the saint in winchester

Come on, Baggy, get with the beat. Hughes is in discussions as we speak and we expect smoke signals before nightfall announcing he has signed an extended contract. Call in to Shaquiri tomorrow. The play has begun.

Skysports now running with that link as well. 13:31HUGHES KEEN TO STAY Having seemingly secured Southampton's Premier League survival, Mark Hughes could be set to sign a new deal. The Daily Mail say Hughes has had preliminary talks about staying at Southampton for the long-term. He is currently under contract until the end of the season but apparently indicated last week that he would like to talk formally about staying even if Saints were relegated. Not an exciting appointment if you were hoping for fire and brimstone management via Jokanavic, but I do agree that he has the players on side and it would be good to start the recruitment at the start of June rather than the last week of July!

That Sun article says "signs deal that COULD be worth £48k pw" but doesn't explain what he has to do to get that.

I expect Mark Hughes is more inclined toward Shaquiri than either Promes or Sisto.

Was good to hear Hughes commenting on his positive spirit, keeping himself ready, not complaining about not getting game time, and delighted he took his chance. Maybe he'll leave for the sake of his missus, but he looks to be back to his sharpest.

Cushty!

Shaqiri (apparently available for about £12m!!!) as a replacement or Boufal. /QUOTE] Yeah, he's too much like Boufal for my liking. Self centred, not a team player. Great talent, but would lick himself if he was made of chocolate. Although, if we could get him for £12M and within our wage structure and Hughes could tame him ... maybe get him on the bus.

Flip me. Surely the authorities have to fine Swansea for the hotel fiasco and now this!!

To summarise, Player of the Season, unquestionably - and he only played in half of it!!!!!

IIRC, those who went to the reserve (U23) games reported back that Macca looked shakey and cautioned us not to expect Macca to be ready. In the end, he was pushed forward to the first team and we all bit our nails hoping he didn't muck up. The rest is history. If Wolves want him, no offer under £30M please.

Agree ... and will now go find other fred and agree there too!

I think I will reach for Southern Comfort if we go down.

So he is saying they expect to get 3 points on Sunday and anything tonight is a bonus?

Good heavens, that is damning. Whether Hughes was aware of this, I don't know, but the FA/EPL chiefs should investigate.

What do you guys make of the comments by Jack Butland and now Charlie Adam that the team morale at Stoke has been completely broken for the whole season and the previous manager (Hughes) did nothing about it, leading to his dismissal? Should we be concerned? At this stage he seems to be uniting our squad, rather than dividing it .... so I'm not concerned myself. Poor old Stoke.

I think the OP was looking to the future, next season, rather than right now. Yes, he is #1 right now, clearly, as he has the shirt. So, for me, the question is : assuming FF goes, do we look to recruit a #2 GK as backup to Macca, OR do we look for a new #1 who is deemed better than Macca? I see Macca as #1 next season, whether in Prem or Champ, and we need to find a lesser keeper as his deputy. We may already have him in Harry Lewis.

I see this signing as a vote of confidence in Pelegrino. When all fans were united against him, Reed thought he would 'stand by your man' and sign a striker that Pelegrino recommended. Oddly just a few games later and Pele was sacked, leaving Carillo no doubt thinking "why did I come here?" Hence the depression ruling him out now.

If he stays with us, unquestionably #1. However, he is likely to have suitors and we will struggle to hold onto him. His performances won't have gone unnoticed. We may prefer to sell Forster but I doubt there will be bidders.

This is the bigger picture, yes. If staying up by the skin of our teeth means business as previous, no changes, then I would take relegation, a clear out at board and player level. Prefer us to come again next season with young hungry players from the academy, keen to prove themselves.

I presume he means Sane ?

Just skim read what's on this page, and as frustrated as everyone else. So close to the win. Very harsh to give Yoshi either yellow. Ref wrong to give the foul against Redmond, and yes it was taken from the wrong place. But even after all that we would have won had Bertrand let the ball go out of play at the end. A throw-in was not a big deal, so why was he desperate to keep it in? Was there a saints player upfield that he hoped to reach with the clearance? Because - as we all saw - it led directly to the goal. Unlucky on Hoedt but someone should have got close to the ball before he shot it. Yes, a man down, I know they can't be everywhere. Have to win at Swansea now, although Hudds have proved you can park the bus against Citeh and take a point. However, I hope we know our destiny before the Citeh game.

Bit of a bummer that Hudds don't play today ... Anyway, win tonight, go to 35 points, above Swansea and Hudds, and bite the fingernails tomorrow.

Actually, Colin, I think it's the opposite to that. If you read the Daily Record article, they like us. They note how we have cherished Wanyama, Van Dijk and Forster, and would like us to the successful buyer again - if he goes of course, they would prefer him to stay. Ross Wilson, according to the article, was at Hampden at the weekend to see him play vs Rangers.

I noted this on the Championship thread - let's not wait until summer; do the deal NOW. The lid is off the can, the cat is out the box. He's too talented to leave until summer. Offer a deal now.

Tom Rogic and Moussa Dembele at Celtic - yes please! Ross Wilson casting an eye over them with a view to a bid. Make the offer NOW! https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/celtic-star-tom-rogic-southamptons-12463120