Rickie Lambert - New beginnings

November Review​

View attachment 236279
The perfect month for the lads as we win every game! Premier League wins against Reading, Swansea and Bournemouth gave us 9 points out of 9, while Europa League wins against Athletic and Lille put us joint top of the group with Athletic.
Tables​
View attachment 236277

Those three wins in a row see us very nicely positioned in the table now, just 4 points behind Liverpool in that all important 4th spot that leads to Champions League qualification.

View attachment 236275
Key Players of the month​
As I am not doing individual match reports any more I am going to be showing the important players for the month in this section now.

View attachment 236274
Victor Wanyama was again superb this month and thoroughly deserves a mention. Goals against Bournemouth and Lille and a very high average rating see him as almost the first name on the team sheet.










View attachment 236273
Charlie Austin has again been amazing and seems to be back to his best. 3 goals this month and some superb link up play have assured his position leading the line.











View attachment 236272
Sadio Mane is always full of running and creativity and it really rubs off on the rest of the team. 3 goals and two assists for him this month see him fending off some stiff competition for his place in the first team.











December Preview​
View attachment 236269

A much tougher month coming up and one that could be pivotal in the Premier League. 5 League games to play including Man Utd, Chelsea and Everton as well as the game against Rapid Wien to decide who tops the Europa League group.
 
"Rickie! There's a phone call for you!" The club secretary Amanda called out as I walked past her desk.

"Thanks Amanda, I'll take it in my office" I answered, walking in and closing the door behind me, picking up the phone

"Rickie speaking"

"Hi Rickie, this is Vadim Vasilyev, I am the director of football at Monaco football club"

"Hi Vadim, what can I do for you?"

"Well Rickie, as you may have seen on the news we have been performing very poorly this season, 12th in Ligue 1 when you have players like Falcao and Moutinho is just not good enough and unfortunately it cost Luis Enrique his job. We have all been really impressed at what your doing at Southampton and were just wondering if you would be interested in interviewing for the position of manager?"

I stopped for a moment, not saying anything. These were truly world class players we were talking about. Radamael Falcao, Joao Moutinho, Jeremy Toulalan. But if we keep going the way we are at Southampton, it wouldn't be out of the question to have players like that here.

"I'm sorry Vadim, I really am flattered at the offer but I am extremely settled here at Southampton. I left Southampton once before and look how that turned out, I'm going to have to turn you down but I wish you all the luck in the world in finding a new manager and turning your fortunes around"

"Oh, that is unfortunate. I appreciate where you are coming from, Its not easy to walk away from a good thing, would a significant pay rise tempt you?"

"I'm afraid not, my decision is final".

"Ok, thankyou for your time Rickie".

With that he hung up the phone. I got the impression that he wasn't a man that was refused often, and he didn't like not getting his own way. Anyway this was a big step in my managerial career! other teams are sitting up and taking notice! I smiled proudly to myself and turned to look out of the big window in my office at some of the U21's training at Staplewood. Could things be going any better right now?

View attachment 236175
 
December Review​

View attachment 236165
Another good month of results. The losses against Chelsea and United were expected and we put up a good fight in both. The Sunderland result was a disapointment but more points throughout the month have kept us in touch in the league.
Tables & Draws​
View attachment 236164
5 points down on that 4th place target with a game in hand, things are going very well all considering. A great defensive record that is joint 3rd best in the league means our somewhat meagre goal tally not so much of a problem.

View attachment 236163
The FA Cup has given us a nice easy draw at home to York City. Time for the kids to get a run out.

View attachment 236162
The Europa league has drawn us against Ajax with us needing to win to match the boards expectations.
Key players of the month

​
View attachment 236161
Charlie Austin once again is a key man, notching 5 goals this month including a wonderful hat-trick against Everton. Chelsea are rumoured to be interested in his signature however he is such a key part of my plans that it will take A LOT of money to convince me to part with him. Slapping a £35 million price tag on him.








View attachment 236160
Max Meyer got his chance in the first team after being incredibly patient and he took it. 3 goals and two assists in four appearances give me a real selection headache as he pushes hard for his place.










January Preview​
View attachment 236159
A very busy month with SEVEN Premier League fixtures including matches against Tottenham and Arsenal. Picking up the points against the lower teams could be crucial to our push for the Champions League.
 
