Patches O Houlihan

Yes you're right Matthew

Yes but it was written into the contract in January - and they didn't take it up. Hence they didn't think he was worth that to them. Maybe it was £3m but it wouldn't have been £5m. Either way it seems good value and a 4 year contract gets us 2 years for a player in his prime before we have to worry about renewing his contract or moving him on.

That was a £5.6m option to buy in Jan 2025 when he had 12 months on his contract. He had ~18 weeks left on that contract when he signed for us, and Brentford paid peanuts for him as a 19yo Championship B teamer from Copenhagen

Mads signed originally to play in Brentford's B Team. He got promoted to the first team and supplied the assist for their crucial second goal in the playoff final. Once they made it up to the PL they offered him a 3 year contract extension and he took it. His Brentford contract was up in Feb 2026. he was third choice RB in January this year so he went on loan to Wolfsburg and they had a shocker apparently with the manager likely to go (haven't looked). Brentford weren't going to renew. He would walk for free in February. He clearly wants to play (hence the loan to Wolfsburg). We have Danish and Brentford connections. Looks like a good signing to me. Either free or <£2m I reckon. >> The Cornish Beckenbauer has gone on a marauding run forwards, supported by Manning. We f**k it up, and we're being hit on the break: Now we have the man mountain recovery pace of big Josh + a 6ft tall canny Dane who's speciality is positioning and 1 on 1 defending. Couple that with Manning's new found ability to stop crosses coming in from his side and we have the foundation of a solid defensive unit. For all the beautiful triangle passing under Russ in the Champ we did ship a shed load of goals and not just because of suicidal passing in our own box. Will Still is pragmatic and his teams are solid defensively. Wouldn't it be nice to not have a shit show at the back all the time? It's been years since we had that.

It was - The disparity between our Championship income for 23-24, and our established PL wage bill based on 12 seasons there will have been much bigger than it is this year where we still have players we signed in the last Championship season.

In fairness to THB he has had quite a serious injury since the end of last season. The game at Northampton was essentially his only pre-season. I agree he wasn't great today, but I don't think it's fair to bin him off. (Particularly as everyone has also binned off Quashie & Edwards) Aside from the fact that Ryan Manning can deliver a set piece, and is showing some great resilience stopping crosses coming in, he also has the calm head and maturity that I think would really help Quashie. When I looked the team sheet I saw Fraser and Arma on the right - safe pair of hands both of them, if not dramatically inspiring. On the left Quashie and Welington. It only took 4 minutes to show that Ipswich had done their homework there - that press of Josh, and then double press of Wellie looked pre-planned to me. Until Quashie is up to speed he needs Manning alongside him - or else we ought to play Wood or Taylor.

Great work by Manning

It may have been offside but that was a great save/take by Baz - very high and then kept it the right side of the line

Bloody commentator - get your own notes!

It might be crap - but at least it’s better than the game at Gillingham

I was intrigued so I asked AI: "Armel Bella Kotchap is generally viewed as a talented and physically impressive defender with good attributes such as strength, pace, aerial ability, and defensive reading. From a personality perspective and reputation within the Southampton dressing room, there is no widespread indication that he is disruptive or a "helmet" causing issues among teammates. Insights from sources close to the dressing room suggest caution in judgment about him, but they recognize his immense abilities and contributions on the pitch. He has been described as a player willing to fight to rebuild his career and improve his standing in the team. Public statements from Bella Kotchap reflect a professional attitude where he acknowledges the need to perform and bring his best to the club rather than influencing matters off the pitch. There have been no notable reports or rumors about him upsetting or causing dressing room unrest at Southampton. There are indications from insiders and fan discussions that while he may have suffered from managerial preferences and not always getting playing time under different coaches, this appears more related to tactical choices rather than personality conflicts. He is seen as someone who respects the team environment and is eager to prove himself rather than create division. In summary, Armel Bella Kotchap’s reputation from a personality perspective is that of a reasonable, professional footballer—not a disruptive or problematic figure in the dressing room. He is focused on football and his development rather than off-field issues."

Who is the useless c unit co-commentating. Making out Wrexham are the second coming of 1970 Brazil!!

When the crowd says...

