CanadaSaint

But it's not just that, is it Steve? It's a combination of a hell of a lot of smoke. The big clubs desperately needing exactly the kind of players we have - and supposed competition between them; "if we don't get him, one of the others will". The resultant prospect of a huge pay increase. Media reports from some increasingly reliable sources. Their ability to play at Champions' League level and the unlikelihood that we can provide it in the forseeable future. The absence of many recent "I'm happy here and don't want to go" comments from key targets (probably other than Lallana). The uncertainty surrounding Pochettino. Lovren's short time here, which has prevented him from developing any real club loyalty. Schneiderlin's own comments. The usual, never-ending, out of sight bullsh*t from agents who make a load of money when their player moves. The list goes well beyond a post by one poster. Perhaps the biggest root cause is Pochettino's unwillingness to commit himself and the club's inability to change that. Early days I know, but not helpful given the interest in players that might stay if he does. Everything could change if we wrap MP up for another three years. I really hope he stays - not so much for the results (which have been rather patchy and should have been better) but because I love (most of) the football we play. So, I'm hoping they all stay but expecting three to go. And if it's out of our hands, which it largely is, my test of Katharina's commitment and the club's commitment doesn't pivot on whether we sell but on what we do with the ton of money we'll get for them. I'm quite hopeful that we could end up, for example, weaker at LB but stronger defensively. And hope is a big part of being a fan. For most of us anyway.

Pochettino really turned Schneiderlin into the very valuable player he is today - he was good before MP's arrival, excellent after. He fits well into MP's system and might not benefit by leaving. He can be replaced. Shaw is going to be a great but, frankly, in our situation I'd rather have the money and strengthen the squad. He'll go with my best wishes and hopefully he'll escape the infantile "If he leaves, screw him" mentality that comes from some on this forum. The FBs are crucial in MP's system so we'll need to buy well. I'd have been sickened at the thought of losing Lovren two or three months ago but he hasn't been quite the same player lately. He still needs to be replaced with real quality, becauser Fonte and Maya need a dominant CB alongside them or they struggle. Lallana we can't afford to lose, and I'd be shocked if we did.

This sort of thing is a fact of life for smaller clubs in the modern game but I don't get the automatic defeatist attitude. If Shaw and Schneiderlin go (and I'd bet on it being those two, with Lovren being the third pick) I'm sure we can use the hefty cash inflow to improve the squad above its current level. I don't think Lallana (the hardest to replace) will be going anywhere. However, I'll be more concerned if Pochettino goes as well.

Not really but I guess I'm not getting my point across. Look at it this way. If you somehow came into possession of a Ferrari worth 300,000 pounds and (much as you love it) decided you'd rather sell it and buy a nice Mercedes and have some much-needed house renovations done, that's a parallel to what I'm saying. Sure, Luke didn't cost us anything other than his development costs, but I'm suggesting that we have a number of needs, not all of which will be financed by our (likely) transfer budget. So, we might have to get by with a Mercedes instead of a Ferrari at LB, and use the left over money on other things we need. It's all part of living within our means.

We're tying our money up in assets, which amounts to the same thing as buying them. If someone is willing to pay 25-30 million for Shaw, that's how much we've got tied up in a LB.

Ralph Krueger said that we won't sell anyone that Pochettino wants to keep. However, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the unstated part is that he might have to sell one of the big names if he wants players beyond his transfer budget. As sad as I'd be to see it, I can see Shaw going. We'd never spend 25-30 million on a left back, and keeping him is little different to doing that. Dreaming out loud, if we were to do a deal with Chelsea that sent Luke to them and brought us Lakaku and Bertrand, I'd say that was a good piece of business for both clubs. When MP talks contract with Krueger, the sticking points will probably be things like this as much as his salary and incentives.

I'm not knocking poor players who don't play well. It's the talented ones that annoy me. Given his ability level, I thought Dimitar Berbatov was a disinterested, gutless disgrace when Fulham played at SMS.

