Professor

If Southampton fans were fish, many would be flapping about on the deck gasping for breath, because so many take the bait so easily. Like fish, stories in the media about so called transfer interests should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Just to clarify what I've said. For too long, cheating in football has got steadily worse. This isn't new as those old enough will remember Rodney Marsh and his reputation for diving. Watson cheated yesterday, just as many other players would in the same situation. "Taking one for the team" its often called which is a deceitful way of describing simple cheating. I'm not suggesting Watson should be treated differently from the way the rules are currently applied. It would be ridiculous to pick on one player but it is an example of a sickness that has been allowed to grow in the game. Other sports have fought back against cheating with much stronger sanctions which vary from one sport to another. Lifetime or lengthy bans are an option if other steps fail to work but there are simple things that could be done for cheating of the kind we saw yesterday. Changing the penalty rules would be one way. At the moment the penalty kick is too big a reward for some offences, for example when the foul is in the area but there is no obvious scoring opportunity. There's little doubt that has encouraged players to go down in the area because an undefended kick from 12 yards with only the keeper to beat is often a better bet than the in-play situation. If penalties were restricted to where the referee judged there was goal scoring opportunity that might encourage less cheating. But that could be taken further and a penalty kick could apply for fouls outside the penalty area (which could even be abolished) for a foul that denies a goal scoring opportunity as per Shane Long yesterday. Of course all this is purely academic as there is virtually no chance of FIFA making such significant changes but unless something is done, cheating will continue.

Can't see Les Reed being influenced by people becoming bored over the speculation. Fonte is a Saints' player until summer 2018. The club has already made a healthy surplus from transfer deals and doesn't need to sell. I wouldn't rule out Reed bringing in a loan CB if Gardos isn't fit to take over. Fonte could be left to sort himself out or see his career fade away.

Encouraged by seeing Puel's observations as reported by The Echo. It seems he did make adjustments at half-time to relax the diamond, although maybe I was watching the ball too intently to notice but suggesting afterwards that the team needs to play with more width as and when opportunities arise suggests he is adaptable and doesn't want then to be too rigid with the formation. After watching MotD I wouldn't be too critical of Romeu over the goal. He did see the run and tried to get there but the Watford player had a head start. The foul on Shane Long was an example of where the laws of the game can't adequately punish game-changing cheating. In some sports, cheating means you can be banned from future competition for periods of years, whereas in football all you get is being out for 3 games and still getting paid. The free kick was a totally inadequate compensation for a clear goal scoring opportunity which would have changed the result of the game.

it's would be unfair to come down on Puel after just one game but there is no denying this was 2 points thrown away. Hopefully Claude has enough flexibility to change the formation if it isn't working and the courage to admit if a change is needed. Hard to understand the tactical error after the sending off, of failing to play 3 strikers for the last 15 minutes by removing a midfield player. It didn't look as if Long needed to come off, but even if he did, JRod was available. One other thing Puel might have learned today is that Pierre-Emile is a better player than JWP. Next Friday could be embarrassing if he doesn't adapt.

Hasn't taken me long to lose faith in Puel. Diamond not right for the players. Poor sub choices. Long and Austin should be on together and Romeu off.

Just my speculation. Fonte is 32 but he'll be 33 in December. His contract with Saints runs out in the summer of 2018 by which time he'll be on the way to 35. He may feel that he has 3 more seasons in him at the top level, one more than his current contract, but there is a risk that after 2 more years, he'll be on the decline. Fonte is aware of interest, with Man U and Everton commonly named as the two making noises but neither of those clubs can offer him Champions League football so they don't make obvious destinations unless there is a large wage increase but he can't leave without Southampton's agreement. He could wait until 2017 and then angle for a move when he only has one year left and hope for a 2-year contract to provide extra pay higher pay and an another year, but Saints might be offering him that anyway. His reluctance to close the option of a move is understandable, after all he is a professional employee near the end of his career and wants to make as much income as he can in the time left, but he has virtually no bargaining chips. If they like, Saints can keep him for two more years and then let him go on a free when his value will be very low anyway. He can't realistically refuse to play, or play badly, because there'd be no guarantee it would bring him a move in Jan or next season and he might not be seen as such an attractive option if not playing regularly in the Prem and in the Portugal national side. My guess is he will mull it around as bit longer hoping Saints will increase their offer and then accept a 3-year contract with a pay rise, as being the best he can get. He might even keep the club dangling through to the next transfer window or the one after, but the longer he holds out might increase the risk to him.

