up and away

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/01/31/2331392/arsenal-beat-manchester-city-to-secure-10m-deal-for Well someone has gone into print and actually say there is an agreement between Oxo and Arsenal? strange why we would agree on a part of the fee conditional upon appearances:uhoh:

There is no ITK, but there are plenty of statements by all that you cannot help to fall over them. If you looked closer it was also evident that Arsenal were baulking at the price and the lad remaining at Saints for the rest of the season looked probable, something predicted by many. There has been a concerted effort in the press to promote the view Oxo would be moving on. Something not driven by the club and something Chamberlain could have immediately put a stop to, instead of saying how good it would be!

Avon Castle which is just outside Ringwood is miles from their ground. And Ampfield is miles from all of them!

The issue with the house were about alterations which will require financial adjustment to put right. The office space leased by Franny was stopped over some financial issue at the time. I heard that Franny was in difficulty, but only know that as rumour. As all leases were with Saints, it's more than possible one was held against the other, but that would be a no goer until you got a court ruling.

You only have to go back to the Ashley Cole case, where he was caught with his agent talking to Mourinho and Kenyon, that resulted in a hefty fine so I am a sure Arsenal are aware. When asked a couple of weeks back, Wenger said "We will try now. We need an agreement with Southampton. We need an agreement with the player, and we are not the only ones on the case. But we try as hard as we can as I like him as a player." But the biggest clue in all of this was made by Adkins on saintsplayer, that he would only go to "a club who will nurture his talent and help him to develop as a player". The only sense this all makes is if there is a set figure in Oxo's contract, that if met the lad has the right to accept that offer. No negotiations needed from Saints, unless you wanted to pay less than that contracted figure. If you already had the terms required for the player leaving, Saints can no longer stop the player talking to another club because it has already been agreed by the terms of the contract, now solely up to the player. Since the window opened contract details were leaked and Mark Chamberlain has been very quick to comment on what a lot of money and how good a move to Arsenal would be. No one else has the power to ensure a move or gain financially without the Chamberlains wishes, apart from the selling club. Cortese and Adkins have made it clear they do not want the player to go, Only Mark has talked about how good the move would be and something he could stop with just a few words.

I very much doubt there would be a clause in his contract for £5 Million up front and £5 on appearances. Many a club can meet that without a hesitation and Cortese and Adkins have gone on record with their eagerness to keep him here. I think £10 Million up front would be what it would take. However, even with his old man going on Sky Sports F*****g News yesterday, I don't think anyone in the prem, with the current lack of money floating around, will be willing to spaff £10 Million on a 17 year old nipper who has played a handful of League One games and 45 minutes for England U19's. There is some figure in his contract, otherwise Cortese would just be telling them to plough on, not let it be in the hands of the Chamberlains. When this all started coming out in the press at the beginning of the window, these were the figures they were quoting. Now someone was planting these seeds in the press and I don't believe it was Cortese, everything now points to this being orchestrated by the Chamberlains. If someone meets what ever terms we shall soon find out, because it's not going to be any bigger than what's required and Cortese is not going to go out of his way to be helpful. I am still wondering if any club is going to be happy meeting the 5+5, then where does that leave everyone?

I am not sure what Cortese can do. If Oxo's contract states he is allowed to talk to any one that offers £5M upfront, +£5M on appearances, then Chamberlain can accept any of those offers which meet those conditions. Cortese only comes into play if they are offering less and I don't expect him to accept anything that is not considered a better deal for Saints.

When you go through all the comments that have been made by Adkins, Cortese, Wenger and Chamberlain, only one thing makes any sense. That being there are conditions in the contract that if met, gives the Chamberlains the option of taking up the deal. The only way any club can guarantee signing the lad is to accept those terms, there is nothing else left open for discussion. What does have merit and further thought, is how important is a player like Oxo to Arsenal? From all the talent they have in this area they seem to have a surplus of riches and I am not completely sure this area is a priority at top dollar. If Arsene wants to negotiate it's then back in Saints hands with no cards to play but that of a disgruntled player. I would bet Cortese not even considering anything unless Arsene came up with a package that would be in Saints best interest. That may be a reduced price with the correct loan players, who knows. I am sure Cortese won't be giving anything away.

I believe when all this finally comes out in the open that we will find Saints could do nothing. From when this has all started some one has leaked the details of Oxo's contract and have been pushing for a move, bearing in mind that nothing can happen without the Chamberlains, it has to go back to them. Bearing in mind how circumspect Wenger has been in the past over transfer dealings, it is a surprise to see him quoted "We will try now. We need an agreement with Southampton. We need an agreement with the player, and we are not the only ones on the case. But we try as hard as we can as I like him as a player." I believe there are set conditions in Oxo's contract (the £5M + £5M), that if met, Saints have no influence over the move. With the only negotiations required with Saints from Arsenal, being to get better terms than those existing in the contract. For Wenger to make this statement it looks tied up from the Chamberlain end and just a matter of time from ourselves. From the very beginning of this transfer window there has been a very open publicity drive to get Oxo to Arsenal from the player, something that now appears to be going to happen.

