Ronald Koeman

[Shukes]

Goalkeeper...priority....broken record o know.

But still....come onnnnnn!

If our new manager doesn't make a new goalkeeper his priority I am going to be mad.....and our Ron doesn't want that.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

https://twitter.com/broadcastmoose/status/739918861299023874

 

 

[Paddock]

https://twitter.com/broadcastmoose/status/739918861299023874

 

 

 

 

 

He'll be just another in a long list of people who have guessed and got itvwrong.

[markjazzbassist]

i'm going to laugh if we sign emery or pelligrini now. and knowing everton i could see that happening.

[Romey 1878]

https://twitter.com/broadcastmoose/status/739918861299023874

Doesn't look like it.

[BristolToffee]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/everton-poised-confirm-new-manager-8127187

[Hegemon92]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/everton-poised-confirm-new-manager-8127187

 

Van Dijk in that CB role sounds good.

 

EDIT: He's on a long-term contract though

Edited June 6, 2016 by Hegemon92

[Peter H]

Koeman, im underrwhelmed tbh

[BristolToffee]

I wasn't initially excited, but the more upset the Southampton fans have got, the more I'm starting to think he will be a good appointment

[Matt]

I'll just be happy when it's resolved and we can look forward. Can't say he was in my top 3 choices but if Morishi wants him and wants to entrust his money and investment to the guy, I'm quietly confident

[Paddock]

I never wanted him if I'm honest but the more I think about it and get used to the idea I'm getting more and more excited.

 

I'm made up I took a gamble and renewed to keep my seats, I wasn't sure I could take another season of watching us under Martinez but I renewed anyway hoping he would get sacked.

 

Everything starting to pan out nicely. Wish they would get it over the line though, I'm starting to get a bit twitchy about it now, it's dragging on and on. One thing that looks like it's not going to change is we take forever to do stuff like this.

[swisstiss]

Hi lads. In peace as a saints supporter.

 

Think you've bagged Koeman, I know you've got mixed feelings but he's a solid choice. I was surprised he'd go to Everton, because he'd been pretty firm about staying and clear about finishing his contract here. My guess is that in the end we never offered him an ambitious, or expensive enough, offer. All the Soton club talk has been about ambition, building a good structure in terms of player development, recruiting, partnerships etc. to push for Europa League every season, but I guess in the end even what we pitched to Koeman wasn't ambitious enough.

 

So that's the good part, I think he'll be more forward thinking than you would guess. I know there's talk of him not taking you to the next level, but I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Bear in mind he's got a lot more to work with at Everton, in terms of transfer money and squad depth/quality, and I guess in the end that's why he's likely to join you.

 

So what do you get with RK?

He's been solid for us, Saints fan alike will tell you that he's got a strong tactical head, he likes to play good, positive attacking football but is also very capable at making us better ogranised, good at defending etc. We noticed a difference between Pochettino and Koeman, Pochettino seemed to just out-attack the other team, constantly pressing and stretching the squad, with attackers high up the pitch and defenders sitting back a little. It was a good tactic, we scored a lot but the defensive drill wasn't there as much. Koeman introduced much better organised defense, it was really under RK that the whole 'defending starts from the front' line began to come out much more strongly. That's why he favours players that are willing to track back and help out. It's no surprise that the good success story of this season has been Shane Long with his workrate at hustling defences and coming back to help defend. Koeman is versatile, if you remember season before last he switched formation when we were having a real lull in the season, I think we actually played Everton in that game (with 5 at the back) and won. He did a similar thing last season, playing back 5 for a few games. He didn't trust our right back, Cedric, at defending, and he didn't trust Cuco Martina, our backup RB, for anything at all really. So he played back 5, Bertrand playing as a centreback, for a while. In other words, he really isn't afraid to change up the system and play players out of position. That can be good, because Bertrand has excelled in that role, it can also be bad, for instance playing Yoshida (CB) at RB for several games where he made heinous mistakes. He definitely favours defensive midfielders, hence why last summer we got in Romeu, Clasie etc. Both are defensive, Romeu arguably moreso although Clasie has a reputation of being a tough little guy. This was in a season that we kept Wanyama, as well. So defensive midfield is a big thing. He really doesn't appreciate small nifty attackers. Juanmi, bought last season, and Ramirez (returning from loan) hardly got a look in. Obviously they just weren't up to the physical standard of the premier league, although it could be argued that he just isn't that keen on this kind of attacker. Mane is pretty strong, even though he goes down easily. So he's defensive minded, but he also likes good play. His standard formation for us has been 4-2-3-1, with a big CF up top. Bear in mind Pelle is a favourite of his, as is long, both are good in the air although Pelle's workrate is at times questionable. Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Mane have also been a key part of the saints set-up this year. Make of that what you will as regards qualities he favours. He left Dusan Tadic on the bench for a lot of the season, even though he has been outstanding season before last and made good showings last year as well. Set pieces are a big point for him. Yoshida, but more prominently as season went on Cuco Martina, replacing Cedric as first choice RB, was an indication that he likes height in the box, and expects the RB to play closer to his own box, rather than out wide, allowing players on the wing, such as Tadic, JWP etc. to track back to the corner flag to be defending crosses.

