Chez

Come on, you are going to have to do better than that. This is one of the, if only interesting team selections we have. The only other genuine choice is chambers or Clyne. So which is it, Cork or VW?

what makes you say that. I remember his first game for us and pretty much from the first minute he seemed to want to drop into that deep lying role. Making runs beyond the strikers has been alien to him until last season.

Who are you dropping? Morgan or Cork or Davis?

For me that comment and several others seem to point to players wanting much higher wages to reflect their higher league position and standing within the game. My guess if the likes of Lallana and Rodriguez didn't have an increase should they get international recognition, and know damn well the going rate for an England player is more than they are getting right now. If we want to keep Morgan, Shaw and Lallana we are going to have to pay them the going rate or in other words a fortune. Can and will we offer them mega money? I'm sure every single fan wants to keep them, but if that means £100k a week or more can we afford it?

As last season, Cork has been absolutely outstanding. He is far far better than given credit for. The Wanyama Cork discussion earlier in the season had the Cork fans laughed out of town when they suggested he was the better option/player, but even the most ardent Victor fan must now find it a tough old choice. Brilliant for us that we have that kind if competition in the middle. I do worry a little that Cork might demand a starting birth to sign a new contract. The lack of games earlier on seemed to have his agent looking for a move if the sports reports are Anyang to go by. I wonder if he will get the games next season, because we do seem to win more games with Wanyama sitting in front of the back four. That said if Morgan goes, which could happen, at least we have some good players to try and fill that massive hole.

Alpine will be pleased. He asked for Ralph to back up Les statement and he's done just that.

Have we won in the premiership without Morgan in the side?

Brilliant season for Saints considering it's only the second season back. Forget three years ago, comparing us now to where were were on that Monday night at West Brom when they took us to pieces is incredible. The cup disappointment was just that, a real disappointment, but if Lambert had tucked away his simple chance things might have been very different. the negative has been some of the ticket prices that have put me off gong to away games to a host of grounds I have been to many, many times. Having said that watching Lallana at SMS has been an absolute delight. Watching him link up with genuine talent like Lambert and Morgan is equally fun.

Didn't Krueger already say pretty much the same thing last week - the club wouldn't and didn't need to sell? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27058403

Doesn't the rule say a club can't speak to a contracted player without permission of the players club or does it say the player and his agent? I suspect the latter, if not the rule ain't worth diddly. I suspect the clubs nearly always call the agents first to sound them out before they ever contact the other club.

Pre academy it was school of excellence, associate schoolboys and then apprentice or yts. Steve baker and rod Wallace both were at the club prior to the yts element, so confident enough to add them to the 100 plus club. Bobby Stokes also served his apprenticeship with Saints, so shouldn't he also be counted. I am slightly less sure about Steve Moran, but given his locality I suspect he was training with the club long before he went pro at the age of 18.

Might be wise to beat them with a different stick.

Maybe that's why they are top four. The fullback position has become far more important to us than ever before and losing Shaw will cause us significant problems offensively. Finding a suitable replacement even with money burning a hole in our pocket will be far from easy. Unearthing Lovrens are very hard.

He really has. I have never rated him, and fear for England due to our lack of quality in that position, but perhaps he can step up in the World Cup with the likes of shaw offering similar pace and strength.

Torres looks a real threat to me and has done in the vast majority of games I've seen him in this season. It will be very interesting to see how he does when he finally leaves Chelsea.

A case in point as Lampard takes out Juan Fran and rightly gets a yellow with Townsend saying Fran makes the most of it. What he should have been saying was Lampard showed a lack of composure in not bringing a ball down when he had time and then attempted to make up for it with a desperate lunge! because he is too old and slow to recover properly.

The neutral fan, ie the guy sat in front of the tv, is what pays the player wages these days.

The Chelsea line up and display is as if they are lower league side not a team that has had hundreds Of millions spent on it. It's depressing seeing a talent like Willian being asked to just track runners all game. I get the feeling this is what it's going to be like watching England this summer, backs against the wall rather than taking sides on.

Always rated him. Looks fitter than in his previous loan spell at Athletico. Wonder if he has sorted his head out too.

I feel sorry for Lampard having to do Mikels running for him. Other than hold his position, or in other words stand around in front of the back four, can anyone tell me what Mikel actually does? Slow,lazy talentless footballer.

I'm with SC. I worry more about being stuck with him all summer with no only his fee but his wages preventing us signing a replacement. Not my money but £7m sounds about the most we could expect seeing as it's a buyers market for him.

interesting observation in that 97596th post on this thread.

er, I think its a message from Saints fans to the skate below.

There is currently a plane flying over Fratton with the message always looking up at us SFC behind it. Nice.

Good point. Perhaps is because most agree with him though that Wanyama gives the ball away almost every pass over 5 yards.