Quite a few fans I've spoken to seem to be taking Watford for granted. Fortunately, I don't think the players will adopt the same attitude. Its easy to think of Watford as a recent arrival from the championship and its true this is only their second season of their current stay in the top flight but they did finish with 13th last season with 45 points, well clear of the relegation zone and above Bournemouth who had pipped them to Championship title when they were both automatically promoted. Last season we took 4 points of them, winning at home and drawing away. I'm confident we will win, especially because IMO the three outfield summer signings have added to our strength, but the team does need to settle down and manage the new system. We shouldn't expect it to be a walkover but I hope I'm wrong and its 5-0.

Ten years ago this week we were preparing for a Championship match with WBA to begin the club's second season in the Championship following relegation from the Prem in 2005. George Burley had assembled a reasonable squad with Rasiak and Saganowski as strikers and the introduction of 17-year-old Gareth Bale at left back. The WBA match was a 0-0 draw and there were dark times ahead, despite scraping into 6th place and into the play-offs where the team lost in the semi-finals to Derby on penalties. This was the year that the financial problems became apparent with former Chairman Rupert Lowe saying that the construction of St Mary's had been predicated on the club remaining in the Premier League. The next season saw players such as Bale, sold to stay afloat financially but in the end the sums didn't add up and although Saints managed 3 seasons in the Championship, the club finally went into administration in April 2009 and were relegated to L1 with the famous 10-point deduction. Ten years ago, fans were squabbling constantly over Lowe's chairmanship and many were probably not aware of just how dire things were financially. Had the club managed to win through the Playoffs that season and return to the Prem in 2007/08, history would be very different but its hard to believe we would be where we are today. Ben Franklin (1706-1790) said that "Out of adversity comes opportunity". Our club is a prime example.

Like most of the early posters on this thread, it was a pleasure to read an article that felt balanced and wasn't trying to pander to the glory-hunter fans who claim to support the big city clubs. Only disappointment for me was the lack of any mention of J-Rod. True he's played a bit-part since struggling to come back from injury but he is still the technically gifted striker that he ever was and with another close season to build up his strength, this is the year that could see him back to his best as he's bound to get more playing time. Having to compete with Long, Redmond and Austin will do him no harm at all and as a former England international he should have warranted a mention.

As well as errors, such as the one high-lighted above, when you find something written that is factually correct but is expressed in away that will mislead it's reasonable to question the writer's intention. Daniel Story says that of the 26 players to appear for Southampton in the league last season, eight have left the club. We all know of three, Mané, Wanyama and Pellé. To find another 5 you have to include Kelvin Davis, who played one game, and the likes of Stekelenberg, Caulker, and Juanmi, none of whom had any future with the club. Who the eighth might be, I have no idea unless he's include Ramirez, who I don't think actually played a league game before he was loaned out. To quote a vague statistic to give the impression that last year's squad has been broken apart is a very good example of bad journalism where the writer decides first what story he/she wants to tell and then manipulates the facts to suit the desired conclusion. People who might be misled by the article are those who know very little about the club and probably care even less to I'm not sure that it matters; or why the writer even bothered.

Not sure that is quite true. Just because the same story is regurgitated in another media outlet is no indication of a new interview just the same one reported again. What might be new is the reported comment from Puel that Fonte is not for sale. I think what we have is Fonte saying what you'd expect him to say, that with only 2 or 3 seasons left at the top level he would like to spend those seasons playing in the Champion's League if the opportunity came along but its not in his hands. In order to move, there has to be an offer that Southampton would find acceptable and if they decide not to sell him, he's happy enough where he is.

The Gabbadiani link has even less credibility when you see that HITC Sport have also linked VVD to Everton despite listing all the reasons why that will never happen. These cheap websites aren't interested in truth or evidence but just want to get misguided footie fans to log onto their site. I was misguided enough to use it briefly but won't any more.

Unlikely they've been practising the diamond without an intention to play it and Watford looks to be an ideal opponent. Long Redmond Classie Tadic Davis Hojberg Targett V.V.D Yoshida Cedric Forster Bench: McCarthy, McQueen, Fonte, Romeu, JWP, Austin, AN other

Fonte probably knows he'll be lucky to have better than two more seasons at the highest level. On that basis, if the quotes are true, he is only being honest by saying if those two season could be played with a Champions' League club, he'd take the opportunity to end his career on a high. But he also recognises in that interview that Saints would have to agree to let him go. With a contract to summer 2018, Saints hold all the cards so he would only be sold for a sum that would pay for an equivalent replacement at a time when such a signing could be made. If there is such a replacement available in the market, any club interested in Fonte might as well sign the alternative who might cost them less and offer them a longer career. I believe fans can be relaxed about this as he'll only be sold if it is in the club's best interest with a sale looking highly unlikely. Fonte has also shown in his interview that he knows full well that he might not be allowed to move and his comments indicate that he's reconciled with that.