 

He seems to be a good people manager, and several players have come out to say they enjoy playing under such a well renowned defender of his experience. He speaks several languages, which probably helps. However, don't be mistaken in thinking that all our players were his idea. Pelle, Tadic, Romeu, Van Dijk had already been touted (probably by Paul Mitchell, now at Spurs as head of recruiting) before his arrival. Mind you it's difficult to escape the Dutch nationality/played in Eredivisie links. Now that the rumours of Koeman leaving are starting to snowball, some stuff has come out about maybe his relationship with some players not being 100%, and that certain individuals were going to be happy that he's gone. I don't know how true it is.

 

It's true that we're sad to see him go. He comes across as a real nice bloke. But without wanting to finish on a low, it must be said that I don't want Saints successes over the past two seasons attributed to him (i.e. that you can be tempted to think, "he's taken them to their highest ever league finishes"). We have an excellent club structure, scouting and player development system, and our management (aside from notable high profile fiasco's including this one, Alderwiereld transfer and any-other-SFC-transfer-rumour) seem to be very steady and capable. In other words, he's had good people around him. We seem to find that not an insignificant number of players/managers who come here tend to have a wobble when they leave, or collapse completely. The former is understandable, the latter could be down to the club structure making them appear much more capable than they are. I'll leave that there.

 

Koeman can bring out the best in some of your players, and he'll love having a diverse squad that can provide different playing styles/options. In other words, expect that he'll want to have a fast striker, a big CF, a tricky player like Deulofeu (is that how you spell?), wingers, players who can play as either full back or centre back, etc. He likes to have diversity so that second half he can change it up.

 

Listen, I know these are rumours and you and me both are anxiously waiting any announcement...but good luck, hope this provides some interesting food for thought. Get back to me if you've got any questions - happy to try and answer!

[MikeO]

Thanks for that, interesting read.

[Paddock]

Hi lads. In peace as a saints supporter.

 

Think you've bagged Koeman, I know you've got mixed feelings but he's a solid choice. I was surprised he'd go to Everton, because he'd been pretty firm about staying and clear about finishing his contract here. My guess is that in the end we never offered him an ambitious, or expensive enough, offer. All the Soton club talk has been about ambition, building a good structure in terms of player development, recruiting, partnerships etc. to push for Europa League every season, but I guess in the end even what we pitched to Koeman wasn't ambitious enough.

 

So that's the good part, I think he'll be more forward thinking than you would guess. I know there's talk of him not taking you to the next level, but I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Bear in mind he's got a lot more to work with at Everton, in terms of transfer money and squad depth/quality, and I guess in the end that's why he's likely to join you.

 

So what do you get with RK?

