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Daily Mirror
28-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Premier League club 'up for sale for £125million' as owner reacts to relegation
All three promoted teams have been relegated straight back to the Championship and Southampton owner Dragan Solak is reportedly ready to cut his losses with a sale Southampton have been put up for sale, with owner Dragan Solak keen to cash out following their relegation from the Premier League, according to Simon Jordan. Saints are rock-bottom of the league and still need one point from their final four matches to surpass Derby County as the worst side in the division's history. They have won just two of their 34 matches this season, and with just 11 points accrued, were officially relegated on April 6, with seven games remaining – the earliest a Premier League team has ever been condemned. Saints are currently managed by interim boss Simon Rusk, after Ivan Juric followed his predecessor Russell Martin in being sacked. The club have found themselves in an almighty mess heading into a crucial summer, when they will be forced to tear apart the squad and start again in the Championship. Southampton are in a state of limbo, with the manager for next season also yet to be decided, amid speculation they are considering Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay and Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl. There is now even more uncertainty off the pitch, with Jordan voicing rumours that Serbian businessman Solak wants to cut and run. Solak provided £100million for Saints to be taken over by Sport Republic in January 2022, buying an 80 per cent stake from Gao Jisheng, but he reportedly has had enough. 'On the basis of performances this season, Ipswich haven't got any more stability than Southampton,' Jordan said on talkSPORT. 'There is a rumour going around that Southampton are up for sale but the fact of the matter is that they have all gone down with no great credit.' The Daily Echo reports that a figure of £125m was mentioned when they were first made aware of the rumour last week. Mirror Football has contacted Southampton to request comment on the speculation. Solak became Southampton's chairman earlier this year after Henrik Kraft decided to step down. He has backed Sport Republic's decision to chase a multi-club ownership model, which also includes Turkish side Göztepe and French team Valenciennes, and reaffirmed his commitment in an interview in January. "I wouldn't say losing is a new experience for me because [anyone] who had certain success knows that the path to success is basically going through defeats,' he told talkSPORT. 'The main thing is to learn and to get better and not to repeat the same mistakes. So I have to say I love Southampton as a football club, as a town. 'I think we have the best fans in the world. We have the colours that I loved from my childhood before even I knew Southampton. I feel completely at home here and I'm as passionate as ever to make this club successful and I will do everything possible. That's why I decided to assume the chair. 'I show everybody that I'm going nowhere and I will do everything I can to make it work. For me, the healing process is thinking longer term. If I see the path and the light at the end of the tunnel, then I feel a bit better. I have to say that I feel quite positive about our future. We have to do some things differently.'
Scottish Sun
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG with Solskjaer a victim of amazing rise
FROM a fan hitting an opposition goalkeeper with a corner flag to beating Istanbul giants Besiktas - Southampton's sister club in Turkey, Goztepe, have come a long way. It will be no consolation to fans of the managerless, already-relegated Saints, but owners Sport Republic have overseen an impressive return to the top flight for their Turkish venture. 5 A Goztepe fan whacked a rival goalkeeper with a corner flag in a fit of rage in 2022 Credit: Twitter / @cicibilgili 5 Goztepe fans are renowned for being some of the most passionate in the world Credit: Getty And Southampton loanees Juan, a striker from Brazil, and Kuryu Matsuki, a Japan Under-23 midfielder, have been part of Goztepe's success this season. Both played in this month's 3-1 win at Besiktas - now managed by former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - which earned Goztepe a place in the semi finals of the Turkish Cup for the first time in nearly half a century. The game brought back memories of their 1960's and early 1970's heyday when the leading club in Turkey's third biggest city, Izmir, regularly gave the big boys from Istanbul a bloody nose. And the Goztepe fans' passion is making it a thrilling ride. READ MORE SPORT STORIES STREET FIGHT Villa & PSG fans brawl ahead of Champions League tie as chairs thrown Rasmus Ankersen, Sport Republic co-founder and Goztepe chairman, said: 'The intensity is something you just don't see in modern football. 'The fanbase is very emotional and very aggressive. 