Feel worse...

[stoke canary 0]

if I was a Southampton fan and stayed up ,with all the players leaving ,than I do with our relegation.Obviously I want success for Norwich but would it be really worth it if what has happened at Southampton was to happen here ??

[morty 0]

Utterly ridiculous situation.Saw a report that Schneiderlin and Rodriguez could be on their way to Spurs.Crazy.Not so sure it would have happened to us though, not enough of our players had a good enough season (obviously) and really Southampton were definitely at a level above us. Really we only have 2 or 3 players that clubs covet, and not any clubs in the top six.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

That''s true Morty. though even if we''d stayed up I think other clubs would have been after Fer and Snods. The question is whether they are willing to pay enough, as Hull did.

[Dicky 0]

According to a Saints mate of mine, they are getting as much cash in as possible before selling the club. He is distraught, as you would be. Mind you, after he told me "Norwich are back where we belong", I have been taking the p1ss a lot....

[morty 0]

[URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/mortymccarthy/media/66187_552307521581451_8823417587413926271_n_zps000c2630.png.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/mortymccarthy/66187_552307521581451_8823417587413926271_n_zps000c2630.png[/IMG][/URL]

[morty 0]

That was the team on the opening day of last season.

[LQ 0]

This was the summation from the BBC in January: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25755711

(sorry - I''m rubbish at working links)

In effect, what Cortese did for Saints was right along the lines of what Dave Brailsford did for the British & Sky cycling teams. Liebherr Sn bought right into his philosophy (that''s why they worked so well together), Liebherr Jr didn''t.

All Katharina Liebherr has wanted since inheriting the club is a sale - perhaps by selling it piecemeal, in her world, she''s onto a winner.

This is all very sad from any football fan''s perspective, surely. This was perhaps the one big throw of a foreign owner''s dice that looked like it would work - in it for the long haul and working towards glory as opposed to just buying it. Only once again it''s turned into "be careful what you wish for"...

With both the main men (Cortese and Pochettino) gone and a ridiculously depleted squad it''ll certainly be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.

Still, that''s football...

[Bill 1,788]

i think the reaction to our relegation can be defined by whether you go to Carrow Road to see City or the opposition

[Tumbleweed 106]

I''ll no doubt get shot down by many, but this is another illustration of why in the long term there are advantages in having a genuine fan with the best interests of the club at heart and in control. Being a trust fund''s or an oligarch''s plaything leaves you exposed if they get bored. Mind you we don''t know how this will turn out yet- Koeman seems to have been a good catch and presumably would not have taken the job had he known this was going to happen. Much will depend on whether they spend any of this money in the next month, if not then the intentions as described above must be pretty close to the mark.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

It is a shame really. Even if you have the most loyal player, if the money is good, they will go (think Carroll at Newcastle who didn''t want to leave but £35m on the table, the club wanted him out!)

Compared to how it''s gone at some clubs, i''m happy to have a well functioning team to support. So long as that is the case, we''ll have our years of decent finishes in the premierships and our years back down here. Hopefully the days of no money are behind us and we never go through the Roeder years or the league 1 years again but I am more or less certain we''ll be above Southampton at least once in the next decade, likewise most teams outside the top 7 at some point.

In football, it''s all swings and roundabouts until you fall off, so hang on and enjoy the ride.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="LQ"]This was the summation from the BBC in January: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25755711

(sorry - I''m rubbish at working links)

In effect, what Cortese did for Saints was right along the lines of what Dave Brailsford did for the British & Sky cycling teams. Liebherr Sn bought right into his philosophy (that''s why they worked so well together), Liebherr Jr didn''t.

All Katharina Liebherr has wanted since inheriting the club is a sale - perhaps by selling it piecemeal, in her world, she''s onto a winner.

This is all very sad from any football fan''s perspective, surely. This was perhaps the one big throw of a foreign owner''s dice that looked like it would work - in it for the long haul and working towards glory as opposed to just buying it. Only once again it''s turned into "be careful what you wish for"...

With both the main men (Cortese and Pochettino) gone and a ridiculously depleted squad it''ll certainly be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.

