saint1977

Rose was being heavily linked with City in April/May (ditto Kyle Walker) so would be one of Spurs' domestic top stars gone and replaced with another I guess by buying Ryan. However, that hasn't surfaced for a few weeks so City may prefer Bertrand. Would prefer City to buy him if he is going to go as they'll pay the £££ and avoids having to do business with Daniel Levy or Jurgen Klopp.

Agree with you and Graffito, I do agree with him going as we were dreadful to watch at times last season and the tactical inflexibility is OK if you have a Man City budget. However, this is unfair on the man and unreasonable from the club. I suppose the answer to your question Badger is 'Dave Jones' but the court case probably made what Rupert was probably going to do anyway (the sack) more complex so it's unlikely to be a fair comparison. You could argue Nigel was undermined by rumours in the first half of our PL season with quite a few pre-existing links to MP made but I can't remember being as blatant as that nor from a source like Jeremy Wilson.

On the next page there is probably an advert for UKIP and on the front page something about Statins or some freak weather stream about to hit the UK for the next 3 months.

If he's met Klopp in person whilst we've been paying him to be injured then there is no option but to back Saints, whatever people think of Reed etc. That's worse than Lallana did IF true and VVD would be best advised to have a minor niggle before he plays Saints, particularly at SMS because the abuse would be even worse that Lallana and Lovren. The abuse got to Lovren in particular so badly Klopp had to sub him at HT in the 3-2 defeat. Whether the PL will take appropriate action and ban Liverpool from the transfer market for 2 years if these allegations are proven is another story. Would take £5m or £10m less and sell him to City or Chelsea or he stays. Let's see how VVD and his agent like that!

Depends. If we don't answer the phone to Klopp, there's not much player or agent can do about it. He won't strike in a WC year.

Oh dear Ronald, that's the Barca dream gone.

I very rarely agree with Boris Johnson but his description of 'Self Pity City' is unusually apt. They've been incredibly brazen - and foolhardy - in their tapping up and now they are moaning at being pulled up for it. VVD's agent is either a bit silly also or has just played a blinder in persuading another club to just pay VVD double and Saints the fee we want. Given Liverpool's stupidity, I'm going with the latter.

But we can grow whilst doing that, last year was the regression because we picked the wrong manager for our brand and squad but that's being put right it seems. It's about Saints doing well - loved Europe last season bar the Prague and HBS horrors - and we got there by re-investing well. Let's make last season a blip - we still got the TV money for 8th with only 46 points and a much weaker starting XI. Get the right manager in and people will starting feeling more positive.

Even then, look at the vultures circling Alexis Sanchez and the Emirates holds 60k. Arsenal missing out on top 4 makes them vulnerable. Everyone pointed to Leicester last summer and said they kept all of their key players - but look at Mahrez now. Key is to not lose 4-5 in one or two windows and to get back to recruiting well like 2014 and 2015 - last 2 windows bar Gabi and Redmond have been shockers.

Hope you are right. This has been coming though - shouldn't have sold Mane to them (unless they met a release clause) and the celebrations at our equaliser after Rickie and Lallana had just gone there (ironically scored by Clyne) amongst the Board was quite unusual at top flight level and showed the growing irritation. VVD has Chelsea and City interested IF Saints sell and both can easily outgun Liverpool - big mistake by Klopp and co.

Good, about time. Would like to see the club be strong and refuse to sell to Liverpool unless it's really OTT fee. If some of the journalists are complicit in the tapping up and it's proven, ban them from games and clubs for 2 years, would be a career-ender for them as would be pariahs and set some standards down. Would be cross if the club then caved in to another club for £60m given the 20% sell on fee to Celtic under further media pressure. We've got a 5 year contract, the player is likely to behave (unlike say Lallana) so on our terms.

Who knows, but he doesn't seem to be there for his keeping with Lewis keeping for the FA Cup games. Gazza's loan is finished now as well. Could be that Kelvin has been kept rather busier in his dressing room liaison role than he or the club anticipated?

One year left as well for Barkley? £35m is as good as it will get, perhaps more with speculative add-ons. Even then, it's only because he's England qualified. Lukaku they may get £60-65m for, two years still, another year of 25 goals is worth a lot of money. They won't get £100m though. Stones will improve next season IMO. So £70m for VVD is fair.

