VIDEO: Les Reed reviews the 2015/16 season and discusses the club's ambitions and plans

DTLW

 

One Les Reed thread away from the new deal being confirmed is my prediction.

 

Summary...



2015/16 Season


- delighted that MUFC won the cup
- it means we go to the groups of the EL
- it's another step forward for the club
- we can do much more planning now
- we were lucky to an extent last year that we got Midtjylland and Vitesse (rather than a trip to Azerbaijan)
- we can get a proper pre-season in this time, uninterrupted
- it's been an incredible rise for the club
- every season we've had something to celebrate
- it's what we aimed to do, incrementally getting better every season



Ambitions

- we're now an established Premier League club who compete for Europe
- we don't want to just hang on in there, we want to make an impact
- we know we can get into the Champions League
- over the next five years, we want to build a club that is ready for the Champions League
- whenever there's been scaremongering, we've focused on our plan and stayed on track
- we had a shaky period after Christmas but there was no pressure or major panic or disaster



Ronald Koeman's Future

- Ronald buys into the club's culture and values
- We aren't pulling in different directions
- Ronald ticked all the boxes
- we're building the team around him and cooperating with him in terms of recruitment
- we've found someone who buys into us and is a good coach and tactician
- we want to play good football and do all of the things that Ronald wants, there's a meeting of minds
- he's done a great job and will continue to do so
- we're always planning for the future
- we're now at a point of discussing the detail of a new contract for Ronald
- agents and lawyers are now involved
- everything's going very positively



Contract Renewals

- we haven't finished with contract extensions for players
- I'm still talking to agents of our other players to get more signatures on paper
- we've had two summers with the focus on players leaving
- we want to turn the corner
- we want players to sign long-term contracts because they want to be here
- we're doing that now
- Ronald and I have been talking for a long time about building and extending contracts
- extending contracts of key players is a step forward
- we've already sorted Forster, Van Dijk and JWP
- that's a good sign
- there's more to do that with, but we are also looking at new players



Summer Transfers


- we're having lots of meetings all over the place to get things done before silly season
- we want to get our business done in the front end of the final month of the window, rather than the back end
- our focus is currently on getting current players to commit for the long-term
- we then want to fine-tune the squad
- me and Ronald have discussed the requirements, we want to keep the squad together and add more
- we don't want to make wholesale changes, there's enough teams doing that this summer
- the only problem could be the Euros
- some agents wait because they hope their client might have a good Euros and get more offers
- there'll be lots of scouts out there, some don't do as much due diligence as us
- some react to players who have a good tournament or score in the early rounds
- it skews the window but we know what our plans are
- we'll be scouting the Euros but we'll be scouting players we're already watching
- to be at the top-end of the league you need international players in your squad



Preseason Plans

- our international players will come back later to pre-season
- we'll have a young squad + non Euros players in the first part of pre-season
- we've pencilled in a training camp early in pre-season which will be in the United States
- as players return from the Euros duty we'll get them together at Staplewood
- there'll be a camp in Holland but that's easier to arrange for us



Loan Policy

- we take loans seriously
- we haven't loaned players out so much previously
- you have to be very careful
- we weren't too happy with the loans we did last season
- we're looking to be a lot more systematic with that
- I'm meeting with Championship and League One clubs who want to develop partnerships
- that way we get a little bit more control over where they go and how they're treated
- the loan isn't just about game-time, it's about everything they do from Monday to Friday
- we've got our status and reputation, so the ability to loan to quality clubs is quite good
- we are also looking at a partnership with a club in Europe so our players can experience that



Next Season

- we want to repeat a top six finish
- we want to qualify for European football again
- if there's a chance to break the top four, we need to do it
- we don't want to say 'oh well, we'll do it next season'
- it's going to be a very interesting summer and season
- five or six of the traditional top six clubs including Spurs are going to have to build and rebuild
- new managers are coming in at the top end, that's normally accompanied by big changes
- those six are all competing for the same level of player
- the idea that they'll all just buy their way back, I don't agree with that
- if it does happen, it won't be for a few years
- there's a lot of opportunity for us



The Premier League

- Leicester's situation is fascinating
- the plaudits they were getting mirrored what we were getting a couple of years ago
- we always felt there was more in us when we finished 8th
- I think Leicester had incredible momentum and that was difficult to stop
- they had the fantastic run to avoid relegation
- Ranieri did a fantastic job and didn't change too much
- they had a die-hard attitude and good team spirit which they carried forward
- the belief that the top six are invincible has died away
- I think we contributed to that
- West Ham also contributed to that
- I think mentalities are changing
- Stoke are another one who think they can take on the top clubs
- that's an indication that things won't just return to normal
- Leicester have laid down the gauntlet
- I'm sure our fans believe we can do it
- that's a worry for the big clubs
- it's a rebellion the big clubs would like to put down
- they'll spend a lot of money but I think the landscape has changed
- more teams will want to join that, Everton are one
- the league will get better and better



Balancing the Premier League and Europa League

- you can talk yourself out of it and say 'it's pointless trying'
- you can talk yourself into it and say 'it can be done'
- we can manage recovery time
- we can be good at our sports science
- we can pay attention to the small detail
- Championship clubs do it every year with the amount of games they play
- at the moment we're playing six extra games
- let's see how we recover and travel
- let's make it work
- the alternative is to persuade yourself it can't be done
- if you do that, then it obviously won't work



*END*

 

Les Reed for Prime Minister

 

That would be a waste of his talents.

