The Daily Echo has most of it's Saints related news behind a Pay Wall these days, so for those who don't subscribe, we take a look at the 5 things that the local paper is suggesting will restore Southampton supporters faith in their owners.
The Daily Echo used to be the go to place for news on Southampton Football Club, for years it's offices in Above Bar were a landmark building, both before WW2 and then after when it had been rebuilt after being flattened in that war.
It was common for Sotonian's to arrange to meet "Under the Echo clock" many a marriage in this City had it's foundations start in front of it's offices.
It was also the go to point for Saints supporters to find out about the club and in the pre internet days, both the Paper & club were essential for each other, the club needed the publicity that it gave in it's coverage and the paper needed the club for the sales Saints supporters provided.
Sadly in this modern age it is a shadow of it's former self, it no longer has big offices in the City Centre of for that matter out at Redbridge when it's offices were sold to make room for access to the West Quay shopping centre, it is not printed in the City anymore and it is no longer a big employer providing jobs for many.
For Southampton fans, much of the stories they want to read are behind a pay wall, you have to subscribe to read them, something many feel is not worth it, given the many other free outlets to get news on the club and for that matter the lack of news stories on other matters and indeed are actually local, those sub editing it these days in South Wales do not seem to realise that a shop lifting spree in the Co Op in Waterlooville is not in the papers catchment area and of no interest to it's readers.
But sometimes the paper does have some good points to make and today they have identified 5 points that they feel will help Sport Republic restore faith in their ownership, so for those who may not be able to read this article we take a look at what they are claiming.
They start the article by suggesting that the signing of Oriol Romeu was a masterstroke, it gave Saints supporters a boost, they then go on to say that the problems that the club are having are not from a lack of ownership from Dragan Solak & his co owners at Sport Republic, suggesting that the issue is not the owners themselves but from the way the club is being run by those charged with doing so.
I would agree here to a point, I would make the bold claim that Sport Republic are not bad owners, you only need to look at Sheffield Wednesday to see an example of that, but they are good owners doing badly and many would say very badly.
But it has not all been bad, firstly initially we made some good signings after appointing Joe Shields as head of recruitment and then we had Jason Wilcox, who stabilised the club and looked to be rebuilding it as we headed back to the premier League, before he too was poached by a bigger club.
That was not the fault of Sport Republic, however the finger can be well and truly pointed at them when it comes to the failure to replace them.
So how can they turn things around ?
"An experienced manager who commands respect "
Firstly The Daily Echo say that they need to forget about young relatively inexperienced managers, such as the appointment of Will Still, that the situation needs "An experienced manager who commands respect "
They are spot on here, I don't think there are many Saints fans who will disagree here, we are in such disarray after the 3 managers who oversaw last season and then Will Still, that it needs strong experienced leadership to take over and more to the point a man who understands and knows the task that he is undertaking.
However finding one is not going to be easier and what is "Experienced" is a man like David Moyes who is a name that crops up every time he is out of work and we need a manager, the right man to oversee a Championship season , a league the last time he graced was in 2002.
But this is a valid starting point to restore faith and I think Sport Republic would do well to take notice.
Sign a new number one goalkeeper on a loan deal
This is a contentious issue, Gavin Bazunu has had his critics this season, but they don't take into account that in the last season we were promoted Bazunu was a big part of that, forget the stats that are pulled out of the hat by some about goals to shots ratio etc, Bazunu was the keeper when we went 22 games unbeaten that season, you don't get a run like that with a dodgy keeper, he started this season well, and since his return to the team we have won both games, he might not be the best keeper in the Championship at the moment, but in front of a strong defence he can do a job.
This is not a priority in my opinion, perhaps recalling Arron Ramsdale from Newcastle where he has barely played might solve the situation.
Dip back into the market for a proper number nine
This is fine in principal, but it is something that we can't actually do for the next 6 weeks and possibly the best part of 10 weeks given most deals are done in the final days.
In the meantime Saints have to give Damion Downs a real chance to show what he can do, strikers thrive on confidence and playing games, Downs has had neither since he arrived, in 9 Championship appearances he has played just 248 minutes, no goals and just one assist, I don't know whether Downs has a future at this level, but I do know he has not yet had a chance, some of the best number 9's we have had took longer to flourish, James Beattie took 12 games before he found the net for Saints in the League, he took another 9 to get a 2nd, likewise Che Adams who took 27 games before he scored a goal.