View attachment 927167
Immobile leaves after only 6 months
​

View attachment 236156
Ciro Immobile has left Southampton after a torrid 6 months and has signed a contract with Fiorentina. The Italian strikers move has cost Fiorentina £13 million. Immobile failed to settle on the south coast and was disillusioned with life at the club following less first team football than he was hoping for. The transfer fee raked in by Southampton sees them make a £5 million profit.
 
January Review​

View attachment 235929
Another superb month for the boys as the only loss in the Premier League comes against Tottenham in a close match. Disappointing to drop points to Norwich and even more disappointing to have to replay our FA Cup tie, I would rather have lost it.
Tables & Draws​
View attachment 235928
4th in the league!! and with a game in hand! Champions League qualification is really starting to look possible!!

View attachment 235927

Our FA Cup match will be against Man City, this time at the Etihad, and its up next.
Key players of the month​
View attachment 235926
Dusan Tadic has been in superb form, hitting the goals and assists for the club. Selection is becoming very difficult now between all the fantastic performers. May have to consider selling somebody.










View attachment 235923
Lorenzo Insigne is again in this list after yet more goals from the Italian. He is really flourishing in the wide attacking midfield areas of the team, particularly on the left.











View attachment 235922
3 more goals for Jay Rodriguez sees his good form continue. These three players have been my first choice for most games this month and have done superbly.











February Preview​
View attachment 235919
Horrible month for us coming up that could make or break our top 4 pursuit. Man City twice i a row, Liverpool and then Arsenal is a nightmare. Then two legs against Ajax in the Europa League either side of a crunch League game with Newcastle. Ouch.
 
Killing it mate - good luck in the run in. Hoping you can stay in the Champions League spots!
 
View attachment 235643
The transfer window slams shut once more and it has been an unremarkable one for us. I didn't feel the squad needed strengthening but there were some players whining about first team football so I had to sort some of those out.

Players In
Alen Halilovic - Loan - Barcelona
Players out
Ciro Immobile - £13 mil - Fiorentina
Matt Targett - Loan - Wolves
Steven Davis - Loan - Swansea
Demarai Gray - Loan - Wolves
Josh Sims - Loan - Tranmere

February Review​
View attachment 235655
Another unbeaten month! A fantastic win against Manchester City in the FA Cup saw us progress on to face Everton who we drew with as well!! yet another replay.. I am really not needing these extra matches!! Draws against City and Liverpool in the league were good results but perhaps not Champions League chasing points. Newcastle rolled over and let us beat them soundly as did Ajax in the Europa League, a good month.

Tables & Draws​
View attachment 235654
We are hanging on in there and are there or there abouts. 3 points behind Tottenham in 3rd place, with a game in hand seems to be a good position to be in but there is a long way to go yet! Chelsea are running off with the title which you would suspect would make Mourinho's move to United a failure and Diego Simeone's appointment at Chelsea a success.

View attachment 235653
Revenge will be on the mind as we have been drawn against Besiktas in the next round of the Europa League. If you haven't been following, we lost to Besiktas in last years Europa League semi-final somewhat unjustly after playing brilliantly. Can the boys do it this time round?

View attachment 235652
The FA Cup draw has declared that the winner of Southampton vs Everton will be put into the quarter finals and will face Manchester United.

Key players of the month​
View attachment 235651
I'm afraid its Charlie Austin yet again. He really has been terrific this month and has hit top form, notching 7 goals in 5 games. The closest thing that we have to an irreplaceable player.











View attachment 235645
A shout-out as well to Rui Patricio who has been superb all season. He especially shone this month in the matches against the bigger clubs, keeping us in the game at times! an excellent purchase if I do say so myself.











March Preview​
View attachment 235644
A slightly quieter month but some really massive games. Everton in the cup kicks us off before Arsenal in the league which could be crucial! A couple of local derbies with Bournemouth at home and then Reading away and then there's the Europa League fixtures against Besiktas which I am DESPERATE to win. A possible FA Cup quarter final against United must be factored in as well if we manage to beat Everton.
 
