Dusic

Moffi now being linked with Newcastle. Think it will be hard to get him and if we somehow do it will be right near the end of the window. Interesting comments from Jones that its not necessarily a no9 that we want. Ankersen was away yesterday so potentially was at the Lorient game the other day.

Nearly every question he gets asked is negative so the reason he comes across as defensive is because he is defending himself. I don't mind it, shows he has some balls and belief in himself. He has been hugely and disrespectfully slagged off by lots of Saints fans and the media. He has a right of reply and is using it. End of story and hopefully everyone can move on as he just managed our best performance for a long time.

Speaking to the club media after the game yesterday he was very clear that more will happen, and it didnt sound like only one. He said he had asked the owners for support (on transfers) and they were providing the requested support and that the rest of January will be very important.

I like the spikiness of the interviews. He is a human, who after presumably being very excited at having earned the best opportunity of his career was being given some brutal and personal stick. If he wasnt affected by that it would be odd. The key for me is that the players seemed to have a genuine connection with him at the end. I think that is hard to fake. We may lose on Saturday, but its clear he will be here to stay so hopefully this win kicks us on, and I'm pleased for him.

On RB, we only have one available RB at the moment, plus AMN. There is surely a big question mark over whether Livramento will play more than a minor part this season and I'm not sure NJ is sold on Perraud either so might be looking to move KWP over to the left perhaps? Also pretty sure Karsdorp was linked in the last window. Equally, the clubs priority I am sure is a striker, its not a linear process where they can only enquire about one player or position at a time. I am sure they want Moffi, but also don't want to pay €25m as they don't think that he is currently worth that and/or paying that would mean not being able to sign another player in a different position. Negotiations are not just one sided, and equally our targets may wish to wait and see which clubs come in for them as the window progresses, we are bottom of the league and likely to get relegated of course. I'm sure we will get a striker, and also if we use Orsic in a good way he should add a significant goal threat too. Based on our other activity so far I think its fair to say they are really trying to make this a good window for us, and obviously it has to be.

This is incorrect. The comment about balance was in the context of transfers and whether our policy has changed or not. NJ was saying that it hasnt overall but that a balance between youth and experience is needed, and that over the next two/three weeks and the signings we make people will see that. I get people don't like the bloke but please be accurate!

Excellent appointment. SR obviously not flavour of the month at the moment but a good sign to be able to make quality off field appointments. Shields was a good move hence he was stolen by Chelsea so soon. Wilcox by all accounts has done a great job with the City academy, albeit well funded. Knows the workings of a successful multi club structure too.

Yes, sensible approach given the model. Jason Wilcox would be a great appointment, he is very highly regarded and well versed in this from the CFG.

Tanswell on TSP said Jackon's injury wouldn't be an issue and seemed to think it was very close, loan with an option. Keane would surely wait til after we have played Everton. Obviously when it first came out about Akpom being of interest it seemed odd, but watching some of his recent goals and assists for Boro he does actually look like a good player (not just a goalscorer). Imagine he is seen as probably a more realistic option to Moffi price wise. Obviously not a signing that screams staying up ambition but wonder if anyone who is slagging him has ever seen anything of him?

Team will be interesting. Specifically, will Lavia be risked ahead of Saturday? Imagine it will be: ----------------Baz----------------- ----Lyanco----DCC----Salisu----- KWP------------------------Perraud ----JWP---Lavia or AMN-----Moi--- ---------Che------Arma---------

FFS, its pretty fucking obvious from that clip that Adams is giving Jones some encouragement after an important win (given the context) rather than slagging him off which would be utterly bizarre anyway, especially at that specific moment. Whether the players rate him or not, I'm sure they feel bad that he is getting pelters from the fans partly (at least) because of their own errors, Adams included. I find some of the chanting against Jones to be pretty classless really. Yes there are massive question marks over him, but the point is valid that he took over a team that was amomgst the very worst of the 92 league clubs in 2022. IMO he will get a chance to show what difference can be made with a few new signings and after being appointed about 5 games ago then really thats the least he deserves. If his appointment turns out to be a big error then that error is on Ankersen and the club, not on Jones himself. Its clear he is an emotional type, which isn't neccessarily a bad thing. I think, as hard as it is, fans should cut him a little slack and see what happens over the next few games. Certainly getting onto him before HT in games we are only a goal down in does nobody any favours. I see a team that is short on confidence (no suprise), makes mistakes (as we have for ages) and short on quality (as we all know). Not one that doesn't run or put any effort in. Jones clearly knows there needs to be massive improvement, lets see if he can deliver it. I think our chances at home especially will only be enhanced by being open minded that it might get better rather than booing at the first misplaced pass from a player either short on quality, confidence or both.

€30m seems very steep but then again we are totally desperate which every club knows. Good strikers are in very short supply (Weghorst supposedly going on loan to Utd proves that). Because we fucked up in the summer we will probably need to overpay in January to get what we want. Orsic should make a big difference but we still badly need a central striker and I am still suprised this hadn't been lined up for 1st Jan. I think in this position it will go deep into January.

Moffi would be ideal. 6'2 but also mobile, used to shouldering goalscoring burden and good underlying stats for the last couple of seasons. Obviously difficult to persuade targets to join given our league position though.

