SonicBoom

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.

Something needs to be sorted as you see the same thing where every team who's manager is not going to be there the following year. There's a drop in form and also it makes recruiting much harder. Who will join in the summer if the manager they sign for is not likely to be there for more than one season. It's imperative we clarify Ron's situation this summer. Going into his last 12 months with nothing sorted simply does not work for anyone.

Surely he was another warm body to fill the squad for our European adventure. Martina was another. This all backfired on us when we went out early and we were left with players we didn't really need.

He's just a kid in his first season. He's shown enough to persuade me he can make it. He's also playing for England U21's so he's rated as one of the best 15 or so in his age group in the country. But yeah, you're probably right, he's weak, poor and sh!te. ............

Cant see Fonte moving anywhere or us letting him go. He's settled here and relishes being the captain. Pelle - well it looks like we might be in talks to extend his contract now so who knows. Davis - another that is still performing well but where's he going to go? For him the next step will surely be down so I would think he would want to stay for as long as possible.

Lots of people like "atmosphere" but don't actually want to join in creating it.

I would love to see three in the middle that compliment each other. A DM like Vic or Romeu, someone that moves the ball on quickly like Clasie or Davis, then a genuinely creative player who can support the striker. I really don't think we have this type of player. Someone like a Coutinho or a Willian (yes I know they are out of our price range, it's just an example). I think we've dropped points this season due to the combination we play in the middle. With combinations of Vic, Clasie, Davis , and JWP there just doesn't seem to be any guile. None of them can beat a man. I'd love to see a player there that can beat their man and drive toward the box. Then they could shoot, or play in the striker or even lay it wide once they'd committed a defender to come out to them. Our central midfield is pretty strong in the tackle and can pass reasonably but there is never any penetration. They have to go wide to Tadic, Mane or Targett or whoever, which the opposition know too. I know those players are expensive but they also win you tight games and we simply don't have one.

Well bale is a pretty poor example of Southampton failure isn't he......

Surely morons in society are just spread around the country. They gravitate to the nearest club. We are neither better nor worse than any other club.

Jesus this site is full of moaners. In the course of one hour you've slated mane, Koeman, Pelle, JWP and written off Austin as a waste of money. We could still grab a goal here, you never know.

I think he gets a lot of stick. Always seemed to be a decent guy who speaks well about the club. It should also be remembered that he is Italian. The way he communicates is very dramatic and has lots of arm waving and gestures. That's the way of southern Europeans and I think a lot of fans see it and think he's being difficult. Yes he gets frustrated and sometimes he is having a pop but so what. He's been good for us overall particularly for what we paid for him. Shane seems to be justifying his fee now and I think Pelle overall has justified his. I agree he isn't playing well now but I think there are many factors - not least that we don't get the ball in front of him in the box. He seems to be stranded outside the area with his back to goal. Not his fault and isn't expected to score from there by Ron. It was nice to see Austin however who is prepared to turn and shoot. Pelle will be off soon so let's support him for the rest of the season. I've no doubt he will contribute something if we get behind him. Moaning at players never works anyway.

That's not the Chelsea view that's the analytical view without trying to be biased. They dominated that game. We may well have contained them but we couldn't do it over ninety minutes. You cant blame Pelle. He might have played better but there are still nine or ten players behind him. Sometimes you are beaten by a better team. Today that's what happened.

Pelle cost us the game? Behave. Chelsea smothered us for most of the game because they have class players. We did ok but we simply don't have creative midfielders like hazard and Willian. We have ball winners and passers. They were simply too good. Don't look to dig out your own players. That's a billion pound football team and we aren't. They have that extra class that most don't have.

Careful, the internet has a history of burning it's messengers.....

I thought that. Why would she sell now? Things are going well, revenue is growing and why would you sell a club that holds your father in so much affection? i suppose from a business point of view, now would be a great time to sell, we probably look very attractive. But I think it would be unwise to underestimate the emotional attachment between the club and the Liebherr family. Some clubs tolerate their foreign owners, but would it be too much of a stretch to say that after what Marcus did, we love ours?

Seems odd to take a CM'er and play him RWB when you already have a good player who is a RWB anyway. There may well be some clever tactical reason but it's certainly not apparent.

I so wanted him to be great. But he never was. some neat and tidy things here and there, but he was pretty much the best paid Saints player EVER. I'll let that sink in. With that comes expectation and he was woeful. I can't believe people say "he showed glimpses" or "given more game time he would have been great". He wasn't. Do you honestly think the powers that be, didn't want him to get in the team after spending all that money? I bet they were continually asking the managers whether he was going to be good enough and wanting him to appear in the team. But finally the penny dropped that he simply isn't good enough. An earlier post actually said " he never moaned and always tried". Bloody hell rather than celebrating that, surely that should be the absolute bare minimum of what we could expect!! In a nutshell he came here, wasn't good enough, and walked away three and a half years later having been paid £11 million quid basic salary.

Me neither. Classic case of a guy snatching at chances due to a lack of confidence. He is still making the runs and getting himself in good positions. Must be a nightmare to play against. I think he would have been the difference last night if it wasnt for the fact they have Bellerin who is extremely quick.