saint1977

If people wanted illustration of why fans are getting increasingly turned off PL football, here it is. What kind of warped reality world do these cretins live in? I did chuckle and think of WGS's response to the Delgado birthday-gate 'excuse me but I've got more urgent things to do like eat a yogurt that's gone out of date'. Shows you what morons most journalists are that they've sucked it up too. Almost ranks with Cashley Cole's outrage at 'only' being offered £50k or £55k a week at Arsenal when Chelski offered him £60k.

It's not 99% of fans though is it? It's a few keyboard warriors. People would have be deluded to think that NC would be giving us any communication either, in fact I remember lots of similar threads and posts if anyone can be bothered to look for them from 2011-NC leaving. I'd much rather the club continued to go about it's efficiently and quietly with a little bit more consideration in operational matters for for fans (ticket costs, taxes, access etc) and announce major things as soon as it is commercially sensible and reasonable to do so. It's not like the mess of Rupert Lowe's managerial searches where he used to take a whole summer and then appoint Stuart Gray or Steve Wigley on the minimum wage and give them a transfer budget of £4m!

Happened to me years ago, moved on totally and stopped contact and was rewarded by finding a much better girlfriend who is now my wife. Kind of applies to this scenario, don't care what MP does if he goes to Spurs, just focus on the next manager for Saints, hopefully someone with real stature like Ronald Koeman and not a cheap option like Howe or Mackay.

I definately support KL and am grateful for her and Markus's support since 2009. I agree with St Chalet that the new structure will eventually result in better oversight and governance despite a few teething issues. I do believe that the club's long-term best interests and legacy are being served even if some unpopular decisions have to be made from time to time. Anyone who was a regular in 2008/9 will understand what I'm saying - home defeats to Doncaster etc, 14,000 gates and a boycott, unruly AGM, crowd unrest, totally uncompetitive team. We are miles away from that now, credit of course to NC too, but it's important to remember this when the latest article appears in the Daily Mail. If players do go, we'll move on like we always have and find new heroes - right back to Chivers and then Channon, Williams, Wright, Wallace bros, Shearer, Flowers, Richards, Bridge, Theo, Bale, Ox.

Did Napoli finish in the CL this year? Not sure why Benitez would leave them for THFC if so. Mind you, he likes London and Spurs would offer £££££ compared to Serie A, plus I reckon he'd get more out that talented but un-balanced squad than MP would. There are actually people on this site that think RB would come to Saints. Um, hate to tell you this but the bloke has managed at Liverpool, Valencia, Chelsea, Inter and now Napoli. Just off the top of my head, he's won La Liga, CL, UEFA/Europa, Italian Cup, FA Cup and so on. The Spurs fans would get plenty of stick from their Chelsea oppos but the guy wins trophies despite his faults and that's their reposte. Mourinho played even more grinding football this season at Chelsea and won jack, despite his past track record and he wasn't much better at Real.

Hmmm, didn't know that, perhaps Sherwood should be higher up our shortlist than I first thought. Koeman is still my overwhelming first choice, as I posted on the other thread. Hate to say it, but MP looks to be on his bike. Club need to activate their plan B here straight away and get talking to candidates, the speculation from NC's tabloid hired guns will be 100% worse than even now if there is a vacuum in the manager's chair for weeks.

Howe would get tactically found out big time in the PL and ex-skate, no thanks. Would also as good as relegate us. I think there's a candidate who has gone under the radar, would suit the style of play and is leaving a big club this summer. His name is Ronald Koeman and unless he's agreed to go somewhere else, he would be ideal. He was sniffing around the Swansea job before Monk was confirmed so confident we could attract him and I bet his agent has been in touch with Saints because of the uncertainty around MP. In fact, if he's still available and MP is set on Spurs I might even say to the club 'pull the plaster off in one go' and bring Koeman in now. His stature in the game would get instant respect. The Chile manager is a good shout but would be an even bigger risk than MP was as at least MP knew the European transfer market quite well. Mackay - massive no thanks. Sherwood would be a decent shortlist candidate but I think WBA lined him up weeks ago. Laudrup - attitude question mark. Dyche is a good option but would like to see how he fares with Burnley. Rosler isn't proven at the higher levels yet.

Totally agree, the players are under long contracts and if we sell them a) It's on our terms and b) It might be because the deal was too staggering to turn and/or we got players in part-ex who are our transfer targets e.g. we've been linked with the Spanish left-back Liverpool bought from Newcastle. This is where Reed needs to control all communications on transfers and reinforce that all dealings, if there are any, will be on SFC's terms only. If it means we ban Ashton and White from SMS that's fine by me.

