CB Fry

Work it out you #*#*#* old #*#*.

Llambias has strong connections with a manager who is actually proven capable of taking sides in the top five, and playing European football.

I think we should play Lee Barnard. And probably kick two goals into our own net in the first five minutes. Waste of time when clearly the League is the only priority or something. Nothing will ever match that feeling ones gets when you finish eighth in the league and nothing but nothing should take our focus away from that wondrous prize.

Facts of the freebies? Do tell. Come on. Both sides of the story, mind. What court case? Saints paid Benali off on the courthouse steps.

"Who can really judge" he says... He also says this.... Plenty of judging there nased on nothing resembling "both sides of the story". Based entirely on your own opinions and guesswork, with a healthy dash of inbuilt prejudice. Or, if you like, lying. You're utterly full of it OldNick. So spare us the "no one knows the facts" routine. It never stops you normally.

I'd pick MK Dons. Harder than Wolves and Sheff Utd but would absolutely love to see them in the Prem. Potentially already have a decent manager who justs needs a bit of backing.

For saying we're not on for the Champions League? Or for saying we won't get relegated? For saying Shaw is more likely to get CL football at Chelsea than us? For saying getting seven million quid for 32-year-old Lambert would be pretty good return? Merson is a thick *****, and this is ghost written from him rambling o the phone. But most of his disperate points are correct. Listen everyone. We're not going to be in the Champions League. We never were going to be. Just an ego maniac trying to spend someone else's money. Stop getting upset when people dare to say it.

Reply about what? The club made the complaint.

Personal favourite: the away kit we could only wear at one away match. Runner up: Utterly invisible Sponsors logo on home kit. But yeah. The greatest businessman to ever wear trousers.

Media wide anti-Saints agenda, haven't you heard?

It is true that Cortese hadn't run a whelk stall before he took over Saints, right?

Luke Shaw's old man is the only sensible option. After Markus, the single most important individual in the club's history.

Not everyone quite on the right wavelength, though. Good old Strawlock.

Maybe we'll stay in the bright lights of ninth in the Premier League because we have never, ever achieved that level of success before. Not ever. No sir.

Correct. It's why Saints were such a brilliant bargain purchase in L1 - loads of potential, but actually not that much infrastructure/capital investment beyond the team. (also why the "we nearly went out of business" stuff is nonsence - we were a great prospect) Now, it is fair to say we are a decent, healthy club, but at best we are going to break even as a mid ranking Prem team. Unless some rent-a-shiekh comes in, but we don't have the glamour.

Enough mentioning the cranes in the harbour already. Decent article. Seems entirely plausible, and has been the official CB Fry theory on the future of the club since spring 2013. The Leibherrs were never going to fund a push for the Champions League. They'd spent quite enough, and once we were in the riches of the Premier League it was obvious that the club would be expected to a) at best fund itself or b) at worst be sold to some other mug. We've had a ton of free money and our "brilliant businessman" never quite had to bother to make any kind of books balance. He's had fun, we've had fun. We're a bloody healthy club and we move on in a strong position to remain a Premier League fixture for seasons to come.

Just out of interest, which players are you talking about here?

The gutter press seduced and spoon fed information from Nicola Cortese, yes?

Supports my opinion that they would sell up during last summer. By far the very best moment to sell - Prem status assured and not yet on the draining money pit of "just two more players". Glad to see I wasn't far off, despite being mocked on here. As far as the Leibherrs are concerned, they've fulfilled Dad's wishes and can move on. I have no doubt they will sell us to someone good, regardless of the hysterical dipsticks on here squealing "Lee Barnard! Lee Barnard! We'll be playing Lee Barnard!" All will be fine.

Don't worry, maybe your heroes at SISU will step in and take over

Bet they won't.

A lot of us realised that the "stated ambitions" were pie in the sky.

What a load of nonsense about us "not accepting the natural order". We're on track to finish eighth or ninth. Where WBA and Swansea finished last year. Where Lowe got us on a relative shoe string. Hardly shaking football to its foundations.

It's jolly sweet that some people on here think that the likes of Lovren and Wanyama are only here because of Cortese's "vision". In another season the pair of them would sign for QPR in the blink of an eye.

This. Hopefully the hysterics should now stop and we might just find out that somewhere in the world there just might be another human being capable of running Southampton Football Club. Crazy, I know.