macca155

You can't play Sulemana and Tella in the same team. One or both has to go. Burnley seem OK with £15 million so suspect a deal has been agreed

Bazuna, Tino Lavia, JWP, KWP, Salisu, and Smallbone will all cope but how many of them will still be here.

Not a bad knock about. Tino looked absolute class, we'll struggle to keep him sadly. Thought Smallbone had more impact than JWP. Dibling's 2nd stint was more impressive. Bazuna looked confident. Djneppo was ..well the usual.

Great save from Bazuna but hospital pass from Salisu.

Certainly a good test of Martin's tactics. Benfica are a class side. Smallbone connecting well. Having Lavia play is a bit cruel. Head and shoulders above the rest.

Lot more pressing this half but as Inspector Grim would say 'too much fannying about at the back'

Never make assumptions from pre season games. Especially not one played at walking pace. They look rusty and only a few of these will actually start in August. See what the 2nd half brings. Cricket is decent, bit of a fightback from Hampshire.

All done, hope it helps. Having been responsible for a number of these type of surveys, I'd reinforce the need for supportive comments. This is what gets picked out, the rest goes through as data. Quotable comments, like 'Community cohesion' go down well with councillors. As I am a saddo, I scanned through the OUFC response to the strategic priorities. Some serious work has gone into that. A very comprehensive document. I always quite liked the old Manor ground, had a fair bit of character. If you get this through, you'll be in a pretty small club of three stadium clubs. There's a quiz question there. Good luck.

I think that's key, the club have to drastically reduce the squad as it is way too big. This will allow a decent pathway for Ballard, Doyle, Dibling, and the rest of what seems a decent cohort of youngsters. In addition if the club really want to keep Tella then he needs to be confident of playing. If he is left fighting for a place with 3 or 4 others then he's bound to agitate for a move in January. That will be the same for any signings they won't sign until others are out of the way. Lots of dominoes to fall yet I suspect.

Wasn't that the game Sky let off the fireworks straight into the petrol station behind the Milton. H&S not so tight in 1992.

That's very risky for Newcastle. If I was the club's bean counter I'd be seriously considering that offer. Saints have Bree and KWP plus a youngster in that position, someone has to go so racking in some big bucks certainly won't hurt.

Only guesstimates but I vaguely remember that figure being touted when Bournmouth came sniffing. The individual prices don't matter. My point was that financially the club is potentially in good shape. Plus do we care if they go?

Deep breath everybody this is how it will be. A lot of our decent players will be plucked away. It is going to hurt. Tino is a promising talent but he is far from the finished product, plus he is still recovering from a serious injury. If somebody wants to pay £20 million plus, then it will probably happen. Let's not be hypocrites. Chances are Saints will be cash rich by August, due to some decent recruitment. They'll use some of that money to pluck stars from other teams. Even conservatives guestimates at possible values rakes in well over £200m. Tino (£20m) Lavia(£40m), JWP (£30m), Sullemana (£20m), Alcaraz(£20m), ABK(£15m), KWP(£15m) Onuachu(£10m), Bendarek(£5), Salisu(£5m) Stephens (£12m), Lyanco (£5m), Orrick (£5M), Tella(£12m), Adams (£15m). Obviously they won't all be sold. New manager will say who he wants to keep and they sell around that. I repeat what I said before, that lot took us down. We shouldn't be too upset at a fair number being sold. Good news is that whatever happens the clubs FFP position will be healthy.

Not looking to open an old argument (then promptly does), Claude's football was uber turgid. He essentially killed games, focussed too much on defence, and forgot that the point of football is to score goals. He wasn't our worse manager by a long way but I suspect that his tactics would have been overcome eventually. That's why he keeps being sacked. The problem is there have been some pretty spectacular bad appointments since then, plus a fair bit of squad degradation. Had we known Pellegrino was up next, a manager with no perceivable tactics whatsoever, then I suspect Puel would have been tolerated a little longer. To argue against myself, once we were safe, his sides were did start playing more freely and lo and behold started scoring goals.

Re Tella I guess every player is up for sale at the right price. That is the cold reality relegation. I doubt any of our players will resist the opportunity of playing in the Premier league. Like all of us they are free to work where ever they like, as long as their contract is paid up. If any of us where offered double our wages to ply our trade at our top company, few would turn it down. There also remains a big question mark as to whether Tella can reproduce that form next year, when faced with more agile and skilled defenders. However if Saints can demonstrate ambition and a high probability of winning the Championship and surviving in the Premier league, then some may feel it is worth their while staying. Alcaraz seems to have made that decision, I suspect JWP is get awake at night with those thoughts. We'll just have to wait and see. Anyway considering that lot got us relegated a few moving on is hardly a bad thing.

That's allegedly a £200 million midfield. We had that last year, except Tella, but still stank out the PL. Just goes to show how important a decent coaching set is.