'The volatility of it - It's like playing with rocket fuel. 'When everything goes in the same direction, as it has for big parts of this year, it's unbelievable. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'But when it's not, the pressure the fans can put on their own players from the stands is huge.' Sport Republic bought 70 per cent of Goztepe from oil tycoon Mehmet Sepil in August 2022, seven months after their takeover at Southampton. Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG and ultras boot off over pre-season results The London-based firm, co-founded by former Saints chairman Henrik Kraft and backed by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak, became the first foreign investors ever to take control of a Turkish club. Goztepe, who sank as low as the fifth tier in the 2000's, had just been relegated after a five-year stay in the Super Lig. Things did not start well for the new regime. Manager Ahmet Balci was sacked after a handful of games. Successor Ekrem Dag oversaw an upturn in results but in late November 2022 came the day of shame that went viral on social media. Goztepe's home clash against Izmir rivals Altay had already been halted in the first half so that ambulance crews could attend to fans injured during clashes in the stands. But then a Goztepe fan invaded the pitch, plucked out one of the corner flags and started thrashing Altay goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Ozenc with it. Players and stewards restrained the attacker and the game was abandoned. 5 Goztepe have risen from the fifth tier in 2008 to pushing for a Champions League spot Credit: Getty 5 Southampton have endured an historically poor Premier League season while sister club Goztepe have been thriving Credit: Getty Goztepe recovered from the embarrassment to finish sixth and reach the promotion play-offs. But they fell at the first hurdle and Dag left the club in the summer, with Radomir Kokovic promoted from within to take charge. The Serbian lasted less than four months and Sport Republic turned to Stanimir Stoilov in November 2023. Former Bulgaria international Stoilov had an impressive coaching pedigree, especially for someone managing a second-tier side in Turkey. He had enjoyed historic success in the first of two spells at Levski Sofia that came at either end of a long career that included taking charge of the Bulgaria and Kazakhstan national teams. After Stoilov's arrival, Goztepe lost only two more league games for the rest of the season and their second-place finish earned them a return to the top flight. TURNING OF THE TIDE Before the home games at the 20,000-capacity Gursel Aksel that were crucial to promotion, Turkish pop star Levent Yuksel led the crowd in spine-tingling renditions of his famous song Med Cezir ('Tide'). It has become Goztepe's version of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', a love song about loyalty to a partner repurposed to express devotion to a football team. The supporters sing about the highs and lows and after admitting 'There's no way to give up on these tides', they raise the volume. 'My storm, my disaster, my longing,' they yell, 'it's not enough - making love is not enough, how pretty your violence is, oh how sweet your kindness, I want to love you more and more, I'll follow you until I die and never let you go'. But it's not just the Altay goalkeeper who has tasted the other side of Goztepe fans' passion. The joy of promotion was quickly forgotten after a minor setback last summer. Ankersen said: 'We lost our first friendly game to Charlton during our training camp in Slovenia. 'There were big protests against us for not doing more transfers... I had to do a press conference to calm everyone down.' There was more unrest when Goztepe had to play their first home game back in the top flight on a neutral ground because their own pitch was not in good enough condition. Ankersen said: 'We did not have a CEO at the time so the Chief Financial Officer was the leading executive. 'Our fans still travelled in huge numbers and there were 10,000 people all jumping up and down, calling for him to leave the club.' But confidence was pretty high that Goztepe would make a good fist of the Super Lig, with a top-10 finish as the target. The gap between the top two tiers in Turkey in terms of quality and financial might is not nearly as big as in England and other countries. "A REVELATION" Sport Republic and Stoilov have built the second youngest squad in the league and made them play with a kind of English-style intensity and physicality that is unusual in Turkish football. They have also focused on set-pieces and become one of the most potent teams in the world from dead-ball situations. In Goztepe's second game back in the Super Lig, an equaliser in the 95th minute by on-loan Brazilian striker Romulo earned a morale-boosting 2-2 draw from 2-0 down at home to Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho. Then in late November, Stoilov's side won 4-2 at Besiktas and a good spell took them as high as fourth in the table. Observers