Saint_Tony

We will find out soon enough if my source is reliable, it's entirely up to you if you want to believe it. Me saying he doesn't want to be here is purely my own opinion, which I am expressing on here. Why do I have to have met him to form an opinion of him?

Have heard the deal is nearly finalised, official announcement on thursday or friday. To be honest I don't want him here if he doesn't want to be here. Still think he'd be better off staying for another season and holding out for a better job. Oh well, hopefully the board has been discussing some potential replacements.

Have to agree, we are very much in the dark as to what is happening. Admittedly, the conflicting newspaper reports and never ending amount of posters who are supposedly ITK doesn't help,but I get the feeling that everything is about to fall to pieces in the next few days. We had Reeds's statement,but that was a few weeks ago. Right now I fear for the worst, can't help but thinking Kruger has no real ambitions to drive the club forward and is content to sit in 8th. As a fan of the club, I am not.

Oh right. So all the stories about Cortese ripping up transfer bids and being feared are untrue, and the real mafia don is in fact, Les Reed?

Did the players fear him? I was led to believe they worshipped him, and he was the only reason for staying at the club for a lot of players. Anyways, we still can't be sure of Ralph's plans and how he operates regarding transfer business. Does anyone know if he has any experience in this, or is it purely just dealing with coaching, motivating and scouting ice hockey players?

Wasn't Mayuka a Cortese recommendation?

Crazy that Nasri can't get in. Might be worth a bet at 20/1, good squad they have there, a lot better than England's

No not at all, seems a strange post. MP has never been linked with the Spurs job,whilst there have been lots of rumours that he is going to sign a new contract with us this week. We are keeping all of our players an he is being given £60 million to spend on new players. No chance whatsoever that he will go to Spurs

Expect MP to be appointed by the weekend.....

Same. Do we know his squad number yet?

What a great piece, what a man. Would love it if he scored in Brazil

It's fantastic news, delighted for all of them, especially Rickie. Just a shame that by the time the tournament comes round he will be the only Southampton representative

No team is built around a left back. Of course we will be worse of without him, but it isn't the end of the world. Lovren, Schneiderlin and Lallana are far more vital to us

The thing with Rickie is he doesn't take his place for granted. He's worked incredibly hard to get where he is a should be an inspiration to othes in the squad who have had to do very little to get there. Even with his call up due to injuries last summer, I don't think anyone would have had him down as having a chance. One of the best things is that the media, pundits and non-saints fans now realise he is a quality player who is there on merit

There's nothing wrong with this post. Adam didn't have his best season last year. Turkish noted in the post that he's a great player

As I wrote on here a couple of weeks ago, I understand MP is off to Spurs and that J Rod is one of the players he wants to bring with him, along with Lallana (looking unlikely) and Chambers

Spot on, it does make you question the whole purpose of the five year plan if it's not going to be built on. It's just so frustrating as a fan that from having a great season which ended a few hours ago, we are now just discussing negative things. Ralph talks a good game and it seems harsh to judge him but there's nothing to suggest he has any ambitious plans for the club like Cortese did. Today we should be happy that we have 3 players selected for an England World cup squad, yet the reality is only one of them will be a Southampton player by the time the first game arrives.

Yes. Today is one of the saddest days in the history of the club. The day we accept that we have come as far as we can and won't try to improve.

So our bonus for finishing 8th and not making the Champions League is half of our team leaving. Makes you wonder if it's ever worth it.

Fair enough, but surely that just undermines the five year plan and everything we have achieved in getting back to where we are? We may never know, but I'm sure Cortese would have had an ambitious plan drawn up. Like him or loathe him, I'm sure Champions League football was the next part of the plan.Even if we don't break into the top 6, I'd like to see a bit of intent but sadly it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Great to see Rickie in there, even with his call up I don't think anyone thought he would make the World Cup. 29 league goals in 2 seasons, despite supposedly being past it. He's been back on form for the few games and it would be incredible to see him score in Brazil.

It's all irrelevant now, MP won't sign knowing Shaw and Lallana have gone. Sadly the new 'project' will probably be to sustain our midtable status

Yeah, that is a decent looking side, same that Danny Mills suggestes on the radio the other night. My first thought is that it looks a bit too ambitious for Hodgson, plenty of attacking talent. The squad is in better shape though than a year ago and its good that Roy has drafted in some younger players like Shaw, Barkley and Sterling to replace some of the older ones

Sorry, but I disagree it's OTT. Gallagher, Reed, JWP are not the answer, we saw what happened with the Dutch experiment. Just because they've come through the academy and are on the fringe of the first team squad, it does not mean that they are good enough. If you look at the subs bench, the likes of Guly and Jos will be off and need replacing. We will need another Gk and CB regardless of player sales. Then replacements for Shaw and Lallana plus at least one new striker. That's 7 already, and the squad will probably be weaker .I think it could be a busy summer of transfer ins and outs.

Why? If they're going to bid around the £30 million mark, that's good business. I can't see him getting any game time unless Baines gets injured so it won't affect his value. And gives the club more time to target a replacement