Dusic

Exactly. He was a PL no1 keeper, well established and in the prime years of his career and I'm sure his pay reflects that status. Why on earth anyone thinks he would have even considered agreeing to take a pay cut is beyond me and I am equally sure Saints would not have suggested he take a pay cut.

Bradford is a good move for him as I think he is absolutely awful. Seems credible that we are going to be in for Gavin Bazunu. Good GK bt all accounts and 10 caps for Ireland aged 20. How much would City let him go for, with a buyback option? £10m?

If Saints genuinely haven't told Forster he is being released then thats a bit poor after such long service. I am sure he knows exactly what the situation is. It was obvious as soon as McCarthy signed his extension as the whole issue was that we had two keepers on big wages which is stupid for a club our size. Despite the usual wallies on here saying McCarthy probably took a pay cut he clearly would not have. The signing of a new GK is massive and needs to be right. As it stands McCarthy very likely to start next season as no1 but a good new keeper will surely pressure him pretty quickly. Caballero staying as no3 seems a logical move.

Considering we are just 5pts off the top half and havent been in the relegation scrap all season is the same position really all that bad? The only team we have outspent over the last two or three seasons who is above us is Brentford. Everyone else has spent more, and even in the case of some middle table sides considerably more. In the summer does anyone really think we will financially compete with Villa, Newcastle, Leicester, Wolves, West Ham, Everton? If not then why do you feel we should be finishing above any of those sides?

Ramsay and Vokins should both be sold or loaned out again, for their own benefit. Neither will make it in the PL, both should have decent careers - Vokins has the higher potential of the two. IMO need to be more ruthless with these and the likes of N'Lundulu. They have already been replaced.

Radical but IMO go back to selecting our best team with the players available: Forster KWP---Bednarek---Salisu---Perraud ----------Romeu-----JWP Armstrong---------------Redmond ------Adams-------Broja-------- Only decisions for me would be whether to put Stephens in for Bednarek and Tella possibly instead of Broja. Otherwise picks itself in this formation. If we do change formation I would go 4-3-3 and stuck Armstrong in the middle and go with Tella and Redmond either side of Adams. We rarely do well with 3 CBs, why pick one more than we need as 3 of them are poor and the other out of form?

No coincidence that the good spell was also Broja's good spell. He was our difference maker even when not scoring (WH & MU away for example) and as soon as his form tailed off so did our points.

Leaving for Leicester according to Ornstein. Not determined if before or after the summer. Plausible that Sport Republic aren't overly bothered as want their own people working to their recruitment models.

What a big miss Guehi was. And I say miss but we were massive fans of him but just couldnt afford it. Him and Salisu would be a great pairing and future proofed for sales. For me the priority is obvious for summer: No 1: no 10 - need more goals & assists than Redmond and Elyounoussi offer No 2: Striker - either Broja or someone else No 3: Centre Back - to come straight into the starting XI...Tarkowski on a free anyone? No 4: Goalkeeper - bin off Forster and MacCarthy and get a new no1 and no2 with Caballero as no3. No 5: Right back - Valery is unselectable there so need a short term KWP backup Would be astonished if anyone disagreed...its so obvious.

Nice post ruined by the crass final paragraph.

https://twitter.com/TheSecretScout_/status/1519246974322675713 The ACL is the other knee though, so not sure how valid a point this really is.

These kind of relegated team signing lists get posted every year and every year we sign or go after none of them. Its like some of you totally disregard everything Ralph, Semmens and Crocker say about our transfer policy and the type of players we target. Surely by now you have worked it out?!

Tough for him and tough for Saints as now need some kind of RB cover for the first half of next season when we thought full back had been sorted.

Any idea why? Can only assume he feels he should have had more first team exposure? Brave move...would be interesting to see where he ends up.

On his way out this summer? Still no contract, had skippered the U23s but not even in the squad for tonight's game. Could be injury/illness but clearly a reason for him not signing a new deal til now.

Has to be 4-2-2-2 and IMO this is our best team in that shape: -------------Forster------------ Tino--Bednarek--Salisu--KWP --------JWP------Romeu------ Stu---------------------Redmond --------Broja------Adams------- Personally am amazed how many would pick Lyanco. I know Bednarek has dipped in form for a while but away from home he is still miles more reliable than Lyanco who looks a very jurys out signing to me. From this lineup only Perraud (very) and Moi (slightly) are unlucky to miss out.