Sure, this poor crossing/final ball weakens us offensively, and it's really frustrating that we've dominated so many teams but paid a price for failing to score/score enough when on top. Game after game. But the other angle is that it makes us defensively vulnerable, with Fonte and Lovren back-pedalling under pressure and hoping to delay an opposition counter-attack until cover gets back. I think we look better than we really are going forward because we commit our full backs so quickly and so wholeheartedly, but we also look worse defensively than we really are because our poor final ball makes us more vulnerable to counters with the FBs caught upfield. The absence of Jay Rod really compounds a problem that has been there all season. With Rickie in his golden years becoming more a build-up player than a striker, the lack of a final ball and a real finisher will cost us more points before the season's done. Doubtless, Pochettino is fully aware of that. I suspect that he didn't see Rickie as a regular starter in his system until he was called up by England, but then he couldn't really leave him out. And Osvaldo's meltdown removed any alternative options.

Pochettino is not stupid and he needs to make sure that this works for him on more levels than bigger pay check, bigger club etc. His teams play with a signature style and he needs certain kinds of player to make it work. I don't see an abundance of "his kind of player" at Tottenham (or many of the other "big" clubs for that matter), which means he'd have to bring players in. And, with the Bale money spent, that might not be easy at Spurs. I think he has also really enjoyed bringing younger players through at Southampton - something which, again, is not easy to replicate elsewhere. Sure, I fear losing MP in the summer but I don't think it's anything like a foregone conclusion.

While Katharina seems willing to handle the current transfer deficit, there's a conspicuous absence of any reference to funding for incoming transfers. Hofstetter's comment that "We are in a position where we do not have to sell any players Mauricio wants to keep” might have a an edge to it - that he might need to sell before he can buy, although the increase in TV money should help somewhat. In the upcoming negotiations with Pochettino, this issue may well be at least as important to him as his salary and incentives.

I'd be surprised if he ends up in the Italian squad. It's not just about form but also about living in and contributing to a close team environment over a period of longer than a month. His form isn't good and he has a well-known history of destroying team harmony rather than contributing to it. Having said that, he did contribute to our team harmony - by leaving at the request/demand of the other players. We'll be lucky if we get fifty pence on the pound for him.

It's probably harder to move from 8th to 6th or 7th in this division than it was to move from 14th to 8th - and there are two big "Ifs" in Roger's OP. I hope we'll keep Pochettino but I very much doubt that we'll keep Shaw - and I'm okay with that. As I said in another thread, if somebody were to suggest that we pay 25-30 million for a LB most of us would say they're nuts. There's very little difference between doing that and keeping Shaw. As sad as I'd be to see him go, the money we could get for him will help to fund the players we really do need. On the LB front, Bertrand in and Shaw out, for example, would be a step back but not a huge one. We don't need stars so much as players that fit Pochettino's style and are willing and able to hit the required fitness levels. And we need more than just a keeper, centre back and striker - for two reasons. Firstly, the thing that hurt us most this year (when we were really on a roll) was lack of depth when the injuries started to arrive; our biggest problems occurred when we lost Boruc and/or Schneiderlin and/or Lovren or Fonte. Secondly, this need is compounded by the fact that our most effective playing style (high intensity pressing when we don't have the ball and rapid off the ball movement when we do) makes harsh demands on individuals; our bench needs strengthening so that we can use that style in all games (we haven't this year) and maintain it for longer in each game. An inability to "put teams away" when we're on top has also hurt us this year - that's where Osvaldo was supposed to come in, but that went pear-shaped and left us with no time to react when it did. And silly individual errors at key times have also hurt us, but some of those have been caused by the very style that has made us successful - highly involved full backs pushing forward at every opportunity. With depth added, using players that fit Pochettino's style, I think that 5th-6th is quite attainable (and some of those players could well come from the Academy). Without that, I'd say that we're about where we should be. If Pochettino goes, all bets are off.

