Rebel

Isn't LD Sports basically Lander Development Sports? The CEO/MD seems to be the same person as the MD of the marketing agency the club have been using in China to raise awareness of Saints FC in the market. Looks to me like we were all set for Virgin to continue as the main sponsor but disagreed on the price at the last minute. I am guessing they wanted to pay a lot less - and we couldn't find another sponsor at short notice. So they have dropped to secondary sponsor (sleeves and women's team and U23 team) and Gao and Co have created LD Sports to fill the hole. I expect its also a way of Gao putting money in to the club for player signings and wages without breaking the FFP rules. If he loans or invests money directly doesn't it have to be for infrastructure? Will they use LD Sports to promote Saints and try and make money out of football academies and other stuff in China - probably and it may be part of this larger plan for Lander Development that's been talked about. But primarily I think it was a quick fix to a sponsorship problem.

I was hoping we'd replace Ross Wilson this summer if not before - his track record at Saints hasn't exactly been good has it!? Glover's track record at Everton and Sunderland isn't much better though. I was hoping the rumours linking us to Julien Fournier from Nice were true - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6579583/Southampton-line-Nice-general-manager-Julien-Fournier-director-football.html - his track record at Nice is pretty good by anyone standards. Both from the Daily Fail so who knows what is true and what is not.

Apparently his full name is Che Everton Adams - although he was born in Leicester it sounds like he's an Everton fan. Now if that is true and if Everton want him in the summer its probably a done deal. We missed our chance back in January it seems. I'd happily take Maupay and/or Ollie Watkins from Brentford instead though. But I wouldn't be surprised if we sign Jean-Kevin Augustin from RB Leipzig and Davie Selke from Hertha Berlin if we are looking at strikers that have played under Hassenhuttl before and done well in his system.

sorry meant to post Red Bull as a possible sponsor - not that they are carbon neutral, vegan or non-profit but a link with RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg wouldn't be a bad thing

Red Bull

I would give Stephens a go at the DM role - he’s got he ability with the ball and the engine to take the ball forward and then get back to cover if it all goes wrong. Romeu is great defensively and can pass the ball - he’s jus not got the pace or engine to get up and down the pitch which Ralph seems to be keen on

How the hell did we go from making a profit on transfers every year and selling Van Dijk for £75M to scrabbling around to find enough money to sign players on on loan? Don't worry it's a rhetorical question - I know how. Les Reed is how! The pay-offs for Puel, Pelligrino and Hughes and their assistants, the terrible signings of players we now can't sell (Boufal, Carillo, Clasie, Hoedt), and the stupid contracts we gave to players we should have sold (Long, Forster, etc).

Ighalo has West Ham signing written all over him :-)

It's the size of our squad and the size of our wage bill that is keeping use from signing new players. We have 27 players over 21 when you can only play 25 of them - so we are paying 2 players we can't even put on the pitch right now. So we need to move some out either on loan or permanently. Which is why Gabbi and a few other will be leaving so that we can add some players where we really need them. The squad has undoubtedly been badly managed - and we have a number of poor or very average players we can't get rid of as we gave them enhanced and extended contracts when we probably should have sold them. We have also signed bad players and put them on good contracts - so we can't shift them either (Clasie, Carillo, Boufal included) That's why we have 4 goalkeepers, 6 strikers over 21 (including Gallagher and Seagar) and 6 centre backs (including Alfie Jones) and only 1 right back over 21, 3 wingers (including Sims) and 2 AMs (including Hesketh). I wouldn't be surprised to see Cedric (replaced by Valery and Ramsey) and McCarthy leave permanently for this reason as they are probably amongst the few we can actually sell - as well as few others leave on loan such as Long, Hoedt and Elyounoussi and a few youngsters go back out on loan as we can't play them (eg Seagar, Rose, Hesketh)

Personally I think we need to move quite a lot of players in an out. Get rid of some of the deadwood - and free up some wages for some new blood. I happily swap Gabbi, Long and Austin for one striker with pace and physicality who can hold the ball up, make the runs and score goals. Sebastian Haller maybe? Or Patrick Schick on loan? Maybe Kaspar Dohlberg? I'd also like to see Bertrand and Cedric replaced with 2 full backs who actually give a sh*te - can defend and put some effort in. They have both been phoning it in for quite a while. We also need to bring in another winger/attacking midfielder with pace and a leader at the back. Pione Sisto? Cahill on loan? Or maybe Andreas Christensen?

That's more or less exactly how I see it Derry. A fact that stands out for me is we sold over £30M worth of right back in Chambers and Clyne and replaced them with Cedric for £3.5M and 2 free transfers in Cuco Martina and Jeremy Pied - and none of them good enough. It kind of sums up exactly where Reed and Co went wrong. Maybe he was too busy patting himself on the back for doing such a great job to really see what he was doing.