If that leak is close to the final kit, then I'll be buying my first home kit since we were back in the top flight (had the sash and Championship kits). Away kit not bad, like the teal in it but not so much the solid dark blue. May get that as well but priority is buying the home kit.

Because it probably enhances the English/home grown stats across the squad. Would imagine he's on a fringe wage (still a lot of money in non football terms) and doing more on the coaching side as others have alluded to.

Might as well start one. Bangladesh heading for a healthy score v England, although the two wickets in as many balls hindered a score of 350+. Think England will chase down but the Tigers are tough opponents for us in the last few major tournaments. Who do people fancy to win the trophy?

Although we disagree on Puel, there is a lot in the way of sensible observation in here. It perhaps suggests that Claude wasn't the first choice we were led to believe last summer. I agree on the 'drip drip' nature and hope that the St Etienne move, if that happens, is lined up quickly for everyone's sakes, Claude included. Whilst I'm not a fan of his tactics and style of engagement, this seems unfair on him as he is a human being and has been very successful in France although it seems from the rumours swirling that his style did not quite translate at SFC. The fanbase wasn't sure to start with, although less so than MP, but MP's footballing philosophy and identity overcame language barriers and was clear for all to see. The Redmond debacle last summer started the skids under CP but Les is just as culpable for that foolish remark on the strength of the midfield options. Wonder if CP wishes he'd challenged those things a bit more now? I would have done if I were him because he's now taking the hit, not Les. Not saying Les should go, far from it, but he needs a stronger challenge. The club still wants that developmental model but perhaps a lot more in MP's footballing style through the age ranges? MP was their ideal head coach really, RK a fantastic 2 years but MP bought into their philosophy a bit more. Where they find another MP who knows? CP played the young players so that box was ticked but we don't know what has gone on behind the scenes - only CP, players and key staff really know - in terms of how CP has been received. What evidence we have seen as fans is a very disinterested end to the season in the displays and lots of arguing on the pitch, which can't bode well when it happens every game. Some conflict pushes up standards but I suspect what we were seeing was the tip of the iceberg behind the scenes.

Comical Ali said Saddam's regime wouldn't buckle

I don't - and with Bertrand seemingly on his way as well and Lander it's a bag of joy. Just wake me up back in League one when Claude, Les and co are just memories and we can fast forward the pain.

If that happens, pretty much relegation and that's without Lander on the scene or Puel departing. If we've thrown the towel in this early there could be worse to come.

Care to share?

I've got no problem with it either as long as the club isn't leveraged up to the eyeballs in debt to pay for it.

If it ends as well as Cardiff we'd be lucky with debt set to be leveraged onto SFC, Blackburn are a better model of what could happen. Would be a tragic end to the Liebherr era, let's hope PL FAPP finally shows teeth. Pigs might fly though!

Would depend on the players - and I think that will do for him more than anything. Steve McLaren also has a sharp football brain but football has got a view on him industry-wide and players don't respond him to anymore. Claude isn't at that point yet but another season at SMS could make him unemployable. The club then suffers - not just on the playing field either. Saints got Dimplex as a very last minute sponsor (grateful to them) at the height of the Branfoot unrest with players and fans - and we were a PL club. Nobody wanted to be associated with it or people that were making/not making decisions - one of the few things I'm ITK on. Also, it'll come down to corporate fit. Sturrock's results weren't that bad but the players allegedly didn't find him professional enough and that latched on to Lowe's existing doubts via feedback. Remember, Kreuger has already addressed the players at Everton - and that is highly unusual before a game.

Particularly that Port Vale home cup game, one of Branfoot's last. The whole ground bar Vale fans held up red cards to Branfoot and the atmosphere was X10 more toxic than Sunday with a third of the fans. Remember the sign on lower East 'Mr Blobby In, Branfoot Out!'. Every ball lumped forward from the full backs (Ian's signature) was met with a 'hoof' from the crowd. Most home games, Branny's walk from the West corner to the dug outs was met with a chorus of 'resign' and that's the polite stuff. A lot easier to hear abuse at the Dell than SMS too. Can recall the protests being just as bad at the Oldham home game a couple of years before. Saints fans have a major aversion to negative football - we'll put up with most things but that seems to be a historical ignition point.