He's been solid for us, Saints fan alike will tell you that he's got a strong tactical head, he likes to play good, positive attacking football but is also very capable at making us better ogranised, good at defending etc. We noticed a difference between Pochettino and Koeman, Pochettino seemed to just out-attack the other team, constantly pressing and stretching the squad, with attackers high up the pitch and defenders sitting back a little. It was a good tactic, we scored a lot but the defensive drill wasn't there as much. Koeman introduced much better organised defense, it was really under RK that the whole 'defending starts from the front' line began to come out much more strongly. That's why he favours players that are willing to track back and help out. It's no surprise that the good success story of this season has been Shane Long with his workrate at hustling defences and coming back to help defend. Koeman is versatile, if you remember season before last he switched formation when we were having a real lull in the season, I think we actually played Everton in that game (with 5 at the back) and won. He did a similar thing last season, playing back 5 for a few games. He didn't trust our right back, Cedric, at defending, and he didn't trust Cuco Martina, our backup RB, for anything at all really. So he played back 5, Bertrand playing as a centreback, for a while. In other words, he really isn't afraid to change up the system and play players out of position. That can be good, because Bertrand has excelled in that role, it can also be bad, for instance playing Yoshida (CB) at RB for several games where he made heinous mistakes. He definitely favours defensive midfielders, hence why last summer we got in Romeu, Clasie etc. Both are defensive, Romeu arguably moreso although Clasie has a reputation of being a tough little guy. This was in a season that we kept Wanyama, as well. So defensive midfield is a big thing. He really doesn't appreciate small nifty attackers. Juanmi, bought last season, and Ramirez (returning from loan) hardly got a look in. Obviously they just weren't up to the physical standard of the premier league, although it could be argued that he just isn't that keen on this kind of attacker. Mane is pretty strong, even though he goes down easily. So he's defensive minded, but he also likes good play. His standard formation for us has been 4-2-3-1, with a big CF up top. Bear in mind Pelle is a favourite of his, as is long, both are good in the air although Pelle's workrate is at times questionable. Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Mane have also been a key part of the saints set-up this year. Make of that what you will as regards qualities he favours. He left Dusan Tadic on the bench for a lot of the season, even though he has been outstanding season before last and made good showings last year as well. Set pieces are a big point for him. Yoshida, but more prominently as season went on Cuco Martina, replacing Cedric as first choice RB, was an indication that he likes height in the box, and expects the RB to play closer to his own box, rather than out wide, allowing players on the wing, such as Tadic, JWP etc. to track back to the corner flag to be defending crosses.

 

He seems to be a good people manager, and several players have come out to say they enjoy playing under such a well renowned defender of his experience. He speaks several languages, which probably helps. However, don't be mistaken in thinking that all our players were his idea. Pelle, Tadic, Romeu, Van Dijk had already been touted (probably by Paul Mitchell, now at Spurs as head of recruiting) before his arrival. Mind you it's difficult to escape the Dutch nationality/played in Eredivisie links. Now that the rumours of Koeman leaving are starting to snowball, some stuff has come out about maybe his relationship with some players not being 100%, and that certain individuals were going to be happy that he's gone. I don't know how true it is.

 

It's true that we're sad to see him go. He comes across as a real nice bloke. But without wanting to finish on a low, it must be said that I don't want Saints successes over the past two seasons attributed to him (i.e. that you can be tempted to think, "he's taken them to their highest ever league finishes"). We have an excellent club structure, scouting and player development system, and our management (aside from notable high profile fiasco's including this one, Alderwiereld transfer and any-other-SFC-transfer-rumour) seem to be very steady and capable. In other words, he's had good people around him. We seem to find that not an insignificant number of players/managers who come here tend to have a wobble when they leave, or collapse completely. The former is understandable, the latter could be down to the club structure making them appear much more capable than they are. I'll leave that there.

 

Koeman can bring out the best in some of your players, and he'll love having a diverse squad that can provide different playing styles/options. In other words, expect that he'll want to have a fast striker, a big CF, a tricky player like Deulofeu (is that how you spell?), wingers, players who can play as either full back or centre back, etc. He likes to have diversity so that second half he can change it up.

 

Listen, I know these are rumours and you and me both are anxiously waiting any announcement...but good luck, hope this provides some interesting food for thought. Get back to me if you've got any questions - happy to try and answer!

Thanks for the post and info mate, much appreciated. Wouldn't hold your breath too long though pal thinks it's pretty much nailed on he's coming. Feel sorry for Soton, every time you get something good going it's taken from you and I genuinally mean that.

