doddisalegend

All smacks of desperation to me. Did Fonte really hand in a transfer request on returning from the Euros to secure a dream move to WHU... Was Fonte really a target for WHU or are they prepared to pay 10mil for a 33 year old just to sign someone because everyone else is knocking them back.... I'd be surprised if this was WHU and Fonte's master plan.

No apparently it was other journalists he knows not the club that told him.

Adam Blackmore said on Solent that sources had told him that Fonte's agent had told him to take the deal Southampton was offering and was Fonte who said no..

It was a **** game but when one side isn't interested in playing its never going to be a great game. Biggest issues were Long and Jrod doing the mannequin challenge up front. They're supposed to be our best strikers yet they either don't make enough movement upfront or can't time a run to stay onside. Its going to be a long second half of the season if we are relying on them and not getting in another option up front. The other problem was picking the most un-dynamic midfield options we have it has to be JWP/Clasie and Hoj/Davis playing playing Clasie and JWP together is a recipe for a ****e sandwich. Positives are we are through ( and in the cups that's all that really matters) and the performances of McQueen and Sims.

We live in a world were many modern football fans need instant gratification. New players are normally written off after 45 minutes, academy players need to be putting in MoM performances in their first game, a manager gets about six games before the knives come out every game is expected to a feast of entertaining football. Football is now and entertainment industry were many modern fans expect value for money and a match day experience. In such circumstances its understandable most don't care about things like youth talent coming through and being given a chance.

We sold Jack Cork to Sawnsea like two years ago....

We had 20 shots today, and its by no means the first time this season we've had plenty of chances, no team should be failing to score with twenty shots we need someone who can convert chances all this to isolated stuff is just hyperbole.

yeah but you have to question why over and over again (not just this season TBF) we can come out of a game with large number of shots and no ****ing goals...

It seems even the Chinese government are getting worried about the money being spent A spokesperson for China's General Administration of Sport said clubs in the country were "burning money". The spending was also described as "a grave phenomenon" in a question and answer session on the organisation's official website on Thursday. The spokesperson added that the government body would "strengthen examination and supervision of clubs' financial affairs, progressively control clubs' expenditures on first-team players and ensure favourable financial conditions". http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38524429

I must have missed the bit were the Chinese super league has huge global TV deals...

Probably wants to link up with his mate Pelle.

How long can the Chinese league afford the kind of spending they are currently pursuing . I mean from what I can work out the league itself makes no money (they can't even fill their grounds) and I doubt there is big TV markets all over the world to exploit financial. I wouldn't lose any sleep over Sky and the PL ****ing off out of English football I just think China has its work cut out overtaking the PL as the worlds biggest football brand right now

I think the type of people going to football has changed a couple of examples I've run into recently I was talking to a rep at work who was telling me he had got himself a saints membership. Thinking he was a saints fan I started talking about the club when he told me he wasn't a saints fan he just wanted to watch PL football and have a good match day experience. Coming back from the West Brom game over Christmas there were three blokes and a couple of kids who had been to the game on the train. One bloke who was French was asking another one what was the best game he had seen at SMS this season. "oh easy Chelsea they were magnificent" said the guy. I was just thinking it was a weird thing for saints fan to say when the guy went on to explain, to the French guy, he wasn't a saints fan (apparently his team was Notts Forest) and he just liked watching football. Now that could be two totally isolated cases but I do wonder if there are more and more fans of PL football, as opposed to saints fans, going to SMS (and elsewhere) if so it would be easy to see why atmospheres are getting worse at grounds. Maybe football is turning into something akin to a trip to the cinema losing the emotional tribal element it once had. Maybe more and more people are going to football to see a few goals (not caring which side scores them) eat a substandard hotdog and drink an overpriced beverage. If that's the case I doubt anything we do at SMS will make a difference.

Might be nice if more than one in every 4.7 crosses found a saints shirt though

Why are you sharing pictures of your front room?

Doesn't quite gel with Adam Blackmore saying on Solent, the other night, that a source had told him Fonte's agent had told him to take Southampton's contract offer.

I really find it hard to believe that Fonte handed in a summer transfer request because having won the Euros he had a burning desire to return to a Pardew managed Palace. Now if what ever move he thought he was going to get has fallen through and he thinks he has burnt his bridges at saints I could see him taking Palace out of desperation now.

Ok well that certainly tallies with plenty of games I've seen this season

Southampton 88 completed crosses 333 incomplete crosses WTF is a incomplete cross??

I'd rather we got a CB to compete with VVD .......

Arguably though if we can get a good squad with a decent level all over then it would only take a couple of "star" players to push it up a level. Of course building a team like that takes a bit of time unless you have top six style finances.

In their 10 things to look out for in the PL this weekend article. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/jan/13/premier-league-10-things-to-look-out-for-this-weekend 4) Southampton need to find some consistency in the league Southampton are a curious side this season. Their run to the EFL Cup semi-final, possibly the final should they hold on to their lead over Liverpool, has been achieved at least in part because they have a pretty even level of quality in their squad. Their “second string” isn’t a massive step down from their first-choice XI, so when teams ring the changes for the games deemed less important, Claude Puel’s side is less affected. The question then becomes whether that level of quality is quite good enough in the league because on the basis of their recent games it hasn’t been. Before the cup interval they had lost three games in a row, including a strange performance against Tottenham in which they were excellent for 20 minutes but departed the field in mind and spirit, if not body, after that. Their consistency in talent seems to be their strength but their inconsistency in performances their weakness. “Now it’s important to show this level in all of our games in the Premier League,” Puel said after the victory over Liverpool. At least he’s aware of the problem and the bubbling frustration within their support. NM Kind of ties in with thoughts that we have a good squad our best 11 is probably open to debate more than ever before. Interesting idea that our weakend cup teams are not as weak as other teams.

Lallana to Romeu " Stop staring at my arse that belongs to Jordan Henderson"

I guess if Lander takes over, Les gets the boot and is replaced by no1 son-in-law or something there will be much rejoicing on saintsweb?