Professor

I still don’t understand what pleasure a few people get by slagging off players of the club they claim to support. The role of fans is to encourage our team. Making negative remarks about our players is more likely to help the opposition.

Absolutely agree. With the reports of how poor Butland was it's ludicrous that McCarthy didn't play the second half. It suggests that he isn't being seriously considered and that Southgate had already decided his plan in advance and wasn't capable of changing it. A lucky win on penalties at the world cup and talking him up in the media, hasn't made him a good manager.

Davis will one of the players Hughes would have had in mind when saying that he has several players who could be first choice starters who he’s not been able to accommodate. The club has a first team squad of 27, of whom 23 are outfield player, with only two young players. Few would argue that it makes sense to play a settled team but obviously any change just means different players lose out. If the squad had fewer experienced quality players but had included more young players the problem would have been easier but if injuries or suspensions start to have an effect as the season goes on we might come to appreciate having players like Stephen Davis ready to come in. If they do, it’s then up to them to try to hold onto the shirt.

The result in the Caraboa Cup might not be a guide to this game as it was virtually between the reserve sides but it shouldn't be disregarded completely. We have the psychological advantage of having won on their turf. Subject to any injuries, we could see an unchanged starting line-up which would promise well for a good start in this game. Expecting to see the first home win.

Ever since Jimmy Hill, as Chairman of the PFA in 1961, succeeded in scrapping the maximum fees for professional footballers, player's wages have gone through the roof with the result that wealthy clubs can buy all the best players. For a time this also meant that if a wealthy individual owned or acquired a club, they could spend as much as they liked to buy success. Blackburn Rovers, in the early 1990s was one example, with the millionaire, Jack Walker, spending huge sums on players, including a record fee for Southampton's Alan Shearer. Blackburn went from the bottom of the second division in 1991 to winning the Premier League in 1994. More recent examples of Abramovich at Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour at Man City are well documented. Football's response was to introduce 'Financial Fair Play' which limited what a club could spend on players. Under PFA, clubs are required to balance the books by spending no more than they earn. Earnings include TV fees and commercial income so that inevitably, the internationally well known clubs, such as Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, can spend more on players than the anyone else because they have the highest incomes. Wealthy owners can't just pump their own money into a club in the way that people such as Walker and Abramovich previously did. The Bosman ruling has also had a major effect, in giving players the right to move for no fee at the end of their contract. The outcome has been that if a player is wanted by one of the wealthy clubs, he can move on when the opportunity arises. Anyone who thinks that Southampton freely sold players such as Mane, Lovren, Lallana, Shaw, Clyne, Schneiderlin, etc., is sadly mistaken. These players let Southampton know that they would refuse to sign a new contract, meaning they would be free to move for nothing when their contract ended. The club did hold on to Schneiderlin for one more season as there was still some length in his contract but when they tried to do the same with Van Dijk they were unsuccessful because of an unexpected dip in Van Dijk's form. Whether that was deliberate by the player, who knows, but it does suggest that a club can't force a player to do his best for them if he is determined on a transfer. The way Southampton conducts its affairs isn't unique to this club. It involves spending as much on players as the club's income and the FFP rules will allow. It tries to find players with potential, that other teams haven't noticed, because to buy established senior internationals, in the way that the likes of Liverpool and Man U do, is beyond the club's means. At Southampton, it also tries to compliment transfers in with players brought through the Academy and although players such as Bale and Walcott are the exceptions, the current squad does contain some five Academy graduates. Even if an Academy player doesn't make the first team, he can benefit the club if a transfer to a lower league club adds to Southampton's income. What you can't do as a middle-ranking professional club, is what that article implies. You can't stop players moving to a big club if one comes calling, delay maybe, but stop no, and you can't spend more on players transfers and wages than the FFP rules allow. What yoiu can do is to increase your commercial income so that the FFP cap is higher. One way to do that is to market the club in parts of the World that still have scope for earning more income. With China being a country where there is huge untapped potential, Southampton chose a Chinese owner to invest in the club and have embarked on marketing the team in China. Selling club shirts and calendars in airports in China might seem a small step but income from advertising and the image rights of players could offer substantial opportunities. It will be interesting to see if we heat about the recruitment of at Chinese player for the first team squad. The point of Southampton is survival in the Premier League. This means aiming at a top half finish because all the bottom half clubs are at risk of relegation. Replacing one of the existing top 5 or 6 is not likely, not on a permanent basis, but when one or two of them have a poor season, there can be an opportunity for a place in the Europa League, or, as Leicester showed, even a shot at the title but if a middle-ranking club is successful, it must expect its players to become targets for the wealthy clubs, as has happened to Saints, and to Leicester.

