Saint Fan CaM

He was sold to QPR for £250k not so long back. Why should we release Puncheon for that amount of money? A player that has NPC and Prem experience in a rich vein of form. Not doubting his ability, but reading between the lines it would appear that he's another player that's finding it difficult to settle at a club. ): No thanks.

OMG! Dreadful. So who's going to 'foot' the bill for this mistake? Somebody won't 'have a leg to stand on' and will have to pull up...err, well something other than his/her socks. Below par - coat?

MUCH more like it.

Here's one for you - we'll not sign another midfielder or striker before Saturday. In fact looking at the options up front and the fact we can only bench 5 players, I can't see the squad being expanded beyond one more signing - probably at CB.

You have to be kidding?! You mean you want a journeyman, unsettled, unsettling runt who is rejected by all the clubs he gets a chance with? Puncheon may have something about him (overrated by some here), but he clearly finds it difficult working with Managers and/or others. And he would not be the 1st player in history to be shunned because of attitude issues. Anyway that's not the type of player I want to see in an England shirt. I want to see players that have come through their parent clubs and stuck at it, playing proper football and continuing to show some respect for the club that has nurtured them. I want to see the breeding ground clubs protected by ensuring ALL academy products MUST stay until their 21st birthday (and put two fingers up to Europe employment law). I want to see this countries football ideals get back to skill first, rather than money first.

You know what? I think Connolly might find himself a little bit more fitter this season now he's back in the NPC. The signs are all there that he could have a really good season and be very influential. In fact, I'll stick my neck out (in the spirit of the other thread) and predict he will be our best striker this season. There - that'll set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Sounds like agent talk to me...wouldn't be surprised if his reputation is now well and truly preceding him.

This.

I had trouble understanding it too, but on a 2nd listen I think he's saying Markus told him about the investment fund he was setting up and NC's responsibility to see the job through to the end (i.e. Prem status).

Of course the thread has got something to do with Chamberlain - he is employed by the club and his comments to the press have been disrespectful of Markus' memory and investment, NC, Adkins, his teammates and the supporters of the club who have all in some way been instrumental in his development as a player. He's not the devil incarnate, but at 17-years old he still needs to learn some respect or find a better 'mouth-piece'. I stuck to the thread, but your esteemed thoughts on the OP are what exactly?

Mmm, not so sure about this one TBH.

Great tribute - well executed. Not completely happy with the design if I'm honest, however very pleased to see it come to fruition. I hope that it will be seen at all home games in the build up to the game and again at half-time.

Just watched it and it is quite emotional in places. We were blessed to have been bought by Markus, but also that his friend NC was the mastermind and ended up being our Chairman. Nobody should be under any illusion that the club and it's supporters mean a great deal to NC - we are very much linked to Markus and his vision. NC is the custodian of the mission that Markus gave him - it's in his heart to see it through for his friend. Couple of other points mentioned in the tribute was (a) that Markus was clearly quite ill and tired during the JPT final. The fact he smiled so much during the day with 50k other Saints supporters is heart-warming indeed and (b) that walking past the tributes outside SMS after Markus' death was extemely difficult for NC and it affected him quite profoundly. OxO should take a few moments to look at that video and ask himself a few questions about personal integrity. Markus and NC had/have it in bucketloads.

OK - I renewed on-line. The only option was collection from ticket office so I am surprised to see here that people are getting theirs delivered (albeit with cock-ups). I wonder why I didn't have the option to have it delivered or was that a default position in the on-line screen? In relation to the amount of money being spent, I am not too impressed with the matter TBH.

Quite Alpine - good call on both counts.

I'm not going to give the article or this thread a read because I'm not interested. The key difference between Lowe and Cortese is that Lowe owned a minority of shares AND chaired the club. Cortese just chairs the club which is owned by the family. It was corporately wrong for Lowe to Chair the club under the PLC structure. Just plain wrong.

Don't subscribe to the view that OxO made a childish mistake - he knew exactly what he was doing. However, he is our player still in the red'n'white and it will be a complete disgrace if some mongs decide to be 'the big I am' and boo him. I do wonder whether at 17 he has seen too much limelight - perhaps de Ridder has been brought in to allow Adkins the opportunity to drop OxO back into the shadows a bit? Personally I don't think he's worth the £10-£12m being bandied about, so if Arsenal want to take him on our terms then bite their arm off.

Great signing really. Looks very exciting and if he live up to the talent we see on Utube, I think this guy could be the real deal for us. He certainly talks well and sounds like he really wants to be here which is what we all want to hear. I hope this is a Puncheon replacement rather than OxO, but frankly I think this chap could be putting in as good if not better performances as OxO - remembering of course that he is 24 and has that much more experience. He will be in his prime when we hit the Prem. "This is a great step, a childhood dream," says Knight, who signed for three years at the club from the Championship. "Playing in England has always been a wish of mine. And then also at Southampton, a club with a great history. A club with the caliber of the Premier League, and that they hope to play next season."

With Forte and Holmes as backup to Lallana, can't see this being anything near a possibility, although to be fair it would be a good signing.

Not read all the thread - anyone else notice he was wearing the no.5 shirt at one time? We've left the no.5 free - for him perhaps? Seems a good fit in terms of what we need and as others have said there are good links (Jaidi/Swiss). I would be very pleased if he signed for us.

I would suggest that the 1st team is settled now. Any further additions will be to strengthen options from the bench.

Well done Nige - keep up the good work and get Saints up in the top 6 this season.

Great news to see Barnie staying with us. Let's hope his trial ends up positively.

Sounds like the perfect Jaidi replacement and partner for Jose. Welcome to the spare no.5 shirt Ammar. (:

Given that this is an Echo report, while accurate it might be slightly old information. What this might tell me is that, given Puncheon is still here reportedly working his socks off with the youth team, PERHAPS there is a chance that he will stay if OxO is sold? We've know that often there is a long line of player transfers lined up which depend on the first one acting as a catalyst for the rest to happen. Get the right offer for OxO come in and we could see Puncheon back in the red'n'white next season.