March review​
View attachment 235076
Another unbeaten month and a very good one at that. We beat Everton in the cup and got Man Utd in the quarter final. Guess what! we drew that a well! yet another replay for an extra fixture we dont need, but it turns out we won the replay as well! into the semi-final of the FA Cup! We also comfortably beat Besiktas over two legs to proceed into the Europa League quarter finals and won 1, drew 1 of our league games.

Tables & Draws​
View attachment 235075
6th in the table with 3 games in hand, just 4 points behind City and Liverpool and 6 behind Tottenham. We need a strong finish to this campaign to secure Champions League, anything less would be a disappointment. Hull look all but gone and Swansea are going the same way with the battle at the bottom looking to be cutting off with Norwich in 15th.

View attachment 235074
The FA Cup draw has decided to be kind to us this time as we draw local rivals Bournemouth in the semi final. Another trip to Wembley! and if we win it would be our 2nd trophy in as many season!

View attachment 235073
The Europa League gives us a quarter final draw against Celtic who we managed to beat in the group stage last year. Optimistic here.
key players of the month​
View attachment 235072
Sadio Mane has been in great form for us, netting 4 goals and is one of the main reasons we have advanced in the cup competitions. He scored both goals in the FA Cup against Man United and has had a stellar month.









View attachment 235071
Four goals as well for Lorenzo Insigne who has been inspired. One of the first names on the team sheet these days, the italian's link up play is second to none.











View attachment 235070
Mr Fantastic, the ever-present Wanyama is just a god in his midfield role. Tidying up at the back and breaking down play, he is the heartbeat of the whole team and I am sure he is almost irreplaceable.













April Preview​
View attachment 235069
An absolutely jam packed month where we have no more than a 4 day gap between any of the games! Manchester United, Arsenal and then United again in the League could decide our Champions League hopes. Cup fixtures against Bournemouth and Celtic could see the difference between a great season and a perfect one.
 
End of season review​
View attachment 234431
As you can see the results took a terrible turn for the worse as we crashed out of the FA Cup semi final on penalties to Bournemouth. Valencia then knocked us out of the Europa League at the semi final stage for the 2nd year in a row. That was coupled with a loss to Arsenal and a draw with Everton that seemed to destroy our Champions Leagues hopes and all seemed lost. I had a long hard talk with the lads and they responded in magnificent fashion, but was it enough? well...

View attachment 234430
WE DID IT! A ridiculously tense final match of the season saw us take on Swansea, knowing that a win would guarantee Champions League football. It took us until the 88th minute to make the breakthrough when Lorenzo Insigne became a club hero, slotting home to seal the win and 3rd place in the Premier League!

View attachment 234429
Players of the season​

View attachment 234428
Cedric has been deeply impressive this season. An ever present in the side, Cedric made 47 appearances at an average rating of 7.53. Will be difficult to keep hold of this summer.










View attachment 234427
Lorenzo Insigne is another man who has impressed at St Marys. 31 appearances yielded 10 goals and 9 assists. While that may not sound like much he has more than played his part and scored some crucial goals, including the one to book our place in the Champions League. After being bought 18 months ago for £12 million, his value has now increased to £19.5 million and it will take a lot more than that to convince me to sell.








View attachment 234426
Victor Wanyama. Destroyer. Beast. Irreplaceable. 54 appearances this season with an average of 7.44. He scored 7 goals including some truly memorable long range screamers. Captain material and absolutely not for sale.











View attachment 234425
I mentioned Cedric earlier in the post and now it is his partner in crimes turn. Ryan Bertrand has locked down the left of the defence and made an astonishing 61 appearances this season with an average rating of 7.4. The man is a machine and has been making noises about a move to Manchester United. Hopefully Champions League football will convince him to stay.







View attachment 234424
Jay Rodriguez has saved his Saints career this season. 42 games, 21 goals, 9 assists and an average rating of 7.32 has seen him challenge Austin for his striking role. Big things to come from Rodriguez.









View attachment 234423
Charlie Austin has once again been the main man. Despite tailing off slightly at the end of the season the hitman scored 34 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions and created 5 assists at an average of 7.32. My personal player of the season and a wonderful wonderful player.
 
Last edited:
I pick up my phone as it starts to ring, frowning at the unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hi is that Rickie?"