Early predictions of Watford don’t look so good as they’ve already got a quarter of the points needed to stay up after just 4 games. Huddersfield and Cardiff look strong candidates for the drop. My third choice would be Fulham, despite the money they’ve spent but Newcastle could beat them to it. Saints have too good a squad and are playing too well to be in a relegation scrap. If it hadn’t been for Hojbjerg’s sending off against Leicester we’d already be in the top half of the table.

According to The Echo, Charlie Austin "won a penalty just minutes after being introduced." The truth is that Palace defender, Wan-Bissaka, gave away a penalty because he cheated, using his hands to prevent the ball going into the goal from Charlie's rather fumbled attempt. The only time a player 'wins' a free kick or a penalty is when they deceive the referee by cheating such as pretending they've been fouled, something that should not be part of football at all. The media should stop this practice of giving credit to a player when an opponent contravenes the rules of the game. Charlie would have scored a goal if Wan-Bissaka hadn't handled the ball. The fact that Saints failed to score from the penalty kick and the failure of the referee to have sent Wan-Bissaka off for deliberate hand ball to prevent a certain goal will only, will only have encouraged players to think that cheating is worthwhile.

Nice to see a cheating attempt by Van Dijk failing in the Liverpool/Leicester game. Having gone up for a corner, when a defender put a hand on his shoulder he immediately fell to the ground and then shouted at the ref for not awarding a penalty. Serious failure by the ref not to show a yellow card for simulation but another example of the cheating illness that infects football. Unfortunately, our own club isn't immune.

Excellent performance by Shane Long against Palace and without touching the ball he made a major assist to the first goal with his speed distracting the defenders.

As a Mark Hughes fan, I have to admit to being puzzled by the 70th minute substitutions that made the side more defensive. Trying to defend a one-goal lead feels like a risky strategy. You could say it was justified because it worked, with sub Matt Target playing as a wing back and laying on the superb pass that led to Højbjerg's goal but taking off Ings, who had scored the first goal and Elyounoussi who had hit the bar was hard to understand. We'd already lost Shane Long through injury so I found it odd that both the other strikers were replaced with defensive players. If Alex McCarthy hadn't saved with his legs, the close range header from Dembele just on 90 minutes, we' might be feeling very different about yesterday's game. Managers can't openly admit to misjudgment but I'd be very surprised if Hughes isn't reviewing the substitution decisions with his coaching team, or at least, in his own mind.

Implausible Jeff should try looking up 'premature' in a dictionary. If he now wants the team to fail so he can feel good about not wanting Mark Hughes as manager, he should take a close look at whether he is really a supporter of the club.

In Switzerland but even here not out of reach the negative posts by people masquerading as Saints’ fans. True fans support the club and don’t make offensive insults about players and staff. 2-1 from home is not a poor result but if I were a coach or player, reading some of the rubbish posted on here, I’d wonder if it was worth bothering to do your best. Of the 4 outfield players bought in at a substantial investment to improve the team, only one was fit enough to play so it’s hardly surprising that a strong team like Everton were a huge challenge at home. We should congratulate our team on losing out just by the odd goal in 3. Of the

There’s no parking near the Amex but for league games, match tickets include local train or bus travel. Never been myself but Brighton supporting friends go to Lewes and catch the train to Falmer station, immediately beside the stadium. Only about 5 miles extra to drive to Lewes, so worth checking out.

The constant carping about some of our players is disappointing. People who have used this thread to criticise Nathan Redmond should look at his record. He made his top level professional debut at the age of 16 and has represented England at all levels from under 16's to the full national team. That doesn't necessarily make him as good as some of the world class players in The Prem, bought in by other clubs for multi-million-pound transfer fees, but some of the comments on here by people who would struggle to kick a football are simply absurd. Claiming he can't pass the ball must rank as one of the silliest. Our players are constantly assessed by professional coaches and all are here because of their ability to play at Premier League level. Teams in the Championship would gratefully take any of them, because our squad are so much better than most players at the level below. There needs to be a bit more appreciation for what we have.

