Nordic Saint

Like a few players who've not really impressed in the Premier League, he's done well in the Euros. But, whenever he's played for Liverpool, he's looked fairly anonymous, to such an extent that I always hoped he'd be in their lineup when they played against us. I can certainly see why they'd want to sell him but not why any top 8 team would want to buy him and I'd expect him to end up at one of he bottom teams like Sunderland, West Brom or Watford or a newly-promoted team and again I'll be happy to see him in the oppostion lineup as he won't make much of an impact.

It's definitely an under armer. You'd think that somone would have pointed out that it looks like they've raised the bra. At least it doesn't have a small, white triangle at the bottom. We should be grateful for small mercies.

That should read Mane, not Pelle, although the fact that further player sales are expected is going to have an effect on season ticket numbers.

Yes, it is ridiculous, especially when they claim: "Starsport have teamed up with Express Trainers to bring you the best possible data on which clubs have attracted the most fans to commit to the cause ahead of the new season. Please note that in most cases the figures are estimates based on thorough research. But, I'm sure fans of other clubs, particularly Pompey, will believe it and quote it endlessly. A quick vist to our official ticket site would have shown them over 20,000 had already been sold 3 weeks ago. I have noticed though that since the departures of Koeman, Wanyama and Pelle, season ticket sales seem to have dried up completely.

Posted less than a month ago, that hasn't turned out too well. I think we'd be pretty excited if we heard right now that we were signing players of the calibre of Mane, Wanyama and Pelle from Premier League rivals. On the plus side, I see Redmond as an upgrade on Juanmi if that's who he's been bought to replace and I'm glad we've got rid of Steckelenburg, especially to Everton

Pelle was clearly petrifed with nerves, as were several other players on both sides. The irony is that the 120th minute substitution of 'penalty taker' Zaza for Chiellini ultimately cost Italy the game. Overall, up until that point, I think Pelle had a very good tournament.

I try to be there for Saints' players England debuts, at least when they are at Wembley, and one of the highlights was watching Rickie Lambert come on and score the winner against Scotland. One of the lows was going to watch England v Northern Ireland in the hope of seeing Channon make his debut. He didn't and England lost 0-1. Soime of us are old enough to remember when international caps were so rare that any player with one had the capital letter of his country printed next to his name in the programme. At one time Terry Paine was the only one in our team with an E, although there was also Stuart Williams with a W and Tommy Traynor with an I. We never could have imagined then that we'd have Italian and Portuguese internationals playing for us. How exotic and glamorous it would have seemed. I guess the real breakthrough was when Spurs got Ardiles and Villa after Argentina won the World Cup. Then foreign stars started to become more commonplace. But the real point is, as Saint Fed, says, that many players are now making their international debuts while they are playing for Saints. You couldn't say the same about many of the 'smaller' Premier League teams.

It's Pellè's 17th cap for Italy tonight and Fonte will get his 15th cap for Portugal on Wedensday, while Cedric should get his 14th then, although, in his case, not all of his caps were in his time with us. Good luck to them all. Let's hope we have a European champion playing for us next season.

Puel's career hasn't been an unqualified success anywhere he's been but Eric Black''s has been an unqualified failure at 5 clubs in a row. Managers do have their ups and downs though. Roy Hodgson did a fantatstic job at Fulham, taking them to their highest ever Premier League finish and a Europa League final whereas Chris Coleman was a failure there, taking them to 16th and being sacked after a 7-game winless run.

Only 2 years ago Puel took Nice to 17th in the French league and his career has taken a turn for the better so I guess Eric Black's could too.

I don't know that much about him but he doesn't seem to be a very popular fellow. The black box must have seen something: http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/06/30/aston-villa-fans-respond-on-twitter-to-eric-blacks-southampton-a/page/1/

I'd rather we went for Krychowiak, who is a stronger version of Schneiderlin.

Cedric is a very skilful player and in ‘the old days’ would have been a great right winger but his small physical stature sometimes causes problems for him in the modern defensive duties of a wing-back, as it did with that high crossfield pass which led to the Poland goal. Fonte looks, as always, like what he is: one of the finest central defenders in Europe. His leadership of the line, positioning and reading of the game are absolute perfection. Watching him play is a masterclass for any aspiring young centre back. Wouldn’t it be great to see Fonte v Pelle in the final?

