x

Koeman To Be Given Stark Reminder Of What He Is Missing !

Ronald Koeman will get a stark reminder of just what he has given up footballing wise, when his return to St Mary's is delayed by a day.

Was it only a month ago Ronald Koeman was stood on the St Mary's pitch with his arms aloft and celebrating another Europa League qualification for Saints ?

After the game he reiterated that he would be seeing out his contract with Saints and would start discussing a new one now the season was over.

That seems a lifetime away and no Saints fan in St Mary's that day would have predicted what was going to happen next.

Now Ronald Koeman will arrive back at St Mary's, not leading a Saints team that will again be hoping for a top six finish, nor will he have been enjoying European competition a few days earlier. although his former players and Saints fans will have done so.

Koeman may well be finding out by late November that money is not everything, either in his personal life where he abandoned all his principles, not in his professional life where he could well be finding that £150 million in a transfer kitty is not enough to improve a poor Everton squad to the level that his new employer is demanding.

With at least another six clubs intending to spend that amount in the summer transfer window and all of them starting from a far better position in terms of quality of current squad, Koeman may well find that his situation at Everton will be far different to that he enjoyed at St Mary's.

If he endures a bad start at Goodison or a run similar to the one he suffered at Saints last season between November and mid January and finds himself languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, then he may find that patience is in short supply with Everton's new sugar daddy Moshiri.

The new philosophy at Everton is to throw money at the problem and as Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester United have all found in the past three seasons, it is no good having a lot of money unless you have the long term strategy in place to move forward.

Everton under Davd Moyes did have that strategy in place, but with Bill Kenwright being forced into the periphery there is a new way of doing things at Goodison Park and it will not be the way Koeman is used too.

But for Saints fans that is neither here or there, we have the Europa League tolook forward to, we have an owner who wants a strategy in place and knows that in any business without a proper strategy you are just throwing money away, perhaps Saints fans themselves don't fully understand that, but they certainly do a lot more than they did a couple of years ago.

I don't blame Ronald Koeman for the fact that Everton found the price he would take to abandon his principles, indeed I wish him well and thank him for the job he has done at St Mary's over the past two years, I'm merely sad that he didn't continue and perhaps become a true Saints managerial legend, however someone will inerit that work and build on it, the path will be rocky, butwe asa club are in far better shape than most to tackle it.

What to read next:

James Ward Prowse Future At West Ham Said To Be Uncertain
News is coming out of London suggesting that James Ward Prowse could be on his way out of the London Stadium less than a year after joining the Hammers from Southampton last August.
West Ham Make Decision On Flynn Downes Future
Southampton supporters are united in the opinion that Flynn Dpwnes was a key member of the squad that gained promotion back to the Premier League, now they have some news from East London about his likely home next season.
Cody Gakpo Reveals What Made Him Turn Down Southampton And Leeds
Cody Gakpo joined Liverpool in the January of 2023 and enjoyed a mixed first season in England, but he could have played in the Premier League a few months earlier and he could now been a Saints legend if only he had not had his shooting boots on.
Ted Drake - A Saintly Connection
Liam Harding is the Great Grandson of Southampton, Arsenal & England legend Ted Drake, he he reveals how that family connection has led him to explore his roots and take an interest at the club where it all started for his Grandfather.
Saints Release Key Dates For 2024/25 Premier League Return
Southampton supporters are feeling happy after the exciting times in May, but now we need to get back to business and the return to the Premier league, so here are some key dates for your diary.
Saints 23/24 Season Review - The Goalkeepers
We start our review of the 2023/24 season for Southampton with a look at the three goalkeepers that were used during the campaign, how they played individually and how they influenced the way that the team played.
Stuart Armstrong Weighing Up Options
Southampton & Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstrong is out of contract in a little under 4 weeks time, now he has a few decisions to be made, will he accept a new contract offer from Saints, or will he see his future elsewhere with interest from both Italy and a Premier League rival to Southampton.
Saints May Have To Cash In On Star Defender
Most of the talk amongst Southampton fans is about who will be coming into the club during the summer, but there may well also be some departures and not just from the fringe s of the squad.
Watt View - The Play off Special
It has been a while, but Matt Watts has taken to the laptop to give his thoughts on the play off win at Wembley and the season in general, as usual it is a very balanced view of the situation and it is good to have him back.
Southampton Considering Move For Wembley Play Off Opponent
A few days ago Joe Rodon had one aim and that was to keep Saints out of the Premier League for next season as he played for Leeds United, but now after returning to his parent club Tottenham Hotspur, it seems that his next move might all be about keeping Southampton in the Premier League.