Chez

or you could get rid of most/all of those, except Bertrand, still be able reshape the squad, AND have a top class left back already capable of playing how Ralf wants.

pretty standard commute these days for the average person. With training not starting until 10??? he can probably miss the worst of the traffic. Might even have a flat in Soton for weekdays etc? He's been here 6 years. The commute is not an issue and wont affect his decision to stay here.

People underestimate just what a good fullback he is. Ok, so he can't go on for ever, but with his build and athleticism, you'd hope he could still ge up and down at 33. I'd add a year to his current deal right now without blinking. We have a lot of holes in the squad, not least a second left back. Do we really want to be looking for two? If we had money to burn and a decent scouting network and transfer committee then looking to upgrade to a younger model would make sense. We don't.

duplicate post. coys

I watched Wolves against Liverpool over the Christmas period and I haven't seen a team take Liverpool apart like they did in the second half, for a long time. They looked absolutely top class that day and should have got something from the game. Liverpool were hanging on at the end. Since then they haven't been as good. A lot of games in a short time frame added to their long season might be the reason. They still have created chances, but less clear cut, and not taken them. I thought Ruben Vinagre looked a talent when he came on in that Liverpool game and if he gets some time on the field I will be interested to see how he looks close up. Saints are obviously riding high, but if we think the job is done and take our foot off the gas in terms of work rate and hounding teams from the front then we will be in trouble. It will be a very tough game. I'd take a draw, but confidence is high, so want a win. Need to adapt quickly to their wing backs.

no need to wonder The Cat. Without any doubt at at all, that is exactly what our transfer policy and shift in messaging is down to.

Do we need a new player or two to retain our place in the Prem and secure Goa's investment? Hard to say. But if the feeling within the club is no, then obviously we wont be signing anyone, as we don't need to and that would be capital and operational expenditure we didn't budget for. SFB

I've never rated him. He was woeful when we first got him. Didn't win a contested header for about the first two seasons. A CB that doesn't win headers causes you so many problems. He was also too nice. Basically a chocolate fireguard of a defender. He eventually got more physical and with that became a CB we could pick and he played well in quite a few games. He surprised me. He has always looked very comfortable on the ball, with the odd horrific rick undermining that. I felt for him when we played him at right back. He got murdered. Despite his improvement, I still think he was limited, and as soon as he became first choice you knew the quality had been removed from the side. He seems a very nice guy, so I wish him all the best, but I don't give players of average ability much credit for their loyalty. I doubt he has turned down moves to bigger (wages) clubs than us over the years. Maybe I'm being harsh, but our gradual decline follows his gradual increase in selection. I want to see a better player than him here ASAP. Doesn't mean we will though.

18 months left on his contract. Decisions will need to be made very soon whether we want him long term or not. Likewise, I imagine he is thinking about what he wants to do.

Great find. I don't remember any of those goals, just the huge crowd (you can see that ever stand is rammed. I don't think I've ever seen the Milton end so busy, there wasn't an inch of room even out towards the corner flags). Electric atmosphere and obviously having gone 0-2 down, it was extremely tense. Brilliant Saints team that season of course and not many left as we were always a threat. I think it's the first game I had seen at the Dell that went to extra time. Great days. This, Bolton and Oldham cup games really stick in mind.

Its the first time I've seen season ticket holders get lower price cup tickets for a long time. Not sure I can remember a previous time to be honest.

Leeds (among others) linked with Billy Sharp today

Agreed, but I'd also say that when we looked at our best it was when we had top class fullbacks coming out of our ears. So we need to add here too. The combination of Clyne and Chambers meant there was no drop off at all when one got injured. Very hard to get that same strength of squad (and keep it) unless you sign young players or have them come through the youth. Both full back positions need additions. A youthful fullback on the left and a more established fullback on the right. They both need to have electric pace, have a great first touch, offer an attacking threat and understand and enjoy the concept of defending. If that description sounds like Vokins then great.

I guess it wouldn't be a transfer window thread without me suggesting a young Birmingham City player (seems a long time ago now that I suggested we sign Redmond). I'm a bit late to the party though with this one, so we would now need to hijack the Man U Jude Bellingham transfer.

While on the subject of fullbacks, I may as well repeat my suggestion from the summer of going for the Norwich fullbacks Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons. No chance of getting them when they got promoted, but if they go back down? Glad to say we probably wont get the chance to see him at close quarters this weekend due to injury, but Ruban Vinagre at Wolves is a player I think looks very exciting. Doherty keeps him out of the team, which perhaps might start to grate at some point.

If we need a left back to replace Bertie, which I doubt we will, I have always liked Ricardo Rodriguez, currently at AC but likely to leave either in this window or the summer. On the BBC website it says that he's linked to Fenerbahce, but I think Watford have also be linked, so perhaps not beyond the realms of possibility. Not seen him for a while, but he was great at Wolfsberg. I also see on the BBC gossip column possible moves for young defenders Antonee Robinson and Aaron Hickey. Not sure of their quality, but they must be decent as they are linked to AC Milan. Either that or their agent(s) are bloody amazing to get that story to stick. Hope our scouts have looked at both at some point.

one the best games Saints I have ever been to. Swindon brought a huge away support, there was an amazing atmosphere under the lights, and it was of course great game.

who needs facilities like working toilets and disabled sections if you rule the world?

Ah yes, the `get out clause' enabling Eisner to keep his cash in his pocket for a while longer. Maybe time to get Donna Jones in for another bit of `consultancy'. Her dual role of Shiite Park Expansion Consultant and PCC leader can surely help here somehow. Perhaps she and the other councillors haven't been made aware that PFC generates £20m for the local economy every Saturday.

agree with that. The 0-9 was so bad the manager's hand was forced (and freed) to make drastic changes rather than simply tinker. Previous tinkering created little positive results, whilst those major wholesale changes contributed to our upturn. So yes the 0-9 might be seen as a blessing.

does SFC or THFC tell Crook anything? Could be the agent being busy promoting/touting his client. Time will tell.

Did he rate him though? I don't remember there being much confidence shown in him by Poch in more recent times? I'd hope its a loan with a view to buy. Thats a win win for us. He then has the chance to dislodge Cedric during the loan. If he cant at least push him close, then perhaps he is not the guy we need long term.

is it me, or does the `redesign' simply mean the widening of the open concourse behind the stand, plus some mock tudor entrances with roofs? It doesn't look like a new stand is being built, just a touch up here and there. They still have the pillars blocking the view. Laughable. It's hard to see where has the increased capacity come from? Mind you, the 45% increase is ********. It held 2800 previously, so this massive redevelopment is adding 400 seats (15% increase) and a disabled section. Impressive. It looks like they have given up on buying every house on Alverstone Road.

if that's the case, it make you wonder why Palace stipulated a pay up front for that extra allocation, assuming they did of course. Why not offer a sale or return policy for the entire allocation? I guess they have to organise police and catering etc. in advance based on away numbers, but seems like everyone is the loser here, except the Saints ticket office, who have less `unprofitable' work to do.

that concerns me too. He was a good prospect, but there seems little faith in him at this time. Very young still, so still time to develop, but if he is to be first choice next season then we will need him to fulfil his promise quickly