Southampton Banter Archive June 30 2014

30 Jun 2014 20:53:00
Making are own kits again dose this madness ever end?

We only sell our kits and bits through official shops and online its got to be more lucrative for the club to make our own, now I am no expert but i'm sure adidas or who ever the kit makers would get a percentage of sales am I wrong here?

What madness is that? the constant improvements to the training ground? the millions spent on improving the stadium this year? the massive improvement in manager? the biggest transfer budget we've ever had even before money from transfers out is factored in?

The kit manufacturing being done by the club is because of the pulling out of the deal by Addidas earlier this season. The other companies weren't really willing to take on Southampton and do the kit with specific designs over such a short period and so instead for next season the club will produce it's own as it did for a fairly long while last time we were in the Premiership following the collapse of the previous kit makers deal.

This could be replaced with a new proper deal the following season or if the club is happy with the quality of their own production they may stick with it.

Oh I do apologise sorry! forgot the amazing lights! Ohwwww!
Madness selling the spine of a team
That Finished in 8th and that's before we signed anyone to replace them! Driving up the prises of are future signings! and selling to are rivals! Making them stronger and us weaker!
Trying to throw together a team in such a short period of time! Not giving the team enough time to gel!
Selling are English internationals! there for not increasing are world wide appeal to overseas fans and big sponcers ie: not growing are brand!
Making your own kits
Sponcers that no ones heard of!
Need I go on!
We look like a laughing stock to rest of the league!
I for one am fed up being the brunt of the media and other clubs jokes!
And so should you!
This is southampton and we are the saints!

You've also forgotten the new drainage, under soil heating and new pitch.

I wouldn't say a 32 year old who needed to be replaced anyway (yes club legends still need replacing), an 18 year old with barely a season and a half under his belt, most of which was spent sat out with colds and a 26 year old with one decent season the spine of a team, I'd consider the spine more Fonte, Lovren, Morgan, Cork & J-Rod, they're who we miss most when they're not in the team.

Considering we'll make close to 60million for Shaw and Lallana and be able to buy the players we've been linked to (who are definitely as good or better) for a third of that means that we could come out the real winners of the deals. Who knows, we could have kept them and have them under perform all season

we had 4 players join the first team last season, Wanyama, Lovren, Osvaldo and Chambers (as well as Reed, Sims, McQueen and Gallagher joining the squad) and we had the best start to a season we've had in a long time, if ever. We'll have the same amount or less join the first team this season, there's no reason why they can't gel as well

Surely, buying players from other nations, especially if they're big names, would increase our profile those countries?

The sponsor IS a global brand, they're huge in Asia, the Middle East and some European countries like Spain and Italy and they're growing at a huge rate in others like the UK, US and Aus, just because YOU haven't heard of them isn't the club's nor Veho's fault and doesn't mean they're small time. Aap3 was and is a massively smaller company and you're not moaning about them

Kit makers mean very little, a smartly designed own brand kit will have the same if not more appeal than a badly designed 'big name' template, they're football shirts, people buy them for the badge on the left, not the right.

I couldn't care less what the media and other clubs fans say because I know that Southampton Football Club have never been in a better position than we are right now, they can laugh now, I'll laugh when we beat them and finish above them in the league

Agree with everything SaintySaintSaint has said there, too many here have let the media get under your skin. The board are doing fantastic work behind the scenes and sooner or later you will come to recognise this.

Perhaps Saints should have offered the contract to Russel Brown in an effort to keep hold of Lovren.

A lot of people have been blinded by the illusion that Cortese put together. Now I am not saying in any way that he was not good for the club as he did some great work to get us where we are in a short period of time.
However, the 5 year plan came to an end and by the looks of it, no one know what to do in year 6!
KL has stepped up and had a look at things and didn't like what he was doing to her business, yes her business not his.
He was lording it around as if he owned it, his wife was employed and he son installed into the kids teams not through merit, he spent shed loads of money on his office with a number of re fits.
Maybe the deal with Addidas was not a good one for the club but one for the ego of Mr C? Fans will buy the shirt if they like it and if it is red and white stripes no one will give a monkies who made it as long as it lasts the season.

A few years ago, Walcott, bale, Ox, Surman etc where leaving for peanuts as we were desperate, now we are getting great money for players. Very rare for players to stick around and if they don't want to wear the new home brew kit then fcough.

I am Saints until I die, rough and smooth so no wards I say and balls to all the doubters and the mockers.

In KL I trust and I will be being RoKo.

30 Jun 2014 19:13:22
Some online article says we've had an offer of 12 million euros accepted for Dusan Tadic. Sounds believable, do people think he would be the right man to replace Lallana?

Jus checked out some youtube clips boy looks class

Also his fifa states are very very good he can do pretty much anything with the ball

I wouldn't necessarily trust FIFA to provide a fair assessment of a player to be honest Ruffhead. But if our scouting pool has picked him out he probably has shown pretty good signs as a player.

He looks the best player we have been linked with.
If he is replacing Lallana then I'm happy.
Rumours of him costing £10m in one of the papers. bargain!

30 Jun 2014 18:10:05
If the rumours about Witsel are true, he'd be a class signing and a big statement to other clubs, but as he's a holding midfielder, I imagine he would be signed to replace Shneiderlin sadly as CM our best covered position, also if Shneiderlin and Lovren go who will be named captain? Fonte I'm guessing, also this Watson guy we're adding to our coaching staff will be great, as he's credited for the development of Hart, Foster and Butland from his time at Birmingham and is a great addition to our coaching team

Fingers crossed Watson can help Isted develop to his full potential, looks like he could be a great keeper in the making but will need a quality coach.

