Saint Fan CaM

I’m not quite sure what your point is. Every stage of seeking asylum is a part of a process. The problem is there is no robust and effective process and that has been the case for more than 14 years. Where outside the country are these applications being made? The French don’t want it on their land - Brexit did for that. Even if a processing centre was set-up, I’d wager that the boats would still come with little impact on reducing numbers - why do you think Starmer’s strategy is to employ more border force officials…to process asylum claims? There’s only one effective way to fairly control immigration and that’s to take control of the tap - not mop up the flood.

RE Wales, that’s because the Welsh are very protective of their national identity - do you not support that? If you do, then why do you deny the English the same courtesy? Anyone can speak any language they want - that’s the beauty of living in a free society such as exists in the UK - however the point is that it is indicative of a lack of social integration and could be seen as contributing to the dilution of national identity and the divisions that can cause, whether we like or not.

So what - that’s not valid evidence… they may well speak two languages, but if you walk through certain areas of many major UK cities you will often hear foreign languages spoken by supposed UK residents. It’s their right to do so of course, but does that indicate social integration?

There’s a lot of sense in what you’ve said, however those being accepted into our country have been done so under what rules and conditions? And what happens to them after they’ve been ‘released’ into the general community? Where’s the coherent plan to get them working and integrating? And as far as Reform is concerned, the party had an increase in support because the Tories lost so much support…largely not because they attracted new voters and with any chance of them forming a Government. Yes, there’s a need for a robust process that works, but that doesn’t stop the boats does it?

It’s completely irrelevant whether an immigrant is legal or illegal - social cohesion, housing and public services will increasingly suffer if immigration is not controlled. The facts are readily available - every day every news outlet reports on these issues and it doesn’t take a masters in math to know that cutting taxes is certainly not going to solve the problem. The Tories failed at controlling immigration and so far it would appear Labour don't have a credible plan of action either.

I think the fact they’ve not featured largely in any pre-season games tells much.

Yep. Probably most important of all is they’ve decided to break British law by attempting entry by illegal means. Often there’s little or no attempt to integrate into a mixed community, preferring instead to settle into a ‘ghetto’ of their choosing. There’s little or no attempt to learn the English language - preference is to stick with friends or family that continue to speak the language of their origins. There’s no giving up on certain beliefs in relation to human rights, for example holding women in low regard with no equality or voice or worse still continuing to practice body mutilations which are illegal in the UK. To be clear these issues are not about the colour of someone’s skin etc., it’s about how far does a nation go in being tolerant of immigration diluting the fabric of the society that represented the very reasons the immigrants had in wanting to come here. Unless of course they had no particular interest in Britain or its cultural values in the first place.

I don’t usually visit the Lounge but this thread I found interesting. To answer the above, yes, we are a tolerant society - just look at the diversity that has existed for decades, but surely that means accepting LEGAL immigrants who can fully integrate and add value to our society. Apart from the fact that illegal immigrants should not be allowed to stay (with zero tolerance), there should be no expectation that immigrants can settle into their own ‘ghetto’ without working for the rights we’ve come to expect (and that applies to ANY colour/race/ethnicity/religion). The question is, why do illegal immigrants want to risk their lives in a dingy to come and live in a culture that is very different to the one they’ve come from? The evidence suggests they’re not really interested in integrating into Great Britain…they might have friends or relatives already here, but they could be anywhere…they know they can enjoy THEIR home nation/society here, but also happily take the free benefits on offer from day one. The genie is well and truly out of the bottle - with politicians promises of taxes being cut, Brexit and Ukraine effects, our public services and finances are being stretched to breaking point. It’s no wonder that there’s growing division across the country.

Sportswitness reporting… Southampton eye deal for Oliver Skipp from Tottenham Southampton are one of three Premier League sides eyeing up a deal to bring in Oliver Skipp from Tottenham, with Leicester City and Ipswich Town also reportedly interested, per The Telegraph. It is reported that Skipp is keen for more game time at Premier League level, with the three promoted sides willing to offer that to the 23-year-old.