Rickie's move to Liverpool was his dream come true but at 32 and with only a 2-year contract he must have known it wouldn't last long. The decline then, to WBA and Cardiff, when he clearly didn't want to stop playing, was sad. The video was very moving but it was a reminder that had be stayed at Southampton, he could have carried on a little longer and on retirement could have well been found a role, as Kelvin Davis was. All the same, it was an amazing story, from League one to the Premier League and England, proving all along the way that he could play at every level.

It’s the points gaps that tell the truth about the Premier League being a false competition. Nothing will change as long as the authorities are happy for money to allow a few clubs to hoover up the best players from around the World, with no limitations. FFP is a misnamed joke.

The signing of a local boy who genuinely wants to play for us is a real boost for he club. Danny's record at Burnley, before he suffered the bad luck of injuries at Liverpool, took him into the England team and it's just a shame that the usual negative minded have to post their hate mail. The end result of this transfer window now looks very good with four quality outfield players added to what was already a strong squad, and Tadic the only player to move on. With the price tags on Matt Targett and JWP, holding onto both of them now looks even more positive. It'll be interesting to see how soon Mark Hughes feels Ings will be ready to take his place in the team. However much some people might have liked another foreign player in the squad, I suspect Danny Ings will receive a rapturous reception when he first appears in a Saints' shirt.

If it’s correct the club were trying to get Welbeck but pulled out because his wage demand would have undermined the club’s pay structure, then we should hope the attempt to get Ings instead has come off. But let’s remember Pellegrino was sacked for under-performance of the squad, NOT because the players weren’t good enough. That squad has been improved so the moaners may have to eat their words.

If a buyer isn’t a available how else can the club improve the financial situation other than by a loan? People are entitled to disagree with a decision but to be credible should suggest a better alternative. The criticism of Les Reed is unjustified by selective use of a new contract that only went sour after it was made. At the time, England’s second keeper looked to be well worth keeping at the club. It was the same Les Reed who earned the club a profit of some £60m on VVD when the player engineered a move that the club had tried to resist.

The negative mindset that blames Les Reed for everything continues from the usual suspects. It seemed to me that fans welcomed the decisions when they were made:- Boufal - Morrocco international since 2016, 14 goals for Lille in 43 games, high level technical skills; Forster - England no.2 keeper, wanted by other clubs, capable of some amazing saves; Carrillo - according to Wikipedia, a fan favourite at Estudiantes, interest from Inter and Benfica, scored 15 goals for Monaco; Clasie - 17 caps for The Netherlands, recruited because Koeman wanted him. But once these players failed to perform at Southampton, 20-20 hindsight set in for some people. Buying players is always a risk, even some players bought for millions more than Saints would ever pay, have flopped for other clubs. Slagging off the recruitment department or the Vice-Chairman of Football just shows how easy it is to be clever after the event. The same recruitment department has brought in players who, when they have insisted on moving to another club, have left Southampton with substantial profits.

We have good players, who under-performed last year due to the way they were managed. After all, that's why Pellegrino was sacked. The three new outfield signings have been brought in to add quality to the team so I hope to see them all start in the Burnley game. I'm feeling confident that we'll start the season with a home win.

I’d be sorry to see Long go because he’s an exciting threat but have to admit he hasn’t delivered over the last year. I’d like to see Gallagher retained and given his chance. Reading about the bids for him, surely selling would be a mistake.

Did any of the moaners notice that wasn’t Saints’ first XI? It was a kick about using 20 different players. Hard to understand why some people follow our club when they dislike so much about it.

Confirmation on the OS is the best news we could have hoped for. Whether we will ever get any of the fee back will depend on how he performs. He leaves with an impression of ill-discipline and not being a team player, as much as performance. He needs to get control otherwise his pay will slump after his Saints’ contract period ends, so it’s in his own interests to make himself wanted elsewhere.

With The Telegraph saying that Arsenal are likely to let Welbeck leave, wonder if our people are looking at him. Only one year left on his contract so the fee for a player who can leave for nothing next year shouldn't be prohibitive. Would depend on which other clubs were to show an interest. Any whispers?