david in sweden

AGREED....there are many people who live quite contented lives on considerably less......and still feel happy with life. Accumulating great wealth can bring it's own problems. Sven-Göran Ericsson had success and was well-respected in many (other) European countries, (not England) but is still having to work as a coach - because he was defrauded - and his " not inconsiderable fortune " was lost a trust fund " scam " .......

RIGHT. A manager is always pleased with any player who gets his name on the scoresheet. We might have said the same thing about Billy Sharp, who was hopeless in possession, and not much better in passing the ball....but it was his goals that got us home in the Championship season.

You can't have a 5'6" targetman, but as every big striker from Ron Davies to Rickie Lambert has seen you get lots of attention from one or more defenders every game. Bassong was all over Pellé throughout the game, and another ref. might have awarded a penalty or two....I thought Pellé did OK , and took his goal very well. Pellé does well with ball-winning and reasonably well - given that he has so little time before he's clobbered from behind. The biggest problem is that we have few players (except maybe Mané ) who are ready to pick up the pieces, and go for goal.

..if he plays that well, give him an extension next summer...........

....or when Ron Davies' £55k signing was the club's record transfer fee....... ......but then again...my (late) father recalled the rejoicing in the club's Boardroom .....after we got £6000 from Arsenal for Ted Drake's signature..

Impressed, got that element of the " hard man " about him, and he'll need to watch some of those tough tackles - but IMO looks good so far . Was impressed by his U-Tube interview after signing. Seemed to know what football was about and could see the bigger picture, too.

not YET, they won't .......but now is the chance for JWP to really establish himself whilst there is so much uncertainty around the midfield positions. A few good games, and actually scoring from a few of those " nearly " free-kicks ....and his name will be on the list from those clubs who want to poach him. .... Arsenal, (Wenger claiming that he had a good grounding at SMS, but that playing for Arsenal will make him a "real footballer" and guarantee his England place). ....Tottenham ...(Pochettino - if he's still there by then - claiming it was HE who gave JWP his real chance at Saints (haha) ....and so it goes.... But it will be interesting to see what James W-P's reaction will / would be.... if /when that situation arises?

more than simple truth here. Agents are a necessary evil for many clubs and those footballers who have no grasp of finance and spend like there's no tomorrow. Some agents are pushing all the time. Move to another club, bigger salary, bigger %, and have little concern for the players future (if short) career prospects. Don't know who Victor's agent is, but he surely needs to re-think his strategy on this one.

true of course Vectis, but both these two are already out on loan and I think Will Wood (?) is the next in line for U21's ...and he is nowhere near ready . Jason McCarthy seems to be used as RB and/or CB ...don't know which is his best position either ? Difficult to recall the last good CB we had at this age though?... not recently anyway. IMO CB's, goalies and strikers take much longer to develop, it's always the young midfielders and full backs who get all the glory.

Agreed 100% ........

Lack of faith isn't the problem. You have to have the quality there to be able to bring into the side, and there is a world of difference between U21 and the Prem. Some people seem to think that we can dip into the Academy ranks and pull out a replacement - like changing the wheel on a car. Those of us who follow the U21 / U18 games would freely admit that there aren't any Walcott's, Bales, AO-C's or Shaw's on the horizon. Far from it. The most recent recruits; JWP, Reed and Targett don't show enough real consistancy to break into the side BIG TIME, and that's not a criticism - at this level. Gallagher, Stephens and Turnbull are all promising talents, and loan-outs will help but even on their return they may never be more than regulars " on the bench". People on here - regularly criticise established internationals we have in the squad, what do they expect from young lads who haven't even played a full 90 minutes?

OK so forget the torrential rain throughout the match-it was the same for both sides - right?...and Jay Rod's mistake to let in their goal won't help his confidence either, but it didn't help the concept of Saints' midfield passing game with both sides resorting to the " big boot upfield" in an attempt to clear their lines. The fact is that over the two legs we had 60%+ possession and 35 shots (very few of those on target) and managed just one goal. We have 4 strikers (all of whom have form or fitness problems) - and no sign of a regular goalscoring saviour. We've scored one in the last 4 games and that a penalty. There can be little doubt that the departures of these last two summers have created gaps in the structure that can't be easily ignored. Those of us who like stats. might point out that the successful "Pochettino season" included half a dozen players who had been with the club for (at least 4-5 seasons ) and at least 8 of the regular side had been at the club for at least 2-3 complete seasons. He was lucky, and basically only upped the tempo - and bought Osvaldo. The loss of last summer's "defectors" seemed almost to pass unnoticed with our "best-ever" stats .....but now comes the "Lord Mayor's show". The real surprise was not that we finished 7th, but that Koeman had managed to "gell " so many new players into a successful unit, and made us look good. I won't denegrate the departure of Clyne, but losing both Schneiderlin and Alderweireld (who tbf played like he'd been in the side for 2-3 years) really tipped the balance and we are beginning to look like the " traditional Saints' Prem. side " struggling to get mid-table safety, with Fonte, Yoshida and Stephen Davis being the only established outfield players from 3 years ago. This season will be a test of Koeman's ability to create " yet another " new Saints team and the prospect of a midtable finish with along with WHam, Stoke and Palace would seem to be "a satisfactory season". It may take a year or two more to stage the next challenge for a top six place and another shot at Europa League.

listen Brendon:p ........Tommy is available on a free transfer......in case you need cover for that s***e Mignolet ....

panic panic .....however will we manage to survive ......without buying all those promising French players?

6' 5" eh ?.....guess he's tall enough to be a CB anyway....hope he's good in set piece situations.....

VVD....a win for Saints tonight ... and he'll be on the first flight out of Glasgow Airport in the morning to have his medical.......

......his CV states that he advises clubs on " crisis management " ..which presumably means creating a crisis and not solving one .....

problems, problems ....but they are not ours and we have the £16 million in the bank....

clean sheet and one point ..... about right today. I think that Watford will struggle against more mobile teams who can run them around more than we did today. Defensive set-up with 3 CB's looked better than prev. games. Cedric looked better than his last game, and Targett had more time/space . We are still lacking creativity in midfield, and although Victor dominated in tackles, his final passes were often poor. Strikers had few chances because of this. Overall.....some signs of improvement, but right now....a top 10 finish would feel good...unless there is a dramatic improvement - we won't equal last seasons placing.

You made some valid points, BUT those " Academy characteristics " you quoted don't apply to some of those who have departed. Only Shaw and Chambers of the latest bunch had gone through the Academy. Shaw was outstanding and the fee showed that. Lallana had been at the club more than 12 years and deserved the opportunity of better, and sadly (like others) reacted to " Pochettino's desertion" . