Gloucester Saint

It was 8m Euros last time I saw, as a top price, Brum paid far more for Jay Stansfield in the division below last season.

There’s logic in what you are saying but what I’m trying to get my head around is why the player would give up the German top flight to be a squad player in the English second.

Che got what 17 goals and linked/held up well. Downs’s open play won’t be as refined so needs a couple more goals to compensate. If Spors and Still believe he’s good for 20 goals next season then worth it.

I don’t think he’s a number 6…

Obafemi doesn’t stay anywhere long. Ralph and Martin at Swansea dug him out for lifestyle and attitude.

Possibly true on the last two sentences, Che Adams of two years ago is my minimum benchmark though.

If I was the player, I’d sign a new contract at Koln and play in the Bundesliga next season. If he’s that talented, why aren’t they pushing the boat out to keep him?

Still (no pun intended) doesn't mean Koln have accepted the bid. Saints might have agreed terms with his agent but he will be on nowhere near what Adams/Onachu was or Archer, BBD or AA is so that won’t be a problem. Cheap little gamble but not really what’s needed.

Doesn’t actually sounds that close either, which isn’t a surprise with the Gold Cup I guess. Poch likes his players fully focused!

Projects are not what’s needed in the situation. Don’t mind the odd one like Quarshie but strikers make or break promotions. Is he an upgrade on Che Adams from two years ago? That’s the test, if he’s not then good signing for when the parachute payments run out and the club is skint. A bit like when Rupert bought Morgan. But certainly not now. It’s an SR signing, not a Saints one as I’d recognise it. Otherwise, Spors is losing some of the good credit for the Sulemana fee.

Much as I’d like to see them jailed for their shit ‘music’.

I get why Key wanted to use it, to force county bowlers to develop some points of difference rather than 25 Darren Stevens and Ronnie Irani impressions. . Trouble is, in preparing for Australia why not use it in the last couple of India tests with bowlers that might actually go to the Ashes instead of county plodders? Using it early season made more sense to stop 100 all out every game. Hants 54/3 - that level of effort from the top order is pathetic though whatever the ball is. Tilak, Brown and Dawson to carry the top order again. Middleton 1 from 23 balls, Gubbins 13 from 50. Competing with Toby Albert for the Southern League can’t get it off the square award. Who is the batting coach? Have they heard of running singles and rotating strike if out of form? Should still get a draw unless our batters are really brainless but might be following on.

Mind you, the ‘Donkey Dowie, Deadly Dixon’ chants from the opening day v Spurs soon turned around those players’ names….

Boat issue does need sorting and annoys me as much as you. There isn’t a panacea though, as Reform would find out. Making it far harder to employee illegals by shutting down firms and much bigger penalties for boards of large companies would help more than smashing the gangs or Rwanda though. SMEs are getting some heavier penalties but drop in the ocean compared to the fast food firms.

If I type how much I love spending time at the Hoe, I suspect it may be misinterpreted on this forum….

Many groups do but some generations have a disproportionate armada of non-dom owned newspaper outlets to push for theirs, whilst also decimating the economy. It is democracy, yes, but I struggle to sympathise when the same people moan constantly about winter fuel allowance, WASPI etc when they overwhelmingly voted leave.

As long as they don’t want lots of freebies from an economy 6% smaller as a result of a hard Brexit. Nobody can fix that properly.

Not to mention severely restricting our trade access to our by far our biggest trade partner on our doorstep.

August is a time to avoid Devon and Cornwall.

Sunderland only just signed him permanently in January after being on loan. Unless they don’t think he’s quite PL-ready and he’s on a low wage even given promotion, I can’t see how it works? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Isidor Mind you, Downs just won promotion to the Bundesliga albeit he wasn’t originally on loan to Koln!

Could be awaiting visa and clearance? Some clubs announce subject to that but not always with Saints.

I liked Taylor a lot but slightly harsh on Paul Jones IMHO. POTS 97/98, not quite at that level afterwards but still made one of the best saves seen in a Saints shirt at Old Trafford in the 3-3, which was on a par with Kelvin at Leeds. Only displaced by Niemi, one of our best ever after Shilts, and Liverpool took him on loan. Other than not getting shots quite far enough from the central area of his box when parrying, not many obvious flaws and since he left, only Niemi, Wright, Boruc and Ramsdale are better than Paul Jones for me. I wouldn’t have displaced Maik Taylor, yes, but Paul Jones was value for money and miles better than McCarthy or Bazunu, that’s for sure. Wales and Finland played each other when they were competing for the #1 jersey under WGS and it was the most lively 0-0 since Saints v Everton and the Southall/Flowers masterclass. Paul and Antti matched each other with top drawer save after save with Litmanen and Bellamy astonished at certain goals kept out acrobatically.

Although part of me does want to see Reform voting areas experience their policies directly and the penny drop for some.

Is this another game with the Kookaburra? Probably a draw as long as we bat as well as Chelmsford.

Expensive, made of glass. Been there, done that.