CSA96

Solak's response to the takeover talk that was peddled by Simon Jordan: "There is no truth in that rumour. I guess somebody was interested in investing in British football. Then they probably had the idea of relegated clubs, they might be in trouble. And then Southampton is a prime place, it's a traditional great club. "They sent me a message and asked, 'Would you like to sell?' And I said, no. They said, 'But yeah, we would like to do this' - blah, blah, blah. "I told them, 'Guys, if you have anything serious, send me a letter explaining your intentions - I am not 100 per cent against having a partner'. If you share the vision, if you share the view on how we would like the club to develop, then we can allow somebody to invest alongside me. "But I just took a firm position that I'm not selling the club, and then, from there on, I never thought for a second about selling the club. "There were quite a few enquiries, and this is a good thing. Southampton is considered to be a great club and a good investment. But whatever they think of Southampton, I think five times higher. I love the club and have no intention of parting with Southampton anytime soon."

Dragan Solak on this transfer window: "We will have to try to find new homes for a number of our players. We have to size down to maybe 25 or 26 players. We are already discussing the potential of selling players, but Johannes has three positions in which he told us we need to buy immediately. "We gave him this approval and the budget to buy these before we need to sell anything, and the first addition is a defender, Joshua Quarshie. "He's now working on a striker that he wants no matter what, that should come before we sell anybody, and we are working on a creative midfielder. "Sales are a bit different. Sometimes we get a lot of calls for players, and there is always a price where we will say yes, but these guys are smart. "They are not going to come with that price straight away. They will make us a few offers we have to refuse. Johannes is very smart in negotiations."

BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ljyj8k Daily Echo: https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/25246799.dragan-solak-interview-southampton-owner-opens-sale-rumours/

McCarthy had a really good game at the Hawthorns in the first leg of the semi-final, as I remember it, which involved a lot of claiming contested crosses. As we all know, Bazunu would've flapped being put under those kind of deliveries There was also a cracking reaction save at Wembley to stop Leeds equalising. So I'm not sure I particularly agree with your assessment of McCarthy's contribution to our playoff success (I'm not a McCarthy fan and feared the worst for the playoffs with him stepping in... but to rewrite history and suggest he didn't make a significant contribution to our promotion in those games is unfair)

Torino have sacked Vanoli now, so if he left on good terms with the board and fans, there's a chance for Juric to return

I've got no issue with Manning staying either, I haven't seen anything to suggest Welington is any better really. If the new coach wants full backs who get up and cross then Manning will suit him

For anyone who thinks Paul Onuachu should be playing for us next season, allow me to remind you that the new manager was asked about his style of play and the first two words he used were 'high energy' - off you go, Paul. Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Not that hard to understand, is it? Saints fans don't have to make a binary choice between Option A and Option B on who we'd like to own the club

my space

Video of Will Still's first interview now on the Saints website: https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/video/watch-will-stills-first-interview-as-saints-manager

One of his brothers has a job offer to coach a team himself and the other is the video analyst. Both leaving Lens but not coming here

'Congratulations on an amazing season Romulo' 'Thanks boss - will I get my big move now?' 'Yes, congratulations on a great campaign and your Champions League offers for next season... but have you ever heard of Southampton? They're known as the second-worst Premier League team ever and they'll be playing in the second division in England. That's your prize' I think not. The player does have to actually want the move for the multi-club model to work - and why on earth would he want to come here ahead of his other options?

It was reported at the start of the week that Still and Saints had an agreement on his personal terms but the compensation negotiations had to be sorted between the clubs

Amorim's taken it well...

Guessing he will need to bring a GK coach, as presumably Dean Thornton will go and rejoin Russ at Leicester now

Russell Martin set to be appointed Leicester City manager

I think he might end up still being here when the season starts too. I suspect you probably could reach the £30m figure for THB, however I simply struggle to see which club is going to have Taylor Harwood-Bellis sufficiently high enough up their list of targets to go and do a deal as a priority. He's going to be a fringe player/nice to have rather than a must for anybody looking to add depth to their defence and they'll have other players in other positions that they need to go and spend their budget on first

Congrats, I think you got the full bingo card of lazy comments in that one - I couldn't give a rat's arse if he hasn't played professional football; Terry, Gerrard, Rooney had great careers and I wouldn't want any of them in charge - Players will judge him by the quality of his sessions, the advice he gives the team and how he handles them as people; I know players who have played for guys with amazing playing careers and they've turned round and said 'he couldn't coach for shit and his assistants had to do everything' - He didn't 'learn football management on a computer game' he went into analysis and coaching early and did his badges and worked his way up. He also played the Football Manager video games in his spare time. Maybe he even broadened some of his knowledge in the process. However, feel free to find me any bloke in their early 30s who loves football and hasn't played a football video game, be it FM, Pro Evo, FIFA... whatever. It's just a new generation of people arriving in their 30s and starting to get coaching jobs now - Ligue 1 getting called 'the level of the Championship' is really laughable. PSG, Lyon, Marseille, Monaco, Lille, Nice are equivalent to Champ clubs? I don't think so - He grew up in Belgium, yes, because his Dad moved his wife and kids for a job over there but has repeatedly said England is 'home' to him, he speaks native English and his entire family is English So yes, he has done quite well for a young English coach working overseas, it's not really up for debate. He hasn't stunned the footballing world with an outstanding achievement as yet, he hasn't won a trophy, but to belittle his career with lazy tropes is a bit boring and just suggests you're not paying attention

Why don't you do some reading/watching? I'm not seeing the word 'exceptional' flying around from the community on here, but it's not hard to understand why people are cautiously optimistic or open-minded to him being the next coach As a young English coach who has done well for himself overseas - more than once - while in one 'main' European top divisions, against superior opposition, in his late 20s / early 30s, his stock is rising and it's not hard to understand that people might be fine/optimistic with him as a hire for a second division side in England

Seeing a Saints manager get hunted by a PL club because he's done well enough to impress one would make a refreshing change, at this point

Sunderland offered him their job last summer and he turned it down

Jack Rosser's full report in The Sun: SOUTHAMPTON hope to appoint Will Still as their new manager this week. Saints have held extensive talks with the 32-year-old, who is leaving French club Lens and wants to be closer to family in England Still has agreed terms on a contract, and the south coast side hope he will be confirmed in time to attend their final Premier League game of the season. Saints, who were relegated in early April, host Arsenal on the final day of the season this weekend. The club also held talks with Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl. Rohl had been the No1 choice for some time, but wants to take more time to make a decision over his future. The German, a former assistant manager to Ralph Hasenhuttl at St. Mary's, has interest from his home country which could prove more attractive than a Championship job. Saints were reluctant to be left waiting and moved quickly to land Still, who has also managed Reims in Ligue 1 as well as Lierse and Beerschot in Belgium. Lens are not owed any compensation should Still leave, though the same cannot be said for his coaching staff, which include brothers Edward and Nicolas. Talks over compensation for his coaching staff are ongoing and remain the only sticking point before the appointment can be confirmed.