angelman

This failed medical, is it the same sort of medical that Loic Remy failed, and subsequently signed for Chelsea?

1) Should have just offered more to him and to us. 2) Is the deal done and dusted or can he change and move to Utd? That would be great. Really though, if this is true (operative word being "if"), then why would you choose to go to LFC over MUFC? Starting XI? Money?

Listening to all the Utd supporters calling in talkSport and spouting off on forums that they don't think Morgan is good enough as he has no European and CL experience and that he is OK at best.

Would like to see how McQueen has progressed and whether Turnbull is ready to step up after his loan spell.

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/2486765

Let's face it, Hazard, who is the same age as Clyne, seemingly didn't suffer from burnout. I know each person is different, but ignoring internationals, so just league and cups Hazard played 52 games (4430 minutes) vs Clyne 41 games (3686 minutes) over a 9 month stretch.

Osvaldo/Ramirez

Yes, I'm well aware that the rules state a max of 17 non-HG players. But I would disagree it being totally useless, as the big boys would otherwise have squads 40 deep while at the same time, and acknowledging what you say, not having 8 HG players.

Chelsea seemed to have a squad last season of 17 non HG and 3 HG (Terry, Cahill and Fabregas).

What squad size (by that, I mean the registered over 21s) did we start the season with last year - wasn't it 21? I seem to recall that there were a fair few with 21-23 and actually the majority weren't at 25. But of course, I stand to be corrected. I guess it's an attempt to stop the big boys taking the complete ****, as Liverpool are finding out now (they have too many and are either going to sell or leave out of the squad) although the likes of di Canio seemed to find themselves falling foul of this as well.

U21 don't count towards your 25 man squad, and you can have as many as you want. Not sure if U21 have to be HG or not, but presume not especially as overseas players can be considered HG if they do 3 seasons before they are a certain age (is it 23?) It's not so much having to have a lot of HG players, it's more that of your 25 man squad, you are allowed a max of 17 non-HG players. Theoretically, I think you can name 17 overseas players and no HG players, meaning that your max of 25 squad is only 17. Lots of clubs have less than the full 25 squad, including us last season.

It might have been obvious to the club, but it would have been foolhardy to have gone and signed replacements just for him to turn around and sign an extension. He is of course within his right to do what he likes, not least because he was under contract, and in the words of MP, I don't know what all the fuss is as I've still got a year to go on my contract. However, one might have thought that there would be a mutual respect between both parties that intentions could have been made clear earlier. As for his performances, I have to agree that they tailed off a bit. We presume that there was some attitude problems that meant him dropping to the bench vs Hull. AFAIK there was and has never been an explanation for that as he wasn't injured and there was no tactical reason to do so, quite the opposite in fact. I would also say that the same accusation of a drop off in performance might be levelled at Morgan, as I felt was better the season before the one just gone, and that of the two, Wanyama really stepped up to the plate. But this is all largely subjective and you'll get differing opinions whoever you talk to.

I would have thought so. Outside of the big boys, we surely are quite an attractive option and in a nice part of the country.

Too many people are being unrealistic about the nature of the league. There are the big 6 (plus maybe Everton) and then there are the rest. We are part of the rest and in the past 2 seasons have done rather well and come top of our "league". All this talk of progress - progress to where exactly? Unless we undertake a business model like Blackburn did in the early 1990s, or Chelsea/Man City did more recently, we are where we are. We will not be able to keep our best players if those above us want them. £50-60k a week is not enough when they can get twice that elsewhere. And some people go on about it being the best league in the world. Pah, it may be better than the other top leagues in the world, but that isn't saying much. For me, best league in the world is the 4th most watched - ie the Championship - where any team can win it, and as B'mouth showed last season, that really is the case. While the quality might not be up there with the best, it is still not bad but the evenness in competition more than make up for that.

Listening to talkSport (with Jason Dodd on at the moment), it annoys me how they all say "Can Southampton keep on selling their best players and continue to do well?" WTF are these pundits on? Really surprised by Danny Kelly who is hosting the breakfast show this morning, as he recently has been saying how ****ed the league is with the big boys just being able to either take all your best players at will or buying in those, both resulting in the rather predictable top 6 that we always get (with the odd exception). Do Kelly, Wilkins and Dodd think that we want to sell Clyne and Morgan?

I remember the Mail ran an article saying how important he was to us, and I think (but happy to be corrected) that they concentrated just on WDL when he was in/absent. He actually had the same impact on WDL as Forster, and given the bad run of results at the end of the season, I suspect that that would have tipped things Forster's way.

So really, what I was trying to ascertain was whether people thought we should be trying to sign some English players rather than (potentially) limiting our squad size and bolstering it with the U21s. Me, I think we should pay a bit more attention to signing HG players as we are likely to be shortly down to 6, with two being goalkeeper of which one is getting on a bit and the other out for maybe a year.

He's with the U21 in my post, and wondering whether he will have to step up to full squad. Nope he's there With KB's link, were are 8 HG with 2 likely to go. Surprised that Isgrove is U21, but not sure if he will be considered that for next season. Having a guess it changes in 1st July.