Anyway, away from all this Broja nonsense, better for us if Burnley stay up and Everton go down so lets hope this shitshow is a big contributor to that at least.

The 3 CBs doesnt work for us. Our weakest position is CB, so why pick one more than we need to? We are at our best when we have two high energy strikers and get our full backs forward. The 3 CBs takes away both of those and also nulifies Armstrong. Poor selection tonight as well as performance. I think Ralph should have brought on Adams after about 30mins.

We were on a clear path to relegation when Ralph came in. We are now comfortably midtable whilst having an extremely low net spend and always selling our best players. Thats a better than average job.

Clearly Everton, Newcastle and Villa are in a different league financially. Our direct competitors are the likes of Brighton, Palace, possibly Wolves and Leeds. That in itself shows how hard it is to improve on where we are...for a club like ours the first priority will always be to stay in the league. However, it doesnt always take ludicrous cash to improve a position. For example not crazy to suggest we could have signed Jose Sa, Guehi or Raphinha who would all hugely have improved our side. Indeed we did sign KWP and Salisu who arguably fit that kind of level - KWP certsinly does. We need 2/3 good signings to give ourselves a chance to improve.

Simple question but no obvious answer. Is it even realistic to ask for more given relative resources vs PL rivals? Clearly strikers make a huge difference and its no coincidence that our best form this season has been when Broja has been at his most productive performance and goals wise. IMO if we look at positions I would judge as follows: GK - can improve. Forster has been better than McCarthy but is still so stiff in movement and is clearly not the sweeper keeper Ralph wants. The decision to extend McCarthy's deal already looks a mistake. Full back - strong area, keeping what we have will be an achievement Centre Back - we have one really good CB, despite Salisu's recent wobbles. Bednarek is hit and miss and perhaps is coming to a natural end at Saints despite having overall been a good signing. IMO Lyanco is the issue...neither he nor Stephens really put any pressure on Bednarek. Considering we were following Guehi and then signed Lyanco it shows how big a gap there is from Salisu to Lynaco and Stephens...and it shows. One of them needs moving on in the summer to improve in this position with a starting player. Centre Mid - lets be honest there wil be more interest in JWP this summer and surely if a top 6 club really move for him then he would (and should) go. His partnership eith Romeu is generally great and a strength kof our side. Diallo in 18mths hasn't shown that he is ready to be a PL starter and Smallbone isnt strong enough to play there. Investment needed. No 10 - alongside CB our weakest area. Armstrong is good, but can't deal with 3 games a week and all the others are flaky. Moi has shown more this season but IMO still not enough to be a nailed starter each week. Djenepo is obviously on his way out and I'm sure an agreement could be reached with Walcott as no point having a glittering career and ending it like this. Big opportunity here and should be #1 focus if we are to improve. Striker - tough one as so much depends on Broja. Keep him in some form and our four (Broja, Adams, Armstrong, Tella) are fine. If, as expected, he isnt here next season then its a massive gap and even to stand still will need a shrewd signing that has a near immediate impact. Whilst Adams was poor in much of his first season he improved at the end of the season...can Armstromg do the same? If its clear Broja won't be here next year will we give AA a run for the last few games? So much depends on Broja and for both parties a second loan makes so much sense...but football is not based on sense! In the background...is Tella actually good enough? Doesn't have the required composure to be a good striker IMO. Handy option for now but not one we can rely on and I wouldn't stske much on him being a PL.player in four or five years time. Summary - very hard to improve but keys areas are GK, CB and No10.

Pretty fucking obvious that a team like Saints will be in better form when a striker is playing well and scoring vs when they are not. The same as almost every team outside the top 6. We know enough about Ralph's football to realise the way we play is very effective when we are on it and from time to time is very open to a big defeat when we are not at the level, like today. This isn't any different and isn't a sign of anything bigger.

Imagine at some stage in the future he will look back at the last 3 years in embarassment. Very, very few players at any club are afforded such legendary status and ruining it to the extent of having to stand down as an ambassador is quite something.

Sad to see his radicalisation over the last couple of years. Probably started by having too much time on his hands and then doubled down instead of admitting he was wrong. Where will it end?!

You do realise that we cannot sign him until the summer, even if we actually want him at all?