Like the goalkeeping situation, we cannot do anything for at least 6 weeks, we have to give those who are going to be in the team for that time a chance to prove their critics wrong.
So from these two points The Daily Echo is saying that Sport Republic need to restore faith in them, but suggesting two things that they cannot do in the short term, on the face of it some would say a silly thing to say, but if we think a little deeper, it is making a relevant point, we are stuck with what we have for the moment, so all we can do is get on with things, it is no use moaning about something we cannot change until we can do so, Sport Republic cannot do anything about not only signing key new players, but showing that are willing to do so until January.
Convince the key midfield starlet to sign a new contract
This is Shea Charles who will enter the final year of his contract in the summer of 2027, I am a little confused as to why Echo reporter Alfie House feels that this will restore faith in Sport Republic, firstly when he went out on loan in the summer of 2024, there were few people bemoaning this fact, his first season was not outstanding, but all of a sudden, after just a few games back at the club he is the saviour of the entire situation ?
I don't think so and that comes from perhaps one of the few who thought we should have kept Charles last season and not loaned him out.
The reality in the modern game is that players are not convinced to stay at clubs by owners, they are convinced by the situation and to be perfectly blunt who has the better offer.
Taking aside that the man to convince Charles is Johannes Spors as director of football and the manager at the time as to whether he rates him or not, it is about money, if Saints are promoted at the end of this season and they are back in the Premier League it will be a far easier task than if we are not promoted and he is being courted by a Premier League club offering top flight football and more money.
So I think this point be the Daily Echo is completely irrelevant, there will be few fans who will be saying "They are not so bad after all" based on Che Charles signing a new deal.
Establish a clear chain of command and communication
Here Alfie House says this.
"Who made the call to sack Still? Was it Solak or Spors? We have been told conflicting things. How much is Rasmus Ankersen involved nowadays?
"In theory, Spors has the final say. But he does not, obviously, because Solak does. And Ankersen advises Solak. And Phil Parsons rules the budget.
"Was Still everyone's first choice? Some senior staff wanted to pursue more experienced players in the summer window, while others did not."
In some respect House is right, who is doing what, but in theory as he says, Spors would call the shots on footballing matters and Parsons on none footballing matters, but does Parsons control the purse strings, that would surely be the Financial Director Michael Fenn, he would be the man who would advise all whether anything that requires money is financially viable.
The structure as on the Club's official website is clear, what isn't clear is who actually has the final say, the truth is that Spors as footballing director is the man who controls the playing side of things, he would of course need to certain other people in major decisions, but essentially in a transfer assuming that the money side has been OK'd then Spors would only sign a player if the manager wanted him.
That is in theory at least, but as I was told by the club a few years ago, it is pointless buying a player if the manager does not want him, all that happens is he doesn't play him.
This is puzzling when you look at a year ago when Russell Martin literally did not play most of those signed in that summer, it would be easy to surmise that the decision was not the manager's, but Martin was clearly running a different agenda from that of the club and he never gave some of them a real chance.
The issue here is not what structure is in place, but communicating it to the supporters, Alfie House clearly has a theory, but provides no evidence to back it up, or at least none he is revealing, has Spors told him that Solak has the final say on transfers ?
A look at the website is quite clear, Solak being the owner is the man paying the piper and calling the tunes, he is being advised by Rasmus Ankersen, Phil Parsons is the man running the club overall, but he oversees all departments and makes sure they are running to the satisfaction of the owners, he is not hands on in any department whether it is marketing, advertising or Football, he has men under him doing that.
The line of command is defined on the club website, it is just most do not really understand how it works as they are not au fait with corporate governance.
So there is a chain of command, the question is whether it is being over ridden and that is not uncommon at most football clubs.
So this final point from The Daily Echo is more about communication and more important communicating, than the actual chain of command itself.
For the supporters though all that matters is results on the pitch, they don't care about what goes on behind the scenes, all they want is the end result, that is fine, but in many of the 5 points in the Echo, some of them are easy to do, an experienced manager is obvious and can be done straight away, but the rest are not achievable straight away, if you are judging by end result alone, then you have to wait till the actual end to judge and whether that result has been achieved or not.