Leeds and co a lesson to us all: Saints chief
A £2.6m (€3.8m) deficit on player transfers contributed to Southampton seeing their healthy profits from 2003 turn into a £1.6m (€2.3m) loss in the six months to November last year.
And the situation would have been worse had it not been for the £3m (€4.3m) income arising from the completion and sale of The Dell, the club’s former stadium.
Having benefited to the tune of £3.4m (€4.9m) on transfers in the six-month period to November 2003 – boosted by the £7m (€10.1m) sale of Wayne Bridge to Chelsea – the Saints lost £2.6m (€3.8m) in 2004.
Five players were added to the squad for the 2004-05 season at a cost of £5.2m (€7.5m) while Fitz Hall was sold to Crystal Palace for a £1m (€1.4m) profit.
However, money from the £6m (€8.7m) sale of striker James Beattie to Everton - which will result in a £4.5m (€6.5m) profit for the club – came after the trading period covered and will be included in the next six months’ figures.
But also included in the May 2005 results will be the £2.1m (€3m) purchase of Nigel Quashie from Portsmouth.
Chairman Rupert Lowe said more transfer signings were expected as the club battled against relegation from the Barclays Premiership.
“Harry Redknapp (manager) is looking to try to strengthen the squad further before the transfer deadline at the end of January,” he said.
“This needs to be balanced against the overall size of the squad and the promising players we now have coming through the academy but we are intent upon ensuring that we are not short of resources for the final 14 games of the season.”
Lowe also defended the club’s record on signing players.
“Over the past eight years during my chairmanship we have resisted the siren-like calls from all directions to spend more in transfer fees and wages than our revenue allows,” he said.
“Indeed, we have watched the damaging effects of financial imprudence in the football industry as the normal laws of economic logic are ignored.
“Clubs like Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford, Coventry, West Ham, Derby, Leicester, Ipswich, Watford and others have been a warning to us all.
“It is the job of the board to balance the interests of the next generation of players and supporters with the aspirations of the current generation, thereby underwriting the future of the club.
“Our current league position is once again testing our long-term prudence. Our current job is to try to extricate ourselves from our current difficulty without putting the long-term future of the club at risk.
“We believe that the depth of our existing squad, combined with our recent signings, gives us an excellent chance of success but we are always aware of the fact that sporting success is an art and not a science.”