Brought on for the second half - another bad sign.

Well said. But although Dangermouth may have over-generalised it was fair enough to respond about the amount of pessimism on show, basically created by idle talk that became rumour that came to be treated almost as fact. Unfortunately, one of the risks of being a football fan is the ease by which depression can descend. Those of us who are of the Glass Half Full Tendency are fortunate to have greater resistance but no one is immune! As long as Fonte is fit enough for this afternoon's game, that should dispel the clouds.

With all the free advice available to the manager on here it must make his job really easy. Hard to understand why managers get paid such huge salaries when it's a job that so many fans think they could do, and do it better, simply with the expertise gained from being a paying customer.

Because Fonte was only briefly in the video of the photoshoot either the cameraman or the video editor must be in on the conspiracy. They probably had to hold him down to get a shirt on him.

A player on a contract for two more seasons has no choice about whether to leave or stay. The decision lies with the club. At 32, Fonte probably does still have those two more seasons as a top player but not much beyond that. Age was probably a factor in the contract extension last autumn only being for 2 more years because its likely he'd have accepted 3 years if it had been offered. If any clubs are in for him, SFC would presumably want a fee sufficient to fund an equivalent first choice CB but at that price, the buying club would have other options as well. If offers are rejected, Jose will have to stay as he doesn't really have anything to negotiate with. That's no cast iron guarantee of a bid being turned down as money might talk, especially if a replacement has been identified. To some extent, fans concerns are fueled by the absence of any statement that he is remaining, but there isn't really a reason to say anything unless it is decided that to let him go would be in the interests of the club.

As I see it, the club have improved the squad both from players brought in and from players already here. I don't agree that the measure of improvement is on how much a club spends on players, some of who the likes of Chelsea and Man U may well find are prima donnas, just as they have found in the past. At CB we have Gardos as well as Yoshida and we don't know yet whether Puel has decided that Stevens may have reached the required level. The attitude of some fans is that a player has to be foreign or he can't be any good. Reminds me of Sam Allardyce when he was overlooked for the England job and said he might have got the job if his name was Alladycci. Clearly, a lot depends on Claude Puel and his assessment of the squad but he and his team are professionals whereas with all due respect, those of us on here are mostly a bunch of amateurs who probably know less about the game than we think we do. Surely its better to be positive about our club and the people running it especially because of the track record over the past few years.

Not certain I've calculated this quite right but if not feel free to correct me. Are we now in balance on first team players coming and going excluding any stepping up from the development squad? 5 players from last year gone, and 5 in, if you include January's recruitment of Charlie Austin pending Pelle moving on. The other two leavers that the media would focus on, Mane and Wanyama, both had issues which make them replaceable, such as attitude and availability, making it debatable as to how much of a loss they are. The players that have come in all add depth and skill to the squad:- Charlie Austin, Nathan Redmond, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Alex McCarthy and Jeremy Pied. Others might disagree (the pessimists will always disagree) but to me, this looks as good a set of players as we had last season added to which some of the players who were already here will have developed and improved. Seems to me that recruitment has gone well, we have a very keen manager with fresh ideas and several players in the squad who must have had their confidence boosted by the experience of Euro 16. I'm confident we'll be in the top 6 in the table come mid-September which should be enough for the glass half-empty fans to begin to have some faith in the club.

Jeremy, vous êtes les bienvenus à Southampton et nous nous réjouissons beaucoup de vous voir jouer dans les rayures rouges et blanches (et en anglais: Jeremy, you are most welcome in Southampton and we look forward very much to seeing you play in the red and white stripes).

Shame I'll have to watch on TV but expecting to upset the commentators who will all be Man U/Mourinho biased from the start. We have a strong squad from which Puel can put out a very strong team capable of scoring goals and keeping a clean sheet. Mourinho will, of course, have a tantrum as soon as Man U go a goal down. Just can't wait!!!

Not difficult at all. We bought a £35m player for £11.8m and a £12m player for £8m (Mané and Pellé). When those two came here, we had sold other players for inflated fees but the replacements have taken the team further up the league table. When SFC buys low and sells high they are the same players regardless of the price another club is prepared to fork out. Price is no guarantee of quality, the failures of Ramirez and Osvaldo for example, but overall the policy has worked well to the club's advantage and there is still plenty of money in the transfers fund to allow for more strengthening if Reed and Puel think it is necessary. The manager has only been in post for a month and the players only started returning for pre-season 3 weeks ago so the new coaching staff have had only a short time to assess the squad and consider where new players might be useful. As fans, we are naturally impatient for news but realistically, there is still plenty of time with two weeks left before the start of the season and four weeks before the transfer window closes.