CB Fry

Exactly - plus we are no longer committed to the £20m contract (£100k a week x 4 yrs) we put on the table for Ings - there is no way we are paying Armstrong anywhere near that, so there's likely £10m there straight off. Anyone that goes on about agent fees and all these "hidden costs" never consider the hidden benefits of the departure of high earners. It's interesting that in this window the "we can only spend what we bring in" has now transformed into "we can only spend half of what we bring in".

Just seen this.

Reading that report it looks like the plan will be that a standing spot will occupy the same area as a seat. So commercially not particularly attractive as you can't use standing to fit more people in, especially as your average fan is going to expect to pay less for a standing ticket. I'm sure Saints will do it but will present no great gain in revenue or attendance. Away fans will stand as they do now regardless of whether it is designated or not.

By the same point in his Saints career as Djenepo, Sadio Mane had already been sold to Liverpool for £36m. Apart from that, your post is absolute horseshit, but help yourself to a golden greatest ever super fan crown on the way out.

You mean the management of the club who packed him off to Celtic? Is that the measure of a successful signing now? £16m to give Celtic a first team squad member for not one, but two years? I'm not entirely sure we are in the "you idiots were all proved wrong" phase just yet, somehow.

Is it a load of old bollocks that twats on Facebook share around as evidence of "I've done my own research"?

Never in doubt for me.

Shite.

...aaaaand the same old story. At least we didn't have the false hope of being in front.

Maybe a good thing to not be 1-0 up: at least we have to come out still trying to score, rather than shitting ourselves and shutting up shop (badly).

Well, if we play like ths twenty minutes for the rest of the season then we will be absolutely fine.

Ronnie Rosental time.

So a conscious decision to focus on high potential youth rather than experienced players for the first team. A conscious decision, a conscious strategy, a conscious concept. Glad you agree then.

I thought this was thread about our transfer business this summer. You two don't think we have consciously prioritised high-potential young players in our business this summer, then? Fair enough, I think we have and there's been articles and plenty of comments about it. Shame you don't agree.

You're comparing a season that has happened with one that has barely started. I was at the 1-0 win at Derby that season (basically the equivalent weekend to this) and people were buzzing that that team could do well. The concept is the same - let's go with kids, for financial reasons, and let's hope its enough. Execution is slightly different as different league different budget. Anyway I have no interest whatsoever in debating anything with you being that we will be no more than two posts away from your usual routine of your "I never said that I never said that I never said that I never said that" denials whenever anyone tries to (perfectly accurately) paraphrase anything you say. I can't be bothered with your horseshit again.

Staying in the Premier League is a bit different than finishing above the likes of Barnsley/Plymouth/Doncaster/Blackpool in the Championship.

The last time we had an experiment to intentionally play a team of young prospects it didn't end that well. I was unconvinced by last summers window despite universal acclaim on here about what great signings Diallo and Salisu were: they proceeded to do pretty much jack shit in the subsequent season. Maybe, one year on, they may step up. This summer, we look like we have replaced Ings well, and Livramento may be an absolute diamond. But I am not convinced we have resolved our issues in goal and through the spine of the team, especially central defence. This is as well as our issues with resilience/mental toughness. Both could have been resolved by spending our significant cash reserves on a decent front line CB. Instead we have just swelled the ranks of middling interchangeable CBs who are okay bordering on disastrous. I worry we are just a pound-shop version of late-period Wenger Arsenal. Lots of flattering to deceive prettiness and "faith" in gifted young players. But ultimately gutless losers when the pressure is on. Today will be a useful test.

Not sure about everyone else but my world top three players at the moment are 1. Messi 2. Ronaldo 3. Gary Cahill How about everyone else?

So basically we've got two years of this forum pissing and moaning about this buy back clause.

How do you know that Walcott is significantly better than Long in motivating/encouraging/supporting the young players? Why wouldn't/doesn't Long do that as well? Either way it's a pretty nebulous reason to give a player 2 years on seventy odd grand a week.

.....when his contract expires in '23 so just the two entire seasons to go.

Happy with the draw as it is fairly local to me so will probably go. Here's hoping we erase the memory of the last League Cup tie at Bramall Lane. Christ.

I heard it, but it was not much more than as you describe - he didn't elaborate, just something like "if he is still here" or "if he stays at the club" - was a bit odd.

Well, imagine the situation in reverse. We wouldn't be describing this lad as a "great kid with the right priorities and a great attitude" then, thats for sure. Not sure how true this "refused to join training" thing is, but it's not great behaviour for any player. Let's hope we don't see that side of him.

Yes it is slightly pushing it to claim that Mane was joining a club "able to get into Europe" - pretty much no one thought that back when he actually signed. Except maybe Koeman himself.