Rebel

Can't see us signing Cork or Danns. Cork will end up at Swansea reunited with Brendan Rodgers - probably replacing Darren Pratley - and Neil Danns will end up at QPR reunited with Neil Warnock. The lure of the premiership - and the money - is simply too much. I expect we'll end up signing Victor Palsson and Dale Stephens instead!

Lallana, Schneiderlin and Oxlade-Chamberlain are all better on the ball than any of those England U21 players today!

Mancienne looked good as the holding midfielder for the U21s - better than at right back - but he was pretty good there as well

I'd be very disappointed in young Mr Howard if he joined the Skates - after all he is supposed to be a Saints fan! We don't want another Darren Anderton do we! I have a feeling he will stay at Reading - they will probably lose Long, Kebe and Mills this summer so will look a very different team next season. Howard will beb a key player for them next season. And to be honest their fine end to the season and good form owed more to Shane Long hitting a purple patch than anything else. Before that they looked more like relegation fodder!

Norwich, QPR and Swansea look like they will do a brilliant job of weakening the the Championship contenders over the summer for us! Norwich are supposed to be after Snodgrass from Leeds, Bennett from Brighton, Morrison from Millwall and they've already got Vaughan from Palace in effect. Meanwhile Palace have taken Murray from Brighton in return! QPR are after McKail-Smith (that's if Norwich don't get him) along with Bullard from Hull/Ipswich. They must have a thing for blond mullets! And Swansea are after Graham from Watford! Leeds also look like they could lose Gradel, Johnson and possibly Becchio to the premier league! And I am certain that Bristol City will lose Maynard to the premier league, just like Reading will lose Shane Long and possibly Kebe and Mills as well. Cardiff have also lost Bothroyd with more set to follow him out the door!

Dale Stephens has already gone back to Oldham and N'Guessan to Leicester

I heard a whisper that we were going to be playing Celtic at St Mary's again.

that suggests Lansbury will be going on loan again - and probably to a Championship club so why not Saints in the case. I woudn't mind getting Sanchez Watt on loan from Arsenal as well. He looked good at Leeds last season. if we do a deal with Arsenal for Oxlade-Chamberlain maybe we should for these two along with Alex back on loan as part of the agreement.

Unless Wenger can guarantee Lansbury first team football this coming season surely he is a certainty for another loan or a permanent move to Norwich. I expect he will sign a contract extension with Arsenal and then go on loan to Norwich for another season. He's proved himself at Championship level - he now needs to do it in the Premiership.

Everton have ambition they just don't have any money! And I think Owen's ambitions are probably limited to starting a game in the premiership once more before he retires!

Thanks for the sarcasm! But it's unwarranted as I for one don't believe the Owen rumours at all. He'll either stay at Man Utd or go on a free to Everton I expect Michael Johnson from Man City is completely different - he's a lot younger, on a lot less money, lost his way at City and not featured in the first team for a while He will probably leave City this summer to kick-start his career - either on loan or permanently - and may contplate dropping down a division for a season on loan

Borini would be great but he's already signed a pre-contract agreement with Parma back in Italy

Michael Johnson from Man City would be great - but could we afford his wages? Maybe on loan we could.

With Woodward I think the real problems started when he was named as Director of Football instead of Head of Sports Science. It was obvious he was Lowe's favourite - after all they had a lot more in common than Lowe and Redknapp - Rugby, Hockey, Public School background, old city connections and upper class origin. Whereas Redknapp was a wheeler dealer slightly dodgy football manager from East London! Lowe, Woodward, Redknapp, Bassett and Smith was never going to work as a management team. The new age v the dinosaurs! I would have welcomed Woodward as a Head of Sports Science - who at the same time was going to get his FA coaching badges and maybe help out with managing the youth teams to get some football experience. But as a manager or director of football it was a catastrophy waiting to happen. Also the time to do it was when we were in the premiership and had the money for his wage bill and the whole project. At the time I think we all thought the money would be better spent on first team players!