Watch it again. A simple call from Boruc and that ball clears our defence and poses no problem at all. Are you seriously suggesting that this would have created a worse outcome than what ended up happening? A defender can't get any power or distance on a clearing header when he's going backwards, and Boruc is experienced enough to know that. As soon as I saw Boruc retreating I knew we were in trouble.

If you don't understand that a high hoof through the middle is better-handled by a decisive keeper than a back-pedalling defence, then you might be the clueless one. Lovren didn't play well today, but the winner was more down to Boruc than him.

Schneiderlin is a player we just can't afford to lose because the midfield goes with him. Boruc really isn't good enough. All he had to do was come for the hoof instead of leaving his back-pedalling defence to try to clear it.

Oops.

I'm still shaking my head at the calibre of players coming through our system. There's a lot of difference between selling a young jewel when there's nobody to fill the void, and selling one when there's almost a production line producing replacements. A year ago we were anxious about a long term injury to Clyne, God forbid, but now it doesn't seem anywhere near as daunting a prospect. If we were talking about spending thirty million on a left back, most people on here would rightly go ballistic, but keeping Shaw is actually not that far from being the same thing. There's also a lot of difference between selling young jewels and using the money to strengthen, and selling but using the money to pay mounting bills. Katharina's clear commitment to the academy shows that she "gets it", and her commitment to her Father's dream suggests that - if Shaw does go - we'll end up with a stronger all-round squad. I hope he stays but I'm developing a lot of faith in the all-round judgment of the people there now.

Not necessarily. If he goes, and I certainly hope he won't, it wouldn't surprise me if the deal is structured with a lot of conditions. It could be 20 million with the potential to rise to over (maybe well over) 30 million based on club appearances, caps and so on, with a sell-on fee thrown in to cover a Bale-type situation. After all, he's still only eighteen, and that represents both promise and uncertainty - especially for clubs with high expectations and big competition for starting places. Having said that, the nutters running the big clubs are liable to do anything for a young, English right back. The more we keep saying "he's not for sale", and the more the big guys compete with eachother for his signature, the more likely it is that your 30 million will happen - sooner or later.

That's precisely the point. I've commented on Ralph before because I've seen him at work. He's a communicator, conciliator, outside-the-box thinker and motivator. He is excellent at building a team approach that embraces all key parties, and his warmth and positivity are cornerstones of his personal style - a very likeable man who values honesty and integrity very highly. Therein rests the major culture shift from the days of Cortese - keep the attributes but ditch the failings. I think Katharina knows exactly what she's doing, and is perhaps even more committed to her Father's dream than Cortese.

That's my concern. In truth I'm fairly resigned to Pochettino going because he's never really seemed attached to the club or its fans, and Cortese's departure wouldn't have helped one little bit. His loyalty is to the players, and theirs to him, so I do fear losing some key guys if MP goes.

You think we were a better team (in terms of opening Liverpool up) after half time?

FFS Roger, yet again someone who doesn't share your view is talking "rubbish" and getting needless personal shots. I think Davis is not much more than a damn good journeyman midfielder, but he contributes a lot to our aggressive pressing style. It was no coincidence that we outplayed Liverpool for 20-25 minutes with him out there. Or that our intensity dropped and Lallana disappeared after Ramirez came on. I'd prefer someone with more creativity than Davis and more intensity than Ramirez, but for me we often sacrifice too much for the occasional nice touch when Gaston comes on.

Corky didn't have his best game today. Unusually for him, things seemed to be passing him by, especially in the second half. That said, the last thing Wanyama needs is to be playing short of match fitness because his passing doesn't need to be 20% below a normal that's barely good enough anyway.

Do you actually have an adult response to what I said - that the bite, the press and Lallana effectively disappeared when Ramirez came on?

Ramirez on, bite gone, press done, Lallana marginalized. Sorry to all those who rate him - I do (kind of) but not in this team.