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/meet-southamptons-new-boss-cricket-mad-englishman-raised-in-belgium-bnxmkb3b5 Behind a paywall, but there are ways 😉

https://psgtalk.com/2025/08/southampton-star-perfect-backup-psg-hakimi/ Nonsense! PSG are interested! 😁😆

Our owner is now in a position where he is no longer the boss of a €2.7bn media conglomerate he founded - and has now been forced out. He still holds a minority share holding, but has fallen out with the decision makers, and all the CEOs think the shit will hit the fan creating an "existential threat". How is that not "a bugger moment"?! Granted he will have plenty of private wealth. But if you are no longer steering a €2.7bn business you might decide it is safer to scale back your personal spending on Sport Republic.

https://archive.ph/XQk3p This is actually potentially quite serious. Solak has been dumped out of the huge business group he founded back in 2000 by a private equity firm that he is a joint owner with. 8 of the 9 CEOs of the different businesses have throw their toys out of the pram and are demanding he is reinstated. He is personally owed €200m in bonuses. So that is our Chairman and owner who has lost control of the business group that keeps Saints well financed and him potentially having to bankroll a huge legal battle. Not ideal.

That's right - wasn't the fee decided by a tribunal and was pretty low considering their talent

I thought we pinched him off Spurs along with a defender of the same age (name escapes me)

I agree with you But I'm also a petrolhead so I feel obliged to post this

Lucy Bronze according to her wikipedia page played in a boys team up north - but only until she was 11: "Having played football for Belford,[21] Bronze joined Alnwick Town when young and stayed with them to the under-11 level, but Football Association (FA) rules prevented her from continuing with the boys' team when she turned twelve.[34] In the Alnwick juniors squad, Bronze was the best player on the team, picking up six "man of the match" awards from eight games; the manager was so intent for her to continue playing when she turned twelve that he helped open a discrimination case against the FA in the hopes they would allow an exception. They did not, but did set a target to support more girls' football teams in rural Northern areas as an alternative solution." Lauren James also famously played competitively alongside her brother and his mates in informal games. It would seem the FA has done their homework and decided that once boys hit puberty girls can't match them physically.

AI: Several full international women's football teams have played matches against boys' or men's youth teams, often for preparation or exhibition purposes, and results have been published: Switzerland women's national team lost 7-1 to an under-15 boys team in a preparatory match before the Women's Euro 2025. This result was widely reported in June 2025 as a test game with no competitive implications. Swiss media highlighted the physiological differences influencing the outcome, noting men's game pace being about one-third faster due to greater muscle mass after puberty. EUROS: Group Stage (Group A): Lost 1-2 to Norway, Won 2-0 against Iceland, Drew 1-1 with Finland (a stoppage-time equalizer by Riola Xhemaili secured their progression to the quarter-finals) Switzerland finished second in their group behind Norway, advancing to the knockout phase. Quarter-finals: Switzerland was defeated 0-2 by Spain The United States Women's National Team (USWNT), one of the most successful women's international teams, has on many occasions played against male youth or college teams. These matches are often friendlies or part of training camps. For example, the USWNT faces male youth sides to test skill and fitness, though specific scores for these matches vary and are not always widely published. The Australia women's team reportedly lost 7-0 to a Newcastle Jets under-16 boys' team in May 2016; the women's squad was missing some overseas-based players.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Bronze If you count all the adult trophies starting in 2009 I make it 36 trophies. Including 5x Champions League (Lyon & Barcelona), 4x WSL (Liverpool, Man City & Chelsea), plus Euro 2022 & 2025 and a World Cup final. 140 England caps including 20 goals mostly from right back She appears to have done all of this whilst being continuously injured; surgeons advising her that she would need to retire at 27. She is 33. She grew up on Lindisfarne island with a Portuguese father and speaks 4 languages. She was county champion at tennis, hockey and football. She also made national finals at pentathlon and cross country. Oh, and she is AuDHD too. After the win when she was dancing on one leg with her injured knee raised she would have been bouncing on the leg with the fractured tibia... Fair play 👍

Didn't one of the pundits say that winning the Euros again tonight was Lucy Bronze's 25th trophy?! - That's mental. No wonder they let her play with a broken leg.

Spanish coach looks intimidating...