Chez

No I don't think Dragen is going to throw in the towel, but that doesn't mean our financial situation is all rosey in the garden. As I understand it, Dragen used a loan to help buy the club - which is pretty standard these days. The question is, do we know if he is paying it back personally out of his own funds or will it be similar to the Glaziers with the club paying it back? We will have to wait until 2024 to see the accounts before we know how the £130m of transfers have been funded. Has that money come from a shareholder loan or another bank loan to add to the £70m we already had?

1. Worst Player of the Season. - Rather than someone like Moi, who has played a lot, I want to say all the players that couldn't get in this side. How shit must they be...Amstrong, Lyanco et al. 2. Worst Manager. Jones, but not by much. 3. Worst Team Performance of the Season. - Forest was a complete shit show. Not seen anything like that at SMS before. But Villa away was horrific too. And Leeds away. Brentford away was pretty bad... 4. Most Embarrassing Moment. - Losing to Grimsby and then Adam's missed chance. 5. Biggest Player Disappointment. - So many to choose from. Aribo, closely followed by DCC perhaps. I had hoped both would be better. Bazunu and Osic not far behind. KWP has been pretty disappointing compared to his very high standards. Salisu is another that hasn't been terribly impressive. Only Lavia comes out of this season with any kudos (still time for Alcaraz and Sulemana to join him), although JWP was flying at one point. 6. Who is responsible for this shit show. - the players and whoever employed them. The scouts and whoever employed the scouts. The managers and whoever employed the managers.

like he did at West Ham do you mean?

More likely buy and loan to another prem club, or even abroad. No point in loaning him to a Championship side as that would be a backwards step for him.

I agree with this, but when he is brought on, the players need to adjust what they do - i.e. go longer and a bit more hopeful and a little less measured.

It will sound daft after the nightmare we have had this season, but getting talented youngsters on loan from the top Prem sides often pays dividends. Burnley have benefited this season from several loans from Man City for example. I'd like any new manager coming in from abroad, should that be the case, to be bringing some gems with him, be them youngsters or senior players. Again Burnley have benefitted from the Belgium talent that Kompany brought with him I think buying some more south Americans, especially from Argentina where there is no money, makes sense. There seems to be plenty of young talent. Whether a Championship club can attract them, I'm not sure.

Likewise. I don't think he was the right signing either. How earth a side with a £115m wage bill ends up with the four keepers we have beggars belief.

not sure which is worse, the hangover from the game or the beer. It was all very predictable I suppose. In fact I am pretty sure I watched the exact same game against Palace at SMS last season. I thought we played OK in the first half, but one of the Walcott and Sulemana (an absolute powder puff shot in a great position) chances has to go in. I thought Aribo tried hard to get involved, but sometimes he ended up dropping too deep leaving us with little up front. There was one decent move and cross from the right, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was the kind of cross Onuachu begged for when he came on (but never got). At least he moved around in this game, but he's not a striker and never will be. One issue (among many) I noticed was the difficulty ABK has distributing the ball. He's a right footer playing on the left side and it causes all kind of problems. He looks uncomfortable there and needs to move to the right side. No idea who plays beside him. We had a similar problem with KWP playing on the wrong side. He's done well there in the past, but was pretty ineffective yesterday. I don't blame Selles for starting him ahead of Perraud though. The goal really changed the game. Afterwards we literally couldn't get the ball off Palace and they looked invigorated and full of confidence. It should have been 0-3 really. We were slightly unlucky Alcaraz's shot didn't go in. I was sat right behind it and it looked in all the way. It wouldn't have mattered. As usual we faded. Onuachu looked a complete donkey, but as others have said, we didn't put a single cross into him. Not one. Our inability to change our style/approach when he comes on is an issue. So too is not having a single player that can cross a ball.

He really is exciting to watch, but his powder puff shooting and inability to stay on his feet frustrated me yesterday.

you are absolutely right. I'm a very poor man's MLG. Hajtu and KK did sign in the summer of 2005. My mistake. KK's loan fee was £400k though, according to transfermarkt

Not seen that. Tell me more. Where and when? I guess if you are not being picked, as he hasn't been, by and large, by all three managers, then it's understandable you'd be looking at other options going forward. I see your point though. The optics are not great. However, if he has been putting the effort in in training, and doing his job and being professional, there is nothing for Selles (or anyone else) to call him out about. He's perfectly entitled to go on holiday. So long as he hasn't gone AWOL.

