The Kraken

Do you understand the term ‘akin’? It means similar, not alike.

It’s not an argument, it’s a statement of fact. Biscuits in America, Canada and other nations do not fit the description provided. You’ve ‘automatically lost the argument’ if your own justification to it is so insular that you can’t see outside of your own definitions and appreciate a global picture.

What about those things that Americans call ‘biscuits’? Akin to a scone and don’t fit your description. If you’re going to provide an all-encompassing rule you need to be more clear.

Not for me, he’s an 8.

Kit changes once a year doesn’t bother me too much, but I don’t buy the kit so it doesn’t affect me much. I think it could perhaps be shifted so that the home kit stays the same for two years, so does the away kit (but the change happens in an alternate year to the home change so between them there’s one change a season) and the third kit can change every year. A small number of clubs this season have kept last seasons kit so as to get in line with cost of living. Wouldn’t be a bad thing going forward.

He seems to be extremely driven to play as many games as he can as soon as he can in his career. He talks about ‘the pathway’ with Saints, which suggests to me we’ve said to him that if he does well we won’t stand in his way of moving upwards in 2 or 3 years time. So hopefully he does something akin to VvD, brings a total level of quality to the team and leaves a hefty transfer profit when he moves on. It almost sounds like he’s been told he’s likely to be our number one straight away, I don’t think he’d have come here without some sort of assurance.

Technically the first kit of Southampton FC was stripes 😉 But I very much agree with you, it doesn’t always need to be stripes and IMO it shouldn’t be, we should mix it up a bit.

Have to admit, I’m a little disappointed with the quality of Hummel’s output. They have done some really smart kits for other clubs last season and the one before, but ours are not IMO all that great so far. If you’re designing a shirt for a PL side it shouldn’t be a generic template, which ours don’t seem to be, and as such the sponsor application should be incorporated in the design rather than a cheap looking stick on logo. That’s the worst thing about this kit IMO. Pretty much any shirt sponsor makes the kit look worse, but just sticking it on over the design just looks like an afterthought. Expected better from Hummel, I don’t dislike either of the Hummel home kits but I don’t much like them either.

There’s two sides to the coin. Saints might provide first team chances sooner. But young players at big clubs are going to be in the spotlight more, and likely more attractive as a transfer at age 19 or 20 than a Saints academy player could be. Look at Man City’s lads, the cream of the crop get a good shot in their first team, the rung just below are being coveted by multi million pound transfer fees. The reports say that this lad has been offered £6500 a week, so more than a million over a 4 year deal. There may also be inducements such as a job for his relatives if they move with him. So financially the kid could get a huge leg up, have 4 years not making the first team, but still have genuine prospects of finding a club at the end of that in the PL aged just 20. Parents would be wrong to just ignore that, as much as we want the players to stay with us. If Dibling doesn’t turn out to be the second coming, is he better off with us or with a bigger club? Hard to say either way but as a parent looking out for my kid in the short and long term, I’d definitely be swayed by the offer. If he turns out to be good enough he’ll make it wherever he goes, so the short term cash injection is security in the bank just in case he doesn’t.

You’re right that their values have gone up now (and Bowen was £18+7 so quite expensive anyway). But the point is that there are attacking players out there who cost a hell of a lot less than £45m or £50m. Players like Dennis and Toney for instance were given a chance before being ‘proven’. Obviously it’s in the scouting to find those players, which is why proven PL scorers cost the earth, it’s a lot easier to go by previous record but it has a price. I’d say Graziano Pelle is the role model type of striker Saints should be looking at buying. Not at all easy be very doable.

The following got 10+ goals last year: Jarrod Bowen, Ivan Toney, Teemu Pukki, Emmanuel Dennis. So it’s not necessarily the going rate. Not easy though, granted.

Do catch up MLG, that was posted by @SuperSAINT 4 hours ago 🙄

Oh god, that is an option too isn’t it?

Cheers. That’s really quite concerning. With current personnel we’re looking at some quite unpalatable potential options: - Valery/Stephens RB and KWP at LB - Salisu at LB - Back 3 with Tella/Redmond at LWB - Putting faith in Vokins or Small stepping up Got to have faith the club know the situation and putting decent contingencies in place.

Dunno, I kind of like the idea of changing it up. I’m not a big fan of stripes, though the 1989/90 stripes kit was one of our best ever. I’m in favour of mixing it each year with a sash, rank xerox, halves, quarters, or something new like this year. Also would be good to see if Hummel do something with the 1976 home kit, that was a very decent non-traditional stripes effort. Barcelona do this, IMO very well.

Exactly. Like I say, I hope Perraud is back very soon.

Any news on Perraud? He was reported by the OS in mid May as having a fracture in his foot and would be out for 5 to 6 weeks. Hope he’s back very soon, otherwise KWP is our only fit first team full back.

He’s under the Wirral to London diagonal so he’s a Saint for sure.

Im not a huge fan of the kit but I don’t dislike it. And I’d prefer we do something like this rather than have stripes year on year. Red and white stripes with black shorts is also Sunderland, Brentford etc…. Saints can keep red and white and stay ‘traditional’ with quarters, halves, rank xerox, sash, and this new one. Personally I think stripes are extremely bland, so while I’m not a huge fan of this one, I prefer it to another stripes shirt.

I don’t dislike it. I’m not really a big fan of rounded collars but I’m never going to wear the thing. Biggest criticism is the sponsor, it looks cheaply done and stuck on. Looks so much better when JWP crosses his arms and hides it.

Exactly this. Literally nobody is suggesting looking to raid relegated sides for multiple of their star players at a a time. (If anybody is suggesting that, they’re mad). But there were comments by multiple posters to say that players from relegated clubs should be steered away from, or avoided at all costs. It’s a fact that some relegated players have signed for a PL side and improved them. No, there’s not a huge amount of them. But there’s plenty more than none, that’s for absolutely sure, whether they’re young or old. Even loan players like Conor Gallagher, he did ok at West Brom and got himself a loan move to Palace, and Palace had one massive season out of him. That in itself is another reason to look to recruit that way, even for the loanees who may go back out on loan. I don’t think Ben Mee is for us either. Jonny Evans is the ultimate find of that type and there’s not a great deal of them, but certainly enough to not rule out a whole category of player and keep looking. I think Tarkowski is a decent free for Everton, no fee but high wages can be offset and he’s certainly better than anything else Everton have got, including Godfrey ImO.

Not a bad list, that.

Ok, let’s have a little look at the players from teams who were relegated from the premier league in 2021 and have since gone on to ‘do something’ or have been snapped up / attracted interest. And let’s be clear here, literally nobody (sensible)is saying that relegated clubs are packed with players who will do well in the premier league. The question is, do relegated clubs have at least 1 or 2 players who would prosper in a premier league club? The answer is yes, they do. Sheffield United: Aaron Ramsadle (in fact two relegations in a row for him), Morgan Gibbs White, Sander Berge (available but overpriced). Fulham: Ruben Loftus Cheek, Mitrovic (limited in the PL but has scored more in one PL season (11) than Che Adams has in any of his, and level with Che’s best season (9) is Mitro’s second best. WBA: Sam Johnstone, Conor Gallagher(loan). So, yes, I’d say every relegated club has at least one or two players who PL clubs should be very interested in. Beyond that there’s potentially another few who are very interesting candidates. Ruling them out just because they got relegated is too simplistic.

Puts the potential of a loan into context, if he’s loaned out it’s with likely no intent of coming back and just a bit of a wage saver.

Sheff U want £25M for Berge. But then they did want £35M for him last season. The only way we get him and the other players we need is if we raise funds by selling Ward Prowse IMO.