"Last chance saloon" - Southampton FC owners issued warning after Premier League relegation | OneFootball

FLW's Southampton fan pundit has given his verdict on the owners' best interests for the club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton are heading back to the Championship next season after their relegation was confirmed with several games remaining in the campaign.

The Saints struggled to compete in the top flight, and have comfortably been sent back down to the second division.

Owners St. Mary’s Football Group, majority owned by Sport Republic, is spearheaded by chairman Dragan Šolak.

Šolak will be hoping that the club can bounce back next year and gain their place back in the Premier League at the first attempt.

Southampton ownership verdict

When asked if the owners have the club’s best interest at heart, FLW’s Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders claimed that they absolutely do, despite their difficult season.

He believes Šolak is testing the supporters’ patience, but that he is confident recent moves made behind the scene show their commitment to improving the team.

“I am, I am confident that Dragan Šolak, who is the owner, has the best interest of the football club at heart,” Sanders told Football League World.

“He has put a lot of money in his pockets, he’s a lot of people around him who probably don’t know football well enough that have let him down.

“Rasmus Ankersen has spearheaded Sport Republic since they’ve been in charge, they’ve recruited very poorly.

“He obviously came from Brentford, working under Matthew Benham, who have a really good model there, statistical knowledge was incredible.

“Probably don’t have that here at Southampton and they’ve recruited badly, and they’ve wasted a lot of his money, and that’s why Šolak has taken up the hot seat as the chairman.

“Behind the scenes, Phil Parsons has taken up the role of doing a lot of work off the field to generate income, the fan zone, new pubs, and he’s done a good job away from the football business.

“Johannes Spors has come in to oversee the transfers and the new manager, so I think they do [have the club’s best interests at heart], but they’re in a bit of a last chance saloon with the fans because they’re losing patience.

“Two relegations in three seasons is not acceptable.”

Southampton are currently bottom of the Premier League table, and had their relegation confirmed after a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in early April.

Changes behind the scenes are promising for Southampton

Restructuring behind the scenes as a result of their poor season in the Premier League is a positive sign for Southampton, and a sign that they know things weren’t working.

While there are no guarantees this new structure will fix everything, it’s clear that there is an ambition to improve, which supporters can appreciate.

Losing Jason Wilcox last summer to Manchester United was a blow, as he had become an important part of the recruitment and player development process.

The first big test of this new structure will come with the appointment of the next manager, as Ivan Juric proved a disastrous replacement for Russell Martin.