Minsk

I can't say I was too keen on Pellegrino when I first heard about him, but the more I hear and read about him the more he is growing on me. Most certainly he should be supported by all and given time to show what he can do. I admit that I never liked Pochettino, but do admit he was a great manager for us and has gone on to be even better. My dislike for him (MoPo) was purely about the way he stabbed Adkins in the back (in that he agreed to take the job on during the summer but not until he was ready, i.e. waited for Adkins to steady the ship and get a few decent results before giving Cortese the nod, and Nige the knife). MoPo the went on to display his great moral character by walking on us..... Hopefully this Mauricio is a nicer and better person than his compatriot and goes on to become an even better manager. I also hope that that the board give him far better backing than they gave Puel. I honestly believe Puel did as good a job as any manager could have last season (in relation to reaching a cup final and final position in the league, we should have done better in Europe). Last summer he was let down by us not signing a striker and by our major signing being someone we knew wouldn't be available for half the season. Then it took until the last day of January to finally bring a striker in, despite Austin having been out with a long term injury since mid-December. And as for the CB fiasco........ Les has said the squad only needs 'fine tuning'. I will agree with that providing we don't lose any of our better players (most notably any of our first choice defenders). If they all stay (VvD, Cedric and Bertrand) we only really need to bring in a lesser CB as I would be happy with either Maya or Stephens partnering VvD. I believe we also need another strong holding DM and and AM who will get goals. That, to me, is fine tuning. However, if we let any of our 'stars' go we will need more of a rebuild. Anyway, back on topic, good luck and welcome Mauricio. I look forward to seeing how you can get the playing (after the usual 1-1 draw in the first game of the season ) .

Sauce?

From all I have read on here since the season ended if we were to get Martinez in lots on here will be overjoyed. As quoted above, his philosophy is to outscore others. That means goals, goals, goals; which is all that many posters on here want. They aren't bothered with 'league position' or 'losing a cup final' they just want to be entertained. I'm sure they won't complain at all when all those 0-0 draws are turned into 4-3 losses...........

Hmmm, let's look at who it can't be (away on international duty, thus unlikely to be out on the razz): Forster Cedric Bertrand Yoshida Stephens Gardos Targett JWP Davis Tadic Redmond Long Gabbiadini Leaving us with these (first team player) possibilities: McCarthy - been in the treatment room more than the dressing room, wouldn't mind if he was replaced VvD - I don't think anyone would be surprised if he isn't the happiest bunny right now, but doubt it is him Classie - Possible, but unlikely Romeu - I really don't think it would be him PEH - Possible but, again, unlikely Boufal - I thought he was at St Mary's getting treatment, not on holiday - so unlikely McQueen - Possible but very unlikely (given how much playing time he was given) Sims - Possible but very unlikely (given how much playing time he was given) Austin - Just got back from holiday. I doubt Bianca would be happy with him being out on the razz right now. Very unlikely JRod - My money is on this guy (if the story is true)

Idiotic, moronic, xenophobic post. Good post P.S. We shouldn't sell anybody to Liverpool, let alone one of our better attacking internationals. Moreover, I would absolutely love it if Liverpool were to be banned from signing anyone this summer (not that this is in any way likely to happen - but I can dream!)

The beginning of that article is absolutely spot-on: Bought with so much promise from Lille last summer very late on, Sofiane Boufal’s first season at Southampton has been more miss than hit. Arriving with a knee injury, the forward took time to recover, before injuring himself once again before going on international duty for the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning he only managed 15 starts throughout the season. His return from 30 appearances overall was just two goals and one assist, with many Saints fans expecting a lot more from their record transfer. I maintain that Boufal being our major signing last summer (in full knowledge that he would miss half the season) was a big mistake by the board. We desperately needed to sign a goalscorer last summer, yet didn't do so until the last day of January! Here's hoping for much better from the board during this window, and from Boufal this coming season.

Yep, now we have nursed our top quality CB (who has been out for months) back to fitness we should sell him and take their not so good, currently out with a serious knee injury, CB in part exchange. And this despite Liverpool demanding a huge fee for said CB when we wanted to loan him in January as cover for VvD! Perhaps if they had helped us out in January we may have decided that Sakho was a good VvD replacement (and perhaps he wouldn't have got injured) and that very deal could well be on the cards. However, ............. feck 'em!! I hope they receive the same punishment in regard to signing first team players as they have recently received for tapping up the Stoke kid.

Completely different scenario, but you know that.......