Saw a FB group post this morning claiming we’d gone to Celtic with a €28m bid for O’Riley. Not sure if I believe we’d go that high, but he could be seen by RM as make or break part of his system and success for the season so has pushed hard for it to be done. Perhaps KWP deal has been done with Spurs providing the funds?

That’s a pretty horrible starting 11 - suspect RM will be gagging to make changes. Somehow doubt we’ll see Lallana or Stewart.

Can’t deny there’s some useful looking players in there that would instantly improve the team, but it’s the wages that will scupper any potential deal.

Yeah definitely - a loan with option to buy at end of season for £18/20m would be good business, but far too risky otherwise.

You may be right, however if the clubs stance on Tall Paul is anything to go by (holding out for €10m) they’ll not be gifting these players away bearing in mind how much Sulemana cost (£22m?).

Sweet Mary, that third kit is diabolically shite. 🤢

Lavia - top player, sold for a good wedge Baz - out badly injured but statistically the worst GK in the Championship, little chance of offloading for a decent sum but expected to return to 1st team duties when fit. £4m? Larios - out badly injured, so has had little to no chance to prove his worth. £8m? Edozie - has a chance of starting against Newcastle, albeit a small one or at least featuring off the bench. Still has good value…£15m? Mara - agree…useless and unlikely to get better in the system, with little value…£3-4m probably too much for a L1 club. Alcarez - at club while management change happened so playing style doesn’t suit…hence his loan. Still got good value in him…£15m? Sulemana - not really happening for him in RM’s system, but a chance he could feature off the bench and a player with good value still…£15m? Think £75m for that lot despite their issues, is actually not exactly a disaster in terms of strategy, however it does serve to illustrate very clearly how spending big on a number of youth is a huge risk for a club of our means, relying on at least one of them to be good enough for immediate 1st team appearances AND to command a high selling price.

Corrected for you…he has neither to a level we should expect. Thankfully it’s being reported that Brest are interested in him, but likely a loan.

And therein lies the problem…Lavia was exceptional for his age and there are plenty more examples (not just in our team). The issue lies in the initial scouting and then the crazy deals given, as shown by previous regimes who squandered so much on the hope of a big payday when the youngster is snapped up by a ‘big’ team. Which the best strategy - Saints take the risk signing a youngster for millions with the hope of a big payday…or, let the ‘big money’ teams take the risk by signing these players, then Saints step in and buy those that don’t quite meet the ‘big money teams’ expectations? I would suggest the latter is best and seems to be more the approach we’re taking lately, however that’s not to say we abandon the Academy and produce solid talent like Tyler.

Transfer silly season is well and truly on us. We’re linked with any attacking forward or GK that’s touted as sub €25m. It’s a lottery predicting who we’ll end up with, but I’ve a feeling it’ll be players that are left-field - largely unknowns and probably not predicted by the CoT.

At this point it’s a bit difficult to predict given potential incomings. I think we’ll lose, but not sure it’s going to be the huge drubbing everyone’s predicting… probably 4-1.

I think we probably have…many examples of long contract lengths at Saints over the years, particularly in the Les era. Problem comes when they’re actually dogs and the value goes down rather than up!

Perhaps that’s why he’s valued at €20m now?

I would agree, however the signs are he wants a move and who could blame him - he’s been left out in the cold and loaned to the club who wants him. Having said that, he’s been seen in training vids/pics I’ve seen.

Can see Tall Paul being here for the season, although game time will be little to non-existent I expect. There’s only one club interested in taking him and they want to pay peanuts. Maybe he’ll be the one that ‘feels like a new signing’? 😳

Understand your point, but what I’ve described is a hypothetical strategic position and not one involving just one player whether that’s O’Riley or any other. There’s more than £30m in the pot…not much more perhaps, but certainly more. We’ve seen many times in the past where stockpiling lesser players ends in a relegation scrap…it doesn’t work.