We’ve been putting your questions to BBC Radio Solent’s Adam Blackmore.
Matt: With recruitment being the main reason for relegation in my view, why do you think we missed out on players like Liam Delap? Our recruitment has been pretty awful for a while compared to many teams like Brighton and Bournemouth so is there a problem at the club?
Adam answered: I think part of that Matt is simply because they are prepared to spend more money, have ambitious owners, and are further along the journey than Saints. Back in the summer Saints had a certain wage structure they wanted to live by and adhere to, and of course some players and their agents will want more and will go elsewhere.
That’s the risk you take by having a wage cap. But along with that cap comes the knowledge that you’re not going to put the club in financial difficulty. Ultimately I think they probably stretched that cap to land Aaron Ramsdale on deadline day, but I think that was worth it. Should they have thrown the wage structure out of the window to land a goalscorer too? Probably. I was told Delap didn’t feel as much love at Saints as he felt when he spoke to Ipswich. And on these small things matters can rest!
Ben: What do you think Sport Republic’s long-term plans for Southampton are? There does not seem to be a fundamental understanding of football, especially the way certain tactical systems simply do not work. As a business we are on the brink of FFP issues so they can’t be here for the money. Relegation is almost a statistical certainty already.
Adam replied: I think Sport Republic’s long-term ambitions are to create a business model that is self-sufficient in the long-term, and can produce talent that can add value to the teams they own, but also add asset value and create profit for reinvestment and sustainability by developing talent. If Sport Republic could get to the point where their multi-club model is making it easier to fund Saints to keep them in the Premier League consistently, that has to be the aim.
I know there is a general level of criticism currently because of the league position, and a lot of that anecdotally gets aimed at Rasmus Ankersen because fans see him as responsible for recruitment, which ultimately he is as a co-owner. Some of his signings haven’t hit, but some have. And when you are operating in the price brackets that Saints are, that is always going to happen. There are no guarantees. I also remind myself sometimes that what Rasmus did alongside Matthew Benham to develop Brentford between 2015-2020 shows he understands plenty about football.
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