Matthew Le God

I think Bertrand & Forster are far more likely to want to sign an extension than Mane. But even with them (in particular Forster) could go in the summer. Mane and his agent will know they could get a huge payday from one of Europe's elite. I don't see it as a big problem, Saints have shown they are very good in recruitment despite what some on this forum think. It isn't by luck or a fluke that you regularly make good signings, the systems and processes are in place at Saints that they will continue to recruit well. Yes, we'll have the occasional bad signing, but the good ones far outweigh the bad. If another employer offered you 2 or 3 times your current wage would you not be tempted Batman?

I didn't say it was a strategy, just the reality of the situation. If a player doesn't want to sign a new contract then it makes sense for the club to get as much as they can and reinvest in new players.

He has 2 years left on his contract. He probably won't sign a new one and this summer will see his value at its peak. If we don't sell him in the summer his value will start dropping and it'll end in another Clyne situation where he sold will a year left on his contract cheaply.

That only applies if it is for the same incident. His yellow card was for something completely different.

Why not? We have come higher than the previous season every season since the Liebherr takeover. 09/10 - 51st 10/11 - 46th 11/12 - 22nd 12/13 - 14th 13/14 - 8th 14/15 - 7th 15/16 - currently 7th They have reinvested the money from sales and we have the best squad the club has ever had in its 131 year history.

No Dembele or Alli in Tottenham's central midfield vs Saints.

Even when played out wide it was still clear for anyone with an eye for a player that Shane Long was a very useful asset.

The contrast between £49m Raheem Sterling and Sadio Mane today was vast. I think I'd be disappointed with only £30m in the current transfer market.

How? Hold a gun to their head? If they want to leave to go to richer clubs, who offer bigger wages then they won't sign new contracts. Pochettino hasn't actually signed a new deal yet with Spurs. At the moment its just his word, as it was with us. In any case are you not aware Spurs have a far bigger income than us and can offer players and managers bigger contracts? Why not? Clyne didn't want to sign a new deal and Liverpool are capable of offering significantly higher wages than us. Do you have any evidence for that beyond a link to a tabloid rumour? Clyne when he was sold didn't want to sign a new contract and was in the last year of his contract. That is why we only got £12m. If we refused to sell him we'd have got £0 this summer. Cortese staying would have made no difference, Spurs would still have been able to offer higher wages to Pochettino and a bigger transfer and wage budget/ Because clubs like Spurs, Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal who have bought our top talent have bigger wages budgets due to much larger income. If we start financially overstitching it'll end in a Pompey/Leeds style disaster. We finished 2nd under McMenemy and won the FA Cup. Plus we finished higher with Koeman than we did Pochettino. Its post like this one that make me think you should look in a mirror for clowns. Reed has overseen the club rise from League One to 7th in the Premier League. He has been the footballing consistently in the hierarchy of the club and has played a huge part in our success since the Liebherr takeover. I find it bizarre the level of vitriol you are levelling at him.

We have risen from League One to 7th in the Premier League with Reed overseeing football at the club. I struggle to see how that makes him a "complete clusterf*ck". How for example do you propose he could have kept Pochettino and Clyne? In any case... we finished higher without Pochettino with the man Reed picked then we did with Pochettino.

Why are you ruling it out on the basis of that one game? If Saints win tomorrow they'll be 2 points behind West Ham and are currently only 1 point behind Liverpool. West Ham and Man Utd's game in hand is against each other. They can't both get 3 points from it.

That wasn't a sitter. It came to him quickly at a very awkward height.

The press conference hasn't finished, there will be part 2 on youtube after the 10:30pm embargo, plus a one on one interview with him and the club's media. You should know that trousers, you usually provide a link to them!

That is bizarre logic. It is the player quality and wages we offer him that matters, not which club he is at. Saints have signed numerous players over the years from big clubs around Europe.

That would leave Saints in a tricky situation at the end of his contract if he is still at the club.

Wells wouldn't be a Pelle replacement. He is 9 inches shorter and is a completely different type of player. The top Dutch clubs are better than anything in the Championship and their players are tested at European & international level.

Doesn't the same apply to every footballer at every club?

What does that mean in practice? He is under contract until 2018.

That article doesn't say there is a new link to him. It is a "scout" report and mentions Saints were linked to him last summer. Ronald Koeman at the time denied interest IIRC.

Because Vardy has only hit this form relatively recently and there has been little opportunity for the big sides to buy him. He wasn't going to leave in January given Leicester's position and his age will also potentially put people off.

Nigel Adkins' successive promotions is an achievement of note.

Harry Hamblin has been playing recently for the u18s and has been given a scholarship... harry mark hamblin ‏@harrymarkhambo Apr 17 Can't wait to start my scholarship now

Which 5 or 6 of that team are "barely Championship standard"? The entire eleven have shown themselves to be good enough for the Premier League.

11 seasons out of 130 Southampton have finished in the top 8 of English league football. 2 of those 11 were in 2013/14 and 2014/15. If Saints (as looks likely) make the top 8 this season, it'll be the 3rd time in a row, two of which under Ronald Koeman. 2015/16 is in the top 10% of all Southampton league seasons! Yet we still get endless negative drivel threads from certain posters. Cheers up! 2013 to 2016 has been a relative golden age for the club.

Why is it "just as well"? So we have a better league campaign next season, so we can finish in a European spot next season? Well that is daft logic. I struggle to see why a Saints fan wouldn't want Saints to be in Europe. You appear to think I've said something I didn't.