He started his coaching career as a physical fitness coach and he does look very fit for his age: definitely in better shape than Koeman. I must admit I'd never heard of him until he was linked with us so I'll keep an open mind and hope for the best. If he can stop the club selling any more players and start our season with a win against Watford, he'll have got off to a flyer. It would be great if we could maintain the last few seasons' progress and finish 5th.

"Samuel was voted Sports Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2007 and 2013, Sports Journalist of the Year at the SJA Sports Journalism Awards in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2013, Sports Journalist of the Year at the 'What The Papers Say' awards in 2002, 2005 and 2006 and Sports Commentator of the Year at the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards in 2014. In 2012, Samuel was named top in a UK Press Gazette poll of Britain's best sports journalists. In January 2015, he was named in Debrett's List of the 500 Most Influential People in Britain." Samuel is usually very pro-Saints, but he is a very good judge of managers and doesn't think Puel is good enough for us.

So, effectively, he destroyed Lyon's dominance of the French league and his career has never really recovered from that disaster. Even ex-Pompey manager, Alain Perrin was more successful there.

One very good bit of news: Koeman is trying to take Steckelenburg with him to Everton. Good f---ing riddance. You are welcome to him. Wrap this deal up quickly, Les, before Ron changes his mind.

Please, Les, don't sell Pelle. We fans need our heroes more than Kat needs our money.

The best of him is yet to come. Like Bale, he'll be worth double that when Real Madrid come calling.

This applies even more to our star player, Mane, who still has 2 years left on his contract and is still improving, especially after the club's PR leaked that he wanted to stay now that Koeman has left. They can't have it both ways.

Puell had one good season as a manager, with Monaco in 1999/2000, but hasn't won anything for 16 years. His win percentage in the last 4 years at Nice is just 39%. He looks very much like an average manager in decline. Nobody else wants him so he'll be cheap and prepared to take orders from Reed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Ligue_1

Saints' fastest player: http://talksport.com/football/fastest-footballers-premier-league-according-201516-season-data-160626200973?p=0

Fonte and Cedric were excellent. With a defence that good, Portugal could go all the way.

"The FA and England In 1998 Reed rejoined the FA as part of the England national coaching setup under Kevin Keegan. During Euro 2000, Keegan allowed Reed to respond to virtually all the tactical questions posed by the English press after England's defeat by Portugal. Many journalists wondered in their columns how a manager and his coaching team had allowed a minor member of their entourage such an important role. In his autobiography, Gerrard: My Autobiography, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said that he had "no respect" for Les Reed after the way he treated him during England's Euro 2000 campaign. Gerard wrote, "To this day, I have no respect for Reed" In 2002 Reed replaced Howard Wilkinson as the FA's Technical Director. During his second spell at the FA he authored the FA's official coaching manual, The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching ,but he was sacked by the FA in 2004. Charlton Athletic Reed worked for a time as a consultant. He returned to Charlton to become Iain Dowie's assistant manager in summer 2006. Dowie was sacked on 14 November 2006 and Reed was promoted to replace him. During his six-week spell as manager Reed managed just one victory, and Charlton were knocked out of the League Cup by Football League Two side Wycombe Wanderers. Reed's spell at Charlton became infamous, as the media attacked him frequently, nicknaming him "Les Misérables" and "Santa Clueless",[8] and he was later voted in an unofficial online poll "the worst manager of all time". He was replaced as manager by Alan Pardew on 24 December, leaving Charlton Athletic by mutual consent. Reed is a cuckoo in the nest. He was brought in by Cortese and he was the first one he stabbed in the back. One way or another, since then he has got rid of nearly all the people who were responsible for the club's success over the last few years: the players, the managers, the coaches and the staff. Now, he is getting credit for their work, especially that of the managers, the head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell and the Academy coaches, Dodd and Williams. Gradually he seems to have assumed more and more power in the club until it has now reached the stage where he decides which players we buy and sell and tries to get involved in team selection. Pride comes before a fall.

Rudi Garcia et Claude Puel ont rencontré les dirigeants de #Southampton. L'ancien coach romain a décliné l'offre. (L'Equipe) #PL 7:26 AM - 19 Jun 2016 · Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, France Selon @lequipe, les dirigeants de Southampton ont rencontré Claude Puel et Rudi Garcia, qui lui a décliné l'offre. http://m.goal.com/s/fr/news/33/transferts/2016/06/19/24787922/rudi-garcia-refuse http://www.wynfoot.fr/actualites/categorie/roma/70837590?t=rudi_garcia_refuse_so