I don't know - I think doing nothing is more like a recipe for relegation. Getting rid of the dead weight to free up wages should make sense to anyone. And replacing Bertrand and Cedric with 2 full backs who might actually give a sh*te is another obvious one - as is playing Targett and Stephens at full back to give them some competition in the short term. And bringing in a striker - and someone who can lead the line - and give us something different upfront and score goals is also a bit of a no-brainer. And we have to sell to buy - and pay new players - and we need to do something or we are going down again.

Get rid of Davis, Long and Forster on free transfers. Sell Bertrand and Cedric - play Target and Stephens at full back and bring in 2 new ones who can actually be *rsed to try. Sell Gabbiadini to Italy, Austin to the Championship and bring in a striker with a bit of pace and physicality - even if its on loan. Patrick Schick would do.

How about Ralph Hasenhüttl - the ex-manager of RB Leipzig - he left them in May by mutual consent and he is currently out of a job - partly because he wanted a long term contract. Ralf Rangnick stepped down from Technical Director to manager and Paul Mitchell stepped up as Technical Director - but Julian Nagelsmann will be the manager from next season. Or Roger Scmidt - manager at Beijing Guoan - there was talk of Jardim replacing him there - ex manager of Bayer Leverkusen and Red Bull Salzburg. Both play the pressing football we all loved so much at at 51 our the right age.

We need a second right back to cover Cedric - and hopefully put some pressure on him for first choice. At least one more winger to provide some cover and competition for Moi Elynoussi and Redmond - if not two really. Hopefully a goal scorer with some pace. And unfortunately another centre back - but a good one with some pace. Ideally we should have at least two players for every position more or less - with probably an extra goalkeeper, striker and centreback to make up the 25 players over 21. Oh and some good U21 players pushing for a first team place. But we have 4 keepers over 21, 5 strikers, but only 2 wingers and one right back. It doesn't look very balanced to me which points to a lack of any real squad plan on Reed and Wilson's part.

I didn't say it would make any sense - but when has that stopped us selling players.

I think we are still trying to move Forster out on loan. And it also make sense for McQueen to go on loan to get games if he has Bertrand and Targett in front of him at left back. I would say Hesketh and Sims could also do with games so they could well go on loan as well. Personally I think Long will be leaving for Scotland or the Championship and Gallagher will stay as our 3rd/4th choice striker. I see Gabbiadini as more of a second striker / wide forward but that is another discussion. Same with Davis - off to Scotland or the Championship. Also wouldn't be surprised if Cedric ends up leaving for Europe before the end of the month.

We have to go to 4 at the back - we can't seem to get it right with 3 at the back - and a defensive midfielder to shield them. I 'd pick the following as the starting 11: --------------------------- McCarthy ---------------------------- Stephens -------- Vestergaard -------- Yoshida --------- Bertrand ----------------------------- Romeu ------------------------------ -------------- Hojberg-------------------- Armstrong ------------ ------ Gabbiadini ----------- Austin ------------ Elyounoussi --- but bring Ings, JWP and Targett on at some point.

Reed and Stephens can play there - but the fact neither one of them played there throughout pre-season (Reed once I think) doesn't suggest a coherent plan. But I believe that has become our Plan C - use them as back-up to Cedric in case he gets injured. McQueen needs to go on loan to the Championship to get a full season under his belt as a first choice - or at least 30 plus games.

I am hopeful of a better transfer window next season with some money to spend and some space on the wage bill. But first we need to make sure we survive this season. The Squad is pretty much the same in terms of quality and strength as last season - maybe a little bit stronger in some areas - but hopefully Hughes and his team can make a difference by motivating the players and giving them a plan. Davis' contract comes to an end next summer and hopefully Boufal and Carillo will have done enough in Spain to be coveted by other clubs (and with a year less on their contracts as well easier to shift) so we can actually sell them - and free up some wages and maybe generate some cash. And Clasie with a year left on his contract will be easier to sell to Feyenoord or some other Dutch club. Same with Shane Long and a few others such such as Cedric and Yoshida who will also only have a year left and probably be easier to move on if we want to do so. I would also expect Gabbiadini to make a return to Italy and possibly one big sale like Lemina if he comes good. (To be honest we probably should be selling Cedric this summer with 2 years left on his contract - and replacing him - but I just don't think anyone wants him.) Unfortunately I think we are back where we are with Lowe and Co - where it was about staying in the premier league (in other words standing still) to count the TV cash - and we all know where that ended up eventually. But maybe a bit worse because its also going to be about China and the Saints brand and not about the football or the club and its supporters.

I would be disappointed if Wellbeck turns out to be Reed and Wilson's answer to our goal scoring problems. He just a younger version of Long - has great pace and energy, but a bad first touch and not a great football brain. He's only highly rated by some as he came through the ranks at Man Utd and then never played for Arsenal. He'd never have played for England if he'd come through at a lesser club. His stats are actually pretty bad. And at his age he is not really going to get any better - probably worse as he gets slower. If he really is on £100K plus a week we are only going to get stuck with another highly paid player that just not good enough. Lets hope its just season long loan at worst. The only advantage as I see it is he is one of those cr*p strikers that always seem to score against us. I'd prefer we took a risk on a player like Moussa Dembele at Celtic - who at 22 has a lot of potential to get better.

