Nordic Saint

No rational person could. It's all a bit like the Stepford Wives.

Good, then maybe you can finally stop posting pathetic insults at everyone who disagrees with you. I just clicked on your previous posts and they were all pretty much the same childish stuff. It's ironic that you posted this, isn't it? by Fan The Flames Replies 3,436 Views 535,708 I'm assuming from your user name and your mild aggression that you have a very small ****.

When I saw the fixture list, I thought great, we've got Watford at home in our opening game. We could win that 4-0. This is our chance to go top of the Premier League for the first time in our history. It's a very small milestone I know but one I was looking forward to and it would give us some momentum. I'm still hoping we can pull it off. But, the loss of both Mane and Pelle and the lack of a replacement so far makes it look less likely. Even if we do bring a new striker in, it would probably be too late for him to play in our first game. We seem to have left our pre-season planning and transfer dealings a bit late this year. When last season ended, I couldn't wait for this one to begin and my expectations were that we would finish 5th this season, do well in Europe and possibly even win a cup. I think most fans shared those expectations after the 4-1 win v Palace. Season ticket sales soared and those initial sales before the loss of Koeman, Wanyama, Mane and Pelle, mean that most games will sell out this season. But, after the losses of those key players, as well as the manager some of that optimism was lost. I think this summer could have been handled better by the club. But, I'm still hoping they've got it right and we can pick up this season where we left off in May.

Totally agree. The last 3 seasons we have progressed: 8th, 7th, 6th. So, we should be aiming for 5th this season to maintain that steady progress. I concede that because of our smallish stadium size we only get the 12th biggest gates in the country but we have, apart from a short spell in the late 70s/early 80s and the last few seasons, arguably been throughout our history, for our size, one of the most underachieving clubs in the country. Most clubs of our size have a spell in their history when they win a few trophies. I feel that now is our opportunity to do just that. We should not let it slip away. It might be decades before we get another chance like this.

This is about all there is on him on Google: https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.zerozero.pt/player.php%3Fid%3D418747&prev=search

It's unusual for you not ro resort to personal abuse or the lowest form of wit. But, the improvment is appreciated. What we've seen of his play since he came back from his injury. I like him and think it was a real tragedy that he got injured when he did. But, since he's come back he doesn't look as sharp or as dangerous in front of goal as he was. I really hope he improves.

We seem to be targetting players who are available for 10 million or less and, sadly, nowadays, very few Premier League class players are. We might get lucky with one and a couple of others will probably be disappointments. I wonder to what extent the so-called Black Box decisions were down to Paul Mitchell. Our last really great signing, Van Dijk, was identified during his time here as we had been linked with him for more than a year. I doubt that the likes of Martina, Steckelenburg and Clasie were. Pied and McCarthy seem to have more in common with them. Redmond and Hojbjerg may be good. Let's hope they're in the Van Dijk class. I guess we'll find out this season from how Saints and Spurs respective signings turn out whether the Black Box room, with its videas and scouting reports, is a standalone sytem or whether the head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell, was the really crucial factor. There is still such a massive amount of PL prize/TV money and money from players sold in the kitty that maybe the club will concede it can afford to go up to 20 million for one key player. i think we definitely need one to replace both Mane and Pelle. Based on the available evidence, I can't see Rodriguez and Austin both lasting a full season and in the case of Rodriguez we've seen nothing yet to suggest he's the player he was before he got inhjured..

Give him a break. He's probably been occupied with travel arrangements, settling back in at home and starting training again. I guess Les Reed is the one who decides who gets the PR interviews and photo ops, not Fonte.

A very interesting post and much more persuasive than the posts of those who make sarcastic remarks and hurl personal insults at anyone who has a different point of view to theirs.

Fonte certainly wouldn't be sitting on the bench. He'd be the first choice central defender wherever he went, including Manchester United. As we saw in the European Champoinship finals, central defenders are at their peak in their early 30s, and Fonte is currently one of the best in Europe. Admittedly, the only thing that isn't at its peak at that age is the transfer fee so let's hope we don't decide to cash in for a paltry 10 million. His value to our team is worth much more than that.

Swansea, West Brom and Valencia have all bid for Borja Baston. Whoever wins will get a young striker who was one of the top scorers in La Liga last season. Like Vincent Janssen, he would have been a great buy for us.

That would certainly apply to Kat if she and Les sold Fonte.

Mourinho wants an experienced, world class centre back for Manchester United. Hopefully, we will say no, no matter how much they offer. He is the backbone of our team: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-transfer-news-rumours-8531884

The sums may seem ridiculous compared to what we earn in our everyday lives but it is a professional, not an amateur or even semi-professional sport, and anything which draws worldwide TV audiences, whether it's F1 Grand Prix racing, boxing, tennis or Hollywood movies, generates massive sums of money in commercial revenue. When I started watching football, I never dreamed the day would come when a footballer would cost 1 million, let alone 100 million but that's inflation for you. There are plenty of small amateur teams that would welcome your support if you want to watch players who don't earn lots of money. The owners of professional football clubs, like those of race horses, F1 Grand Prix teams etc are, and always have been, very rich people, who get into it for the fame and the glory it brings them and to compete against other wealthy owners, or in the case of old school owners like Jack Walker to plough some of their wealth back into the local community.

