Fitzhugh Fella

On form and with a sensible head on him he is virtually unplayable. 50m at least he is a proven Prem goalscorer, he is young and knows where the net is. Priceless

I honestly don't know but I think we will soon find out by the length of time it takes us to appoint a successor- if it's more than a day or two it will show Koeman's departure was not expected.

Not really, at the time the players were apparently a bit bemused by it, but looking back now with hindsight, it could be construed as the management preparing them for a possible regime change. As I said on another thread earlier, at the time of Kelvin's testimonial I know the general consensus in the boardroom was that RK would not extend so putting 2 and 2 together my take is contingency plans were already being considered.

The club

At the season's end the players were briefed to expect a harder tougher regime next season.

I am afraid that the players respect him even less. I know Howe has no pedigree to speak off but everyone has to start somewhere, even Ferguson, and Howe's potential, personal circumstances etc etc while, not being the exact fit, comes closer than the likes of Moyes Hughes Martinez etc. The Premiership remains our bread and butter and Howe is a young Premiership manager.

This is v similar to what I heard from an impeccable source (not a player) and the club have known for more than a fortnight he was not going to extend. Why Reed released that interview I have no idea. Many of the players don't rate Koeman. He is aloof and interacts little at training. His brother is more highly rated and liked. At half time in the away game at Leicester he nastily and publicly castigated and belittled Targett in a manner many present thought unacceptable. Although he has done well for us and the fact his departure will rock the boat for a while, I am none to sad he is going and as I said before and not too many of the players will be particularly bothered either. Howe would get my vote as he is not likely to want to move too far and we need managerial continuity if we want to maintain our recent growth.

The fans will be more upset than most of the players.

Time to go? Nah he is box office popcorn material

Inclined to agree - on form he is unplayable. Vital we extend his contract but I don't think his head is in the right place ie Southampton.

Yes thanks for all the typing. Les Reed certainly talks the talk and fair play for that but next move is to turn words into facts

Not the first Saints players to form a band - in the 60s Gerry Gurr, Dave Paton and Micky Judd were "the Sunsets" and regularly played the After 8 club in Shirley, I have the photos to prove it.

Is that a real word?

When the Star says something positive re Saints it's lapped up and yet when the boot is on the other foot it is described as a rag

Unfortunately LR has been confident new contracts would be signed before and they haven't happened. Full marks for putting something out but I still believe the odds are against RK extending and there is a hint of damage limitation in this interview. Let's hope this time Les's optimism is well-placed.

Pompey fits at least one of those criteria

This bit is very true

A pretty good analysis

Except Koeman himself said it wasn't complex and hinted if the club said what he wanted to hear then it could get sorted quickly.

You are probably right but they won't be happy - Cortese might have been more ruthless of course, but there is a different hand on the tiller these days. Of course if they have someone lined up things could be interesting.

He did say if the talk went well his decision could be quickly taken. With every passing day now the inference grows that there will be no extension signed. The question now is how the board will react. Stick or twist?

This, Mane will be v hard to replace!

No Saint Billy All I know is as of midweek the impression coming out of SMS was that he would not extend. How they "manage" that I was not told.

He has a very rare quality and that is on form he is unplayable. Harness his waywardness and you have a priceless player

the whisper I heard is he will see his existing contract out and that's it