Phillips Senderos at Fulham would be a good shout. He's hardly played since sigining for them - and has just come back from injury. You could see Fulham loaning him out to get match fitness and put him in the shop window. Plus there's the Swiss connection. Reto Ziegler is also available on a free transfer from Sampdoria at the moment. But in all honesty it's very unlikely that we will sign players from Premier League teams if they are still in contract as their wages would be a major stumbling block. Even journeymen players in the premiership are on £20K per week or upwards of that. Unless its on a loan and a % of the players wages are paid by the parent club as part of the deal. And if that's the case we are probably only talking about young players loaned out to get experience. Excepting players like Matt Phillips at Blackpool who could be a real possibility due to their very low wages. But then Blackpool have always been a Championship club out of their league! There are probably some current premier league players on free tranfsers that might settle for a signing on fee and lower wages though. But I'm not sure Michael Owen would fit in to that category!

Foster and Larsson were already leaving Birmingham anyway - as is Bowyer by the looks of things! They are running at a loss and in debt. Also sounds like McLeish is going to quit. Their better players will jump ship in the summer. To me they look like a club in freefall. It will take them at least a season to get things straightened out - but with 4 years of parachute payments they will be contenders the season after next. Blackpool will lose Adams and Vaughan and maybe one or two others. Its also possible we could swap Puncheon for Phillips now although its more likely they will lose both players. As we saw in the cup game they have no strength in depth - there second string was abysmal. I think they will struggle in the Championship at best! Oh and welcome back to St Mary's Mr Holloway - you're not quite as big as you think you are now are you!? One lucky play-off campaign and one season in the top flight doesn't make a big club. Try 27 years! As for West Ham they will be in a worse state than Brum and B'pool financially! Although they at least have a good academy and a lot of good young players coming through. But I think they are looking at mid table and long stay in the Championship. I'm just glad Wolves and Blackburn didn't get relegated as I think they would have been much stronger contenders in the Championship than any of the others. It's just a shame Wigan weren't relegated though.

Looks like Palace are hoping to be contenders this coming season - I had them down as also rand or relegation fodder!

that's alright we've already got a striker called Hoskins - Sam Hoskins from the youth team - there just playing catch-up! anyway Sam's the way to go as we are supposedly interested in Sam Baldock at MK Dons

It does hurt watching former youth players at Saints doing well for other teams in the nPC as you can't help feeling they should still be with us! Harry Redknapp has to take some of the blame for this for throwing the young players to the wolves in a cup game against lower league clubs and then dancing on their graves when they lost. He did his best to make sure they would lose by playing too many of them and playing them alongside the useless players who couldn't make the first team. He also played them out of position when he could as well. Bring them into a losing team was never going to help. Redknapp has his own agenda and used the youth players to make a point and score points against Lowe. Burley also has to take the blame for not playing them - or playing them out of position when he did. But the real culprit was Rupert Lowe for wanting them played before they were ready and then only giving them year long contracts instead of long term contracts that tied them to the club and gave them time to develop. Quite a few of them left Saints when there contracts ran out or we were forced to sell as they only had a year left. Right now a Saints team including Martin Cranie at righback, Matt Mills and Gary Monk at centreback, Nathan Dyer at right midfield/forward, Andrew Surman at left/centre midfield, Simon Gillett as holding midfielder, Adam Lallana as attacking midfielder, Dexter Blackstock up front with Leon Best and David McGoldrick and Lloyd James on the bench doesn't look too bad does it! Although you can see why they let Nile Ranger move on.

I think they will always sell season tickets - and I for one like sitting in the same seat every week as its in a great position and all the season ticket holders who sit around us a great bunch - we all have a favourite player and loathed players - and a lot of banter about such things! But I do think they should sell batches of tickets before the season starts - the should be a number of packagaes availabel, 4 games for the price price of and or 7 games for the price of 5 or something like that - which should include membership. People can then choose which exact games they go to during the season with priority on seats until a month before the game.

that's what I was saying! maybe should have said it a bit blunter! I'd love to see us sign players like Nicky Maynard and Scott Sinclair this summer - but I just cant see it - I think we'll end up spending nearer £5 million in total with £1.5 million to £2 million at a push being the most we spend on one player!