The difference? KWP is contracted until 2025, works hard in training, gives his all in games and thus gets picked. Absolutely no reason for anyone to call him out on a lack of commitment. So no one has. I would imagine his agent handles contract negotiations by the way. Also, not signing a longer term contract doesn't mean the player is are not committed right now. And for Selles, that's all that matters. The here and now. There will be little concern at the moment about whether KWP signs a new deal. Premiership survival is the sole focus.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23456230.southamptons-selles-responds-report-salisu-commitment-issue/ Selles says he's injured. However, he doesn't shut down the story by denying there is any issue with his commitment that might have/will lead to him not being selected. He could easily have just said: "I don't know where that story came from. Salisu is fully committed, but sadly he is injured." Instead he says: "“Salisu unfortunately is not available for us, so the issues for the attitude will be for the players who are with us working and trying to compete for the win.” I read that as: `his commitment sucks, but it doesn't really matter right now, as he's out injured anyway'. Or it's just a language thing.

Quashie wasn't signed from a Championship side. He was playing for the Skates, in the Prem. Saggy brought him across, fueling the fire even more, and costing us about £3m. He was a crab. And he was crap. He went down with us, then down with West Brom the following season. He did play for us in the Championship in 05/06 for a bit, before joining WBA. I say `played', I recall seeing him standing on the halfway line with hands on hips, watching on and not giving two monkeys as QPR ran through our defence and scored, because he knew he was off. Good riddance. Fucking useless cunt.

Jesus, that's an ugly transfer window. Actually, Jesus, along with Hajto joined in the January window not that summer. KK didn't join until the following summer and cost about £400k.

bite and pace? Blimey, he's a changed man since his loan at Stoke then, because he was slow and weak as piss when he left us.

The club wont have intentionally leaked this. Not in their interest to paint a bad picture about a player they may need to play games or to make money on. It's much more likely the source is a player or someone else in the club saying things they shouldn't. Bad news though, as its likely true, which means we wont see him play again.

yes. There were 3000 Saints fans in unison putting heads in hands.

Wilson is going to Forrest? Fucking joy. Can't wait to tell my brother in law what a genius they have landed.

...we will be in the championship, so it wont effect us. Obviously the existing shirt sponsorship value will drop massively in the championship.

Unless that money is needed to balance the books. £165m of debt according to my fag packet calculations, with a significant drop in income that may not get remotely close to covering expenditure next season. I wouldn't bank on there being great funds to buy players, even if we do sell at decent prices.

they gave us hope right until the end as we won a few games and scored some goals. I never gave up on them, unlike with this current side. I have absolutely no faith in them finding a grove/way of scoring and winning games. None at all. Relegation in 2005 was much more of a `surprise'. It didn't feel like we were heading that way in the years proceeding, whilst relegation this time around has been on the cards for quite a few years.

Fuller was alright IMO. The twatish fans giving him shit every game because he only cost £90k and was a skate got on my nerves.

Also attending SMS after a hiatus. I have a feeling the eight year old accompanying me might have their vocabulary expanded as I vent the season's frustration. I always worry about the quality and pace of Palace's forward line. Ayew ran rings around us last year and was far too quick for any of our goons. We all know about Zaha, Eze and Olise's talent, yet every now and then we somehow manage to contain them and grab a win. I suspect it will be as painful as last year, but there is just a little bit more space in my world for additional suffering that ultimately will make the good days that much sweeter. I'm happy to go with your side. A bit of Djenepo randomness can't do us any harm. If Adams isn't fit, then I'd go Mara ahead of Onuachu, despite so many Saints fans moaning about his lack of chances.

What do you mean by `convenient'? I am genuinely struggling to understand how or why this information (reason for his absence) has come out - what possible good does it do to tell the world he has a bad attitude? Even if he does, it doesn't exactly boost any transfer fee we might get for him by telling the world.