Chez

I'm concerned about this signing. That is the one thing giving me hope. Wonder if we will create enough chances for him ourselves.

If course it is. I'm sure I could find it if I looked hard enough.

Cool. I must have missed that post. What was the photo clue of?

I am not trying to suggest you are a poor man's Alex Crook, but The Echo published the story that Mateus was coming on Saturday, didn't they? Anyho, keep up the 'great work'. Love and light...and all that bollocks.

Against us?

Carvalho, signed for £5m, pretty much failed to get a game for Liverpool and sold for £27.5m plus a sell on clause.

He played the first game, got absolutely zero service, did ok when he was rarely given the ball, and imo looked strong and sharp. He was then dropped. Very hard to come to any conclusions, but I thought he looked back to full fitness and there was the potential for him to do the same things as he did for us last time. Ipswich may have got a great deal there. With him and Delap coming in, they have upgraded. Let's see if they are more effective and get more goals than BBD and archer.

I know the money is different, but the Broja Archer comparison will be a good one this season and longer.

Possibly. But where does this figure come from? Is it a reputable source or one of those "player wages websites' that are about as accurate as an [insert to your own player and attribute]?

The side was dire. Not sure JWP was. Might even have been his best season for us. Lavia was great when fit, but I thought JWP was probably our best player that season (not saying much I know). maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. He's not a world beater though. There are limits to his game.

big clubs earning an absolute fortune from their failures and cast offs really pisses me off. They have every angle covered.

when Chelsea get it right on the pitch, could all this off pitch shenanigans start to look like the work of genius? Essentially they are signing lots and lots of bloody brilliant young players and doing so in a way that gets around financial regulations. Seems smart to me. They are creating a squad of tremendous talent and potential, which gives them a chance to back to the very top of the tree, where they once were. The long contracts ensure talent stays with the club, and in the future those players may potentially be on wages less than they might get if they signed contracts every few years. I'm not really sure how having 15 attacking central midfielders fits into this overall strategy, but someone at the club must know. Obviously, if they don't get it right on the pitch, it just looks bat-shit crazy.

Interesting link. I thought many liked Targett (especially since he left) on here and his move to Newcastle showed that he was a good player. Not a fan myself.

That is great. I saw his name mentioned in relation to Targett and the left back postes and as I was scrolling down the thread I was just wondering whether we might have to pay all of his wages to get someone to loan him (maybe that is happening here). If he and Charles can get 30 odd starts this season, we might see some improvement. Hope they both happen and they work out. It would be great if they emerged as genuine Prem players (I have my doubts) and that gamble on youth paid off (to some degree).

If Downes can't get in the side, we will have recruited bloody well.

Sounds just the guy to complete the set.

how abut a loan and obligation to buy, but with a get out if we are relegated (the player won't want to make the move permanent anyway)? This aint happening. Just doesn't feel doable. can't see him wanting to come to us. too big a drop from arsenal to us.

I am sure we will have enquired and then tried to come up with a deal arsenal might go for, but it feels beyond us to be honest. maybe we will look again, and try and match this deal...go all in and have three keepers on a combined fortune.

if we had not chased survival and spent £60m or whatever in that January window, we'd be in a cracking position now.

to the bench? Arsenal bid for Wolves second choice keeper Dan Bentley. So they will need Sa. Another reason why Wolves might win over us if we really are interested.

committing to buying next summer instead of a loan fee might be preferable to Arsenal. Not sure we will want to match that, as we'd have Ramsdale, McCarthy and Baz next year...but perhaps we should. Is ramsdale likely to choose Saints over any other prem side?

I'd be very surprised if the club chose to spend £12m (fee and wages) loaning Ramsdale. Just seems like a huge number.

Not cheap. Sort of amount you'd expect for a guy worth £40m though I can see some people on here saying the £10m-£15m we would give up if KWP stayed would be worth it. I guess the £12m spent on Ramsdale might be seen in the same light. However, if you do both, that's a lot money spent to earn an extra £70m or so next season.

not sure who you are talking about, the Hoffenheim medical team in relation to ABK or Stewart, or indeed what your point is. Can you clarify?

yeah, I keep mentioning him on here. That's what I do. Find a player I like and repeatedly mention him on here until the Saints scouts wake the fuck up and do as I suggest - recommend we sign him. But he aint coming to us. He is too expensive, and he has a nightmare situation with two agents claiming ownership and one of those wanting a massive personal fee. That is why the Rennes deal fell through and I dare say why we won't touch him with a barge pole. Which is a shame, as he was one of the most impressive players I saw at SMS last season. Oozed talent, class and time on the ball.