feel Goztepe have been unlucky in the current run of 11 league games without a win which has ended their bid for a top-four place. But there was nothing fortunate about their 3-1 win at Besiktas. Solskjaer's side, which included former Arsenal, Liverpool and England star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, took a first-half lead. 5 Before a recent lull, Goztepe had been as high as fourth in the Super Lig Credit: Getty But the game turned on a professional foul on Goztepe's Juan by Besiktas centre back Tayyip Sanuc, which earned him a red card in the 36th minute. Romulo - described as 'a revelation' by Ankersen - scored direct from the resulting free kick, With less than 15 minutes to go, ex-West Ham full back Arthur Masuaku handled the ball in the penalty area and Romulo converted the penalty. Soon afterwards Romulo, on loan from Athletico Paranaense, completed his hat-trick with a deft lob. On Thursday, Goztepe will travel to Trabzonspor for the semi final as they aim to win the Cup for the first time since back-to-back successes in 1969 and 1970. If the club went on to win the trophy, they would have the chance to relive another exploit of their glorious past. In 1968-69, Goztepe became the first Turkish club to reach the last four of a European competition when they went all the way to the semi finals of the Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the Uefa Cup that was in turn rebranded as the Europa League. A cup triumph would earn them a place in the play-off for Uefa's second-tier tournament. Southampton fans, whose FA Cup win of 1976 put them on the map, will hope that Sport Republic can bring the good times back to St Mary's, too. And that the Saints avoid the fate of Sport Republic's other club, French side Valenciennes, who are currently in the third tier after relegation last season. As Goztepe's anthem says, fans have no choice but to ride the waves of football's ebb and flow.
The Irish Sun
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG with Solskjaer a victim of amazing rise
FROM a fan hitting an opposition goalkeeper with a corner flag to beating Istanbul giants Besiktas - Southampton's sister club in Turkey, Goztepe, have come a long way. It will be no consolation to fans of the managerless, already-relegated Saints, but owners Sport Republic have overseen an impressive return to the top flight for their Turkish venture. Advertisement 5 A Goztepe fan whacked a rival goalkeeper with a corner flag in a fit of rage in 2022 Credit: Twitter / @cicibilgili 5 Goztepe fans are renowned for being some of the most passionate in the world Credit: Getty And Both played in this month's 3-1 win at Besiktas - now managed by former The game brought back memories of their 1960's and early 1970's heyday when the leading club in Turkey's third biggest city, Izmir, regularly gave the big boys from Istanbul a bloody nose. And the Goztepe fans' passion is making it a thrilling ride. Advertisement READ MORE SPORT STORIES Rasmus Ankersen, Sport Republic co-founder and Goztepe chairman, said: 'The intensity is something you just don't see in modern football. 'The fanbase is very emotional and very aggressive. 'The volatility of it - It's like playing with rocket fuel. 'When everything goes in the same direction, as it has for big parts of this year, it's unbelievable. Advertisement Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'But when it's not, the pressure the fans can put on their own players from the stands is huge.' Sport Republic bought 70 per cent of Goztepe from oil tycoon Mehmet Sepil in August 2022, seven months after their takeover at Southampton. Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG and ultras boot off over pre-season results The London-based firm, co-founded by former Saints chairman Henrik Kraft and backed by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak, became the first foreign investors ever to take control of a Turkish club. Advertisement Goztepe, who sank as low as the fifth tier in the 2000's, had just been relegated after a five-year stay in the Super Lig. Things did not start well for the new regime. Manager Ahmet Balci was sacked after a handful of games. Successor Ekrem Dag oversaw an upturn in results but in late November 2022 came the day of shame that went viral on social media. Goztepe's home clash against Izmir rivals Altay had already been halted in the first half so that ambulance crews could attend to fans injured during clashes in the stands. Advertisement But then a Goztepe fan invaded the pitch, Players and stewards restrained the attacker and the game was abandoned. 