Chez

maybe his head is in the wrong place...

id agree with that. More worldies, but both offering the odd unthinkable howler.

It's annoying, but in all honesty did anyone really think it would end up any other way than this. We don't need the money, we can therefore ask for a huge fee that pretty much scares everyone off, which then leaves the player stuck here unable to get the move that will give him the mega money wages. That scenario leads to one outcome, an unhappy player that forces the issue in an underhand way. Predictable. A few years ago I'd be going ape****, but now, well, it's just become the norm and I don't seem to muster then same levels of anger. That is perhaps more depressing to me than losing yet another top class player.

If VVD could be quoted as saying he did not want to play, which currently he can't, then the concept of suing him for lost transfer revenue might come into play. Not saying it will or even that we should, just saying there might be some mileage in it.

For example?

If they play in the prem they certainly,aren't going to,be out of sight and mind

He stuck his arms out and ball went to hand, which was slightly fortune, but very good keeping. I guess it's a great save, all be it two season's ago now, and it's foolish of me to try and argue otherwise. He does that well, but other types of saves he does less well. He did almost none of that last season, so hopefully the good positioning/fortune will return.

I certainly did like to stick up for Hoiveld against the tide. Returning to Forster, the question is could we do better and importantly who would take him off our hands. He was on a monster contract already. Cutting our losses is not an option and we certainly can't afford for him to be a second choice. That's one area I think Saints falter. If a player comes in, does ok, but not great, we don't move them on. Classie is a case in point. Maybe he will come good this season and I will look like a fool, again, but he has done nothing since he was here and we should be replacing him with better, but we are unwilling and/or unable to do that. He will be here the length of his contract, as will Gardos.

Three worldies in there meeting my pre mentioned criteria, but all whilst he was at Celtic. Lots of decent positioning though and I guess that's half the battle.

with a carefully selected batch of the dicks on social media asked to do the work...in boxing gloves.

I don't judge him on his mistakes. Everyone makes those. For me it's more about the lack of world class saves. The sort that you think are in, but somehow the keeper saves them. Low shots going into the corner that you get a nick onto the post or balls that look like they are almost past the keeper. For Saints fans the name Niemi is synonymous with unbelievable saves. Forster offers a greater physical presence, but I don't think he is in the same class at all.

absoluteoy, if Forster was injured but Taylor was still deemed not good enough to replace him, then why have him on the books. New contracts like these, where the player gets a big old wage rise for one more year are not things to overly celebrate IMO.

I guess eu countries must be able to set different criteria for those coming from outside the Euro. Either way, he is a tremendous player from what I saw, but I can't see him giving up CL football for Saints, although no doubt we can boost his wages should we choose to.

forgive my ignorance, but how did he get one to play in Holland or do they have less stringent rules?

He really didn't do much at all. I see very little from him in the way of saves, command of his area or sweeping up. He is just big and gets in the way of the ball when hit near him - which worked well against Arsenal two seasons ago, but hasn't since. Having given him a five year deal 12 months ago I see no reason whatsoever in giving him a new contract, but it seems all the rage these days...

bravo sir.

Won't various european league transfer fees be determined by the size of their own domesticate tV contracts? Are they all increasing in a similar way as the premiership? I have not doubt they will increase,everything does, but buying from second tier European leagues is still going to offer tremendous value in comparison to buying proven premiership players.

Not yet. They have been asked to relinquish them and invited to attend a meeting about it. So it hasn't happened yet. I know someone that has one, although having moved away doesn't often use it himself. His view was that he had the cash so bought it and in the end "got lucky", very lucky, as they had a number of seasons in the top flight which would have cost miles more than the amount he forked out. I'll ask him for his thoughts on being asked to give it up. I suspect to my face he will shrug his shoulders and say he has had a good run. I agree, Eisner must be behind this, not the current board. I wonder perhaps if Walter is testing Catlin to see if he can/is willing to do some dirty work before deciding if he will keep him at the club?

Never understood why we didn't consider Tim Krul.

he was the one decent player Vitesse had when they played us. He looked very strong and confident on the ball. At that point I didn't think he would anything to our side, but that was a couple of season ago now and if he has progressed since then he will be a decent acquisition.

Lovren-Toby-VVD-? It will take some luck for the next one to also be top class.

Lovren-Toby-VVD-? It will take some luck for the next one to also be top class.

Like everyone else, I enjoyed watching him in full flow down that left hand side, but after the injury, without that extra yard of pace, he never was able to replicate that great form. I have seen lots of people pointing to the fact that, given a run, he would regain his fitness and possibly shine, but Id argue that he was back to full fitness and just didn't have that cutting edge pace anymore. Hope he doesn't do a SKP and score against us every time we visit the Hawthorns.

Like everyone else, I enjoyed watching him in full flow down that left hand side, but after the injury, without that extra yard of pace, he never was able to replicate that great form. I have seen lots of people pointing to the fact that, given a run, he would regain his fitness and possibly shine, but Id argue that he was back to full fitness and just didn't have that cutting edge pace anymore. Hope he doesn't do a SKP and score against us every time we visit the Hawthorns.

Revival? when was Classie any good?