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Burley: Financially stretched
It's not a great start for George but he won't panic. He will see what he can come up with between now and the transfer deadline as I expect them to try and strengthen the squad, especially if he has money to spend from the likely sale of Kenwyne Jones.
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It is very much a transitional time for Southampton at the moment, having been out of the Premier League for three seasons their parachute payments have now ceased and so financially this is where it really hits home to the teams who drop out of the top flight and the Saints are no different.
They were forced to sell three of their best players in the summer as Gareth Bale was signed by Tottenham for a fee that could rise to £10million, a fee Southampton just couldn't refuse. Chris Baird, one of their most consistent performers was sold for £3million to Fulham and Pele to West Brom for £1million.
George Burley recently stated that he had to sell those players to avoid going into administration but you have to say that the money they received from these sales was very good business indeed. They also turned down a lucrative offer from Derby for Kenwyne Jones last week but it looks like he may go.
They haven't started the season well having lost 4-1 to Crystal Palace on the opening day and more damagingly from a financial viewpoint, they were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Peterborough. It's not a great start for George but he won't panic. He will see what he can come up with between now and the transfer deadline as I expect them to try and strengthen the squad, especially if he has money to spend from the likely Jones sale.
Let's not forget that they were not too far away from returning to the Premier League last season as they lost on penalties to Derby in the play-off semis. And at this moment in time they are not in that bad a position. All they have done is lose their first two games of the season, so I would encourage Saints fans not to start panicking.
The squad is not as strong as last season but that is due to the financial implications of not being able to get back up to the Premier League. That happens to all clubs who are relegated and can't bounce back up straight away.
George is clever at bringing players in but he probably just wishes that all of this business could have been done before the season started. I'm sure he will sort it out.
The threat of administration is at the back of a lot of people's minds at a lot of clubs. But if I was recommending a manager to take over a club that didn't have a lot of money to spend then George would be the man for that job.
He knows his stuff, he believes in youth, he develops players and he will come through this. Even if they sell Jones they have two very good strikers to bang in the goals in Marek Saganowski and Grzegorz Rasiak. Saganowski showed last season what a good player he is at this level and Rasiak scores goals for fun, although he managed it at both ends against Peterborough!
They're not relegation candidates, that's for certain, and if George can work his magic in the transfer market once again then who knows?
Kammy answers your email...
JUST THE TICKET
Hi Chris, I just wondered what your opinions were regarding the goings on down at Bradford City this summer? £138 per season ticket (£6 per game) makes it the cheapest in the country, by some way I would imagine. The net result being over 12,000 season tickets sold, which for a League Two club, is pretty good I'd say. I think it's great that City are taking the lead in making football more affordable again for us "ordinary folk". Do you think other clubs should/will follow suit? Paul from Bradford
Kammy says: Paul, When other clubs see what has happened at Bradford then they would be stupid not to follow suit. I mean what a wonderful thing to happen - I don't think they've had enough applause for what they have done. To be fair to Julian Rhodes, the chairman, to offer that concession is incredible but it needs to work both ways. You can't offer a concession and then only 5,000 people take it up because you will bankrupt the club. Rhodes canvassed the supporters to find out if they would come and support their team as the gates last season were less than half-full. It's not a false economy when there are 12,000 bums on seats, so it is just brilliant. So other clubs thinking about following suit will have to be certain that there are people out there who will want to go and watch their team play, but if the demand is there then every club should follow Bradford and get people into the grounds.
LASTING THE DISTANCE
Hi Chris, I'm a Yeovil Town fan through and through and I'd just like to say I'm a huge fan of your footballing punditry, keep up the good work. I listen to Yeovil's games on digital radio and I was wondering, do you think Yeovil can sustain a bid for promotion this year as we almost made it last season? Tim Smyth, Derby.
