| Fonte 00:56 - May 17 with 1396 views | PatfromPoole |
Did an interview with Adam Blackmore, which was played on Solent earlier.
Claims he never submitted a transfer request, and that Reed lied about his “disruptive influence”.
Who do we believe there then??!!??
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| Fonte on 07:27 - May 17 with 1326 views | dirk_doone |
Les Reed was like a dodgy used car salesman: you couldn't believe anything he said. But, he was careful to release all of his fictitious tales about players and managers he clashed with as 'leaks'. It was obvious they emanated from him but nobody could sue him because he never gave them as direct quotes to the press.
A summary of the interview between Fonte and Adam Blackmore:
He loved being here and never wanted to leave Saints. His favourite manager was Koeman but he learned something from all of them. When he came back from the Euros he had offers from other clubs to more than double his salary but turned them down. He negotiated for an improved contract here but was stonewalled by Reed, who then made up a story that Fonte had put in a transfer request, which Fonte was shocked to see, and then told Fonte he had to leave and find himself another club. He said he asked Puel to help him but he wouldn't say anything but Fonte held no grudges against Puel for it. Blackmore said it was probably because Puel had just arrived at the club and was in a weak position and that if Koeman had still been manager, he would have helped Fonte stay.
With regard to what Fonte asked for, he said it wouldn't even have made him one of the top 3 earners in the team.
He was earning less at West Ham than he had been offered at Saints and considerably less than he had been offered earlier by other clubs. Adam Blackmore said he travelled on the train to London with Fonte who was almost in tears because of the way he had been forced out from Saints.
Adam Blackmore said Dave Merrington had just phoned him during the interview and said getting rid of Fonte was a big mistake by the club. Both Blackmore and Merrington were clearly very unhappy with Les Reed's treatment of Fonte.
Fonte has enjoyed his success at Lille and said he still loves going into training and helping the young players and hopes to play another 2 or 3 years at the top level and then will take his coaching badges and perhaps one day become a manager. Apart from the way he was forced out by Reed at the end, he was full of praise for Saints and said he enjoved every minute of his time here. He praised every manager he played for, including Pardew, who he spoke very highly of. He came across as a very humble person. [Post edited 17 May 2020 8:05]
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| Fonte on 08:45 - May 17 with 1233 views | PatfromPoole |
| Fonte on 07:27 - May 17 by dirk_doone |
Les Reed was like a dodgy used car salesman: you couldn't believe anything he said. But, he was careful to release all of his fictitious tales about players and managers he clashed with as 'leaks'. It was obvious they emanated from him but nobody could sue him because he never gave them as direct quotes to the press.
A summary of the interview between Fonte and Adam Blackmore:
He loved being here and never wanted to leave Saints. His favourite manager was Koeman but he learned something from all of them. When he came back from the Euros he had offers from other clubs to more than double his salary but turned them down. He negotiated for an improved contract here but was stonewalled by Reed, who then made up a story that Fonte had put in a transfer request, which Fonte was shocked to see, and then told Fonte he had to leave and find himself another club. He said he asked Puel to help him but he wouldn't say anything but Fonte held no grudges against Puel for it. Blackmore said it was probably because Puel had just arrived at the club and was in a weak position and that if Koeman had still been manager, he would have helped Fonte stay.
With regard to what Fonte asked for, he said it wouldn't even have made him one of the top 3 earners in the team.
He was earning less at West Ham than he had been offered at Saints and considerably less than he had been offered earlier by other clubs. Adam Blackmore said he travelled on the train to London with Fonte who was almost in tears because of the way he had been forced out from Saints.
Adam Blackmore said Dave Merrington had just phoned him during the interview and said getting rid of Fonte was a big mistake by the club. Both Blackmore and Merrington were clearly very unhappy with Les Reed's treatment of Fonte.