Lets abandon the comedy of errors that is 3 at the back and 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formation and go back to 4-3-3 or a variant of it with a a back 4 and Romeu as a the holding midfielder shielding the defence. I think Yoshida and Verstergaard will actually make a good partnership. Cedric will either be gone or at least not ready to play so its Jack Stephens at right back for me - and its probably his best position anyway. Armstrong can provide the creativity in midfield - and hopefully some goals - and Hojberg the energy and running. Long to provide the pace and movement up front we need - creating the space for Gabbi to make the intelligent runs and find the holes to pop up in and score. Moi to provide pace and creativity as well as some width. ------------------- Macca ------------------ Stephens - Vestegaard - Yoshida - Bertrand ------ ---------- Romeu ----------------- ------Armstrong ------Hojberg---------- Gabbi --------------------- Elyanoussi ------------- ---- Long ----------------

Unfortunately Austin is a good Championship striker now - nothing more now - even if he ever was. He lacks the pace, movement off the ball and the stamina needed for Premier League football. He is very static when he doesn't have the ball and doesn't really link play. Yes - he is good in the box but he needs the chance on a plate - he doesn't make goals for himself or contribute much else. But he will score goals in the box if he is given the service. Gabbi has excellent movement off the ball - but lacks the physicality to lead the line as a centre forward, hold the ball or win balls in the air. He can link play with his clever passing and movement but is better as a second striker or inside forward than as the main striker. Long has the physicality and the pace and movement - but is not a natural goalscorer - he has a bad first touch and often makes the wrong decision with the ball at his feet. He will cause the opposition defence problems with his running but he won'r score goals. Gallagher - has the physicality and the movement going on past games - and can play as an inside forward - but we haven't really seen enough of him yet to really say if he is up to it. I was hoping we would sell 2 or 3 of our current strikers over the summer and sign a goalscorer with pace and movement.

The Good The JPT final - it was my birthday - I'd never thought I see Saints play at Wembley let alone win something there The climb up the leagues and promotion from League 1 and the Championship Watching the football under Pochettino Lambert and his Goal for England! The League Cup Final Beating Liverpool in the Semi final with Long's goal Inter Milan away trip Beating Inter Milan at home The Bad Selling players but not replacing them Reed and his spin Having Chinese owners Ross Wilson Krueger Fraser Forster Our defence Our attack Lovren's head Carillo's signing The Ugly Katherine Liebher selling the club down the river for a massive profit Pelligrino's tenure Boufal's signing Lovren Lallana's arrogane Liverpool and Rodgers arrogance Liverpool and Klopp's arrogance Klopp's manic grin Liverpool supporters the big six

I think the squad will end up looking like this: GK: McCarthy, Gunn, Rose (Lewis will be the U23 keeper) CB: Vestergaard, Bednarek, Hoedt, Stephens, New Signing RWB: Cédric, Reed LWB: Bertand, Targett CM: Romeu, Hojbjerg, JWP, Armstrong, Davis AM: Elyounoussi, Redmond, Sims, New Signing FW: Gabbiadini, Austin, Long OUTS: Tadic, Clasie, Carillo, Boufal, Gallagher, Yoshida, McQueen (loan), Hesketh (loan), Forster (loan), Lemina I just have a feeling Yoshida will head back to Japan this summer as he's one the few we can probably move on to save some wages. And if he does we might just bring in another defender - Gibson maybe. Lemina will go as I don't think he wants to be here - and he will be our big summer sale to raise some much needed cash. Armstrong will become the replacement we've cleverly already bought. Gallagher will go when someone meets his valuation as I don't think we believe has will come good - and we can't shift Long so he will go in his place. McQueen will go on loan to see if he can step up as Targett is more highly rated and Bertand doesn't look to be going anywhere this summer. Hesketh needs game time so we will send him on loan. And we'll end up paying more than 50% of Forsters wages when he finally goes on loan in the hope he will do OK and someone buys him next summer. I think we'll bring in one more Attacking Midfielder/Winger - probably Kostic as he will be cheap since Hamburg got relegated (as did Hoffenheim before that). I'd prefer we went for Pione Sisto or Patrick Roberts - both younger and with more potential. Personally I'd like to see us shift a few more out and bring a few more in - be a bit more radical with the squad overhaul as it needs it: - sell Cedric and Reed and bring in a first choice right back who can attack and defend and is little bit taller and move Jack Stephens over to right back as cover. - bring in another centreback - Mawson maybe. - send Sims out on loan to get game time and bring in new 2 attacking midfielder/wingers, not one. Sisto and Roberts maybe. - get rid of Davis and add another defensive midfielder - shift Long and bring in another striker - Maxi Gomez, Mitrovic, Moussa Dembele (Celtic) or someone like that. But that's easy sat here from behind a keyboard - not so easy in reality. But the squad does need a lot more of an overhaul than its had so far if we are to turn things around.