Kammy says: Yeovil lost a couple of good players in the summer which Russell Slade will be trying to replace but there's no reason why they can't do what they did last season. Slade has brought in the likes of Marc Bircham and Marvin Williams who look like being good signings. Yeovil really impressed me last season, especially Slade and the way he went about his business. The play-off final was one game too many and the reason why they didn't win was because they put so much into beating Nottingham Forest in the semis. You would have thought that 10 days between the semi-final and the final is a long time but because of the effort they put in during that thrilling semi they could have done with a few more days. Take nothing away from Blackpool though who were the better team on the day in the final. Slade won't be happy with Yeovil's first two results of the season - losing to Huddersfield and then going out of the Carling Cup to Hereford - but it's a long season.
BEEN AND GONE?
Hi Chris, I am a Preston North End fan and was wondering what you thought our chances are this season. I noticed you haven't mentioned us as being promotion contenders, are you going to overlook us again this year just as most of the other press do? I find it amazing how the press concentrate on the so called 'big teams' and fail to acknowledge us, even though we have finished in the top places consistently over the last few years. Thanks Graham Smyth
Kammy says: Last year was the year for Preston. I don't think that Paul Simpson received the necessary backing in January regarding funds to strengthen the squad. They were at the top of the table and had the opportunity to kick on but it didn't happen. David Nugent has been sold and it's okay being a selling club but there are times when you have got to bite the bullet and have a gamble. So this season is very much a case of wait and see. They haven't started well and Paul Simpson has said that this is the worst they have played since he has been at the club and that's the one thing, as a manager, you don't want to have to come out and say. A disappointing start for North End but it's early days yet.
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Comments
Casey Bishop (Plymouth Argyle fan) says...
Hi chris, i was wondering what you thought of plymouth argyle's chances of progressing to the playoffs this season?. Ian holloway has made it clear that he is not gonna make any drastic signings just for the sake of it. Especially as many clubs last season spent an obseen amount of money on players who did not perform. What do you think of this and is it a wise decision to make going into the season?
Posted 05:12 30th August 2007
Andy Mawson (Leeds United fan) says...
Hi Chris, I am a mad LUFC supporter, what I want to know is, how do you and the other pundits reckon Leeds will fare this season after the -15 point sanction by the League? I am optimistic for us to be promoted via the play offs and then have a good crack at the Championship next year. I think in Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet we have one of the best young managerial duo's outside the Premier League, what do you think?
Posted 14:05 25th August 2007
Nathan Oneil (Stoke City fan) says...
dear chris, what do you think stoke will do this season after the a stunning one last yea. and also when you were a stoke player your self what was it like behind the sceans, as all us stoke fans know that when a player is sold for a big transfer fee hardly any off the procceds go bacxk into the squad
Posted 15:12 24th August 2007
Richard Keetley (Grimsby Town fan) says...
Hi Chris i am a grimsby fan through and through, i just windereds why is it we are never mentioned as a favourite for the league or even to do well, we always seem to get looked over for manager of the month awards also. How do you think we will faire this seasn, i no we havent had much activity but we have some good yound players coming through, just a striker and i think we have a chance. Whats your view. Regards Rick.
Posted 20:28 17th August 2007
Marc Smith (Derby County fan) says...
Hi Chris, What are Derby County`s chance of staying up this season. Are you also suprised at some of Billy`s manangerial decisions on transfers?.
Posted 13:22 17th August 2007
Jos temple (Charlton Athletic fan) says...
I'm a Charlton fan so am optimistic for this season although it's very very tough division to crack now. Saints were my pick at the beginning of last season to win it, at one stage they were looking better and better each game but just did not find enough in crucial games. George Burley is an excellent manager, Ipswich and Hearts were given rare moments to go wild about (no offence!) but Hearts were a different side under him until greed got thje better of their owner. A poor start for Saints but I'm sure they will have a great season. Title? I'm not so sure, I'm predicting play offs, but saying that there is a huge cluster of sides who you would associate with those two words this season, so you never know. Charlton and Sheffield Utd for automatic promotion.
Posted 11:30 17th August 2007
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