You really are clueless! Anyone with half a brain cell could see what was going on here!

Concerned, the only thing Lawrie is concerned with is Lawrie, always has been. When he has had any power his true light always shines through, a bully, ego the size of a planet and holds more grudges than a super tanker. These things made him the great manager he was, along with many other similar greats of the time. Try working under him in another capacity and you will find it difficult to get a good word. Mention his name at the wrong moment to John McGrath and you would find yourself the other side of the wall. Alan Ball when asked about their relationship when he was manager "He looks at the team sheet and says he would not have played so and so". Almost everyone has to pay for their tickets at Saints, unless they are working, something started immediately by Cortese. That does not mean ex players do not get offered freebies, something Lawrie availed himself of at the start, it's just not done on a consistent basis. The fact Cortese no longer sees value in paying for his services cannot of helped matters, but I have to question why anyone with the good of the club at heart was taking money out in those previous desperate times. If Lawrie wanted any form of a relationship with the club, he would not spout off to the press when they are running an anti Cortese thread. Seeing those who that tend to congregate around him spread rumours can hardly endear him with Cortese. I would really like to see Matty and Cortese put things behind them, but I am not going to even bother holding my breath for Lawrie.

Kelvin is more of a problem than you would like to take on. He has cost us a few points and when you consider the amount of games he has had nothing to do, it becomes significant. Whether Bart or Kelvin plays in goal, I gladly leave to Adkins, not that I rate Kelvin. He's not good enough for the Championship and some of his Hollywood saves I feel Bart would get to with feet still on the ground. I fully agree that Lambert is the bigger issue in all of this and something that has been allowed to go on for far to long. I don't know exactly what happened today, but am concerned to see Fonte keep getting involved with mix ups. We will have to wait and see the reports back from the game to get a real clue. But it looks like no one is exempt from this one, including Adkins.

i dont think there was time for another consortium to buy it. Were there others? i did feel that Fulthorpe etc were waiting to get us for 5m or something but i dont think the administrator would have taken it. history now, but Im sure glad he got ML to put the money into us. There was a Hong Kong group but they were not even considered as an alternative to liquidation. Unless someone came in and handed over money without an inspection of the books, it was Liebherr or liquidation, then you may be able to pick up all the bits for a few million. That would also mean starting in some lower depth, even the Blue Square would have been a good landing place, but not sure we would have had that luxury. I like Matty and I like Cortese. I just don't understand why Matty has to open this up. He really has said and done some stupid things since he stopped kicking a ball. He is still saying now that they would have been able to afford the likes of Lambert if they had taken over the club!

His touches and lay off's are very good, but not many killer passes. The question is, which Ricky do we require, last seasons or this one? I thought he showed real progress after the two week lay off, but thought he was just trundling about the second half against Notts. I do rate Ricky and feel he is a very good squad member, just puzzled when last seasons goals are going to make a come back. At the moment I rate Guly as more important to the team than Ricky, let's hope he can get going and change that around.

That all sounds pretty fair. I am not going to get into the rights or wrongs of each individual, because I don't know what part Cortese even had in this. I see the quotes from Matt, but am wondering how relevant they are. I would like to see Cortese offer more respect to Matt, but since Cortese's first encounter with Matt, I can hardly say he has gone out of his way to endear himself to Cortese.

I would never say no to one of these invites, but if I never get one I still believe it to be the best output of information from the club. I don't care whether I get to question the man directly, plenty of others have saved me the bother and got far more than I have experienced from any other form in the past? Just what are fans after, the best source of information or a recognition of their support? I would not care if this was done for non season ticket holders although I can see the logic in doing it this way for the club, why does it worry who gets to go to these dinners? Even if this goes on for the next 10 years, you will still have 12000? season ticket holders not getting an invite?

Far better. We actually get answers to questions that would not come forth in an open forum and insights far more revealing than I have ever heard from the fans forums. All the right questions get asked and there is little ducking of the question because of press presence, all getting reported back to the masses in a true and fair manner. Spared the embarrassment of Perry McMillan or the other SIS cohorts spouting forth, a win win every way you look at it.