5 Goztepe have risen from the fifth tier in 2008 to pushing for a Champions League spot Credit: Getty 5 Southampton have endured an historically poor Premier League season while sister club Goztepe have been thriving Credit: Getty Advertisement Goztepe recovered from the embarrassment to finish sixth and reach the promotion play-offs. But they fell at the first hurdle and Dag left the club in the summer, with Radomir Kokovic promoted from within to take charge. The Serbian lasted less than four months and Sport Republic turned to Stanimir Stoilov in November 2023. Former Bulgaria international Stoilov had an impressive coaching pedigree, especially for someone managing a second-tier side in Turkey. Advertisement He had enjoyed historic success in the first of two spells at Levski Sofia that came at either end of a long career that included taking charge of the Bulgaria and Kazakhstan national teams. After Stoilov's arrival, Goztepe lost only two more league games for the rest of the season and their second-place finish earned them a return to the top flight. TURNING OF THE TIDE Before the home games at the 20,000-capacity Gursel Aksel that were crucial to promotion, Turkish pop star Levent Yuksel led the crowd in spine-tingling renditions of his famous song Med Cezir ('Tide'). It has become Goztepe's version of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', a love song about loyalty to a partner repurposed to express devotion to a football team. Advertisement The supporters sing about the highs and lows and after admitting 'There's no way to give up on these tides', they raise the volume. 'My storm, my disaster, my longing,' they yell, 'it's not enough - making love is not enough, how pretty your violence is, oh how sweet your kindness, I want to love you more and more, I'll follow you until I die and never let you go'. But it's not just the Altay goalkeeper who has tasted the other side of Goztepe fans' passion. The joy of promotion was quickly forgotten after a minor setback last summer. Advertisement Ankersen said: 'We lost our first friendly game to Charlton during our training camp in Slovenia. 'There were big protests against us for not doing more transfers... I had to do a press conference to calm everyone down.' There was more unrest when Goztepe had to play their first home game back in the top flight on a neutral ground because their own pitch was not in good enough condition. Ankersen said: 'We did not have a CEO at the time so the Chief Financial Officer was the leading executive. Advertisement 'Our fans still travelled in huge numbers and there were 10,000 people all jumping up and down, calling for him to leave the club.' But confidence was pretty high that Goztepe would make a good fist of the Super Lig, with a top-10 finish as the target. The gap between the top two tiers in Turkey in terms of quality and financial might is not nearly as big as in England and other countries. "A REVELATION" Sport Republic and Stoilov have built the second youngest squad in the league and made them play with a kind of English-style intensity and physicality that is unusual in Turkish football. Advertisement They have also focused on set-pieces and become one of the most potent teams in the world from dead-ball situations. In Goztepe's second game back in the Super Lig, an equaliser in the 95th minute by on-loan Brazilian striker Romulo earned a morale-boosting 2-2 draw from 2-0 down at home to Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho. Then in late November, Stoilov's side won 4-2 at Besiktas and a good spell took them as high as fourth in the table. Observers feel Goztepe have been unlucky in the current run of 11 league games without a win which has ended their bid for a top-four place. Advertisement But there was nothing fortunate about their 3-1 win at Besiktas. Solskjaer's side, which included former 5 Before a recent lull, Goztepe had been as high as fourth in the Super Lig Credit: Getty But the game turned on a professional foul on Goztepe's Juan by Besiktas centre back Tayyip Sanuc, which earned him a red card in the 36th minute. Advertisement Romulo - described as 'a revelation' by Ankersen - scored direct from the resulting free kick, With less than 15 minutes to go, ex-West Ham full back Arthur Masuaku handled the ball in the penalty area and Romulo converted the penalty. Soon afterwards Romulo, on loan from Athletico Paranaense, completed his hat-trick with a deft lob. On Thursday, Goztepe will travel to Trabzonspor for the semi final as they aim to win the Cup for the first time since back-to-back successes in 1969 and 1970. Advertisement If the club went on to win the trophy, they would have the chance to relive another exploit of their glorious past. In 1968-69, Goztepe became the first Turkish club to reach the last four of a European competition when they went all the way to the semi finals of the Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the Uefa Cup that was in turn rebranded as the Europa League. A cup triumph would earn them a place in the play-off for Uefa's second-tier tournament. Southampton fans, whose FA Cup win of 1976 put them on the map, will hope that Sport Republic can bring the good times back to St Mary's, too. Advertisement And that the Saints avoid the fate of Sport Republic's other club, French side Valenciennes, who are currently in the third tier after relegation last season. As Goztepe's anthem says, fans have no choice but to ride the waves of football's ebb and flow.