Fonte has enjoyed his success at Lille and said he still loves going into training and helping the young players and hopes to play another 2 or 3 years at the top level and then will take his coaching badges and perhaps one day become a manager. Apart from the way he was forced out by Reed at the end, he was full of praise for Saints and said he enjoved every minute of his time here. He praised every manager he played for, including Pardew, who he spoke very highly of. He came across as a very humble person. [Post edited 17 May 2020 8:05]
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Thanks very much for that.
It absolutely infuriated me at the time that Fonte wasn’t picked for the Europa League games in the Puel season. Was total madness. | |
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| Fonte on 08:46 - May 17 with 1223 views | TripleNiemi |
I don't think we will ever find out the true story with the players that departed. I will openly admit i was no fan of Reed, but the only thing that makes me question Jose's actions was when Matty called him a bit of a Bertie Big Bollóx in or around the dressing room after coming back from the Euros.
Mind you was Matt simply fed the club 'spin' line by Les? Who knows. Reed was certainly good at promoting himself and his views tho. [Post edited 17 May 2020 8:49]
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| Ready and waiting to mop up those European places...... |
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| Fonte on 08:49 - May 17 with 1215 views | kernow |
Didn't Mike Channon criticize him for not honouring his contract? |  | | |
| Fonte on 09:04 - May 17 with 1194 views | dirk_doone |
There were always lots of negative PR 'leaks' about players and managers that Reed fell out with. He had a few outlets on the internet for them. They then got swallowed, hook, line and sinker by a lot of fans who started attributing them to other people.
For a long time Les Reed promoted his own 'Reed/Southampton Way' cult, through a series of PR videos, which basically credited all of the club's success to him and said that any of the players and managers didn't really matter as they could easily be replaced.
When any manager or player became too popular or threatened his all-powerful position, you started to see the malevolent leaked stories appearing that they were 'too big for their boots', 'a disruptive influence', 'lazy', 'greedy' etc. The one he felt most threatened by was Koeman. Of course, when things went wrong, Reed went into hiding, the PR videos stopped and Krueger was wheeled out to take the flak. | |
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| Fonte on 09:16 - May 17 with 1180 views | Ron11 |
It always amazed me how Reed was always praised and supported by some on here.
How much have we missed a Fonte in the defence these last two seasons?
I still remember talking to a couple of Charlton fans who could not believe how Saints put him in the position he was in...and for how long he had got away with it. | | | |
| Fonte on 09:55 - May 17 with 1133 views | Derek |
Without Mr Reed we wouldn’t have had one of the most successful periods in our history. I will always be very grateful to Les for the wonderful memories.
Have a good day all.
Derek. |  | | |
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| Fonte on 10:31 - May 17 with 1095 views | dirk_doone |
No, we'd have had a more successful period because we'd have built on success rather than getting rid of the people who were really responsible for it. | |
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| Fonte on 10:35 - May 17 with 1090 views | Boris_ |
Fonte never submitted a transfer request although Reed did want to break up a group of players which were becoming 'disruptive' at the time and had started to rebel against Puel. |  |
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| Fonte on 10:39 - May 17 with 1081 views | JaySaint |
| Fonte on 10:35 - May 17 by Boris_ |
Fonte never submitted a transfer request although Reed did want to break up a group of players which were becoming 'disruptive' at the time and had started to rebel against Puel. |
That never really worked out well, did it
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| Fonte on 10:41 - May 17 with 1075 views | PatfromPoole |
| Fonte on 10:35 - May 17 by Boris_ |
Fonte never submitted a transfer request although Reed did want to break up a group of players which were becoming 'disruptive' at the time and had started to rebel against Puel. |
Which is also pretty much what happened at Leicester, wasn’t it?
Without Reed’s involvement at Leicester, of course..... | |
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| Fonte on 10:49 - May 17 with 1054 views | Boris_ |
| Fonte on 10:41 - May 17 by PatfromPoole |
Which is also pretty much what happened at Leicester, wasn’t it?