[MC11]

Don't like the idea of 5 at the back.

[Paddock]

Don't like the idea of 5 at the back.

Anything and I mean ANYTHING is better than that clown Martinez. He's absolutely destroyed us.

[Lowensda]

Swisstiss, stick around buddy. Like the gab. Could be a cracking 'other supporter' contributor to the forum.

[Paddock]

Careful though mate Lowendsa here will try and finger you round the back of the general sport forum.

[Hafnia]

Great post.

[Paddock]

Great post.

Thanks Haf ??

[Lowensda]

Careful though mate Lowendsa here will try and finger you round the back of the general sport forum.

 

I'd destroy him.

[Paddock]

 

I'd destroy him.

You tease.

[Romey 1878]

SSN saying it could take until tomorrow to be confirmed but that they fully expect it to go through.

[Paddock]

SSN saying it could take until tomorrow to be confirmed but that they fully expect it to go through.

They initially said Friday, then over the weekend then yesterday earlier today they said today, that was swiftly changed to next 24 hours now it might be tomorrow.

 

They're bound to get it right eventually.

[markjazzbassist]

Thanks for the write up! Glad he's flexible, that's where Martinez weakness lied, inflexibility.

[StevO]

BBC now reporting its done

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36455355

[JoeQuince]

BBC now reporting its done

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36455355

I like this bit:

 

"Koeman, who is on holiday, will take brother Erwin and fitness coach Jan Kluitenberg with him to Goodison Park."

 

Our fitness levels have worried me under Martinez, as have all of our soft-tissue injuries. From what I can recall, Saints have had solid fitness levels and have stayed pretty healthy in Koeman's time there. Am I right in remembering this? If so, this is excellent news!

[Mogsy]

Hate to be a party pooper but

 

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-deny-koeman-deal-become-11440045

[swisstiss]

I like this bit:

 

"Koeman, who is on holiday, will take brother Erwin and fitness coach Jan Kluitenberg with him to Goodison Park."

 

Our fitness levels have worried me under Martinez, as have all of our soft-tissue injuries. From what I can recall, Saints have had solid fitness levels and have stayed pretty healthy in Koeman's time there. Am I right in remembering this? If so, this is excellent news!

 

Yes and no. Actually on average you ran further than us last season. Wouldn't say we could be classed as more hard working and relentless than any other team around mid-table or higher. We've not scored that many late goals, albeit putting three last Liverpool in the final 20 mins (good times). We've had as many first half blinders, with second half shambles, as we have the other way round. It's not like our superior fitness always means we boss the second half as the opponent tires.

 

Injuries is a different thing. We have a good backroom staff for recovery and rehab, and Forster, Gardos and Rodriguez made faster than expected recoveries from serious injuries. I'd say we're up there with the best in terms of medical staff/facilities. Little else to speak of in the way of injuries, most other exceptions are players that are in any case plagued by recurring problems (cf Charlie Austin's knees).

[markjazzbassist]

 

Yes and no. Actually on average you ran further than us last season. Wouldn't say we could be classed as more hard working and relentless than any other team around mid-table or higher. We've not scored that many late goals, albeit putting three last Liverpool in the final 20 mins (good times). We've had as many first half blinders, with second half shambles, as we have the other way round. It's not like our superior fitness always means we boss the second half as the opponent tires.

 

Injuries is a different thing. We have a good backroom staff for recovery and rehab, and Forster, Gardos and Rodriguez made faster than expected recoveries from serious injuries. I'd say we're up there with the best in terms of medical staff/facilities. Little else to speak of in the way of injuries, most other exceptions are players that are in any case plagued by recurring problems (cf Charlie Austin's knees).

 

well our trainer quit and roberto didn't want the lads training hard so they were spent by half time. a proper trainer will be a massive improvement. also roberto was a qualified physio so he would override the team physio and send unfit players out on the pitch, i'm glad koeman isn't deluded like that.

 

he may not be the second coming of sir alex, but a lot of Roberto's arrogance cost him, sounds like koeman is more grounded and reasonable which is all we're asking for.