I used the Wigan analogy because of the way you worded your statement - He will go and play for whoever he wants to. You should have added on the end, 'provided that club offer to pay Saints a fee they are willing to accept for him.' Of course, if Liverpool meet said fee and that is his choice of club, he will go where he wants. However, if other clubs (Chelsea, Man City, etc) meet that fee but Liverpool are nowhere near it, we will not sell him to them. He would then have the choice, reluctantly sign for one of the other (better, imo) teams to get his huge pay rise or stay with us one more season (or half-season) and see what offers are made next time around. Yes, the player has to agree to sign for any club, but they do not hold ALL the cards.

So, if he wants to go and play for, say, Wigan next season he will? The player does not hold all the cards. If Chelsea and Man City meet our 70m valuation but the Scousers will only stump up 45m, he won't be going to Liverpool. Heck, we COULD simply say, 'no, we are not going to sell you this summer.' Yes, he could 'threaten to go on strike'; in return we don't pay him any salary. He could sit and rot for months. We have been paying him but not playing him for months already, we could do the same and save on his wages (if he goes on strike/refuses to play). He wouldn't do that, so we wouldn't have to; but we COULD.

This And this Stuff £75m. He is under contract for 5 years. He can hand in as many transfer requests as he likes, if what ever price is asked isn't met - up front - he doesn't go anywhere. Go on strike? Don't get paid, don't play, lose your way in world football. For me, anything less than £100m - all up front - is a no go. And even then, NOT TO FEKIN' LIVERPOOL!!!!!!

Noooooo!! He can't!! I had a bet with a Liverpool fan on Saturday. Said guy was adamant VvD is going there; I said no chance, he would have far better offers. Basically, if VvD joins Liverpool this summer I have to pay for a night out for him; if VvD stays with us, or signs for anybody else, he has to pay for me. I was sure that I was on to a winner with that bet........

Did I miss us being relegated? I was pretty sure we finished 8th, and reached a cup final, despite Puel not being given adequate tools to work with (i.e. not replacing Pelle or Mane in the summer; major summer signing being unavailable for half the season; the CB fiasco; etc.) As for Bertrand definitely going/being talked into staying - this thread was started less than a year ago when he signed 5 year contract. He has more than 4 years remaining of that. The club hold the cards, not Bertrand. That said, if City are definitely interested and want to pay us what they payed Everton for Stones (or close to it) we could use said money to bring Shaw back from United and still have change.

Match Day 37 - Home to Man Utd - Drew 0-0 Match Day Comparison Last season we won match day 37 (2-1) away to Spurs. Two dropped points gives us a.... 14 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season Utd beat us 3-2 at St. Mary's. One gained points gives us a..... 17 point deficit Match Day 38 - home to Stoke - lost 0-1 Match Day Comparison Last season we won Match Day 38 by 4-1 at home to Crystal Palace. Three dropped points put us at a final...... 17 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season Stoke beat us by the same 1-0 scoreline at St. Mary's. Therefore, the final points difference here is (obviously) also a.... 17 point deficit So, there we have it. This season we have finished 17 points worse off than our all time record attained last season. However, we have only finished 2 places lower than last season. We also reached a cup final and competed in Europe. Given (what I consider to have been) a poor summer in the transfer window (especially in regard to failing to bring in a competent goal scorer when having sold our top TWO scorers from the previous season) compacted by the (not so surprising) long term injury suffered by Charlie Austin, and followed by the CB farce that followed in the winter window (selling Fonte without a replacement already onboard and then VvD getting a season ending injury days after the window closed) I feel that this is a fairly decent return. We were never going to match, let alone better, last season's point tally or league position - no matter who our manager had been. It would have been nice to have had more points on the board, and most definitely to have scored more goals (especially at home) but we finished 8th on merit. It would have been nice to have finished just one place higher, above Everton, and qualifying for Europe again but, as I said, 8th is a very credible finish considering all that happened.

Good posts. At the start of the season the majority predicted us to finish 10th-12th - we will at least make the top end of that and quite possibly surpass it. At the start of the season many of us were calling for a new striker to be brought in; saying it was a huge mistake to rely on Austin and JRod to remain injury free - as so it was proved. It was a travesty that our star signing was guaranteed to be crocked for half the season )and has then been a bit of a disappointed, but has displayed undoubted ability). The we had the CB farce: selling Fonte without a replacement onboard and the subsequent injury to VvD. And that is without going into the fixture congestion. I agree, the home could and should be better. However, Puel wasn't to blame for either Tadic's or Gabbiadini's penalties being saved. Had they both gone in we would have 2 more wins and 4 more points on the board. I honestly feel we need some stability. Keep all the major players and the manager, and add more quality to the squad. If West Ham were to sack their manager after finishing 8th and reaching a cup-final, whilst being impeded by poor transfer decisions and injuries to key players, almost everybody on this forum would be extracting the urine from their deluded fans!

This was the post I meant to quote above.

Pretty much this. Good post.