"Yeah, speaking"

"Hi Rickie, this is Khaldoon Al Mubarak, I'm the chairman of Manchester City football club"

"Hi, sorry.. can I just stop you there.. we are not selling Wanyama, there is no negotiation"

He laughs down the phone "That is very admirable of you Rickie but I'm afraid that's not why I'm calling today, I want to offer you the managers job"

There was a long pause.

"The managers job?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes thats right, we parted company with Manuel earlier this week, the results just were not good enough and we have all been deeply impressed with your results at Southampton. We feel you're the right man to lead the club forward"

"I cant believe it, I'm going to need some time to think about this"

"Yes of course, quite understandable. I do need to tell you that Sheikh Mansour isn't an overly patient man, we will need an answer in the next few days"

"Yeah that's fine, I understand"

"if it makes any difference, we would be supplying you with a transfer budget of £130 million.."

"£130 million" I repeat, shocked. "Right, thanks for your call"

"Thanks Rickie"

View attachment 234422
It didn't take long for me to reach my answer and that answer was No. After seeing Southampton this far it would seem fruitless to leave now, especially for such an insecure job. If I accepted the offer it would have meant leaving Champions League football for Europa League football. The chance to lead Southampton in the Champions League was too great
 
Last edited:
Excellent, well done on not just getting CL football but 3rd place! Can't wait to see the process of buying/selling players for next season, are you planning on buying some youth to refresh the squad or buy experience players for that realistic feeling of possibly buying players with CL experience?

Keep it going mate.
 
HomerPimpson said:
Excellent, well done on not just getting CL football but 3rd place! Can't wait to see the process of buying/selling players for next season, are you planning on buying some youth to refresh the squad or buy experience players for that realistic feeling of possibly buying players with CL experience?

Keep it going mate.
Click to expand...

Depends on who leaves mate :) I think the Southampton way is to buy in youth with good re-sale value, and I dont want to break the bank going for huge names so it will be a case of just playing the market. I am very conscious of keeping us profitable.
 
SaintMotbot said:
This was all happening so fast. Just over a week ago I was getting ready to start my pre-season with my boyhood club Liverpool, now I'm sat in an office discussing the beginning of my managerial career. Sat across the desk from me was Les Reed, director of football at St Mary's.

"I'm pleased you've agreed to talk to us Rickie" He said, passing a copy of a freshly printed contract to my agent.

"It's my pleasure, I've got so many great memories at Southampton, I'd be stupid not to hear you out"

"Well, the thing is Rickie the clubs fans are starting to get really worried, our success is making us a target for bigger clubs, players and managers alike, and we need somebody to bring that feel good factor back to the club"

"And you think I'm the man to do that?"

"You are a club legend Rickie, the fans would be so excited to see you back and we feel that you deserve a shot in management. We do however have a couple of stipulations"

"Stipulations?" I asked, glancing at my agent.

"Well, we are looking for somebody to make a long term commitment to the club, so we are going to want you to stick around for more than just a season or two"

"Thats more than fine by me, I love it here, what else?"

"We are extremely keen to play our football and do our business in a certain way, you know the drill, you were here for long enough. The Southampton Way is very important to us, we want to play exciting, attacking, possession football and we want to do our business in a way that ensures the long term future of the club. We also want you to make the most of our academy and continue to bring the kids through into the first team"

"That sounds reasonable to me" I glance again at my agent who has finished reading the paperwork. He gives me a tiny nod and a smile. "Shall we talk business?"
Click to expand...

I shall be following!
o.png
 
Pre Season
So pre season didn't go exactly to plan!

View attachment 234202
​

Only 5 games played and four of them lost. The only win of pre season came from a home match against local side Romsey that we scraped 1-0. Still, the bright side was the players fitness is up to a good standard and friendly results count for nothing, we are in position to start the new season!
 
Transfers​
The Biggest transfer news of our summer is the departure of Lorenzo Insigne to Real Madrid. They made me an offer I couldnt refuse (£40 million) and the Italian striker joined them with eye watering wages of £200k a week. This transfer was great news for the club, although we would miss him on the pitch it would pretty much pay for all of the rest of our transfer dealings whilst still making a profit! Sadio Mane was also on Real Madrids radar and while they bid up as high as £35 million, they were not prepared to meet our £50 mil valuation so he remains a Saints player.