30 Jun 2014 17:13:49
Like us to reignite are interest in Roberto Firmino last time I heard Chelsea were after him?

30 Jun 2014 14:56:15
Like the new Wimbledon kit made by admiral
We'll retro looks great! hope we go down that road with are's.

30 Jun 2014 13:41:50
people forget we still have a striker who cost us over 1.5mill. his name is billy sharp. still only 28, knows where the goal is, very experienced. we never given a chance under mopo. maybe its time he came back into the saints team and given a chance to prove himself in pre season

He's back in tomorrow - he'll know hardly anyone, he's a nice chap but he ain't good enough for the Prem.

Agreed he ain't good enough for the prem got like 16 goals in the championship

He should've been given the chance when we were first promoted to the prem as we needed a striker then anyway! I think it's too late now as he's gone down hill a bit now sadly, wish him all the best though as your right he's a nice guy

30 Jun 2014 06:16:34
Reports that the Mexican goalkeeper is on a free. Looks a good keeper from what I've seen of him briefly.
If his wage demands aren't bad I'd take him.

In terms of value for money (because in football free is never actually free) there probably isn't a better keeper available right now. I'd take him all day long, he is a similar keeper to Boruc, an adept shot stopper and remarkably inconsistent, only Ochoa has much better distribution, footwork and control. If we were able it'd definitely be worth it.

30 Jun 2014 01:40:01
Sorry guys but I just felt the need to post about this as I've seen it a few times on here lately and on other forums as well.

THE BOARD ARE NOT ASSET STRIPPING. People, if you don't have any knowledge about technical economic terms then please stop using them. I hate to sound like a snob on this but the term is being used incorrectly every single time in this context; 3 points to this effect.

1. Players are not assets. They are employees. When you pay another company (club) for a player you are not paying for ownership of that player, you are paying for the rights and services of that player, specifically football playing rights. Shock horror it is illegal for people and companies to own people. They are, under contract, employed to do a service by the club. Assets in the context of a football club are the things it owns; such as the St Mary's or Staplewood as obvious examples.

2. Everything the club has done to date (specifically post-Cortese) is the exact opposite of an asset strip; they have put significant investment into the club, investing in the infrastructure like Staplewood and improvements to St Mary's. If Les Reed's statement is true, that revenues from the sale of players will be put directly back into transfers and new contracts, then again the point is null.

3. In the context of a football club asset stripping is not just exceedingly difficult it is downright stupid. To sell the assets of Southampton individually (as is asset stripping) would not bring in as much as selling the club as a whole. The assets of the club are worth considerably less outside the context of football and a considerable amount of the value of a football club is its position (in the league structure) and the fact it is a football club. In fact if you were selling you'd want to keep hold of the players. If you are selling the club you want the club to be of maximum desirability to any potential buyer and a strong first team which requires little direct investment is much more desirable. Southampton also has almost all the infrastructure, to a high standard, already in place. The club as a whole is more then the sum of the individual parts which is why an asset strip of a football club is inherently illogical. This is why asset stripping in football clubs is very rare, especially at the top level, and only really occurs in clubs in the very worst of financial straits as a 'get out as quickly and cleanly as possible' strategy.

There is no Southampton conspiracy, the board are not trying to destroy this club for money in the bank. Perhaps Liebherr will sell at some point in the near future, but an asset strip, especially not in the context of its use here, will not precede it. The worry about the board is not malicious intentions; it's incompetency. This is an inexperienced boardroom, especially in football, and there are legitimate and valid questions about whether or not they suffer from naivety and ignorance and whether or not they are really fit for purpose. But we have to wait and see for the answer to those questions.

So for the love of god, if anyone uses the term 'asset strip' again in this context I'm going to have a brain bleed. Ta.

Whilst I agree with some of your post (and it was only me I think who mentioned the words Asset Stripping) I think you took it the wrong way.
I actually think the players are assets and are worth more individually than as a whole in the club.
Anyone looking to purchase the club will take into account an estimate of the players worth.
We have managed to get far over the price an auditor would value Shaw for had the club been up for sale.
I say they are assets in "" as the cash brought in from them will be used to clear debt and hit the bottom line of the clubs books until any signings are made.
A club clear from debt and making money is a far more of a prospect for potential buyers than one which they initially have to invest money into to clear debt (like ML did)
I didn't mean the academy/staplewood etc.
I agree the board are very new here but they have held firm on transfer fees out so far.
That said (and this is where it goes back to players being assets in "") if they sell the rest of our stars and don't invest correctly we will struggle this season, lose money on Sky payments if we are lower down the league and god forbid lose a lot of club worth if we were relegated.
The above I firmly don't believe will happen.
I hope all the cash received from players sales will be invested back into the club. Realistically can you see it though. I realise Les Reed did say that would happen but let's wait and see as he also said he would like Lallana to stay for at least another year.

Oh don't get me wrong, this wasn't directed at any individual this was just a general rantgasm on my part. You spend enough time on Saintsweb and you'll go mad eventually. Most people on here, like yourself and montecristo seem to have a decent amount of knowledge, I just think you've taken the less likely conclusions then these sales otherwise indicate. Whilst I agree that if the players can be sold at an inflated fee, as is often the case with 'potential' sales, then they will accrue more revenue then the sale as a whole, but the bulk of players this does not apply to and the strength of the squad and the necessity for high levels of direct investment for any potential buyer will do more to lower their valuation then anything. Whilst a player sale, particularly the likes of Shaw, can be good for a quick necessary buck, the sale of the bulk of players prior to the sale of a club would not be particularly wise. And I think, if nothing else, Liebherr is business savvy and is aware of this.

Cheers TK. I think this period of uncertainty is making us all jump to conclusions at the moment.
Time to wind the clock forward to the start of the season