Is there any example of a team which has largely played its own Academy products being successful in the Premier League in recent years? Ia league which features some of the best players from all over the world, an over reliance on young English players could lead to us having a very uncompetitive team. You could see that Koeman did his best to accommodate Targett last season, even playing Bertrand behind him to cover for his defensive inadequacies, but Targett was something of a liability and I was relieved when he was dropped as he was costing us points. Perhaps I'm cynical but I get the impression that the main reason Reed wants our Academy products to feature more in the first team is to get them into the shop window as soon as possible because all of the ones who've been good enough to attract buyers in the past, like Shaw and Chambers, have been sold at the first available opportunity. Although if Ward-Prowse, Gallagher, Reed and Targett had been sold this summer, rather than Mane, Wanyama and Pelle, we'd have had a much stronger squad. I doubt that any other Premier League club considered them good enough to bid for though. Personally, I'd just like to see us field the strongest team possible and that's what Koeman did most of the time last season. Following the sale of Mane and Pelle, we look to be short of a striker. Pity we didn't go for Vincent Janssen but Carlos Bacca and Borja Baston are still available.

He's more athletic than Kelvin Davis and less crippled by injuries than Steckelenberg. But, he doesn't seem to have the mentality to concentrate for a whole game, and the degree of concentration required from a PL goalkeeper is exceptional.

Why do we have to leave transfers to the last minute, when there are several months to sort them out? It might save a bit on the summer wage bill, but it's like saying the pre-season training programme is irrelevant as any player can just walk in at the last minute and play as well as the ones who had the club's pre-season preparation. The club has got lots of money from the sales of Wanyama, Mane and Pelle, not to mention the 100 miillion plus PL money and our first Premier League game is in 2 weeks' time and if you believe the club's hype, 'the Black Box' is supposed to have our targets lined up months, if not years, in advance.

I keep reading reports that Premier League clubs get around 100 million in prize and TV money annually, and Saints seem to make a profit every year in the transfer market. So, where does all this money go? The stock answer on messageboards is that it is all used to pay off Cortese's overspend on the Academy. But, that really doesn't add up. I'd have thought, the club could afford to spend all of the money received in transfer fees plus some of the PL money on players but we don't seem to. My transfer ambition for this summer, stated in a post eraly in this thread, was not to spend a fortune on new players but just to spend what it took to keep last season's best players here, including Mane and Wanyama. Some on here say the only reason players only leave us to get more money so according to that argument we should have had enough money to keep them here.

Barcelona signed him for €34 million, plus €7 million in add-ons, just 1 year ago, and his wages would certainly be more than we're prepared to pay. If he comes to the Premier League, it's more likely to be to another club which spends that sort of money. This speculation reminds me of the Ibramovich rumour.

Good point about playing Cedric farther forward. He could benefit from that the same way Bale did. Cedric has great pace and, although he is an excellent tackler, is a bit short for a defensive role, especially when dealing with high crossfield balls. Cedric in front of Trippier would give us a strong right flank.

I think Paul Black Box Mitchell had Trippier lined up for a move to Saints before he went to Spurs. It's a bit strange that Spurs should already consider him surplus to requirements. But, I still think he'd be a good signing for us. I guess Van Dijk was Mitchell's last signing for us and we were lucky to get him as Spurs decided to take Alderweireld instead. Perhaps Trippier and Dele Alli would have come here around the same time if Mitchell hadn't left. Mitchell's usccess rate is not 100% but he seems to be getting some very good players for Spurs. Janssen and Wanyama are excellent additions.

Not really. He was dropped from Norwich's starting lineup a few times but all of the details are here: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-redmond/leistungsdaten/spieler/129078/plus/0?saison=2013 http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-redmond/leistungsdaten/spieler/129078/plus/0?saison=2014 http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-redmond/leistungsdaten/spieler/129078/plus/0?saison=2015 Players usually improve at Southampton but Redmond's never really shown himself to be much of a goal scorer so I certainly wouldn't expect him to provide anywhere near as many goals as Mane would have this season. But, he certainly should be more than capable of replacing Juanmi. I still hope we bring in a new striker before the end of the summer and it's quite possible we will.

I think he has. But, you are right, Norwich fans have always described him as good but inconsistent. In my opinion he is an excellent signing if he has been bought to replace Juanmi but not as a replacement for Mane. Redmond scored 11 goals in 112 appearances for Norwich and 7 in 62 appearances for Birmingham, so he averages 1 goal every 10 games, which means we shouldn't expect more than 3 or 4 goals a season from him.

He was 29 in January so that will take him throught until he's 33.

No other Premier League club bid for Austin, Pelle, Cedric or Redmond, which is why we managed to get them. We don't get involved in bidding wars. I did wonder at the time, why no other club bid for Austin. After last season we now know why. I actually think that last summer we would have competed with Leicester in the transfer market but now, no chance. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If this season we prove to be the maestros of the transfer market, then great. Our first fixture this season means we have a real chance of going top of the Premier League for the first time ever, even if it is just for one week. How I would love us to get off to a flying start like that and shove that one down Pompey fans' throats. Signing replacements a few days before the opening game won't help us get off to that flying start, even if it does mean we've reduced the summer wage bill.