Shane Long's price has been qouted as £6 million - but I think it will be more like £3 million in the end. I'm not sure we will splash that much cash on one player! If he does go anywhere from Reading it will be a premiership team like Wolves - if they stay up. Nicky Maynard at Bristol City who has a year left on his contract and was top scorer in the nPC last season would be a better bet at that kind of price. He's valued at about £3 million and I get the impression he wants to move on from Bristol City to a bigger more ambitious club.

From a hard nosed business viewpoint you would probably release Jaidi, Connolly, Butterfield and Harding and bring in younger, possibly cheaper players and free up some space on the wage bill. I can see us recalling Joseph Mills for this reason to provide cover and competition at left back alongside Luke Shaw. I am not sure Jaidi will last the pace in the Championship - and who knows he may choose to retire on a high anyway! Connolly although undoubtedly talent is on the seasoned side and injury prone. The club may decide to go for someone who is less of an injury risk. Butterfield and Harding are probably good enough to keep - but it might just come down to budget! Gobern and Martin would probably be retained on two year deals with an option on a third year as both show the potential to make the grade at a higher level, have resale values and could be loaned out to gain experience. We shouldn't forget that any or all of these players might be offered more money and/or guaranteed first team football elsewhere! In regards to Oxlade-Chamberlain you would probably sell him whilst his value is high - but get him back on loan for next season as part of the deal - along with two other young top class players - and invest the money in building the team. For example if we sold Oxlade-Chamberlain to Arsenal for £10 million - £5 million up front and the rest in staged payments (say £3 million in January and £2 million next summer) and got him back on loan for next season along with Craig Eastmond and Frimpong it would make business sense. Eastmond would provide cover at right back and Frimpong in the middle. We could then use the £5/10 million to bring in other players. Say £2 million for Jack Cork, £3 million for Nicky Maynard and £3 million for Scott Sinclair for example. The rest on wages. We are in a strong position when it comes to Oxlade-Chamberlain - we don't need to sell and he seems to want to stay for another year to get more first team experience under his belt at the next level. However his parents and advisers will also want to sign a deal with a big club that guarantees his financial future whilst he's still a wanted man. In effect we can drive a hard bargain - but I think they will want us to do a deal on his future. But if the money we can raise takes us to the top of the Championship and into the Premiership surely we'd all be happy with that! From a business point of view I'd also look to exchange Jason Puncheon for Matt Phillips from Blackpool.

The whole academy and youth system in England needs an overhaul! Two things need to happen - the first being an end to the poaching of the best youth players by the big clubs and the second and end to the dumping of young players before they have been given a real chance and with no qualifications or training. Firstly clubs should be allowed to recruit scholars/schoolboys from anywhere - dump the 90 mins travel rule! Once a club has a boy registered as a scholar they should have first refusal on offering him an apprenticeship at 18 and the right to his registration meaning another club can't simply snatch him away. Apprenticeships should be for 5 years - from the age of 18 until 23 - giving all young players the time to develop properly. An U21 academy league should be introduced as well as U23/B teams playing in the lower leagues for the bigger clubs. And any player that doesn't make the grade by 23 should come out of it as a fully qualified football coach, fitness coach, physio or something like that. Any player sold before they are 23 should incur an automatic sell on clause or substantial development fee for the original club in the player registration.

I've heard a whisper that David Nugent is set to sign for us on a free transfer - supposedly becuase he's settled on the South Coast and doesn't want to move away - but doesn't want to play for Pompey anymore. I imagine that its possible we've sounded him out about wages and that stuff - at 27 he's a good age for a free transfer - and he's more than capable of scoring goals in the Championship - he can also play left wing as well as upfront - and he has pace. To be honest I thought he would head back up to the North West - Burnley or Blackpool most likely. Would he be a good signing though - given his Skate past? I'm never keen on signing ex-Pompey players. What do people think?