I posted something similar on the Lallana thread. Reed's statement calmed things down for a couple of days at least but RK's comments yesterday - and I'm sure the bids were already in train - seem to have brought the interest in our players to the surface and encouraged the speculation further. The comment from the other new director about the financial figures wasn't very smart either. I think they might need another board member with a bit more experience of British football to give Reed some back-up.

What's frustrating is RK's poor handling of this. 2-3 of those players, including Shaw and Lallana, were likely to go anyway even if NC had stayed because all modern players are just after money and automatically expect to play for the top 2-3 clubs and the CL income enables them to carry bloated squads. However, because we haven't been able to quell the flow of speculation robustly enough, NC fuelled or not, the danger is that we sell the players and then the price rises too sharply to get the replacements we want because clubs know we have a warchest. Real lack of experience coming through and think Reed ought to handle all football communications at the moment. MP contract needs to be tied down asap and if we are selling quickly, we'll also need to buy quickly as the post WC market will be difficult to negotiate. I'd much rather we'd held on any major sales apart from Osvaldo until after Brazil because we don't know if one of those players will have a moment that catapults their value skywards. Say Adam scores a brilliant winner v Italy, you could have Bayern, Real etc wanting to buy him and it would force Liverpool into an auction to pay £5-10m more. Instead, there seems to be an indecent haste to sell and a sense the club is being bullied by Liverpool/Man U and the media agenda from NC's mates. The club should have enough clout to hold any discussions on it's own terms but it would appear not.

You also missed out the fact that the finals are often dour or one-sided. We get stick from the skates about lack of trophies but what about Arsenal - in it every year with no chance of winning for a long time now yet dependent on it's revenue to pay the bills on their stadium. I've seen some great CL games in the 90s and 00s but most of the ones this season have left me cold - the Bayern v Real semi games were dreadful anti-climaxes, glad Atletico disposed of Mourinho and his anti-football. As you say, there are few, if any surprises now. Hard to see a club like Celtic now upsetting the big biys and reaching the last 16 like they did in recent years.

Doesn't need the money so the only PL club I could see him playing for is QPR if they come up a) on £100k for Harry and b) not having to move house. Wouldn't be surprised if Lampard joined them, typical Harry signings. Otherwise I can't see him wanting to play for Spurs, Arsenal etc or another English club full stop. Serie A could be destination, Inter have signed Vidic. Russia is another possible desitination if money is his top priority.

You've got to feel sorry for them haven't you? As soon as they state that they want to achieve anything in life, they'll be told that all they have to look forward to is the dole if their drivel they spout on this board is anything to go by. I can't imagine what it must be like to have that much of a negative outlook on everything.

Edited it for you...

It's only one poster though Noodles, although I'm surprised his mate from Glasgow/Portsmouth hasn't joined his Fratton buddy on this thread yet because he pollutes every other. Wouldn't surprise it if it was the same poster under different aliases. Wish the mods would grow a pair, BS is on ignore but every other fecker quotes them so I still have to read his/her bitter skate rubbish.

He's only on here because on POL they live in the 1940s and they have no dreams to destroy. Sad pair our resident skates - Barry and Glasgow. Used to like it on S4E when Keith awarded the lurking Pompey fans fish. Maybe Steve should do that as well to them?

Good point, Guan 2.0 and KBilly Supersound have also been quite accurate in what they've posted as well as the VMan. So pick your source depending on your outlook I guess - half-full or half-empty glass! I love the club and will support it whatever, unlike one or two of the sad little trolls on here. Barry - I went with a Yeovil mate to watch them at your place (Fratton) last season and how you have the front to call SMS, a modern, comfortable stadium not covered in graffiti and surrounded in an ocean of dog poop like your 'historic' rust-bucket I'll never know. Yeovil fans wound the skates up a treat and I enjoyed watching you slip to the bottom of League 1. If 90 minutes of sporadic 'ner ner ner' and a bookshop owner with BO is your idea of an atmosphere, you can stick it where the sun doesn't shine skateboy. Enjoy the conference in 2015/16, if you even make it that far. Shurlock - agree with your follow up post.