The Sun
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG with Solskjaer a victim of amazing rise
FROM a fan hitting an opposition goalkeeper with a corner flag to beating Istanbul giants Besiktas - Southampton's sister club in Turkey, Goztepe, have come a long way. It will be no consolation to fans of the managerless, already-relegated Saints, but owners Sport Republic have overseen an impressive return to the top flight for their Turkish venture. 5 And Southampton loanees Juan, a striker from Brazil, and Kuryu Matsuki, a Japan Under-23 midfielder, have been part of Goztepe's success this season. Both played in this month's 3-1 win at Besiktas - now managed by former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - which earned Goztepe a place in the semi finals of the Turkish Cup for the first time in nearly half a century. The game brought back memories of their 1960's and early 1970's heyday when the leading club in Turkey's third biggest city, Izmir, regularly gave the big boys from Istanbul a bloody nose. And the Goztepe fans' passion is making it a thrilling ride. Rasmus Ankersen, Sport Republic co-founder and Goztepe chairman, said: 'The intensity is something you just don't see in modern football. 'The fanbase is very emotional and very aggressive. 'The volatility of it - It's like playing with rocket fuel. 'When everything goes in the same direction, as it has for big parts of this year, it's unbelievable. 'But when it's not, the pressure the fans can put on their own players from the stands is huge.' Sport Republic bought 70 per cent of Goztepe from oil tycoon Mehmet Sepil in August 2022, seven months after their takeover at Southampton. Inside Prem side's sister club where fan attacked player with CORNER FLAG and ultras boot off over pre-season results The London-based firm, co-founded by former Saints chairman Henrik Kraft and backed by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak, became the first foreign investors ever to take control of a Turkish club. Goztepe, who sank as low as the fifth tier in the 2000's, had just been relegated after a five-year stay in the Super Lig. Things did not start well for the new regime. Manager Ahmet Balci was sacked after a handful of games. Successor Ekrem Dag oversaw an upturn in results but in late November 2022 came the day of shame that went viral on social media. Goztepe's home clash against Izmir rivals Altay had already been halted in the first half so that ambulance crews could attend to fans injured during clashes in the stands. But then a Goztepe fan invaded the pitch, plucked out one of the corner flags and started thrashing Altay goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Ozenc with it. Players and stewards restrained the attacker and the game was abandoned. 5 5 Goztepe recovered from the embarrassment to finish sixth and reach the promotion play-offs. But they fell at the first hurdle and Dag left the club in the summer, with Radomir Kokovic promoted from within to take charge. The Serbian lasted less than four months and Sport Republic turned to Stanimir Stoilov in November 2023. Former Bulgaria international Stoilov had an impressive coaching pedigree, especially for someone managing a second-tier side in Turkey. He had enjoyed historic success in the first of two spells at Levski Sofia that came at either end of a long career that included taking charge of the Bulgaria and Kazakhstan national teams. After Stoilov's arrival, Goztepe lost only two more league games for the rest of the season and their second-place finish earned them a return to the top flight. TURNING OF THE TIDE Before the home games at the 20,000-capacity Gursel Aksel that were crucial to promotion, Turkish pop star Levent Yuksel led the crowd in spine-tingling renditions of his famous song Med Cezir ('Tide'). It has become Goztepe's version of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', a love song about loyalty to a partner repurposed to express devotion to a football team. The supporters sing about the highs and lows and after admitting 'There's no way to give up on these tides', they raise the volume. 'My storm, my disaster, my longing,' they yell, 'it's not enough - making love is not enough, how pretty your violence is, oh how sweet your kindness, I want to love you more and more, I'll follow you until I die and never let you go'. But it's not just the Altay goalkeeper who has tasted the other side of Goztepe fans' passion. The joy of promotion was quickly forgotten after a minor setback last summer. Ankersen said: 'We lost our first friendly game to Charlton during our training camp in Slovenia. 'There were big protests against us for not doing more transfers... I had to do a press conference to calm everyone down.' There was more unrest when Goztepe had to play their first home game back in the top flight on a neutral ground because their own pitch was not in good enough condition. Ankersen said: 'We did not have a CEO at the time so the Chief Financial Officer was the leading executive. 