Strong team, sensible to rest KWP and Lavia. Assume its a back 3 with AMN at RWB but could be a back 4 with Lyanco at RB. Lets hope for a marked improvement as I don't think Jones will be sacked regardless. For those slagging off the selection, genuinely why?

What a shame he isn't joining with 5 or 6 more points on the board and a more realistic chance of staying up. From his interview video he seems like a good character too. Hopefully he has the immediate impact we did. Will be interesting to see where Jones uses him, perhaps in a front two with Adams? Surely not LWB... ------- Orsic has given an exclusive interview on leaving here: https://www.germanijak.hr/nogomet/vijesti/mislav-orsic-ekskluzivno-za-germanijak-poruke-dinamovaca-sam-citao-sa-suzama-ali-nekada-covjek-mora-donijeti-teske-odluke-i-nema/108128 Some interesting snippets, including: Southampton officially announced their interest in Mislav Oršić a few days before the New Year . They gave him a few days to think and organized a video conference. And that's where they bought it. "The owner of the club and the coach were there. They presented me with the whole story, showed me a video that really impressed me. They drew my matches and goals, showed me what I was doing well and what they expected me to continue. I was really blown away when I watched it and how studiously they prepared ," Mislav Oršić told us in an exclusive interview for Germanijak . He claims that this made his decision easier and that it was the turning point when he realized that he wanted to continue in England .

Was covered after the game the other night, there is a video of it on YT. Seems they have done a lot of these over xmas, I guess it makes sense logistically as everyone is already there, but it does make it hard to know exactly when some of the quotes you see are taken from and also high emotions from the game thats just happened. Difficult to know how to apprpach this game. Realistically given schedule, injuries and our league position we should be resting KWP, JWP and Adams but also Jones knows he so badly needs a win so will probably play them. Another reason it would have been handy to have a couple of new lads in. Surely it was feasible to have signed Orsic on Jan 1st? He could have played both of these Jan games.

If we don't have a striker in befofe the Everton game then its mismanagement of a Sport Republic level.

We have 12 points from 18 games and are sleepwalking to relegation. Someone like Michael Keane is what will be on offer in a January window and in some ways wouldn't be awful. Obviously Everton wouldn't want a loan but on a perm deal for a cheap fee he might be decent. He is 29, has something to prove but in the past has been a decent player and certainly a goal threat. He also clearly needs a move. Considering its not impossible that all of Salisu, ABK, Lyanco and DCC leave in the summer, and as a minimum two of those four will, Keane would be in theory a very good Championship CB and certainly an improvement on Lyanco for the short term.

Presumably as its a permanent Orsic would sign a 2 or 3 yesr deal. He will obviously know there is a decent chance of relegation so perhaps would be willing to play in the Championship. Surely he would be very effective at that level.

This obsession with a formation we don't have the players for will be a substantial factor in our relegation. Ralph wasted a whole pre season on it and Jones was probably recruited because of it and wasted the WC break trying to implement it. I would imagine its Ankersen's favourite...

Tanswell just did a Q&A on IG Live. Nothing ground breaking but brief summary: Orsic - lots of stuff coming from the Dinamo end. Saints ideally want players under 27 and will only go above that for right player and right price. More clarity likely in coming days. Moffi - Player Saints definitely like, high up on list and seen as good fit and a do-able transfer Alcaraz - definitely a realistic option Lavia - thinks he stays this window Got a story out next week about recruitment at Saints, said its changed a lot.

Sounds like with Orsic if we want to sign him then we will. Worth considering that there are probably multiple players of the same position being negotiated for at any one time which potentially impacts the timeframes whilst they assess which deal to actually do and how that then has a knock on for which targets in other positions become affordable/unaffordable because of it. Also its too simplistic to just look at a fee and decide if its a good or bad offer. Usually the devil is in the detail around the terms, add ons and number of payment installments. There also must be a reason why no PL sides have moved for Orsic til now, aside from the failed West Brom and Burnley moves...I guess from a league perspective its a big step up for a 30 year old thats been used to playing in a winning team.

Positionally it would seem Orsic is very similar to Edozie, comes in onto his right foot from the left side. Wonder whether Edozie could be effective from the right, or whether they would end up sharing minutes? Vital to have good sub options and Edozie is certainly one of those if he doesn't start. Also, for balance, Ed Aarons tweeted yesterday to say Wolves want Alcaraz and that he would cost around £17m, so there are likely a few PL sides in for him. Since Brexit lots of teams have beefed up scouting in South America, lots of bargains to be had as proven by Brighton. Also....

https://www.germanijak.hr/nogomet/vijesti/orsic-nije-s-momcadi-u-rovinju-odlazi-u-klub-s-dna-premiershipa-ovaj-tjedan-na-lijecnickom/108001 Good player and importantly, good goal record for a wide player. Seems like a deal that would make sense as probably affordable to keep if we do go down. Article says he has not travelled for a training camp due to transfer talks but does say sources in England think there is a medical this week, although haven't seen any UK reports of that.

If Alcaraz is top of our shortlist for a midfieldernplayer then lets hope we actually pay the cash and get him! Re Ings, I would be all over that. Proven PL striker with no time needed to settle in. We know he works well with Adams, would be a great signing.