it? How many points will it cost us in the PL? What about the FA Cup and League Cup?

If the club is to prosper then it must balance finances with marketing and squad development.

From a development of the club we must concentrate on a large flexible squad but one which focuses on being a top 10 PL club. That is business sense and that's what sport is all about. Hence we need to broaden our appeal in Asia and market SFC .

I hope we can get three more players in soon.

I would also like to see our best players given a contract extension and Roko contract extended. Southampton always do best when they have good stable management and coaching staff that keeps players fit and motivated.

So Les Reed its down to you!

1.) 10 Aug 2015
09 Aug 2015 22:36:14
Great post, the only thing I disagree with you on is Europa League. This is vital to the development of the club and the first team for so many reasons, one of them being the contract extensions you mention. The more we can make our mark in European competition, even if it's not every season can only provide further improvements.

2.) 10 Aug 2015
09 Aug 2015 23:54:22
I think this is spot on. As much as European glory appeals, that might need to wait for a few seasons.

3.) 10 Aug 2015
10 Aug 2015 09:50:54
If we hadn't of wasted millions on the likes of Osvaldo , Ramirez etc. I am pretty sure our business model would look far more healthy . If we want to attract top players we have to market the club as a top prospect for future growth to the very top level . We know this will take some time but we need to start pushing forwards a little bit quicker than we are doing . It is sensible to have a cautious approach but fundamental things need to happen to move us along , I am not talking about splashing out shed loads of money but I think it is pretty obvious unless we get our defence sorted out immediately we could be playing catch up in the league and also be out of the Europa Cup as well , we need this top quality CB now and not when the selling club decides one way or the other .

4.) 10 Aug 2015
10 Aug 2015 10:19:58
I agree with SaintsFan 29. We need European football at Southampton because without it we just become also rans and will never have the financial clout to challenge the top 6. Also European football goes a long way to holding on to our better players and attracting top players from other clubs. We should be looking to progress year on year and that means playing in Europe. I'm not happy to settle for 7th to 10th place in the EPL each year and I'm sure that Roko and the players won't be. All players want to test themselves at the highest level possible which is why smaller clubs such as ours lose players to bigger clubs each year. We are now in a position to change that trend and push on to greater heights. I can see no reason for us not winning the Europa cup this year and getting automatic entry to the champions league next year. Just think what that could do for our club.

5.) 11 Aug 2015
11 Aug 2015 18:11:01
Plan B was to expand the squad to cover Europa League. The club are doing that. Without Europa League the plan would have been much more limited. We would probably have replaced the outgoing players and no more. Some supporters seem confused between the two plans!