So (and apologies to Redslo as I know he blogged about it, so hope I get this correct), we can name a squad of 25 players for the PL campaign, which excludes U21 and can have a maximum of 17 non home grown players. Or at least I think that is what it is. Our HG contingent is going to be even smaller now that 2 are likely to be going, and has been halved in the past couple of years (or seeming so). I make it that we are left with... Forster (presume he will be named in it, but...) K. Davis (it really should be either or with FF, now that Mart S has come in on loan) Bertrand S. Davis Long J. Rod Have I missed anyone off? Does that mean we will only have a 23 man squad, unless we sign more HG players? I didn't harm us last season but we have potentially a lot more games this season which will possibly put a strain on things, We seem to be always talking about non-HG replacements, but shouldn't we, if there are any, be looking more at home? Maybe the progression of the U21 has got the powers that be think 23 is enough. We have JWP, Targett, Reed, Gallagher, Gape, Hesketh, Isgrove, McQueen and McCarthy who have all got PL caps. Isgrove though is 22 so whether he will be included in the 25 man squad remains to be seen. Certainly JWP, Targett and Reed have shown that they can handle themselves in the PL, but can the others play a part? I would love to see them all come through, and that was the best thing about the season with MP in charge, in that we had so many young English players coming through. It would be easy to then criticise RK for not carrying it on, but a whole lot of pragmatism had to be taken given the situation he inherited.

Why not just say that we don't need to sign one, as we signed one permanently during the close season last year for £6m, and who has Champions League experience.

Pangy, I was one who always said give him time and he might come good. But we are 3 years through a 4 year contract and he still hasn't come good. There were some flashes that led to the oft used "he has the skill, but.." comments that so many, myself included, used. And then at Hull he was awful. Maybe he was unhappy up there etc and couldn't settle, but his time there didn't improve his standing anywhere. So the choices are... 1) Keep him for his final year where he no doubt would leave us for a free, also being paid a huge amount 2) Sell him for as much as possible 3) Extend his contract. Which would you choose?

WTF are you on about? He was contracted to the club. Nothing to do with keeping to his word.

I think it would be best for all parties if he went back to Italy.

I won't be glad when they are history, but I agree that I will be glad when this all is finalised so that we can move on. As for being dropped for that match, I would love to know the reason. We can all speculate, probably along the same lines as each other, but...

Nice to see you back and that your little fishing trip seems to have caught an awful lot of people. Bit disingenuous to call yourself a neutral isn't it? But never mind, I think we get what you mean. I think you are doing a disservice to the members of this forum. They are not bitter nor deluded. We all know that the wages on offer are bigger, and the chances of playing at a higher level are better. We all know where Southampton are in the pecking order - it doesn't mean we have to like it, and I am surprised that you (and possibly your mate) don't realise this and that what people sometimes post isn't really how they feel. Yes of course we see it from a footballer's side of things. But really, do footballers see it from a fan's point of view. Do they really actually ever consider the fans, or anyone else apart from themselves? It seems that as a breed, footballers are overly nummamorous and keep themselves largely detached from the supporters. In years gone by, before all the money came into the game, things were slightly different. We understand. We also realise that the grass isn't always greener and that at a club like Liverpool, they will get chewed up and spat out pretty quickly if they don't make the grade. Lambert is finding that out now. Lovren might soon if he doesn't move up a gear. Lallana, while is the better of that trio, might also suffer the same as with this new Brazilian signing, competition for places might mean his opportunities are limited. What happens then? I am sure that we can see his two options: one to stay and try and force his way in or wait for injuries all the time picking up a big pay cheque, or two, move on to another club where he can get regular starts with possibly a lower wage. Maybe Everton? Yes, so was I, but I was also taught how to do it properly. But better oneself is rather dependent on what you use as a yardstick. I certainly turned down much much higher paid jobs to set up my own company. The freedom of being able to do what I want, when I want is more important to me than the pure financial reward. It is a long term thing as well. Long term happiness is more important than short term happiness that you might feel due to increased financial reward which is often followed by unhappiness. But bettering yourself is not the same as making more money and it shows what is wrong with the game. It is not unique to the players leaving us, or even those joining us, it is football wide. However I think this shows how detached you really are, possibly due to your association with a football player but of course that is being a bit presumptuous. I really do not think that anyone took exception to your mate moving to Liverpool, just the way it was carried out. Obviously with your blinkered view of things, you see nothing wrong with what happened, but you seem to find yourself in a minority. For me, the worst thing he did was http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/young-fan-gets-england-midfielder-7212288 . As captain of the club it showed a fair bit of disrespect when the deal hadn't been completed. Does it all matter? Of course not. I look at things pragmatically and go to the football for a bit of entertainment. If it wasn't there, it wouldn't really impact on my life too much as I'd find something rather more worthy to do. Footballers are entertainers and, at risk of being accused of being bitter, have somewhat self-aggrandised themselves to say the very least. As for the grieving, at the risk of being pompous, I would take one of Tennyson's lines, albeit somewhat out of context - For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever.