Last night I had to drag myself away from the gripping Deadline Day drama (and entertaining Ralph Express banter) on Twitter, as my family and I were attending ‘Football Chat with Matt Le Tiss’ at The Concorde Club. When we booked it, we thought it’d be a nice summers evening out – we certainly didn’t picture walking from the car to the entrance in heavy rain. It turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening though. Le God was on top form and shared some fascinating insights, so I thought I’d share the best of what he had to say.
Once inside we were shown to our seats, and somehow, despite not paying for the meal, we seemed to have the best table, front and centre, level with the stage, with only a few rows of chairs on a lower level in front of us. We were probably that table that everyone hated, none moreso than my Dad’s mates who paid extra for the meal and were on a table near the back.
At 9pm Matt took to the stage, with the first half of the show a chat between him and the host. They talked about a variety of football related topics, looking forwards and back. Below are his insights and opinions on many issues:
On Recently Departed Staff:
- The club initially didn’t want to extend Mark Hughes’ contract. They wanted time to assess their options. It was a decision made by the owner who’s heart ruled his head.
- At some point in September/October, Krueger spoke to a Top 6 club and asked how many days off their players had had so far that season. The answer came back as 2-3. Ours had had around 17-18. (Hasenhüttl is the complete opposite, a workaholic.)
- Krueger left due to a disagreement on the direction of the club. He wanted more money put in, however the owner insisted for us to be self sufficient.
- Les Reed did himself no favours. He was quick to have photos with his arms round players backs during the good times, but went into hiding during the bad. Took too much credit without the acknowledgement of others behind the scenes. But he’s landed himself a job as Technical Director at the FA so…
On Current Squad:
- Lemina has been the most disappointing player. In his first couple of matches he was unplayable, a couple of weeks later Matt thought he was watching his less talented twin brother. Went from 10/10 to 2/10, often in the same match. He’d dominate a first half, and come out in the second half and trip over the ball and give it away.
- Most impressed with Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Bednarek and Valery last season.
- Doesn’t think Ralph believes in Boufal, uncertain if he will feature for us. Matt wants him to do well due to his talent, and was impressed with his work ethic Vs FC Köln. It is hoped that he has realised the effort required to play for us.
On Transfer Window:
- The next player Liverpool will look to take off us is Che Adams. Matt phoned James Beattie, who was training Adams at Birmingham, and asked if he was worth 15m. Beattie stated that a year ago he would not have paid 2m, but his development in the past year has been incredible and that the price we got him for is a bargain.
- He saw potential in Danso when Augsburg came to St Mary’s, however it was hard to judge as we were rubbish and lost 4-0. Matt confirmed for us that the deal was completed, before the ITKs did on Twitter.
- The top earners who don’t play still need to go. Our window having closed though disadvantages us as we can’t reinvest until January.
- Not Saints related, but Matt made the point at many times throughout the evening that Iwobi is not worth anywhere near the £34m Everton have paid for him.
On Season Ahead:
- Predicts us to finish a conservative 12th. However, if we are in that position with a handful of games to go, we could give ourselves a chance of Europe due to the inevitable congestion in that part of the table.
- The front three of Ings, Adams and Redmond will cause problems for most teams. (It seems Robbie Savage thinks the opposite and that they won’t score the goals to keep us up…)
- Højbjerg and Ward-Prowse will be the midfield two in a 3-4-3.
- Matt is really enjoying his ambassador role, which means we will be seeing more of him this season on social media and working with the Saints Foundation.
The second half of the evening saw Matt answering questions from the audience, which had all been written and placed in a box beforehand. I decided to ask the following question:
‘Who are LD Sports?’
It is a question that will undoubtedly be asked at the Fans Forum next Thursday. However, I figured that Matt could provide a definitive answer, as he was in attendance at the launch in Macau. I have tried my best to write down his answer word for word.
‘It’s an interesting concept. A new concept. One I don’t completely understand. I’m finding it rather confusing but they definitely exist as I’ve met them. I’m not sure how a new business with a few social media followers can be sponsoring a Premier League football team, but they pay the bills and that’s what matters.’
This response might be more telling than a prescripted answer from the club next week…
The two hours flew-by and got me even more excited for the season ahead. I am very excited to watch Friday Night Football, before waking up tomorrow and heading to Burnley for the start of another crazy 10-month long journey.
Thank you Matt and The Concorde Club for an entertaining and fascinating evening. I look forward to the next one.
Owen The Saints 