david in sweden

An L2 club OK ..Po???? NO !...just as long as it's not THAT one....it would blight his Saints career for ever.

Monk had a fairly good squad last season, but after having lost a few, including his top striker, he hasn't managed to replace them as well as we have done..... They've been in, or around mid table for several seasons, so the panic has set in .....maybe it's just " a blip "?

Oh:scared: ......a busy January ...and March doesn't look a lot better.......

as this is Sam Gallagher's thread..back to the subject...... whatever else happens... ....if the MK Dons manager doesn't rate him - they shouldn't keep him, (although looking at their league position he could do worse than give Sam a run of games) We should get him back (if poss.) and organise another loan out...(if legal). The lad needs games and really should be out of the U21 squad now - if he is to succeed.

I agree with that, but it's a seller's market, and if MU are desperate enough ....they'll pay....and it won't even be a club record fee for them either......

Oh ! thankfully ...I'd almost forgotten than one......I think their combined efforts cost Saints about £100K per game* , and half of the Shearer fee....... (* and that was based on 1992 prices) almost another 25 years on, and it happened again with Gaston and Osvaldo.......

to put this in perspective....I guess they are referring to the incident in the MU game than led to Martial scoring...... as I recall.....wasn't it Fonte who gifted Van Persie with one ..or was it two goals last season through poor passing? Everyone makes mistakes and despite their vauable place in the team, both Wanyama and Mane could use a few lessons in how to pass a ball correctly.

think that's about the right mark......

well it's not a new subject is it " 9 " and we are all entitles to an opinion........and I didn't use the word ....EVER. Nothing is for ever.....not in this world anyway....

It has to be an interesting question, though. There must be an emotion in every player ....who wants to play in a Cup Final, get an international career, etc and when Pelle was rotting away in the Dutch league, he must have considered what it would be like to return to his homeland and play in that League. Coming to The Prem. must have been a complete surprise. Now he is an international,(if only by default) and had his talent recognised. There must be a little longing in him, and the possibility to play for a top side. Rickie Lambert was entitled to his chance at Liverpool, but a little of that Bible verse in the deal which says.."a prophet is never honoured in his own land "... I'd like to see Pelle have the chance to fulfill yet another dream, but only after we we've got the best of the present deal...and another year ?

I really don't see this happening.The Liebherrs' seem a close-knit family and Katarina has paid a lot of respect to her (late father) in continuing to develop the club. I don't know any billionaires, but I have met one or two VERY rich people....and at that level money - isn't just business - it's a hobby, and when you don't have to worry about next month's mortgage payment, or the cost of the car repairs - not everyone is anxious to make MORE AND MORE......it just comes to them. You can have several houses, a garage full of cars, but you can only wear one pair of shoes at a time, and money can only be invested-or spent and owning a football club ...or a racing stable is the millionaire's (sorry - billionaires) fun hobby, regardless of whether you win all the time or not. Like him or not (people like) Bill Gates has shown that, - if you can't take it with you ....why not give some back....it gratifys them ...and pleases others. Developing a club - isn't just buying a new player for £xx million, but Staplewood is a prime example of a longer term strategy. I don't see Katarina leaving that behind for a new factory, or a luxury yacht - certainly not in the short term - if at all.

Interesting to consider the progress / decline of some of our former players in their new teams. Many clubs seem to think they solve problems by buying in a top talent, who already has a reputation, and expecting him to become the "missing piece of the jigsaw". Clearly that doesn't work. The entire Torres / Carroll fiasco deals must have proven that. Di Maria was pitiful at MU and some of LvG's new stars aren't shining so much. I really expected Lambert and Lallana to excel at Liverpool, but Rodgers clearly didn't seem them as a partnership, and rarely played them together. Result disaster. Saints' succes is built on the whole team as a unit and playing to our strengths, which was the L&L partnership for several seasons. We used it to good effect. We all joke over the poster who likened Mane to Ali Dia a year ago, but Mane learned quickly and found his success role, hence his popularity with MU (if true). In time, there will come an offer that neither Mane (nor, I suspect...SFC ) cannot refuse, and he'll go.....having been a great success - in our set-up. He will move - for a club record fee...but unless he's very fortunate will disappear into the huge MU squad - and end up on the bench - if he fails to score after 3-4 games. On the face of it, it's a win-win situation for him....and Saints. But it may be that he is the "loser". He'll become a rich and very talented footballer on the MU bench.