More than a hunch I suspect. All three relegated teams have cash, players, and Premier League experience, despite looking various shades of crap this year. Leicester have the biggest job as they will lose a lot of their squad at the end of their contracts, but they be stiff competition regardless. Leeds will be strong, I have no doubt on that, Saints will have a lethal attack no matter what combination of our forwards remain. If they can keep at least one of JWP, Lavia, or Alcaraz then the midfield will be at least competitive. Everything depends on the how the manager sets us up and whether there is sufficient discipline and stability. Lots of ifs but I bet the other teams in the league aren't best pleased to see three strong Prem teams come down. Bit like having three Burnleys in the Championship. None of the teams who are likely to compete in the current Championship look particularly threatening. Those that are, like Coventry and Swansea, will be raided. Impossible to keep a decent team together for more than a season. Watford, Sunderland, Middlesborough, and Norwich seem to be the main competition but they won't have our resources. Obviously Saints will likely be tanked by Millwall or Preston NE but individual games don't matter. It is all about putting decent runs together. What we do know is that win the Championship it has taken between 26 and 30 wins, plus a bunch of draws to be promoted. In 2012 Saints won 26 and drew 10 and it has been higher since then. This is going to mean a change of mentality from accepting defeat to expecting to win. A very big ask and probably the biggest challenge both on and off the pitch.

Definitely where all the action will be. Smallbone will take over Free kicks but at least 3 midfielders required. Grimes is almost a certainty if Martin takes over. Plus he is just what we need. After that I guess it will be spreadsheet suggestions. Hamer will be the subject of a PL auction. We can't compete with that.

That's a tad harsh, I think he has some good qualities. Imtercepts well, blocks well, tackles, has pace, and can pass. You are right though, his positional sense is right off at times. That could be because he's covering for others too enthusiastically, or it really is a flaw. I'm convinced he would look a lot different with a decent partner next to him. Personally I'd have Stephens over Lyanco but Bournmouth will have him.

Ha ha , I'm so sad I actually counted the letters.

Well that's us stuffed then 😔 Thanks for the info, very detailed. I'm guessing you aren't his no 1 fan. Lets hope he learns and adapts. I had forgotten how many decent managers you've had, lets hope he's another one. The one bonus of going down is that I can finally do the Swansea away trip. Your ground has eluded me and needs to be chalked off.

I'd agree, he looks a good striker, but as I said before Saints don't have room for him at the moment. Currently Adams, Onuachu, Armstrong, Mara, and Ballard are battling for 2 places. Add in Tella, Sulemana, Edozie, Alcaraz, and Olaigbe, who all play in support of the strikers and it is a very crowded part of the squad. Chances are that will be thinned out with transfers and loans, but quite a few need to resurrect their careers with a decent Championship campaign. If Saints return straight away then they will have a launch pad for their careers. If they are loaned or sold to someone like Sheffield Utd then chances are they'll be back in the Championship next year. Quite the conundrum for their agents. None of them have done enough this year for a big move so they may not be as easy to shift as some seem to think. The midfield in contrast is already in crisis, and likely to lose it's two most effective players. Essentially Saints will be left with Smallbone. Someone like Grimes is going to be essential and no doubt this is where all the action will be. Doyle looks a good prospect but he will need a protector alongside him.

Thanks for posting, much appreciated. I'd imagine Grimes will be very high on the list of possible transfers, if Martin gets a say. With Smallbone returning and picking up JWPs creative duties, the team will need another midfielder to play in the Lavia role. Well actually we need about 4 but that's a whole different story. Not so sure on Piroe, absolutely no doubt he is a quality forward and I suspect someone like Bournemouth will take a punt and if not them others will be circling. In addition Saints have a lot of forwards, of varying abilities it has to be said, and whilst some will be shipped out we'll still be left with enough for the squad. As you say they are probably going to look a lot sharper in the Championship. I don't think money will be the issue, owners will spend where necessary and there will be a lot of transfer money incoming. Problem is the current squad is so bloated, they'll never be able to shift them all which won't make much room for new signings.

For years Coventry were our twin in Div 1, we occupied two positions 12 through 17 every year. I remember a quote from a Coventry fan about Saints when they had a rare decent run of games. Claiming Saints had gone all 'lah de da page 1 of ceefax' . I'm guessing three quarters of this forum won't have a clue what I'm on about. Both Luton and Coventry have had a terrible time in recent years, be good to see one of them in the Premier league. Suspect either will come crashing down again. For purely selfish reasons I'd prefer Luton go up. Firstly because they look like a team that is ever so slightly 'up for it', glad to see the back of them. Secondly because Coventry is always a great away trip.

I suspect Carrick is just the sort of manager SR will want to get. They had their fingers burnt with Jones so are more likely to play it a little more conservatively. I could get behind Carrick, certainly seems to have something about him. Track record is ok and plays a pretty progressive game. Cannot believe Boro lost that game tonight but Coventry know how to take a chance. Aren't the club being a bit arrogant thinking Carrick would leave Boro for Saints, I'd imagine he'd be looking for a PL job next. Mowbray has an ok CV but he is a miserable bugger, we need some sunshine at the moment, nevertheless we could a lot worse.