benali-shorts

He really has been poor for a while. Shame, it felt like having a winger who likes to get outside and cross would have been ideal for Larin.

we're in a tricky situation with CBs in so much as THB, Stephens and Wood all out of contract in 2028. It'll be awkward next summer if THB stays (unlikely) until then - Stephens another year older; Wood & THB reduced sale value or risk leaving for nothing. Quarshie not seeming good enough to rise above 4th choice is a blow to the squad succession plan. I'd be very (pleasantly) surprised if THB doesn't go this summer.

Ramsdale: 4 year contract, bought at c£18m. £9m would be an reasonable outcome reflecting remaining book value; more likely a loan for next 2 years @ dwindling values. Bazunu: 1 year left. Would be amazed if anyone paid anything for him (as opposed to loan for a year and then zero cost). BBD & Sugawara 2 years left and Edozie one year left. Might get £5-6m if we're lucky.

good luck getting £20m for rams dale and bazunu

what valuations are you putting on each of them to get to £30m?!

Dobbin two very poor misplaced passes when in decent positions. Matsuki v lightweight for CM role. Felt undercooked in that half.

They like an academy player involved for general club marketing though - is Bragg enough? I thought O’B-W looked quite physically strong in pre season which is a plus. Maybe they’ll use him as a 5th CM / wide option for the bench and lure him into a long contract?

I’d imagine the main consideration is whether they tar and feather him first or just crack straight onto the execution.

Strachan got 3 vs NZ in 82. Did Tahar beat that?

I think the theory is that Frankfurt had a buy-back price agreed when they sold him - and if there was interest above that price, Frankfurt would be able to buy him back and sell him to the interested party at the higher price. Suspect it's all moot as probably made up by a lonely teenager in a foul-smelling bedroom.

We sold to the highest bidder presumably, and his value certainly wouldn’t have increased after a season in the Championship.

It was a shame you had to leave, you should have stayed on with us. Dragan took us to Spearmint Rhino after you left, it all get a bit messy, Phil passed out in the loo and Sporesey got sparked out by a bouncer.

Isn’t the approximate requirement that we need to make c.£50m player trading profit each year? THB (20+) Jander (20+) Ramsdale (12+) would be about that? Charles may have to be sold if only 1 year left? Those 4 might give us a budget of c£20M to spend on replacements (similar outlay to RM’s promotion season)?

What is wrong with these people? Chorley was at Swindon when they went down to L2, then Valenciennes for 2 years when they went down the French pyramid, and then a season with us under Spors (not "leading the UK side at Southampton" as he claims). They seem to live in some parallel universe where performance isn't judged by success and they kid themselves they're competent.

How has Dragan made money? He appears to be a total fucking idiot.

Of course Tonda will be sacked. The only question is whether Spors can avoid the media glare and bring another young, hungry, European coach to St Mary’s or whether we’ll have an experienced English DoF with a strong ethical leaning (your Les Ferdinands, your Matt Hollands) and an honest English journeyman coach in charge next season. It’s like voting in a General Election. There are no good choices.

Out of his depth and ill-suited to the role. Like Tonda ultimately. More wonderful recruitment from SR.

Right.

Well, back on the pitch but didn't sound like immediate returns? But yes, great news that they're even that close, especially Leo whose injury looked like it would be a few weeks.

Thought he worked tirelessly today. Good effort.

If he could add a physical determination to his game, and a desire to pass forward more frequently (which may well be down to willing runners ahead of him, as pimpin suggests) he could be excellent. He seems to lack a bit of fight, but conversely is a lovely carrier of the ball and can pick a pass. A nice player who should deliver more frequently at this level.

He hadn't scored in ten, and had looked Increasingly ineffectual in most of those (imo). We were looking to change to a big striker in January which would have meant his chances would then be restricted to playing wide, and he has made it clear he sees himself as a CF. We all expected Fellows to have more success as a RW, which would have made AA even more redundant. With 18 months left, it made sense for both parties to move on. I wish him well, but completely understand the reason for selling from both player's and club's perspectives.

I thought he was dying with us in those last few months and forcing him to play wide when he’d made it clear that he didn’t want to play there wouldn’t have helped - he needed a fresh start, and so did we.

Terrible game, terrible ref, ill-deserved point, gained one point on the top 6 and a fatigued performance post-Fulham understandable. Nervously await news on Leo.