Good news. He's obviously not too homesick, and getting regular game-time at a higher level. If he continues to get good reviews, he'll return a better player, and if we still haven't resolved the RB spot... he may get a shot at that for a few games when he returns.

the greatest flaw in their (and Pompey's for that matter) strategy was to throw lots of money at the problem in the hope of getting a quick fix... that rarely works. Even at L1 level, Saints were accused (by some) of being a rich club because they spent a £1million on a 27 y.o. " journeyman" striker ...whereas in reality the squad that Alan Pardew's first (and only) season gave us the basis of a team that went right up to the Prem..... (absolutely no reflection on Nigel Adkins' contribution). The long term approach that Cortese planned (although ridiculed by some) gave the club time to build a new infrastructure, whereas I can think those people who - (having gained a billionaire owner) would have forked out many millions on top grade players and wanted instant success... even with -10 points hanging over them. The real problem is that so-called " big teams " need constant success, in the way a junkie need his next fix....and there comes a point for all clubs where they have to go back to the drawing board and re-think it. Those of us who are ...a little longer in the tooth....can remember the great Liverpool sides of the 60's and 70's, who won almost everything in sight - several times over - and they seemed almost invincible - until we started regularly knocking them over on their visits to The Dell in the late 80's. Nowadays, the only remnant of that ....is the club's name and the chorus of " You'll never walk alone " at Anfield. Leeds had their day....but they often " almost won everything " and frequently ended up empty-handed, but they were a force to be reckoned with in their better days. As this thread is about Cortese, I think he could DAJF Leeds, even if he denies it now. The only problem might be that along the way he'd lose more friends than he made. Regardless of the ownership a football club is really the paying customers at the turnstile ...(OK, OK - those who buy season tickets and shirts on-line). The real heart of football is really the loyal fan bas. The cameraderie of queueing for a match ticket and the banter in the queue, but nowadays you just need to pay by swift, and turn up on matchdays. In today's world, even success has a price the fan has to pay.

I have the same feeling. BUT his agent will get richer by convincing him that he'll become a millionaire overnight..and eventually he'll go. In the present market, and with MU throwing around money like a man with six arms ...we should be around £40 million the richer....(or should it be £50 million?) I'm fairly sure that Les and Ronald will take an extra peep at the Black Box and come up with a cut-price replacement, and the rest will, cover our loss on the Gaston / Osvaldo deals .

Mane's adress?....let's be honest ....you want his autograph .(before he leaves )...right ? Forget it . Queue up outside the players entrance on a match day like all the other collectors.

......if Mourinho keeps his job (quite likely)...and buys more at New Year (more than likely) then he'll be clearing out some " dead wood " he thinks aren't performing. So far we've had; Jack Cork, Ryan Bertrand and Romeu from them - with some success, I can't believe that we can't find one or two more to strengthen OUR squad.

personally, I'd be more concerned about Townsend coming here.. than I would Mane leaving for £50 million ! AT is really over-rated and he'd be gone in a year. My memory is long enough to remember how we were sc*ewed by Spu*s over the Chivers / Saul deal in '67 .....and this one smells the same.

One thing to be grateful for is we've actually had our two visits to Tyneside and come away with 4 points, although many insist we should have beaten Newcastle, too. Older fans in my generation will recall that when all three of us were playing in Div.2 in the early 1960's, Saints fans regularly returned from the long trek to the North-East cold, wet and empty-handed... (indeed one old fan even suggested that the club would save money if we just sent them the points - by post). Fortunes have changed and with the depressing turn of fortune for those North Eastern clubs, and Saints look a better proposition nowadays. It was often said that we didn't travel well, but the same might be said of them nowadays when they have to travel down to the South Coast.

Thanks for the reminder "9", you will doubtless be attending the games, whilst I hope to find a suitable " stream" on my computer - here in Stockholm.

The last promotion / relegation issues are settled with Falkenberg gaining the third promotion spot in next year's Allsvenskan (read Prem.) We also saw the final of the Swedish Super Cup.....but the fan response to this Final shows one of the major differences (apart from level) between Sweden and the English game, when less than 3000 people turning up to see new champions Norrköping..do the double by beating..Gothenburg Swedish friends tell me that the " Swedish Cup " has never had the same appeal over here as the FA Cup obviously does in the UK. Although top tier Swedish games can vary between 5,000-30,000+ (for derby games).....the few hardy souls who turned out for this game deserved a medal.

Yes he was. Most Saints fans voted for Van Dijk, but JC and VvD were doing different jobs, but nevertheless Clasie should have come a good second in the vote.

perhaps ......depends if you think of " the squad..as a team ". We haven't had a " fixed " team of starters for quite a few games, yet it still seems to work. Of course we can only have 11 on the pitch at the same time, but with half-a dozen midfielders to choose from, and a choice of 5-6 players in the back line. The biggest problem (in past seasons) has been the lack of quality on the bench. Almost all the recent subs. have come on and DAJFU without causing a disaster. We must hold form/ fitness throughout the squad..our only real "weaknesses " are having good cover for Stek. and Pelle. until FF, JayRod and Long are back.

and ....of course it's not a Prem.fixture, but we have Liverpool (H) in Capital One Cup in the middle of that lot ...somewhere?. The most important thing will be to retain form and fitness within the squad. Recent results show we have the capability, all we need now ...is the luck.

I would have said exactly the same thing " sadoldgit "......I saw my first game in 1959, and never looked back. Even though I've lived abroad for several decades, a visit to SMS (these days) still has the same appeal...the only thing being that some of the fans look a lot older and some of the policeman a lot younger There is no doubt that a lot of what Cortese did was good ......and necessary, but whatever his motivation he would have won a lot more people over had he better understood our history, the sentimental attachments in our fan base..... and given more than one media interview per season.