shurlock

Interesting - like the fact that he's a hard taskmaster. Always thought that's what underpinned MP's success with us.

I hope the scousers do and realise that Mario Gotze and ilk represent much better value.

Adrian - I know you love your rambling, patronising metacritiques on the state of the mongboard but please explain the contradiction: perhaps there's a recognition that Reed is better suited to specific tasks -the scouting side rather than the negotiation of transfers- carried out within a set of checks and balances. It's perfectly consistent to praise the work Reed's done yet express concern over how the conditions that made him successful in the past appear to have changed. On second thoughts, perhaps you're the only one who's confused.

All depends on the new manager- I think the more technical the manager, the less likely he'd fit. Could probably do a job at a Villa or another direct counterattacking side. Reckon Harry will come back in for him.

Breath, sunshine. Don't get so worked up.

One legitimate way of minimising any fee to Bournemouth.

Maybe we even keep Shaw if Martins-Indi goes to united

If you believe Blackmore, NC didn't because he sought advice from the players and was talked out of it. A bit of a contrast with today's situation where the players and board don't appear to be talking at all.

But he communicated with the players and he didn't. And that's all that matters. What price a bit of communication now, huh?

Seeing Michael Watson speak still a chilling experience. That whole era -McClellan, Benn, Eubank, Watson...

The latest from Blackmore Supposedly they've offered £25m and set a deadline to wrap things up before the squad flies to Miami.

Again you fail to understand the issue.

£30m represents Fabregas market value - obviously a team wants to get more than that and that's what we're attempting to do with Lallana. Anyone can throw figures around. There are unique circumstances around every player: Gotze for £30m, Silva for £25m, Cazorla for £15m, Shaqiri on the market for £15m and so on -all players who have achieved more than Lallana. If I wasn't a Saints fan, I would think £30m is quite a lot given what Lallana's achieved to date and his likely ceiling.

Exactly, £25m is a decent amount in purely market terms when you look at Fabregas who's got much more pedigree than Lallana. Whether the deal is good for us, esp with the Bournemouth fee, is another matter.

Lets wait and see Frank Your knockers have been shown to be utterly gullible and clueless. You wouldn't want to repeat their same mistakes by jumping to premature conclusions.

Paid the price for playing in one of the little leagues. Watched him a few times on ESPN and got my attention when Chelsea were linked. Was touted as one of Europe's hottest prospects when he was a youngster but subsequently lost his way. Really kicked on under Koeman after Feyenoord sold Guidetti (who's hardly set England alight, though he's been ill). Very good technique, though more of a finisher than an allround player like Lambert.

No Jeff

Who knows -its the Dutch league but he has all the right attributes to make it in England and wouldn't cost a stack either.

Pelle would be an interesting option - would bring some Lambertesque qualities.

Perhaps it would have been better for the anyone-but-cortese brigade to wait and see than big up every initial statement and symbolic act by the new regime while dismissing everything else as all a big conspiracy.

Surely transfers cut across several departments - negotiating a fee requires a varied skillset, so entrusting the task to purely football people seems ridiculous. To say that it falls outside the responsibilities of the CEOs is a cop out IMO.

Would hope so if things continue along the same path. If so, it might mean bringing in a proper footballing CEO and a strong, experienced manager. If anything, a British manager might be good idea - just because they're used to having control over transfers and won't be pushovers. The more checks and balances, the better.

Totally agree, though the post-Cortese power vacuum that Reed has happily stepped into has more causes IMO. It is due not only to RK's lack of interaction with the players but also his reluctance to ask Reed tough questions while he's getting up to speed. My hunch is that it's also due to MP's disassociation from the planning side. Wouldn't be surprised if MP became less and less involved in planning for next season once he had made up his mind that his future lay elsewhere -pretty early on IMO.

Difference with Suarez is that Liverpool kicked on and ended up giving everything he wanted - can we do the same with Lallana?

Does that promise include a photo for the Echo?