So you missed the interview with the BBC on 8th December where Nicola Cortese ruled out Chamberlain or Lallana leaving? Or the numerous interviews with Adkins where he rules out selling Chamberlain in January? I am pretty sure Saints are not interested in selling Oxo, but I am beginning to wonder what power we have over any decision. From Adkins comments that he would only go to "a club who will nurture his talent and help him to develop", makes it perfectly clear that we will not be in total control of that decision. The other point would be if the reports of what is in the lads contract are correct. If there are stipulations of £5M upfront and a further £5M on appearances, that can only mean one thing. That being the Chamberlains would have total control over any move should those conditions be met, unless you can think of an alternative reason why those figures should be in such a contract. Mark Chamberlain has consistently said in the past that Saints are the best for his development and the last comment I heard from him was just about the staggering amount of money being mentioned. Now whether this has brought about a change in his view, I do not know. There seems to be a massive push from the press for Oxo to go to Arsenal, yet I can see nothing from their end to justify that. There can be several reasons why all this speculation is happening, but one person who can put a stop to it. My guess would be that if the right money was offered, he would go to Arsenal. But I don't believe that has happened and why I feel he will be staying with us for at least the rest of this season.

The power of the handbag is strong today, from a wannabe mod with half the forum on ignore. All I did was to underline a couple of points that do not make sense. Primarily when you look at Adkins comments "His manager Nigel Adkins says he only wants to sell the 17 year old striker to a club who will nurture his talent and help him to develop" , you have to ask yourself why Would Adkins care who the lad went to? If he's going to leave us then his priority is to get the maximum fee possible. Just where do you think Adkins would get this slant from? I can't see any further than from the lad or his father. To me this indicates that Adkins and Mark Chamberlain have discussed the matter and the outcome of any move, otherwise these comments make no sense. Previously Mark Chamberlain has been at pains to point out that his development will be best served by staying at Saints. Just recently this has not been the case and the only comment has been in regarding the ridiculous amount of money being talked about. I don't know if Oxo will go or stay, that will be down to the club being right for the boy and the money being right for Saints. Chamberlain has obviously put his foot down and said he will not be going to the highest bidder if it is not right for the lads progress. Something obviously the club has acquiesced to by the nature of Adkins remarks. Wenger recently stated he had not expressed an interest, unless you believe he suddenly starts lying. Whether that is still the same if the lad expresses an interest for Arsenal alone and something can be done on the price, who knows? If Mark Chamberlain wanted to stop all this speculation and remove all the distractions going on around his son he could do so very easily.

So we have this source that utters sheite and the reason he has all this inside information is because he has been approached about scouting? Bearing in mind that Saints have set up a scouting network that Championship clubs would love to have, you don't see a small mismatch here? If the guy himself is not talking sheite, it would be odds on that anyone wanting to tap him up for scouting at this stage is talking even more sheite. Just imagine, you are in early negotiations to buy a club with facilities and support staff that some Premier clubs do not have? And you want to worry about scouting with some ex pro trying to find something in the game to get a drink out of?

These people exist, but not the master planners made out to be. If you look at the Walter Mittys popping up when the club is for sale, this happens to a similar degree at different levels. Someone providing insurance cover for example may also have his ears open and looking for any little bit of information that can give him an edge. If he then approaches someone with with details of what's in the players contract, some may feel this could be useful and can result in a pay out of some kind. Some just seem to do it for convoluted personal reasons, often taking a couple of random bits, putting them together and coming up with what ever suits them. I can understand Cortese believing there is some sort of master conspiracy here, especially with the possible damage the recent rumour regarding selling the club could have with possible sponsorship. But they are just small time chancers who tend to flock together and associate with a well known figure that has been attached to the club in the past. I don't expect Cortese has come across the like of these before and assumes there is something more sinister and planned behind it all. It would not surprise me if some of these things are started deliberately as a wind up.

I would agree on past performances that if the defence does their business, we have more than enough fire power to down any team. Notts were not knocking on the door very often and the full backs never really exposed themselves in trying to get forward. I am not completely sure which is the right policy but I can't argue if we have an off day and still end up with a point against an in form team. If this were to continue for a few games I am sure there will be threads demanding the full backs to contribute more to the attack? Experience has shown your point to be valid and I have advocated the same position myself in previous games. It's just strange that in the past I have worried that the full backs were exposing the defence too much in getting forward, whereas I was looking for slightly more from them on Saturday. I'll bottle out and leave this one to Adkins.

When you have both Lallana and Oxo, it's very difficult to keep double teaming the pair of them and retain some balance to the side. When Lallana was injured previously, we looked absolutely clueless and it will be interesting how Adkins deals with this. How much of this performance was down to fatigue I do not know, but I felt we did look jaded. At times like this I would like to see Ricky as more of a direct threat, but that just does not look like an option. Notts County have had similar games to us, with even more travelling and they came and did a job on us. I can't quite see what Ince was raving about after such a negative set up, unless he expected this to go the same way as Oldham. One thing that concerns me is that with the 3 away games coming up thick and fast, we need to find a way of getting something from these games. I would rotate the full backs to provide a bit more energy in those positions at least. Not arguing over who should be first pick, but Harding and Butters should be more than good enough for Tranmere.