'Our fans still travelled in huge numbers and there were 10,000 people all jumping up and down, calling for him to leave the club.' But confidence was pretty high that Goztepe would make a good fist of the Super Lig, with a top-10 finish as the target. The gap between the top two tiers in Turkey in terms of quality and financial might is not nearly as big as in England and other countries. "A REVELATION" Sport Republic and Stoilov have built the second youngest squad in the league and made them play with a kind of English-style intensity and physicality that is unusual in Turkish football. They have also focused on set-pieces and become one of the most potent teams in the world from dead-ball situations. In Goztepe's second game back in the Super Lig, an equaliser in the 95th minute by on-loan Brazilian striker Romulo earned a morale-boosting 2-2 draw from 2-0 down at home to Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho. Then in late November, Stoilov's side won 4-2 at Besiktas and a good spell took them as high as fourth in the table. Observers feel Goztepe have been unlucky in the current run of 11 league games without a win which has ended their bid for a top-four place. But there was nothing fortunate about their 3-1 win at Besiktas. Solskjaer's side, which included former Arsenal, Liverpool and England star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, took a first-half lead. But the game turned on a professional foul on Goztepe's Juan by Besiktas centre back Tayyip Sanuc, which earned him a red card in the 36th minute. Romulo - described as 'a revelation' by Ankersen - scored direct from the resulting free kick, With less than 15 minutes to go, ex-West Ham full back Arthur Masuaku handled the ball in the penalty area and Romulo converted the penalty. Soon afterwards Romulo, on loan from Athletico Paranaense, completed his hat-trick with a deft lob. On Thursday, Goztepe will travel to Trabzonspor for the semi final as they aim to win the Cup for the first time since back-to-back successes in 1969 and 1970. If the club went on to win the trophy, they would have the chance to relive another exploit of their glorious past. In 1968-69, Goztepe became the first Turkish club to reach the last four of a European competition when they went all the way to the semi finals of the Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the Uefa Cup that was in turn rebranded as the Europa League. A cup triumph would earn them a place in the play-off for Uefa's second-tier tournament. Southampton fans, whose FA Cup win of 1976 put them on the map, will hope that Sport Republic can bring the good times back to St Mary's, too. And that the Saints avoid the fate of Sport Republic's other club, French side Valenciennes, who are currently in the third tier after relegation last season. As Goztepe's anthem says, fans have no choice but to ride the waves of football's ebb and flow.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Another failed gamble'
[BBC] [Getty Images] Over the course of Thursday, BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore will deliver a handful of Saints blogs. Parts one and two can be found further down the page, while more will follow these words, which focus on decisions taken at boardroom level. Advertisement The trouble with owners who get involved in the day to day running of a club is that they can't sack themselves, and often won't listen to advice. Humility is a trait that has been short of supply in the Saints boardroom under Sport Republic. The perfect example of this is last summer, when having already lost their director of football Jason Wilcox to Manchester United, the Saints hierarchy decided they could do his job themselves and so Rasmus, Henrik, Russell Martin, and chief executive Phil Parsons oversaw the transfer window. The permanent signings of Flynn Downes and Taylor Harwood-Bellis were gimmes, Aaron Ramsdale's signing was a good one but a much-needed last minute one that Saints could only get over the line by breaking the wage cap they had put in place, and after all that there is one diamond in the rough, the outstanding 20 year-old Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes. All the other signings have been bit-part players, disappointments, not good enough, or bought for the future. Too many gambles that haven't worked out. I'm sure the metrics were good though on some. And let's not forget the managers in Sport Republic's tenure. One out of five permanent managers under their watch had Premier League experience and they inherited him and fired him as soon as they had a good excuse. Advertisement It's arrogant and foolhardy to think that Nathan Jones is a good replacement for Ralph Hasenhuttl, however good his stats were at Luton, to then undo it by sticking in Ruben Selles for his first manager's role while in the middle of a relegation battle in the most difficult league in the world. And strategically, in what world does a Russell Martin squad fit the type of football played by Ivan Juric? At least try to stick to some sort of footballing identity. I don't subscribe to the view that "we should have stuck with Martin" even if I think it might have helped. Why not? Because the reality is that his situation was untenable after the Spurs thrashing. The board had to act. But they took a cheap pot shot and Juric became the fall guy. Another failed gamble. Check back shortly for part four, where Adam ponders Saints' immediate future
