SaintBobby

Problem is a good chunk of that is wiped out by Puel's pay off and the £5m signing of that new Polish defender. May have a million or two left over, but that buys you sod all really.

Sure, that'd be great. But you're looking at, say, £15m each in transfer fees and £4m a year each in wages etc? So where does that c £38m come from?

Isn't the main problem that we fans don't think very much about balancing the books. Understandable in a way. We want results on the pitch. The money side is a matter for Katharina, Ralph etc. However, if you take a step back, then it seems clear to me that the current model is a pretty good one. Basic truth is we don't bring in enough cash from TV rights and ticket sales to sign and pay for the quality of players we want, so we also seek to make a tidy profit in the transfer market (or at the very, very least, break even). If you don't sell Mane at a £20m profit, you probably don't have the cash to sign, say, Cedric, Bertrand and Romeu. Obviously, the Liebherrs just shoving more cash on the table would be nice from our perspective, but I don't feel I have the right to expect it.

Haven't we only ever won 9 knockout games in the entire history of the World Cup?

That 6 year contract he signed really does give the club the whip hand. If he was down to having just a year or two left, he could call the shots. But the fact that in theory - we can make him train alone and play him in the reserves for 5 years does place us in a strong position. Whether the club plays those cards well or not is another matter....

I think we should employ Fraser Richardson as a floating centre-back

Not really. Don't seem to be controlling midfield at all well. But it's a slightly odd XI we have out there.

Hmm, that 45 mins of football was even more boring than peak Puel!

Thanks, v good stream.

So, does anyone know if this is being streamed or is on Saintsplayer perhaps?

He is listed as a substitute, no?

Well, if it's the last 5 years you're interested in then Everton, on average, finish five points above Saints. This obviously includes two seasons where we got our highest points totals in the Premier League (60 and 63) and Everton got amongst their worst ever (47 and 47). Debatable whether you consider this an outlier or part of the "new normal", I guess. I think it's an outlier. Looking at the bookies' odds, to finish in the top 4, Everton are 8/1, we are 20/1. To finish in the top six, Everton are 2/1 and we are 5/1. To finish in the top half, Everton are 1/8 and we are 1/2. To be relegated, Everton are 100/1 and we are about 20/1. Sound about right to me - i.e. very likely that Everton will finish above Saints, but not a total racing certainty.

If we keep all the players we have, I'd be happy just signing a decent DM now.

Yeah, it's possible, I guess. But the season before last was Saints' best ever points finish and Everton performed well below par. Last season is more of a reversion to the norm, I guess. All things equal, you'd expect Everton to finish above Saints. Of course, it's never the case that all things are equal, but I'd guess that Southampton finishing 16 points above Everton has been very, very unusual in the last 50 or 60 years (possibly the biggest Saints lead ever? I haven't checked)

Gotta love self-referential. What a miserable, utterly sad **** you are.

Once a player makes it utterly and publicly transparent they want to leave, it's hard to keep them. Not impossible, but very, very hard.

Lukaku from Chelsea to Everton for £28m?

Sad news indeed, but this isn't Saints-related is it? It's odd to me how some tragic cases like this capture the public imagination, there are many such cases but only a few seem to grip us. That said, maybe it's a way for us to think about sadness and mortality overall, through the example of one magnetic and engaging boy.

Please. Close. This. Thread. Embarrassing.

We finished 15 points behind Everton last season. I think that is too big a gap to make up tbh. Not impossible, but I'd say Everton are 90% likely to finish above us.

This is seriously what we're whining about now? We might become the new Arsenal. Sigh.

I'd imagine that last year's top 7 will be the top 7 again. Sure, it's possible that one or two of them will implode, but far from likely. I'm more interested in targeting a points total than a position. I'd hope for 60 points, which would be a very big improvement, although probably not enough to climb into the top 7.

I'd imagine that last year's top 7 will be the top 7 again. Sure, it's possible that one or two of them will implode, but far from likely. I'm more interested in targeting a points total than a position. I'd hope for 60 points, which would be a very big improvement, although probably not enough to climb into the top 7.

Good luck to Jay I'd say this is an amazing piece of business by Saints. £12m for a player who looks like he may never fully recover from his injury is absurd.

On Alaves v Saints comparisons. Getting the former to 9th and a cup final is enormously more impressive than getting the latter to 8th and a cup final.