CB Fry

Yeah, but why? His relationship to SFC is nothing like his relationship with his country. As you say, he can't change nationality. But he can, relatively easily, find a club where he could be first choice.

Not quite the same, GB. Boruc won't be able to put himself in contention from the bench at SMS.

He just said "one or two" in answer to a question about signings but in a pretty off-hand way, just a throwaway answer really. Not worth getting worked up about. I imagine he is already sick of over promising.

Yes, I am aware of that. My point is Koeman could have intervened and demanded he stay, like we are with Morgan. He's a kid with 20 games to his name, he couldn't really kick off like Lovren did. We could, if we really wanted to, have kept him. Basically for the money we got, it looks like we thought it wasn't worth the fight, and I like to think Koeman led this thinking.

Correct. A copper bottomed "don't blame us" get-out. There were none. Chambers seems, much more than the others, the managers call. I get the feeling Koeman saw the price for a 20 game player and just thought it for the best. Not to say CC didn't want to go of course but I can't see Koeman wanting to waste energy trying to keep him like he is with Morgan. Anyhoo, he's gone and we move on.

I apologise. I have stopped feeding the chimp now. I preferred the Smiths chat on the Gardos thread, I must say.

In the "guess what Wes Tender will reply with" I anticipated some pompous remarks about how historical perspective is jolly important. You didn't let me down. Spectacularly obvious clunky stuff. Well done. Equally clunky is some aimless rambling stuff about players not being good enough and being replaced, but what on earth that has to do with Adam Lallana leaving us I will never know. Just the usual handbrake turn into a brand new area when you've been made to look silly on the last topic. Not mentioning Messi and Andy Carroll now then? Just garbage. I didn't predict you digging up my West Ham line, but crack on - I was right, they were never, ever going down that season (two seasons ago now) and, guess what, they didn't. Stand by that for as long as you want keep digging it up. Anyway, as ever this is going absolutely nowhere and it sure as hell ain't about Our pre season.

Thanks for admitting your "historical perspective" was utterly irrelevant. I accept your apology. Your answer A) is interesting in that you seem to be saying teams can just swap players in and out. So, Players with a feeling for the club, having worked through the ranks, having extensive experience working in the same environment over an extended period has no value and can be bombed out and someone else dropped in yesterday with no impact on the team. Okay then. And just because you will pretend you never said anything like that, here is the quote, clearly pulled out: "I don'r see the relevance of him having been with us 5 years against somebody else who had a similar experience elsewhere with a top team" Weird we held on to Kelvin for so long really, when any veteran keeper "with experience at a top team" could do the exact same thing. PS: I have not said Lallana is better than Paine, or even suggested it, so that future book can say what it likes. But failure to understand stuff is pretty much your forum trademark, ain't it.

He does sing both "wreck" and "ruin" in the song, though, so worry no more.

Dithered and obfuscated around what exactly? Your incisive questions? F u ck me. Yes, Liverpool overpaid for Lallana. Said that plenty of times. So what? Doesn't make him easy to replace. In case you missed it, that answer was "yes". No dithering. No obfuscation. And your other question is, I believe "can we replace Lallana?" which of course the answer is yes, and we already have with Tadic. But Tadic is unlikely in season one to end up in the Prem team of the year, or deliver the added extra something that a five year long (virtual) one-club servant like Lallana can. Your answer, sweetheart, is yes, but difficult to replace the Lallana we had last year with Tadic this year. No dithering. I notice, so pumped up with your Paxman routine you swerved my question in my last post, even avoided quoting it. Funny that...Which is more important right now? A) or B)? Let's see a straight answer to that then. I bet I don't.

Pretty sure it formed one of the central planks of the forum intellegensia's "build-it-now" Manifesto back in the day. Help fill our 50,000 megadome with day trippers from all over the south west desperate to sample some red hot live Premier League action, with the likes of Saints vs Swansea in October being just the ticket. A master plan, no doubt. Not, of course, that anyone will ever admit to saying such a thing these days.

