Gloucester Saint

And further back - Fraser Forster, McCarthy’s previous extension which was on whopping wages, Hurlock, Branfoot. Only times in living memory we’ve made better decisions is when there’s been proper football pedigree and experience in the building - Bates, Lawrie, Hoddle, WGS, Pardew, Ronald. SR are rank amateurs even worse than Askham and Lowe. The club always thinks it knows better but it never has - we forgot more about football and their own club in the time it took to type this post than anyone in SR will ever learn. Watch Smallbone and Bazunu new contracts next - they are that clueless.

Still is very wet behind the ears. Plenty of other ex-managers have been taken in by Jack though.

He’d purr-fur not to talk about it.

As a forward though, one can go in off your shin, the fans cheer, then another at a level you know you get another one next game when you’re picked again and the confidence could return in the rest of your game. Remember how Ricardo Fuller came back off loan, a brace v Cardiff, turned it around for part of a season before being sold to Stoke. Harder for keepers and defenders in many ways.

Stewart is a fitness risk though. Incredible comeback late last season, earned a ton of respect from me for that after almost 3 years out. I’d see him like we did David Connolly in 11/12 - runs of games and important goals/assists, runs of injury niggles and absences - but if he can have a similar level of output to that, maybe a few more games than David, than he’ll be well worth having around. You can’t assume or rely on it in transfer planning though, he’s a welcome bonus. Connolly had a lot more Champ experience than Stewart had though having said all that. So AA will need replacing if he goes. BBD you could argue has been superseded by Downs but BBD has the Champ experience right now, plus I’m not sure that unless Wrexham don’t think J Rod will last a season and Hardie needs a different type of partner, that he’s got much of a market (BBD) after three rank spells at clubs. I think he’s better than he’s shown but needs to be much fitter, the Martin regime really wasn’t for him.

Forest also promoted to Europa. Not the worst thing though, Palace might have a proper chance of winning that, not quite as taxing on the squad as the Europa, and their fans still get the away trips they’ve never had. Still some decent sized clubs in it as well.

AA, for his faults, scored 20+ goals last time and the winner at Wembley. All of his managers disagree with Adam that he is better through the middle but I’ll give Martin this, he found a set up Armstrong thrived in. Now if he doesn’t fit Still’s preferred systems, and yes, there have been some hints via Alfie House, then a move probably is best. But like Downes, do the club want to sell him to a direct promotion rival? Secondly, to suggest at Champ level with his record that he’s not near the first XI - nah, that’s daft talk.

Leicester winning the PL and us finish top six in 2015/16 was never going to be allowed to happen again.

Then again, I’ve seen youngsters (early 20s) drinking on the trains at 7.30am recently. I understood it when the Teat match was on at Edgbaston and they had tickets but mid-week on a working day?

Some fair comments but it’s the length of the contract that has ruled so many. An extra year wouldn’t have elicited this reaction. On Bazunu, at the risk of Agent Lighthouse appearing, Liege weren’t playing around their goal and he still leaked 2 a game and looked dreadful. Watch the highlights if you don’t believe me. Championship or the Belgian top flight is too high a standard at this stage in his career, needs to regain confidence in League 1 on a subsidised loan where he’s had a bit more joy. If he starts and makes more errors, that could be very toxic and the club really burned him by the sink or swim in the PL and Chanp last time. His stats were by far the worst and don’t lie on that sample size of games.

I’d let him go for a moderate fee (£2-3m) as he has ability at this level but locks you into a midfield-heavy system because he is poor off the ball in tracking, tackling unless his body matures. His value isn’t much if Still doesn’t want to deploy such a set-up. On Stewart, let’s see how pre-season goes as he hasn’t had one properly since Covid arguably.

Fair point MLG, I wasn’t necessarily thinking of the budget aspect, more try getting more of the spine together during pre-season. Mind you, the best loans like 2023 probably won’t be until near end of the window.

In this country, a key difference I first noticed in 2018 on holiday in the Lakes when the WC was on, was that the peak of the temperature was 5-8pm, sometimes right up to 9pm like it will be today. And it was really hot that year, 35-40. It has to be hot to make Cumbrian roads melt. I’m fairly certain for most of my life, the heat mellowed by 5pm and you enjoyed a lovely temperature in the evening to be outside. Or am I imaging this?

You’ve got to look at the state of the domestic schedule overall to know that. Far too many moving parts.

A Doris Stokes moment there @trousers Come on @Turkish and @Farmer Saint that’s CoT worthy surely?

Don’t mind seeing that at all but first XI needs to be the focus now, we’ve got lots ‘for the future’.

If it was Dragan and Spors decision, it’s tricky when you’re new in post and a relatively inexperienced manager (which was one reason to go for someone who would challenge and push SR quite hard) but I’m not sure I’d have been quite so glowing before I’d seen him actually play.

That does not bode well quite frankly.

Plenty of options on this list other than Darling who has already joined Norwich (we were linked as were Rangers but was always going to work with Manning) and the promoted clubs players https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/all-24-efl-championship-clubs-best-centre-back-ranked-from-best-to-worst/

It’s not the actual heat I mind, it’s the humidity. Not at Singapore levels I admit, but it ain’t pleasant to be out and about in. Give me spring and autumn over summer any day.

I’d actually laugh if the club did that and he let a couple of soft ones to give the skates their first league win at SMS. Agent Gavin indeed. Given the volume of keeper links though this summer, I doubt even they’ll be that stupid this time.

It’s what comes next if they can pull this stunt. Echo puff pieces about how well Bazunu and BBD are training, new contract for Smallbone, McCarthy, more ‘good lads’.

🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️

Plus Lallana was allegedly paid £45k p/w last year to so similar and it certainly wasn’t based on playing contribution. Now he’s part of coaching set-up. If Will Still is happy about that, good for them both. But Adam is supposed to be that voice of experience. Why does Stephens need to be for the next year 3 years as well? At least Lallana was a top player. How many non-playing voices of experience do we need? And a Jack still could’ve done that under contract next season.

Adequate doesn’t get you automatic promotion which is supposedly what Still has been set to aim for. Wood is not an adequate Champ CB either - have a watch of this. If the club had paid attention, Martin wouldn’t have been allowed to sign him. And Quashie hasn’t played a minute in the Championship, Kayi Sanda barely a couple of promising PL sub cameos. Edwards has 18 months experience and a good half-season loan at QPR but he will 100% need experience - high quality experience for this level - if Jan and THB leave. Unless the club are repeating the 08/09 experiment. Brum, Ipswich et al won’t be relying on a u23 back line like the above and that’s the minimum bar for Southampton Football Club.