Badger

Ideal candidate.

I may be wrong, and this may be an over simplification, but my understanding is that the club can not speak directly to the player, or make an offer to him via a third party (ie his agent), but there nothing to stop a club talking in broad terms, or hypothetically, about salary levels to his agent.

We are excellent at allowing people from the third world, and eastern Europe to settle here, and provide them with all the benefits and financial assistance they require. This is only matched by our willingness to then give vast sums we can ill afford as overseas aid.

Careful FF , it could be Mr 96% who might have personally chosen it .

There are a number of areas in which I'm not a particular fan of NC , but in this aspect I think he is spot on in refusing to cough up a £1m to fund a couple of leeches for doing bugger all. Especially when we are already paying well over the odds for a player.

We signed him from Plymouth. I think he was a Plymouth lad, he certainly had a good west country accent when interviewed after his two goals away at Forest, I recall Souness was the manager who signed him. Story later emerged that Souness had tried signing Kevin Davies from Chesterfield, or had gone to watch KD, and noticed Evans. Chesterfield rejected the KD bid, telling Souness to come back at the end of the season, so he signed Evans instead. Davies of course arrived after the season finished. Souness p!ssed off a couple of weeks later.

...possibly ?

52 - originally from Southampton, but Gloucestershire for many years. First home game - 5-1 win v Dundee, followed by (reality) a 2-0 home defeat in p!ssing rain at home to WBA the following week - 1969. First away game - Reading "friendly" c1973, lost 2-0 , First league away game - Bristol City 1974, lost 2-0. say "friendly" as most memorable thing to me as a youngster was watching the punch ups in Norfolk Road outside the ground, and on the terraces.

who ?

Compromise: One paced refreshing work horse, before the era of idle prima donnas ( and foreign mercenaries) who was lucky to play in the PL , BUT TOOK HIS CHANCE WELL. whatever else is said, he scored some vital goals when we needed them.

Put like that I'd certainly like to see Fonte stay. Forren - we have yet to see him , I wonder if MP believes he is up to being let loose in the Prem at all Stephens -probably not ready ? Yoshida - personally I don't share the obsession with him, often error prone So have to pin our hopes on Lovren.

IF this is the case : we've -reportedly - offered £2m more than Cardiff are prepared to pay, so if NC walks away from the deal Celtic might have to consider a lower offer. Perhaps Celtic might want to consider 'easing' the deal through, and coughing up the agent's cut. But then we all know what is said about jocks parting with money ( even Irish ones).

They'd take him in a heart beat. Or then again perhaps they wouldn't.

Good. Ah, the famous 'horses head' trick, works again.

It is not an unreasonable question being asked by the OP, irrespective of the motives for asking it (whether he is a Saint or Skate). From the evidence of last season I have doubts about MP, and whether he really is such an exciting young coach or does represent a 'step up'. After the 'new manager syndrome' etc ,a win ratio of 25% is pretty poor, average at best, although this is papered over by the fact three of the wins were impressive ones against high profile sides. Of course the immediate defence, and justified to a point, is that this was with someone else's squad, and he needs time to get his own players in, (or at least those that Cortese and Reed give him during his own time here, depending on who you believe). This season, no excuses then. Yes, give the bloke a chance, but I think he will fall short of the 'European dream' if that is the target set for him.

Realisation that perhaps we might be his best meal ticket , albeit one he's not overly excited about at the moment.

Good signing for them if it comes off.

Agree in principle but, the one we want from Italy does not want our generous offer of money, as he sees his ambitions as greater than us. The one so far mentioned from Spain - Banega- has gone quiet.

Ditto. I often buy home and away for my sons, at Christmas & birthdays, but told them at the start of last season we would not be getting either, and if we are served up with a 'red abortion' again we will also be boycotting the shirts again. To be fair they also thought the shirts ' un-Saints like' and were not particularly bothered.

But that should not be a problem, when you have the charismatic "master of manipulation" doing the deals, and selling the "project" to them should it ?

So Naingollan we're offering too much money, and he won't join. Wanyama, not being offered enough, in his eyes. Shame, but b0ll0cks to them. Pleased that Osvaldo wants to be elsewhere though, as he looks a certainty to cause ructions in the dressing room.

How do you see this breakdown on a post ?

I know he would regularly be mercilessly slated on here, or on Saintsforever, but I always thought him quite an interesting poster, who would put forward a good case for his own view (even if others disagreed.). Okay, the De Pedro saga, mihght have riled a few people, but I never understood the level of flak he received, if for the posts alone.

Wasn't he at his most active around the time of the Paul Allen takeover, c2007 ?

"...and just look at this f^cking watch they've given me..."