Which of these two things is more relevant, in August 2014? a) Adam Lallana has been one of the best players for Southampton FC over the last five years, and was in the Premier League team of the season last season, that ended in May 2014, you know, the season a few weeks before this new season starts. or b) Adam Lallana is not as good as Terry Paine. So jolly well done patting yourself on the back for all that clever historical perspective you have but it is utterly meaningless irrelevance. Lallana was one of our best current players and will be tough to replace in season 2014-5 regardless of whether you think he ain't a patch on Ron Davies. And I've answered the transfer fee point already - whether we got 20, 25 or 30 million for him doesn't make him easier to replace. So your view that Liverpool have overpaid doesn't make him easier to replace for us. Yet more total irrelevance. Question, again, dealt with. And stop making out that anyone is saying Adam Lallana is irreplaceable. I'm not, no one is. No one. And we'll done on taking the bait again, I like giving you easy shots. I think everyone can all agree you are easy to predict.

I knew, just knew, my description of Lallana as "significant" in our recent history would be worked up by you into a comparison with the likes of Matt Le Tissier and other club greats in order to make a cheap point. Sorry, too obvious, too easy. Weak. Adam Lallana was an excellent player for us, especially last season when he made the Premier League team of the season and earned England call ups and a lucrative transfer. People saying he will be difficult for us to replace is a pretty anodyne point, but seems to have prompted you to flailing about making ridiculous straw man comparisons to Andy Carroll (what?), and now Saints all time legends (eh?) as well as other irrelevancies such as his transfer fee and, err, Andy Carroll's transfer fee. The world remains bemused by what point you are trying to make. I'd suggest you give up on this one.

....A Taste of Honey provided plenty of lines for "This Night Has Opened My Eyes", too. Our Jay Rod might know the answer to where that sleeve is from, of course.

Not either of them (guess you mean Louder than Bombs). Not sure what it is, but it's not any major single/album release. Intrigued!

...how about a dismissive reference to him being a "footnote", and a sneering snipe at his price tag and how he isn't "so great" that he can't be replaced. Plus of course the link with Andy Carroll to solidify the view in your head with high profile failure and wastes of money. Yep, reads like you are a massive fan of Adam Lallana and valued his contribution over the last five years. Cue Wes saying that I misunderstood his post, of course.

Who on earth has said Lallana leaves a gaping whole that cannot be filled by any other? Or anything remotely like that. You do need to work on your sarcasm, because it works better when there is a grain of truth. Secondly, even if we did sign Messi and he scored 20 goals and set up 20 more I can't see how that diminishes the contribution Adam Lallana made to the rise of our club in the last five years. It doesn't.

I think "England" not English. We've signed English keepers since Shilts: Flowers, Burridge, Beasant, etc.

Blah blah who would have thought blah blah all those years ago blah blah European Footballer of the Year blah little old Southampton blah blah. Thought I'd save some forum contributors a bit of time. Can't see us signing any of those three, although the Hernandez story is odd in that it won't go away, suggesting it is a possibility, however slender. I guess it is possible that although the likes of Atletico offer CL football, we can pay him more.

Liverpool bought Carroll for a lot of money, we sold Lallana for a lot of money. We will miss Lallana in a way no Liverpool who ever breathed oxygen missed Andy Carroll and his era defining six goals for Liverpool. As I said, work on your comparisons because this one makes zero sense whatsoever. Nothing went over my head, you're just making a point with an appalling comparison at its heart. And, lastly, him being terrible or legendary at Liverpool and/or our replacement being terrible or legendary for us makes zero difference to Lallana's significant contribution over the Leibherr era. Why would it? His contribution at Saints is over.

You think Liverpool bemoaned losing Andy Carroll in the same way Saints fans are going to miss Lallana? Even though we sold Lallana for more than Liverpool sold Carroll? And Carroll will never, ever be considered a significant player in the history of LFC? Riiiight. You need to work on your analogies.

Because clubs will, in most cases try and force the issue and sell the player. Or, offer them security of a longer term contract, and two, three or five years of guaranteed income. The vast majority of players would be petrified of being a free agent. What if a player did his ligaments in May 1st just as his contract ran down to zero? F***ed.

Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.

Great ITKing. Nice one! Make sure you carry on your ITK life cycle by going on to post ever more vague and non committal information, but continually referencing how right you have been about everything but can't be expected to know everything. Then do some stropping off saying you're not going to bother any more only posting stuff the media has already confirmed in a desperate fishing exercise to get people to say how much you are valued and don't listen to the horrible people etc etc.

Define regular, and do let me know the last time I used it on here. The only regular thing on this forum is your odd obsession with me, and a desperate need to make comments about me even on threads where I am not even participating. Usually I ignore them but bingo for you Sue, I've responded today! Success! Feel free to flick the bean in celebration you pointless waste of skin.