Chez

we dont need a complete start at keeper. Ramsdale is the one player I'd like to keep more than anyone else. I think he is top draw and don't dare think of what is behind him. Certainly not keepers I have any faith in at all.

Possibly, but if it goes like it did last time, CBs won't be tested anywhere near the level they are in the PL. Time after time we `got away with it' in the championship and it was obvious to me, that if we did similar things on promotion, PL players would murder us. Wingers don't fail to take advantage of slips ups, strikers don't miss chances etc. The defensive coaching has been woeful over the last five years or so. Year after year we get destroyed (and outnumbered on the break from our own corners. How on earth does that happen? Without better coaching and management I'm not sure the likes of Wood or Edwards will progress into PL players.

Going rate for a regular Prem player I guess, but my view is we should never be giving second (or even third) PL contracts to players like he obviously got. If we have a player that bigger PL clubs (which is pretty much all of them) don't want to sign for a fee or on a free, then we should give up on them and try again by bringing in someone that could be better. We reward mediocrity far too often because we simply don't have confidence in our recruitment.

In championship terms, we are massive payers. Not many teams could afford what we spent on the Brooks, Downes and Fraser loans. We need to make similar signings. Depending on what happens in the summer, the funds may be there again, but it's crucial to have a manager in place that can make Southampton an appealing club to join, with prospect of games, wins, promotion and the hint of making the loan permanent should that happen. Martin, for all his critics, should be credited for doing that last time. I hope the new guy, Rohl or whoever has what it takes to make their `project' (horrific term, I know) appealing.

I think the bank loan interest paid so far is about £35m (not including 2025), which doesn't include the extra amount paid to reduce the underlying debt (which was not long after increased again when taking another extra loan out) 2021 - £7.66m 2022 - £7.71m 2023 - £10.96m 2024 £9.02m

I suspect there are similar posts to this at the time he re-signed.

is our plan simply to keep punching ourselves in the face?

Wood wasn't good in the Championship last season. That is a concern for me. But he's not yet turned 23, so maybe he will find his feet next season. I need to see Edwards in a Saints shirt before I make any decision in his ability. The same applies to Charles. He has got praise from Sheff Wednesday fans, but even they admit the bar has been incredibly low in terms of talent in their squad. We want to win the league next season. To do that we could do with having the best players in the league in a few positions.

Good point. I'd be inclined to keep him (the escape clause and possible interest from elsewhere will dictate that) as he played well last time in the championship. No reason why we can't look to offload him (and others) the summer after, should we identify an upgrade that we can actually sign. That said, if Rohl becomes the new manager, then he may revert to four at the back (he has played 4 at the back 30 times, 5 at the back 19 times this season), which means we have far too many players that can play there: Bednarek, THB, Stevens, Edwards, Wood, ABK, Sanda and Taylor.

Sfc pays him fully each month. The loan agreement is between the clubs. Sheffield pays money to SFC, not him.

Not sure some of those are near certain departures. We may stick to our Gus on valuations like we did last summer with Onuachu, pricing them out if moves. Wages are relatively high, so teams may wait until they are available on frees. Perhaps we will loan out some players. It's not a given Sulemana departs for example.

THB is too slow. I said so during his first season. Not sure he makes up for that by reading the game brilliantly. Still learning though, so not giving up hope. What I do expect from a 'slower' CB is tremendous strength and aerial ability. He doesn't offer that. What we have is a defender with average traits that's pretty decent with the ball. ABK is the opposite. He doesn't look comfortable with the ball at all. And that's before the long lay off. He has looked even more limited since coming back. He's strong, but certainly not dominant. He doesn't read the game well and he's not quick either.

They got it cheaper because it had a £80m debt which they had to take on. They didn't have any obligation to pay the debt off immediately at the moment of purchase. It's like buying a car valued at £10k with £4k still left to pay on the finance (that you take on) for £6k. You spend £6k up front then maybe £1k a year for four and a bit years. the new owner doesn't have to pay it off at all, because it's a company, and the company can gradually pay the debt using the income it makes each year. Except they haven't even done that. The debt is similar in size to when they bought the club (I think).

Nope. The company owns the debt. Solak wont be paying the debt down out of his coffers.

never rated him, but sadly we have looked worse when he hasn't played (amazing I know), so I don't have massive confidence in the others either.

contracted until 2026, so wont be going anywhere unless we allow it. The daily Mail story suggested there was interest from Turkey, but we have seen with Onuachu how little money there is available, so I wouldn't put money on that move happening. Much more likely he sees out his contract and goes on a free next year.

if only 1 out of 5 signings will be good, how many good players will we have if we sign two? GCSE maths revision right there.

He has a £25m buy out clause according to one of the dodgy football rumour websites. From what I've seen of him this year, he's worth every penny of that.

They paid a decent chunk of the loan off last year to get the total down to about £69m, but then took out another £11m loan, so it's now back up to £80m. The loan cost us £11m to service (interest accrued on the loan) in 2023, and cost us £9m to service in 2024. So, you'd think this year (and next) we will be spending similar amounts just on interest payments. Not ideal, but pretty much the norm these days.

he cant play in the most advanced role imo. he doesn't offer anything much there. he played well sat next to Downes, playing in a three man midfield, collecting and distributing the ball and pushing on now and then. he passes the ball well. touch is ok. that's it. he's perfect for Martin's approach. in fact we struggled sometimes without him, beyond that though, meh.

Wilcox wasn't even at Saints when Edozie, Larios and Bazunu signed for us. Shields will have made a recommendation, not that everyone involved in scouting would have been well aware of all three players.

can't get my head around Taylor signing. we didn't need an other cb and he was never suited to our passing game. can someone explain how Wood, a guy that was poor at Swansea for two seasons, was ever going to make the step up in class? likewise, how does Fraser, a guy that couldn't get in our championship side, be seen as god enough for the PL? the others i can understand to a degree, even if i didnt like some of them, but those three above baffle me.

i wonder if foreign players like those two, perhaps pretty well known outside of the uk, will get top flight gigs abroad rather than have to drop down a division?

of course no PL regular is joining us in the championship, but if we can get another Brooks on loan that would be ideal. There are lots of talented youngsters that can't get a game in the PL. We should know all of them pretty well. Getting them is not easy.

if they do go up they will try to buy him.