SonicBoom

I think Koeman would be aware that if they get 50 million for Stones and then he comes to us for VvD then the price will be very similar. Stones is young with potential but Virgil is mid twenties and approaching his prime. He's also just signed a new long term contract so Saints would be able to play VERY hard ball. In todays stupid market, if Stones is worth 50 mill then so is Virgil.

I think on most message boards you're wasting your breath. i have no idea how many seasons we would have to show improvement before some people have any faith at all. 15? Who knows. It's been 7 now and still people say "Les doesn't know what he's doing" or "Kat is lining her pockets" like she needs to do that from Saints!! We have literally no idea how well we've done this summer until the window shuts. We've got rid of the few that were going early. We got a new manager in who is taking a look at the squad to see what he needs. All seems perfectly sensible. I am sure we will be bringing in both squad players and first teamers in in the next few weeks. But people seem to want everything NOW. Immediately. Wait and see what we've done when the season starts and the window shuts. Then you can have a moan all you want. But FFS give the club a chance to go about their business.

Who knows what West Ham are doing? With the new stadium, they, even more than us, are going to be linked to every player in Europe. Maybe it's all BS and they have a clear plan and targets. We really could spend a lot if we chose to. We already have 34 from Mane and 11 from Wanyama and 4 from Juanmi. So that's 49 million. We have the additional 100 million from the TV money so a total of 150 million before we even dig into our pockets from previous years. Of course I'm not advocating we spend that money - particularly not on "stellar" signings. We have seen from Wales and Leicester that building a team is the key. Plus just because a player is less expensive that means nothing if you know what you are doing. Look at Kante, Mahrez and Payet. Could have bought all three for about 15 million.

I'm sure the club are painfully aware that without Mane and to a much lesser extent Wanyama, we have lost around 15 league goals from the squad. That makes a huge difference so with our analytical approach they will be trying to find a way to replace them.

Seriously ? United away on a Friday night ?

Well Mane was great for us. His strength was his pace to get beyond people to give himself room for a shot. On his fairly frequent off days he would fail to get by the first tackle or if he did then he would either then scuff his shot or not make the sensible decision to pass to someone else in a better position. Again though I agree when he was on his game he was excellent. From what I have seen of Redmond he is quick enough, but doesn't rely purely on his speed. He has a trick or two and likes to keep the ball closer to him than Mane. He is also decent from the edge of the box but also plays with his head up looking for a killer pass. He has the potential but Liverpool wanted to pay for Mane as he is lower "risk" I guess but Redmond could well develop into a fine player over the next two years. He has the tools.

I think Redmond might surprise us. I can see him making quite an impact. He may not have quite the pace of Mane, but he seems a more intelligent footballer. He also appears to have better control of the ball and likes to shoot. Certainly has the potential to be a really good replacement, although he will have to earn his place in the starting line up first...

Matt Richie close to a move to Newcastle apparently.

Cant see him at Chelsea. They must have had their fill of over the hill strikers by now, none of which have delivered. Conte picks him because he has limited choice. At Chelsea he will have his choice of the best strikers in the world. At best Pelle would be 3rd of 4th choice.

I find it hard to wish players luck when it's Liverpool. I'll miss his talent, but not his fcking miserable demeanour! You're right. For a bloke playing footy for a living he rarely ever looks happy. Bit like Vardy.

Another positive is that when we are trying to attract either a manager or a decent young player we can point to where our alumni are. Rather than be ashamed of it, we should promote the stepping stone effect. If you sign for us there is a good chance that in a few years you could end here.... Look at MP, Koeman, Bale, Shaw etc etc We would surely be the first choice over other clubs. where have Stoke's signings ended up for example?

So he's been building something at Nice onlimited funds and promoting youth. He's overachieved and earned widespread plaudits. Now he could be on the verge of walking away to a "bigger" club for more money. Sounds very familiar doesn't it! Joking aside, whilst he isn't the big name, he has certainly achieved some great success. Who knows, in 12 months time he could be be the next big name.

Oh I am the absolute opposite of an ITK. I know absolutely nothing. It's just my opinion on the contract situation.

I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have to wait til July to announce anything. City have very publicly let him go. They are hardly going to make a fuss if he announces he is going to another club. Granted he is still technically employed until June 30th but so what? What are they going to do ? Sack him? Any payments he is due will be documented in the contract so I'm sure that he would be well within his rights to sign a contract for us now with a start date of July 1st.

I'm pretty sure anyone being interviewed would not be marched right through the reception of the Grand Harbour where news would leak out in seconds.

Strange isnt it. We used to be the club that sold young British talent for around ten mill - Chambers, Ox, Bale, Walcott etc - now we are buying young English players for around ten million.

Someone asked Guillem Ballague about Valverde on twitter today and he said "no chance he's staying at Athletic".

I'd be stunned if we get what we paid for GP plus a little bit more. He's approaching 31 if he's not there already and although he doesn't base his game on speed, he's certainly not going to be getting faster from now on. He's also approaching the last year of his Yes he is playing for Italy now - but as much as I appreciate what he has done for us, that really just shows that Italy don't have strikers of the calibre they've had in the past. We paid around 8 million for him and with one year left plus his age to consider, I would be pleased if we recouped 5 mill. I'd actually expect 4. That said personally I would keep him another year as he's a useful option but I'm not sure he wants to sit on the bench.

Surprised some think that that Townsend isn't in the same class as Mane. There's not much in it. Witness the goals he scored at the end of the season against us and Palace for example. He certainly can strike a ball and that's not something you can say about Mane. That wasn't a flash in the pan, he's done it in the past for both club and country. I'm not sure why he was sidelined at spurs but the Newcastle fans certainly took to him. Mane is quicker and makes good bursts in and around the box, I'm not saying he's not as good, just that they both have their strengths. I woudn't just dismiss Townsend cos his career stalled a little bit.

Personally I don't think Pelle, Wanyama or Tadic is irreplaceable. VW is probably the most valuable to us as a team but even we could find someone else if the deal was right. Tadic has been very good but is consistently inconsistent. He's been better recently but has spent quite a bit of the season on the bench. Mane would be a big loss. He's inconsistent too but capable of creating against any team in the league. There's not many of those around. Personally I would love the club to do everything they can to keep both Mane and Wanyama.

Also he cost 15 mill. That didn't help him and he struggled with the expectation. Had we bought him for 4 mill then we would have looked at him favourably compared with for example Juanmi...

God not a betting company, they are taking over football. Funny how the sports industry frowns upon smoking nowdays, and drinking, yet gambling is being pushed more than ever before. We should be careful. Stoke's ground was called the Britannia which is a building society I grant you, but at least it sounds OK. From august they are calling it the Bet365 Stadium. If I were a Stoke fan I would be gutted. Talk about selling your soul....

Do you think this is the first time that Kat has ever had a conversation directly with MP?

Managers get slated for having no plan B. You cannot have a plan B unless you have different types of players at your disposal.

Let's be honest Koeman has done a good job but despite losing players he also go plenty to reinvest so he hasn't done it on a shoestring. He is a very good manager but I'm not sure he's done enough at Saints to go from us to what is possibly the world's top managerial post. Perhaps Barca will look beyond that and want him due to his playing career and association with the club, I'm sure he would be a popular appointment. I just wonder if he has the managerial record they would require. I don't think you go from Saints to Barca. You might go from a top 5 club to Barca.