Still, that''s football...[/quote]It could be, LQ. I don''t know enough about Southampton (I keep myself busy enough getting it wrong about Norwich City!). But it could equally be a sensible owner not wanting to fall foul of Financial Fair Play. The Swiss version of Prudence with Ambition.There are penalties/limits if your wage bill is above £52m. In 2012-13, their first season back in the Premier League, their overall wage bill (if this is the relevant figure) was £47m. Two seasons on (in effect) then that £52m will certainly have been passed. And there are limits on the losses allowed, with the amount of the loss allowed dependant on whether the owner has injected money into the club by way of shares.I can understand Southampton fans being apoplectic and apocalyptic at the moment, but it could be Liebherr is looking after the long-term future of the club. Or she could be gearing up for a sale...

[morty 0]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]I''ll no doubt get shot down by many, but this is another illustration of why in the long term there are advantages in having a genuine fan with the best interests of the club at heart and in control. Being a trust fund''s or an oligarch''s plaything leaves you exposed if they get bored. Mind you we don''t know how this will turn out yet- Koeman seems to have been a good catch and presumably would not have taken the job had he known this was going to happen. Much will depend on whether they spend any of this money in the next month, if not then the intentions as described above must be pretty close to the mark.[/quote]Why would you get shot down for that?Time and time again the advantages have been proven to us, with each club that falls foul of owners who don''t give a fig.

[Tumbleweed 106]

My impression is that there are many folk who would willingly trade Delia in for someone with a huge bank balance. I agree with you, but I suspect that many fans are more fickle and would get some sort of kick out of us splashing out on £25m "name" players here and there.

[Bill 1,788]

.......................... whilst never asking how they got that "huge bank balance "

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

I have a lot of dealings with Southampton FC through my work. I''m down there usually once or twice a month so feel I have a pretty good grasp on their situation.

The fans have been surprisingly relaxed about the player sales, possibly most upset about Chambers who they feel left too early and for a ''fair'' price (the rest being overpriced).

Although Libherr Jr doesn''t have the same passion for the club as her owner and would probably sell at reasonable price, she has the same goal as the fans. The better the club is doing the more she can sell it for. The club isn''t costing her any money and she''s happy for those running things to carry on.

The management are classic pragmatists, they know they can''t convince players set on leaving to stay (and it is counter productive to do so) but have made sure they''ve made too dollar for them.

If I was a fan I''d have complete faith in Les Reed and the exec board they have there in finding new players - the ones the club have chosen (over those managers have chosen) been good to excellent - flipping Lovern for a £14m profit in one season is pretty special.

Also, the quality of the young players they have is incredible, clubs usually manage one or two over a number of seasons but Southampton are producing one or two a season at the moment (expect to see Taggert, James Ward-Prowse, Sam Gallagher and Isgrove all make regular appearances this season).

Basically, while most clubs'' fans would be flipping out right now, most Southampton fans are taking it pretty well. Guess that is what comes with knowing your club is being run well and having a bit of faith.

[Bill 1,788]

And hopefully that is the position we will be at in a few seasons, regards the youth etci''m not too sure what the club''s position is with regard to debts, so maybe like us who it now seems used the PL to clear the debtsDrop back for a breather then head back after a cracking season in the Chumps

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

Southampton were debt free when entering the Prem, they were bankrolled by their now deaceased owner to get them there. That''s how they paid £1m for Lambert while in League One and paid Lallana £20k a week in the Championship.

If Norwich have half the academy Southampton have I''d be delighted. This is the club that produced Bale, Walcott and Ox-Chamberlian before they even made the Prem. I do know some of the academy directors are worried about EPPP though, they think it could mean no club outside of the top 5 or 6 clubs in the country will be able to produce top quality talent.

[Guest]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]I''ll no doubt get shot down by many, but this is another illustration of why in the long term there are advantages in having a genuine fan with the best interests of the club at heart and in control. Being a trust fund''s or an oligarch''s plaything leaves you exposed if they get bored. Mind you we don''t know how this will turn out yet- Koeman seems to have been a good catch and presumably would not have taken the job had he known this was going to happen. Much will depend on whether they spend any of this money in the next month, if not then the intentions as described above must be pretty close to the mark.[/quote]

 

Huzzah[Y]

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

Well if it all goes t*ts up for them this season at least they''ll have a heap of dosh to get back up in season 2015-16 [:D]

[Rolf Harris 31]

Morgan Schneiderlin

@SchneiderlinMo4

6 years of an amazing journey #saintsfc DESTROYED in 1 hour !!!