Match Day 36 - Middlesboro away - won 2-1 Match Day Comparison I need to hold my hands up here and admit that I made a mathematical error back at Match Day 24. Prior to this match we were 1 point better off than I had been saying, with a 12 point deficit, not 13. Last season we won Match Day 36 by a 4-2 scoreline at home to Man City. Therefore, we remain with a.... 12 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season we lost 1-0 away to Norwich (the team 'boro replaced in the prem this season). Therefore, we now have an.... 18 point deficit. Next up on Match Day 37 (this evening) is the rearranged home against Man Utd. Last season they beat us at St. Mary's 3-2; whilst we won Match Day 37 (2-1) away to Spurs. And yes Saint-Fred, both deficits should be equal after Sunday's match. Just for a heads-up - we won our last match last season but we lost at home to Stoke.

So, we are currently at the top end of these predictions/expectations (made very early in the season) with 3 matches to go, and many on here are having a melt-down...... Why am I not surprised??

Been away for a few days with only my phone for internet connection, so here is another double update: Match Day 34 - away to Liverpool - drew 0-0 Match Day Comparison Last season saw us draw match day 34 (1-1) away at Everton. Therefore, this point means we remain with a..... 10 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season we also drew (1-1) away to Liverpool. Therefore, we remain at an..... 18 point deficit Match Day 35 - home to Arsenal - lost 0-2 Match Day Comparison Last season we won match day 35 (4-2) away to Aston Villa. Therefore, 3 dropped points puts us at a.... 13 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season we had an emphatic win at home to Arsenal by 4-0, which began with the Cuco wonder goal. Another three dropped points puts us at a.... 21 point deficit Next up is Match Day 36, an away trip to already relegated Middlesboro. Hard to tell whether that will go in our favour or not. Generally, relegated teams usually go and win their next match or two (as Sunderland did at Hull); but there is also a thought that our goal drought could end with a bang (he says hopefully). Anyway, Middlesboro results are being compared to those of last season against Norwich - and last season we lost 1-0 at Carrow Road; whereas Match Day 36 saw us defeat Man City at St Mary's by a 4-2 scoreline. A 4-2 win on Saturday would be nice. Come to that, any win on Saturday would be nice......

I wasn't talking about how good they WERE for us, more how good they are this season and, more importantly, will be next season.

It takes more than a team to win a title, it takes a squad. Maybe the following squad would give it a good go, depending on how they were managed, any significant injuries, etc: GKs - Forster, Boruc, Stekelenberg RBs - Clyne, Cedric LBs - Bertrand, Shaw CBs - Alderweireld, Van Dyke, Lovren, Yoshida DMs - Schneiderlin, Romeu, Wanyama, Davies AMs - Mane, Lallana, Tadic, Boufal, Redmond JWP FWDs - Gabbiadini, Austin, Long That's a squad of 24, so room for one more. Maybe Stephens or Fonte, Classie or PEH? Bale would be awesome, but I was trying to stick to those who have represented us in the Prem since promotion, and still good enough to do a job (hence no Rickie, Walcott or OxC).

Had a crazy busy week so need to do a double update here........ Match Day 32 - away to Chelsea - lost 4-2 Match Day Comparison Last season we lost Match Day 32 away at the Champions to be (Leicester) by a single goal to nil. I sincerely hope this defeat is also against the Champions elect. As for points, it remains at an...... 8 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season we came away from Stamford Bridge with a fantastic 3-1 victory. Therefore, we have dropped three points giving us an...... 18 point deficit Match Day 33 - home to Hull - drew 0-0 Match Day Comparison Last season we won Match Day 33 (3-1) at home to relegation threatened Newcastle. Unfortunately, we were unable to repeat this feat against relegation threatened Hull - although we should have taken all three points at the death had Tadic's penalty not been saved. The two dropped points now gives a...... 10 point deficit Match by Match Comparison For this purpose I am comparing our matches against Hull this season to those against Villa last season. Last season we drew (1-1) with Villa at St Mary's. Therefore, we remain with an..... 18 point deficit Next up is a trip to Anfield for Match Day 34. Last season we came away from there with one point after a 1-1 draw; whilst Match Day 34 also saw us bring a point back from Merseyside, after a 1-1 draw at Everton. All things considered, I will be very happy for us to achieve that score again this time around!

Jack was easily our best player yesterday. I wonder how many will still insist he is dropped for Caceres against Liverpool at Anfield (especially given how well Jack played there in the semi-final too)........

Is Matt Murdock now working as a Premier League lawyer? I'm sure he wouldn't want Gao taking over anything. Maybe Danny Rand will invest in us instead? He doesn't like Gao either. And, on a more serious note, the whole Gao and Lander thing doesn't sit quite easy with me anyway. It would be nice to know what the other possibilities are.