Chez

yep. Not sure thats gonna happen.

he started 12 of the first 14 games. Scored twice, three assists. He was pretty poor in the last four games, so was rightly dropped to the bench, where upon he featured in five of next 7 (starting only once), but was pretty shite in all of those games too (0 goals or assists). He had a pretty decent crack of the whip. From Feb through April he hardly figured, with only 3 sub appearances. Perhaps he ought to have been given a few more chances. He started 2 of the last 3...but not dojng a great deal to be honest. He had the shirt, but to be honest he failed and no one was to blame but himself. You could argue he should have got a few more appearances in the Spring, but his confidence seemed gone - so unless he shined in training, why would he get selected? Long should not have started ahead of him towards the end of the season IMO, but again, unless Armstrong showed he was back on it in training, why give him the nod?

I don't think there's been any in recent years, but if you go back there have been a few plucked from relegation sides that have done OK afterwards Jonny Evans, Fabianski, Jordan Ayew, Shaquiri, Sessegnon, Pickford, Maguire, Robertson, Adama Traore, Wijnaldum, Townsend, Ings, Trippier, McCarthy...

he was woeful in some of the run in games. Couldn't control the football. Terrible. I think everyone was expecting big things, but he was a total bust IMO. I hope he comes good this season. Wouldn't bet my house on it.

he cant play DM. Or at least from what I have seen so far he can't. Positionally doesn't have a clue. He's got something, but I have yet to see him dominate a game. He is a pale comparison of the player he looked in the youtube videos.

Grillitsch is linked with Fiorentina and Roma. Available on a free. I don't recall Laimer from euro 2020, but he certainly looks like he can play.

Looks classy. Not sure we are great opponents though.

With you. When we were looking for CBs last summer, he looked the standout CB. Really committed and powerful player. Are we not done at CB though?

Yep. Loan equals end of Saints career. No one is gonna buy him this summer. I can't see us giving him a new contract this summer - not done enough last season to justify a new one. Maybe he stays this season and we see how things go before making a decision on him, `relatively' safe in the knowledge that if he plays and impresses and we offer a contract, he won't then snub us.

yes, but didn't we have £26m of the loan left unspent in the bank, so cash flow was perhaps never going to be as big a problem this summer as it was previously. Not sure that has anything to do with the new owners. When it comes to paying that loan off, things will get interesting.

Wasn't he part of that very good Austria side in Euro 2020? I am trying to remember who shined in that side. Wasn't it his long haired team mate Grillitsch that stood out? Is he available this summer too?

big powerful player, but haven't Sheffield got another parachute payment year, so perhaps could afford to keep him, all be it his value will start to drop off a cliff. Currently two years left on his contract.

We have struggled to bring young CBs through our youth system, so buying lots of them might actually be a wise move, depending on the size of their wages.

after a reasonable start he quickly los his confidence and without that you are never going to score goals in the Prem. Can he get that confidence back and flourish? Adams lost confidence in his first season and given time he got into a relative groove and now has his fans on here. Can we afford to risk that he will come good? I guess it depends what the offer might be for Armstrong from elsewhere and who else we can bring in. I wonder what Ralph thinks of him really. He rightly dropped him, when his confidence went, but in the run in he didn't give him too many chances, which might suggest he has seen enough. His comments about him suggest otherwise, but what he says in press conferences doesn't necessary mean much.

I agree with this He's extremely lightweight in the air too. How many below average CBs do we need?

could not agree with you more. When Newcastle offered £40m for Salisu in January we should have offered a new deal right there and then and if he didn't sign it we should have sold him. I thunk his lack of agent at the time made that tricky. I can see him walking on a free, which would be a nightmare financially.

people saying `no', have you considered that he may have had is best season last year and might not reach the same heights, probably will never score as many goals again, perhaps even gets injured....he's overdue one... OK, so thats the glass half empty scenario, but isn't selling layers at their highest price what we need to do to thrive?

Yes, of course, a club our size can't turn down that kind of fee, but no one is spending that. I wonder how we'd spend it. It's not easy spending money well. No one knows that better than us.

and I doubt we'd sell him for that. It feels like a similar situation to Zaha. We want £70m and other teams would like to buy, but not at that price, so he goes nowhere.

None really. Forster was fist choice. Not sure he was deadwood. We seem to have added bodies that we didn't have gaps for - an extra keeper and extra CB. Its normally one in and one out. With Simeu a year older, you could argue there's another body added to the first team squad. There has to be some departures coming, doesn't there?

Leeds' negotiating position seemed pretty strong. Two years to go, only 26 (a year younger than JWP) and first choice England player. I thought the deal would £50m+ My guess is his (Philips) agent hinted that he'd walk on a free in two years time, and like all clubs, Leeds can't allow that...its financial suicide... ...so, as you say, having those extra two years on JWP contract does make a big difference because we cant be held to ransom by the player threatening to walk on a free. When he's 31 we probably aren't worried about that happening. That said, maybe £45m is all we'd get for JWP. We shall see...or maybe not.

Ah yes, I did hear the MLS mentioned before. That might be a good move. I hope he is successful. He's a proper Saint.

He's the next Shearer. OK, so that's probably not true, but he does have all the attributes to be a very fine striker for someone. As has been mentioned, he is very quick and strong, but its not all straight line stuff, he has ball skills (dribbling) and ability to beat a defender all ends up. That's rare at the top level. I think his touch is decent too. Some Saints fans criticised he link up play, but it looked OK to me. He certainly looks at home at this level - he's a premiership standard player - there is no disputing that, but can he become a `Prem great'? There were a few occasions last season when he beat a man, the angle was tight and he still went for a shot, often skewing the ball wide. Some fans weren't happy at that. The term greedy was used and a lack of vision, but IMO you need strikers that take responsibility and are a little greedy. You don't want the skewing/shanking it wide though of course, and perhaps that is where he can improve - choosing not to shoot when its really not on. I should say that he didn't do this a loads, maybe five or six times, but it was noticeable. Of course, its easy to say he can improve there, but its a lot harder to actually do it. When it comes to attitude, that is something that will be argued about on here. Some suggested he switched off in the run in last season, but I'd counter that he looked royally miffed when dropped and seemed desperate for more goals. Perhaps that was for personal gain rather than the team, but who knows. All our strikers were completely starved of service, so I don't buy into the idea that he was on the beach before others. We were shite, everyone played shite. I don't see a lack of work rate or effort, ever. To get this far you have work your socks off. It makes me laugh when people question them as people. My money would be on West Ham getting him. He took them to pieces a couple of times, so they have seen the best of him. For me, £25m is a good price.

I can see suitors for Redmond (whether or not he's interested in them is a different matter), but I do wonder who is talking Walcott off our hands -unless we are paying 75% of his wages for the last year if his contract.

If JWP left, wouldn't that money be exactly what is required to try and sign the type of player you want (to overhaul the squad) - ie not a youngster with potential, but more of an existing talent perhaps from abroad? Unless of course the money we are currently spending on youngsters with potential IS the JWP money...