Without Reed’s involvement at Leicester, of course..... |
Yep, you might remember a Tottenham game ( Fonte had left ) around that time where the players got in a huddle before the game and we started the game off at 100mph high pressing, completely different to Puels normal boring defensive style and went 1-0 up.. yet Puel was on the sidelines livid at the players.
The senior players had become fed up of Puels tactics and man management.
I was with Fonte on the afternoon ( we have a mutual friend ) that the news broke about the 'transfer request' and he was absolutely livid at the stories. | |
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| Fonte on 11:45 - May 17 with 1013 views | Sadoldgit |
Wasn’t the story that the club made him an offer that he turned down? If it was true that he did come back with an attitude problem, he is hardly going to admit it. Why also would Reed want to get rid of a key player who had just won the Euros unless there was an issue? All very strange |  | | |
| Fonte on 11:49 - May 17 with 1010 views | JaySaint |
| Fonte on 11:45 - May 17 by Sadoldgit |
Wasn’t the story that the club made him an offer that he turned down? If it was true that he did come back with an attitude problem, he is hardly going to admit it. Why also would Reed want to get rid of a key player who had just won the Euros unless there was an issue? All very strange |
I would argue that Reed believed that it was a great time to sell Fonte, given his age and value after a great season with us and winning the Euro's
of course, that is a business decision and worked out appallingly | |
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| Fonte on 12:45 - May 17 with 984 views | Sadoldgit |
| Fonte on 11:49 - May 17 by JaySaint |
I would argue that Reed believed that it was a great time to sell Fonte, given his age and value after a great season with us and winning the Euro's
of course, that is a business decision and worked out appallingly |
Ok, I get that, but then why even bother to make him an offer. If Fonte has accepted the offer the master plan doesn’t work. There were many stories about his attitude coming back from the Euros coming from many different directions. Yes, it could have been a concerted effort to blacken his name by Reed, but do you really think that someone like MLT would have swallowed it if it didn’t have some merit. The truth of the matter often falls in the middle of these stories. | | | |
| Fonte on 23:45 - May 17 with 812 views | Ron11 |
| Fonte on 10:35 - May 17 by Boris_ |
Fonte never submitted a transfer request although Reed did want to break up a group of players which were becoming 'disruptive' at the time and had started to rebel against Puel. |
As much as I couldn't believe that I had actually done it, I fell asleep in two separate games at St. Mary's watching Puel's football. | | | |
| Fonte on 13:32 - May 18 with 700 views | SaintNick |
Last week some accused me of always sticking up for the club, nothing could be further from the truth, but increasingly I find myself having to point out that history is being rewritten and point out facts and in doing so appear to stick up for the club.
Take this Jose Fonte debate for instance lets look at some facts and not fiction with some wanting to be able to cast Les Reed or Claude Puel as the bad men in this story.
So lets list the facts.
1. In October 2015 Jose Fonte at the time about to turn 33 was happy to sign a new 3 year deal at the club to take him to age 36. 33 is a good age for a footballer, for all players it is downhill after that age, the club rewarded Fonte for his service and he knew he could not get a better deal anywhere else..
Fonte said of his new contract: “I’m obviously very pleased and very happy.
“I want to thank the manager, Les Reed, Ralph [Krueger], Katharina [Liebherr] — all of the staff and all of the board — for showing their trust and belief in me.
“I am extremely happy that they are giving me this opportunity to keep being in this great club, and I hope I can give back with good performances and by helping the club move forward.
“This is where I feel happy and where I’ve been very successful, so this is where I want to be and where I want to win.”
2. In the spring of 2016 Fonte changes his agent to fellow Portugese super agent Jorge Mendez, Mendez is all about earning money for his clients especially his best friend and clinet Jose Mourinho.