 

Would he take us out of Europe!

 

What an asset this man is to the club. I like the amount of careful planning we do....we intend to keep moving forward, but don't intend to blow a gasket and drop back. Long term planning is everything. Enjoyed that video very much.

 

He could get rid of Black Rod and replace him with Black Box, for the opening of parliament, and the Queen could wear yellow with a blue trim. Or red and white.

 

Good interview. Answers the question about loaning out the U21's and it wouldn't surprise me if the team we loan to in Europe is Dutch. Quite funny how when people were having a meltdown in our bad spell they were all calmly going about their business expecting it to all be well. If only all the fans had that much faith.

 

All extremely positive stuff Les! Now you've talked the talked, well, you know what to do!

 

Heh, not a shock owing to the Euros, but man it'll get twitchy in the transfer thread if we're two months from getting business done!

 

Good stuff from Les,

I think SS mentioned it a while ago, but the change in attitude amongst the so called smaller clubs helped Leicester achieve what they did.
That's not taking anything away from their remarkable achievement, because they still had to win the games and they won the league by a great margin, but more clubs going to ANY ground with a mentality to win makes the league more competitive.

You can argue our bigger clubs have dropped in quality perhaps, but they've not been allowed to get away with it. A few seasons ago that Chelsea team would have probably of been given the respect to recover and end up near the top 4, but the whole league smelt blood and didn't give them any respect. Teams went to Stamford bridge to win and not to just not lose.

The fewer the easy rides the top sides get, then the more they have to earn and fight for results and the league gets more competitive.

 

Les isn't looking to add a lot of players to the squad, but really wants to keep the team we have together. He's right...we have a good team already...just need to add a touch of freshness. I already get the sense that the players are happy here and are buying into the plan....I hope we get some good news about contract extensions.

 

Thanks a lot for the breakdown of salient points DTLW.

 

If you meant me, yes I did.

I could listen to Les Reed talk about the details all day. I'm sure it would be boring for the neutral, but it confirms to me that the guy knows exactly what he's doing, and he nails it so many times in that interview. He's just about the biggest asset, amongst some great assets, the club has, on and off the pitch.

 

I think all this talk of the big clubs quality dropping as well as English clubs falling behind European clubs is a false correlation and has been for a few years.

The Premier League has got harder and harder. a decade ago English clubs were ruling Europe with 2 or more reaching the semis each year. At the same time the top 4 or 5 clubs were always the same and much much better than the rest of the league.

The difference is that back then Man U or Arsenal or Chelsea would go away to a lower club in the division and rest most of their first team. They would get to European games fresh and their reserves would get the points at the smaller clubs. These days they can't do that. Yes people say that some teams have a second 11 that are a good team but that second team is no longer good enough to easily beat a lower team or mid table team like they were and so the big boys are having to play their best players every week.

That is why we fall behind the Europeans because the European leagues have a few good team in each league with plenty of opportunity to rest players and even when they don't rest them a lot of the games are like training games. Look at La Liga where there are 2 (3 maybe these days) big beasts then a few competitive teams but nt a lot below that.

The Premier League big teams have not dropped in quality. the rest of the League has caught up and therefore those big teams competing in the PL are paying the price in Europe.

The Champions League is the pinnacle still for any club in Europe including English clubs BUT where clubs in Europe would choose winning the Champions League over winning their national league English clubs would not. Winning the Premier League is the ultimate for English clubs and brings the clubs much much more money than the Champions League.

The reason we want Europa League as a club is very simple. Publicity. We won't win much money from it but it builds our brand. Makes us more well known. We need the Europa to move on unlike someone like Tottenham or Chelsea or Liverpool who already have that global reach. A good season in Europa could bring in some very good money as a result through a boost in our name being known. Advertising revenue and sponsorship and such like.

It is a great time to be a Saints fan but I don't think people should start believing the quality of the big teams has dropped by any significance. It is the rest of the league that has substantially increased their quality that has been the change.

 

I've said this a few times before this season, so FWIW, I've never thought the glamour club teams have dropped in quality. Perhaps someone could convince me they've dropped a tiny bit, but it's really really tiny if they have. What they have done is found that their 25 player squads are not significantly better on the day, and that the big club no longer has the unbeatable reputation. Once one started to falter the effect was that if one of them could be properly beaten, then the rest might be too. The bare fact is, the PL has just become more competitive through increased money from TV deals and is going to become even more so. Any team will be able to offer huge wages, if they want. Just that some won't and some will. But they all could. And paying £300K a week to a star doesn't get you a player who is 3 times better than one on £100K or 6 times better than one on £50K. They're only slightly better overall and on any given day, a whole team of them, can be beaten, given the right tactics, spirit, attitude, skill and effort. Leicester City proved that beyond doubt, even as Saints have on occasions themselves.

 

The posts above should also be remembered if we lose to a team "we should never lose to"..... I remember the whining after the draw against Villa and the loss to Norwich.

Remember the competitiveness works both ways.

 

Absolutely. Next season possibly as many as 12 clubs will have a realistic chance of getting in the top 6, and any of the rest can beat anyone else on the right day. The competitiveness is great, but there will be a complete lack of easy games. We have improved our strength in depth over the last couple of years, but with the extra Europa games, anything less than 2 quality players in every position is not showing the ambition than Ronald needs to see.

 

Is right mate.

I was having this discussion with a kopite the other day..

@moreinjuredthanowen