Badger

I’ve held the view for a while that our recruitment policy is flawed. Initially we blamed Les, Ross Wilson and Gao, all of whom are culpable to some degree. Although Rasmus and Sports Republic start with a clean slate and Rasmus’s reputation enhanced by his involvement at Brentford, I fear this summer has been poor and will cost us. We don’t sign players to improve the current team but see them as additions to an investment portfolio. We’ve been crying out for an organiser in the back four for years. But our last two CB signings have been unproven Salisu and AKB. Three if adding Simeu. Around the time we signed Salisu, Lille signed Botman for less than we paid. Botman has played two full seasons before being sold on. Think we know which has been the better signing. Bournemouth linked with Seniso at Feyenoord, c£12-16m. A player to go straight in and make a difference. Most improve their team we tend to add to the squad.

In the dark days of Branfoot, we had MLT, Dodd and a few who gave a shit. We also had Monkou in the centre of defence. Flowers in goal. There were some positives to cling on to.

This is the most galling thing above the result as it offers little to be confident about over the next few months. Not sure the "full squad" is anything to write home about, striker wise we're threadbare ( not even down to the "bare bones" as another manager used to say). To start the season seeing the names Stephens, Valery, Bednarek, Djenepo involved is a piss poor reflection of recruitment policy. We simply don't recruit to enhance the starting eleven, just a collection of talented youngsters who might shine individually enough to sell on. Relegation in the process clearly doesn't register with the board. Rasmus and SR come into this it seems with good reputation and ambition it seems. Wonder if the know how steep the challenge ahead is. Wasn't it one recruit, Ruben Selles, plus a couple of internal promotions, Fleming being one. Promotion of the internal coaches worked well before with Gray and Wigley I recall. At least as a positive this season, thanks to the dreadful kits some cretin has signed us up to, you'd be forgiven for thinking it doersn't look like Saints looking woeful.

Don't think we'll need to wait until mid October to be honest.

Thought you might have had a valid point here, but having looked on Wikipedia : 4th August 2021 - Ings - signed for Villa 31st August 2021 - Cucurella signed for Brighton. The wider point of us being pretty cash strapped is a fair one, but for an additional £1m, you'd have hoped we'd have found a way round it with sell on clauses or whatever.

From the outside looking in, over the last few seasons they do seem to make more signings to strengthen the team in ‘the here and now’ than us. Most of ours, Aribo aside, are ‘ones for the future’ , although it appears we got the judgement on Cucurella wrong.

Story is Saints had but refused to pay the asking price.

I only saw Pied appear briefly for us, didn’t look bad but I thought he was badly injured soon after joining. By the time he regained fitness I think Puel may have left. Memory of him is probably tarnished by the Puel connection but in his brief cameo he didn’t appear to be another Pulis shall we say.

Brighton obviously had a good run on the recruitment front (perhaps under the Ashworth influence) and are now seeing the benefits when cashing in, although also had some questionable signings such as Nivea.

Think he's the best option touted to date. Seems a shame though that we have to wait until he's come to realise the more illustrious moves are off the table . Just hope we don't leave this for him to go elsewhere or stay at Stuttgart at the 11th hour.

I stand corrected. But going MLG mode for a moment - being a journalist and a "fuck wit" are not mutually exclusive. Won't bother with the diagram.

Not sure why anyone would take this account seriously,called "LOL". "Deal in negotiation until January 2026" ?? - Does this mean we'll be negotiating until then with a view to him joining in about 3and half years time ? If not, pretty silly to see the contract end mid-season. Should re-title the account "fuck-wits on the web".

Definitely. Should go back to a fans vote as we had under Rupert. We've got some mindless saps in our fan base would would want continual stripes, and yellow and blue away season after season, but it would at least spare us the shit they've served up this year.

If they do decide to change it I just hope the prick who was responsible for agreeing this years kits isn't involved in the process.

Don't disagree with your valuation on what KWP might be worth to us but I suspect the valuation by the two clubs are probably a bit closer, £30-35m. Pedersen was suggested at c £8m.

God knows what they were thinking this year. Completely obscure random selections.

Is it designed for pre-season training on Salisbury plain ?

That'll be the ruin of it then. Agree with your points on this.

... or on his way to Burnley Good enough for them to turn down our offer (however it was structured)

Yes he does, accept that but I was responding to a comment about his height and heading.

He’d be my choice but one thing I’ve questioned is whether we would put the crosses in for him. Big deal Ron said in an interview his success at Saints was the quality of cross from Paine & Sydenham that he wouldn’t have got anywhere else. If you look at some of his goals Stuttgart have a left back who floats crosses to him. Compare that with some of our ‘crosses’, Redmond and Ely driving the ball across the area at about 125mph in the hope some fucker touches it.

Press links suggest £55m … which rules us out

I suspect this might now be less likely than I thought it might be a week ago. Seemed from press reports that he might have been holding out for Man Utd. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Dortmund are now back in the chase after news of Haller being ruled out due to unfortunate news of his health. Or at the very least Kaladjzic might want to wait on that option

Never heard of him, but found this:

Think Sasa Kalajdzic is the Crouch-a-like striker