Talk about taking a post out of context - my point is that whilst I hope players - other than Osvaldo and the fringe ones - don't leave - they might but it won't be the end of the world if we re-invest. Every day players are getting linked with that group of clubs and some posters - not suggesting you - seem to think it's only Saints players being linked. Curbing top flight loans across Europe would solve some of it and they would only buy what they needed rather than stopping each other recruiting. Look at what Chelsea are doing with Vitesse and stacking up players like Van Ginkel. Won't hold my breath on UEFA doing that though. VMan may well have an agenda or he may not. Will be an interesting summer regardless starting with MP's future and the need to strengthen in the forward areas after J Rod's injury.

Spot on. Unless you support the following clubs your club is a selling club: - Real Madrid - Barcelona - Man City - Chelsea - Bayern Munich - Man Utd just about but still had to sell Ronaldo to Real - PSG - Juventus Look at Dortmund - massive club regularly in the CL, huge 80k stadium that is one of the finest in Europe yet Gotze and Lewandowski have left them for Bayern. Arsenal had to sell RVP, Nasri etc. Spurs held on to Bale as long as they could but gave in for the right price and made it hard for Real which is what Ralph has to do with Shaw, Morgan etc. With the agents as well, stories are appearing every day stating that dozens of players wanting to play for clubs in the above list. Look at Man City, average of £103k a week in their squad. How many clubs can, and would want to compete with craziness like that? FAPP rules have come in now the above clubs have got their revenue streams, however much they bend UEFA rules, sorted and it's a closed shop. If any other industry, that cartel would be broken up. Saints have just got to make sure that if 2-3 do go as VMan suggets that we get the best buys from just below the CL level and go again next season.

Pathetic. Enjoy next season at the bottom of League 2 again skateboy and your mate/other log-in Glasgow Skate.

In response to OP, I would only say 4-7 players going if you include fringe players like Sharp, Forte and Jos. Would like to see Gazza re-launch his career in L2/non league but have a feeling we'll loan him out instead. In terms of the first team squad, Osvaldo and Gaston look the most likely, Osvaldo because his attitude is dreadful and Gaston because he'll want more first team football, probably back in Serie A. Shaw could be sold but then so could any player in the PL. Remy is making noises for example about wanting to go to a top 4 club, probably Arsenal and Eriksen is making similar noises at Spurs. What these players don't realise is that there's probably about 20 such clubs in Europe but Serie A doesn't have the £££ that they and their dodgy agents want so you are looking at La Liga or the PL and that limits you to half-a-dozen clubs. Given that these clubs will only make 3-4 major signings and need to offload to make space because of FAPP rules, this is why the market is so slow but the idiots on here make it this scenario is unique to Saints.

A link in the Derby Telegraph to Danny Ings. Is my memory failing me or has he come back from ACL-type injury even quicker (in terms of pace)? Similarly direct player to J Rod.

He was linked on Sky Sports a couple of months ago, could be agent talk. Ronald Koeman's agent was linking him with Swansea, would imagine that link may come up with Saints soon as he's already announced he's leaving Feyenoord at the end of the season.

Surrey astonish me - they have a squad that ought to be at the top of D1 and some young batters and quicks with real potential. Yet they seem to fold under the slightest pressure. As for Hants, we dominated Leics last year and rain stopped us winning so same start. I'm surprised Kent let Matt Coles go, he had a few problems with England A going out on the last with Ben Stokes but he's up there towards 90mph for pace and gets late movement. Can bat as well. Abbott should make a big difference when he arrives and we need him to stay fit. Vince needs to kick on and bag 1000-1500 runs if we are going to get promoted and he is going to have a sniff of England recognition. Against the quickest bowlers, he seems to be on the move too much, hopefully that's been addressed over the winter. Wheater needs to keep up his good start, was disappointing last year and lost his place.

I didn't hate them growing up or really dislike them apart from the usual banter until the League Cup in 2003 and the Bates 'silence'. That changed things for me in terms of my attitude towards them along with the riot in 2004 was appalling. I've got a number of friends who are Pompey fans, decent people who like a bit of banter in the main and worked with a few accountants who were Pompey fans and who suspected money laundering well before their troubles started to hit. However, they've got a significant minority, around 25-30% of their fan base who are knuckle-draggers in the extreme and who grew up in Saints shadow in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. That bitterness has never left them and they justify their behaviour via fictitious dock strikes and other mythical incidents caused by the 'Scum'. They have a huge chip on their shoulder which we saw come out in 2004. The whole city has a sense of entitlement which was summed up by Cllr Vernon Jackson - or I think it was him - moaning that BBC showed Southampton on the weather forecasts and not Portsmouth.