3. July 2016 Fonte wins the Euros with Portugal, Mendez is determined to exploit that.
4. Summer 2016 Mourinho becomes manager of Manchester United.
5. July 2016, media reports suggest that surprise surprise United want 33 year old Fonte, at this stage Fonte has not returned to the club after the Euros nor met Claude Puel.
6. Constant media reports put about that United want Fonte as do Everton
7. Fonte does not put in a transfer request as to do so means he forsakes his 10% cut of any transfer fee if he does so as does any player, hence you rarely see a transfer request these days , a way of telling if a move has been amicable is if the selling club refuses to sell unless the player puts in a transfer request usually in the days leading up to the transfer.
8. Autumn 2016, Mourinho is warned by United who are suspicious that their new manager might be involved in some pact with his own agent and the conflicts, media reports United might sack Mourinho. Saints offer Fonte an improved deal despite the fact that they will be paying big money for a player who will be 36 when the contract ends
9. December 2016 - More media reports about Fonte amid dressing room unrest rumours, he is now on the bench as much as in the team the end is near.
10. Despite rumours still abounding about Manchester United he ends up at West Ham for £8 million a good price of a 33 year old, he talks up the move saying it was because his wifes family are all big Hammers fans is not a success at the Hammers and a year later heads to China possibly because his wife's family are all lovers of Chicken Chop Suey , he plays 7 games before joining Lille, his and his agents bank balances are now very much bigger from these two moves than they would have been.
11. Fonte get back to playing football at Lille and is a regular, but the French League is not a top notch European league.
So these are the facts, what would you expect Fonte to say when interviewed, he is going to give a biased version of the story to make him out to be the wronged person of the piece, especially as he is now out of contract at Lille and may be looking for a coaching job at St Mary's with Reed now gone.
Fonte was linked with Man Utd before he returned to the club or had met Puel, so the issues were not initially at least to do with any relationship with Reed or Puel, it was all about his agent trying to get him one last big pay day, something that wasn't an option a year earlier.
I am not surprised that Fonte was livid about stories in the press about a transfer request submitted, he was quite happy to let Mendez manipulate the media but suddenly get shirty when the club do the same.
Basically the whole sage was one of a player who went off to the Euros completely happy and came back wanting a pay day, I don't blame him for that as most of his career was not in the top flight, but he should have been honest here, he let his agent take control and try to market him, he ditched the club that had made his career at a drop of a hat.
The truth is not known by any of us, even Boris who knew someone who knew him is only getting one side of the story, the one that they wanted him to hear, probably there is an element of truth to both sides, the relationship soured in the final months, but that was only because the club knew his agent was trying to force a deal .
It was a sad situation I wasn't always Fonte's greatest fan, but he proved me wrong as he adapted well when he lost a yard of pace after he turned 30 with his organising and reading of the game, but lets be blunt here at 33 he was on the right contract for Saints as a club, if we had been paying him big wages when he couldn't get in the team a season or two later then people would be criticising him as they did Fraser Forster etc |  |
| Satisfying The Bloodlust Of The Masses In Peacetime |
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| Fonte on 13:48 - May 18 with 682 views | kingslandstand1 |
| Fonte on 09:16 - May 17 by Ron11 |
It always amazed me how Reed was always praised and supported by some on here.
How much have we missed a Fonte in the defence these last two seasons?
I still remember talking to a couple of Charlton fans who could not believe how Saints put him in the position he was in...and for how long he had got away with it. |
I'll always remember Patred getting crucified on here for his hatred of Reed and all things related to him which was one of the things that eventully drove Pat away from the site - ok, his health didn't help that situation either, but Pat from what he used to say knew him from a personal point of view as well I believe
Anyone know if he is still with us from those that go on other forums? |  | | |
| Fonte on 13:48 - May 18 with 679 views | kingslandstand1 |
| Fonte on 10:31 - May 17 by dirk_doone |
No, we'd have had a more successful period because we'd have built on success rather than getting rid of the people who were really responsible for it. |
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