CB Fry

And with that, the scales fell from his eyes.

The bedwetting is a) describing it as asset stripping b) or a fire sale c) or players leaving because they "don't believe in the vision of SFC" anymore, as opposed to it being MANCHESTER SODDING UNITED OFFERING ONE HUNDRED GRAND A WEEK d) Pointless dumbery around "tell them all to fark off" and "it's £50m per leg or no deal" e) Pointless dumbery around "let em rot in the reserves" f) Pointless dumbery around how absolutely no player would ever want to leave to join Manchester sodding United if only Cortese was still here. g) "Why is Les Reed the supreme power in Southampton these days?" h) Something Les Reed something something Charlton Athletic something i) And let's start pretending that Les Reed said we would spend all the money brought in plus our transfer budget by the end of August so we can go nicely apesh it when we've "only" spent forty million come September. j) Disingenuously make out something like "why are people merely pointing out players are being sold being called bedwetters and not realists?" Avoid a) to j) and no one ain't never calling you no bedwetter, squire.

This. Seems spectacularly unlikely, and while a loan might work, it isn't our style. Really can't see it. Would be a really odd thing to do in the middle of a asset strip melt down fire sale clearout as well.

Not sure there is unbridled optimism. Just effing lunatics pi ss ing the bed, and then some normal people who accept that when Manchester United come calling then players will want to go. Koeman gets to create the next Southampton team. In the last twenty years we've had good to great Saints teams built by Bally, Strachan, Hoddle, Jones, Adkins, Pardew. Pochettino built an excellent team too. He's gone. And we've had excellent players, from Richards to Killer, to Beattie and Pahars, from Oakley to Cork, from Svensson to Schneiderlin, from Niemi to Boruc. The current crop are just as transient and replaceable as the last lot. We have a new manager. We'll get new players. Some of them will be dog sh it. But one of them, maybe two, will be effing brilliant and come November we will love them like a new son. And off we go - the future starts now, we're finishing twelfth next season and I am going to f uck ing love it. Because we're going to Wembley too. Why not, we're managed by a cup expert. But I'm not unbridled, just happily realistic. Get on it.

Which clubs have bought in a replacement before selling their star player? It's a "fundamental principle of football" so you must have loads of examples.

Those adidas kits were fu cking sh it. "Quality assurance" from off the peg Adidas football kits? Effing la la land.

Fair enough. I'd like to understand more about this "fundamental principle" of football where replacements are bought before players are sold. I genuinely cannot think of any high profile (or low profile) examples of this.

Well, watch out. You are veering into Alpine territory with a some of your posts. Some of my all time favourite Saints wore own brand kit. It will be fine.

And this is a pi ss take, right? Got to say it's a pretty good trolling act, so feel free to keep it going. We need to bring the new generation of trollers through because who knows the day when Alpine chokes on a giant Toblerone he tried to eight widthways.

This is a pi ss take, right?

No you're right. We never stood toe to toe with any big teams in the Premier League before. Never. Not ever. I think last season was the first time we had ever beaten Liverpool in our entire history, wasn't it? The kind of thing it would be impossible to imagine the Saints team managed by Strachan achieving.

He isn't "all of a sudden being seen as a superb judge". You've made up that assertion so you can get upset about it.

£15m for a one season loan? The whole thing is probably complete guff.

Obviously it is Reed's recommendation. It's his bloody job to appoint academy training staff.

Yes, yes but remember the cup has no magic and absolutely no one cared about that trip to Cardiff which passed by barely noticed by the people of Southampton. But I will never ever forget the street parties and carnival atmosphere all over the city that day in May 2014 when we played Man U to confirm our eighth place. What a party that was and great to get so much media coverage that day too. Simply magical and proof if ever it were needed that the league truly is all that matters.

It's really nothing to do with Koeman, and obviously he didn't appoint Sammy Lee, just like Mauricio Pochettino didn't samba into St Mary's saying "I know-a who we need to coach the academy, el fatista Paul Williams"

Yes, but that was just bog standard eighth place. Last season's eighth was glass ceiling shattering, shaking-football-to-its-very-foundations revolutionary eighth place. Don't you remember?

Sammy Lee probably didn't want to leave Liverpool for West Brom.

Far, far too melodramatic. Pochettino was manager for an entire eighteen months. Shaw as a first team player for about six months longer. Hardly the irreplaceable fabric of the club. MP wouldn't be able to pick the city out on a map two weeks before he joined us. Lallana and Lambo fair enough, but absolutely ludicrous for someone who has followed Saints since the early 80s like you to suggest "the Saints I know and support isn't there anymore". So yep. Bedwetting. Big style.

He could have gone to Fulham. I think you are the one lying.

Precisely. Fitzhugh's grumbles only make sense if Lovren was trying to get a move to West Brom or something. It's Liverpool (and Barca, maybe) who want him. The vision thing really is a total, total irrelevance.

Some on here will call you a "dinlow who has never experienced professional success in their lives". I'd call you absolutely spot on.

The pavlovian response on here is SFC is the only club who have/had a vision. No other club ever seems to and players only sign for other clubs for those "bigger club/more ££££" reasons. And no one ever joins us because we are a big club offering ££££, of course. Never. I have yet to see anyone saying that Lallana joined Liverpool because they have a great vision, just that he is leaving us because ours has apparently changed. And no one leaves to join us because they are disillusioned with the vision at their old club, just that they are joining us because our vision is better. Funny ain't it.

Assistant to the manager.