View attachment 234201



Players out

Lorenzo Insigne - £40 million - Real Madrid
Jose Fonte - £300k - Sunderland
Koen Casteels - £1.1 million - Newcastle
Steven Davis - Loan - Middlesbrough
Demarai Gray - Loan - Leicester

Net Income - £41.4 Million

Players in

Carl Jenkinson - £6 million - Arsenal
Angel Correa - £5 million - Atletico Madrid
Luciano Vietto - £3.6 million - Atletico Madrid
Eric Dier - £8 million - Tottenham

Net Spend - £22.6 Million​
The incoming players are something that I am extremely excited about. Our first piece of business was to secure the permanent transfer of Carl Jenkinson to the club. Carl was at the club on loan last season and played superbly. A deal was agreed for £6 million and he will serve as perfect backup for Cedric and can also cover Centre Back.

Next I had the difficult task of finding a replacement for Insigne. I happened to glance down the transfer list and saw Angel Correa for sale from Atletico! Whilst still young and very raw, he has all the potential in the world but hasn't realised it at Atletico. He reminds me very much of Insigne when I bought him so I took the punt and sealed the deal for £5 million.

The other player I noticed on the transfer list was Luciano Vietto, another player who was deemed surplus to requirements at Atletico. I have been a long time admirer of the striker and I feel he could compete with Austin and Rodriguez for the forward position, so again I got on the phone and sealed the deal for £3.6 million. This one could be huge for us.

Club captain Jose Fonte decided to leave the club after 7 seasons of fantastic and loyal service. He went with all of our blessings but we then had to turn our attention to finding a replacement. Names like Mats Hummels and Raphael Varane were appearing on our scouting list but I didnt feel comfortable spending that type of cash, especially when Musacchio and Van Dijk had been doing so well for us, and we certainly didnt have the wages to attract those types of players! In the end I sealed an £8 million deal for Tottenham centre back Eric Dier who will supplement the squad very nicely.

Koen Casteels was kicking up such a fuss about first team football that I had to grit my teeth and sell him for a slight loss. Because of this we are on the lookout for another goalkeeper to rotate and support Patricio in the team but have had no luck as of yet, the search will continue!

View attachment 234197
 
"Hi Rickie, Thanks for coming in and seeing us"

The speaker was Ralph Krueger, the Canadian former Ice Hockey player that was now Chairman at Southampton. Sat next to him was Katharina Liebherr, the owner.

"My pleasure" I said, sitting across from them around the conference table in the board room.

"The reason why we wanted to meet today is just to discuss the long term future of the club" Katharina said "We realise its been an uncertain time with the club being up for sale and then deals falling through, anyway, long story cut short, we are staying for the foreseeable future and we wanted your opinion on how to take the club to the next level."

"That's great news" I replied genuinely, I really had grown a soft spot for our owner.

"We think so" Said Ralph "And just this morning we have heard back from the council with approved planning permission to develop the stadium, an extra five thousand seats, a face lift for the outside and a new media centre and club shop"

"That's brilliant! that will be a massive step for the club, It's about time we lifted ourselves up with the elite"

"What else do you think needs to be done Rickie?" He asked.

"Well, we pride ourselves on our youth system, it could do with a slight revamp, just to keep up to certain standards if nothing else.. and I would also like to see our training facilities at Staplewood given an update. I'm aware that it was only opened last year, and the facilities are fantastic! but if we want to be truly world class, the facilities need to be cutting edge"

"Consider it done" Katharina said, smiling. "When my dad bought this football club he saw the true potential here. I will do everything in my power to help us realise that potential."

"we all miss Markus." I said to her, giving her a reassuring smile.

"He would be so proud to see us where we are today" she said "which brings me on to the other matter of business. We feel that the club really needs to get a fan presence in all areas of the world. We think it would be a good idea find a couple of affiliate clubs around the globe to improve our reputation, we want you to pick the first one."

"Oh wow, I'm honoured.. I think China is probably the best bet. Hugely growing football industry, the colour red is lucky there, could be a win win"

"We will certainly look into that, good idea" Ralph said, scribbling notes down on his notepad.

"Ok, thanks Rickie" Katharina said standing up. "now just time for a few photos for the website to show the fans we have been meeting!"

View attachment 234183
View attachment 234182

View attachment 234181

View attachment 234180

View attachment 234179
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top