The9

No, it's because we weren't a particularly enticing prospect for parents of talented kids when we were ruining careers by playing kids in 2007/8, or in administration, or kicking around in L1. So there's a gap from those years, plus we've already promoted and sold the likes of Shaw (age 20) and Chambers (20). In addition, we are still producing players to a certain level - we are playing Ward-Prowse (21) and Targett (20), and have a few others like Reed and Gallagher who would have been regulars if we were still a L1 or Championship side, but we're a top half Prem side with European ambitions, so the bar is higher and those who might have been ok for lower levels aren't getting the games they would have if the club wasn't doing much better than it was when they were going through the system.

The "Long to Liverpool" headlines (according to my sources ) are entirely fabricated by Alex Crook.

Might as well do the whole lot: 1 England GK Kelvin Davis - not in contention 2 Portugal DF Cédric Soares 3 Japan DF Maya Yoshida - not in Europe 4 Netherlands MF Jordy Clasie - did not qualify 5 Romania DF Florin Gardoș - will go if fit 6 Portugal DF José Fonte 7 Republic of Ireland FW Shane Long 8 Northern Ireland MF Steven Davis 9 England FW Jay Rodriguez - needs fitness and form 10 Senegal MF Sadio Mané - not in Europe 11 Serbia MF Dušan Tadić - did not qualify 12 Kenya MF Victor Wanyama - not in Europe 14 Spain MF Oriol Romeu - not in contention, unlikely 15 Curaçao DF Cuco Martina - not in Europe 16 England MF James Ward-Prowse - argument ensues but personally I can't see it 17 Netherlands DF Virgil van Dijk - did not qualify 18 England MF Harrison Reed - not in contention 19 Italy FW Graziano Pellè 20 Spain FW Juanmi - not in contention, unlikely 21 England DF Ryan Bertrand 22 Netherlands GK Maarten Stekelenburg (on loan from Fulham) - did not qualify 23 Uruguay MF Gastón Ramírez - not in Europe 24 England DF Jack Stephens - not in contention 25 Argentina GK Paulo Gazzaniga - not in Europe 28 England FW Charlie Austin 33 England DF Matt Targett - not in contention 38 England MF Sam McQueen - not in contention 40 England FW Sam Gallagher - not in contention 44 England GK Fraser Forster 45 England FW Ryan Seager - not in contention Basically aside from the already capped players in bold who are likely to be going, the others who have any kind of chance are: Austin Romeu Rodriguez Ward-Prowse I think Reed's a bit on the unlikely side, along with Targett and Juanmi needing a load of injuries and an outstanding run in a good Saints side for a call up.

I remember the phrase "don't mug him off with a 'y' " on at least one occasion on here before.

This pretty much tells you all you need to know about how people want to perceive news when they've decided to prejudge it as good, (or bad or controversial if they happen to be a really dull troll).

FWIW I have assumed that our flexibility on the Caulker relocation helped close the Austin one, not least because we might have only paid the reported £4m because we were owed 6 months loan fee for Caulker.

I do wish you'd pay attention. There are a few teams in the Prem playing 2 up top to counter others' overly-defensive tactics (defensive tactics including 4-2-3-1) - we could play Austin up top on his own, alongside Pelle or Long, in a front 3, or as part of an attacking 4, if we wanted. Pelle could feature alongside Austin in about half of those formations.

Looks like we're doing the "sign players now for wages which look big now but will look small when the new TV deal kicks in", I'm all for that. Also a useful addition now many more sides are going with 2 up top again, as well as just having a few weeks of playing without Pelle, compared to previous occasions where he was linked when he'd have been a Pelle replacement and we'd have had to use one or the other, or played him as an AM. Great value.

His remaining contract term is 2 years less than when we signed him for £12m.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and the ear cup, rarely used but to maximum effect.

He also used to nick Thierry Henry's knee slide, except with his arms out.

I think it was more that 1) people knew we were rubbish and had low expectations 2) the only people going were happy to watch L1 football in the first place. The precious entitled ones who insist on winning every match have generally already jumped ship by then.* *NB website presence does not indicate match presence, before someone mentions Alpine's endless negativity even in L1.

I think you overestimate the impact of matchday revenue, as no doubt every other person has said on this thread already. It's less than half of the club's income and will be even less from next season. It literally doesn't make a difference whether fans turn up or not.

3 CBs for the opposition's 2 up front. The fact that teams with 4 at the back and 1 vaguely defensive midfielder coped with 2 strikers for most of the period from 1970s-early 2000s seems to go unnoticed with this kind of stuff.

Bertrand was basically playing centre midfield second half against Liverpool, I should think he was probably asking for some guidance. That team was an unnecessarily desperate attempt to drag back a 2 goal deficit, a real glitch. The squad needs to be flexible - teams playing 2 up top and the change in our personnel means the things we were successful at last season won't always work, but if anything he changed it too soon due to the delay in getting VVD in and is still too optimistic sometimes when 2 DMs would be a better choice (Wanyama effort level aside).

He'll be good in the air, decent at marking and positionally, and too slow in possession, I should think.

I assume the article says "because we have absolutely no centre backs and he's a centre back, he's not cuptied for the Europa League, he's played in the division, we don't have to commit to anything other than wages until May, and there's no way he's worse than Ilori after how he looked like against Exeter, FFS".

Lisa, I want to buy your rock.

Teams haven't been assigned random numbers since at least 1986, when I read about the process in that season's FA Cup Final programme. I think they may have mentioned the draw format was unchanged since the 3rd Division split into North and South in that article (and remains so, give or take one or two quirks with the numbers of teams in the divisions).

Found his level, better than L2 but not Championship level, and certainly never getting near the Premier League. Amusing how quickly people forget how good you have to be to play in the Prem regularly when they watch rubbish every week - I remember completely freaking out when England and Ireland's U21s played at St Mary's because of how much quicker the game was than the guff Saints were serving up in the Championship at the time. We'd just taken Irish U21 Stephen O'Halloran on loan from Villa back then (future career 13 games for Coventry, 5 for Carlisle, then a season at Nuneaton, 78 games for Stockport and on to Salford) and it was clear he was way out of his depth in that International (and subsequently in his one appearance with Saints). If you're not good enough, you're not good enough.

I must have forgotten the bit where they rebuilt the entire Fratton End in response to the Taylor Report, almost certainly using money from said fund.

Keeping up my 100% attendance record... in threads about fans' matches. Definitely won't be playing. If it wasn't for the 18 month retirement from playing, it would be that I'll be on the way to York v Newport (or some other northern outpost if it gets called off).

We do still have a stronger squad, but when the team isn't as good (as we've been saying all along) you're only going to be as good as the best that team can be, which is still not as good as last season's side, or the year before's overall. What it might be, is better than either of those teams when they have 4 or 5 starters missing, but that's not really the thing that wins you games.

Unfortunately the core of that side is now overpaid divas who play for someone else.

Fairly sure U21 games don't count.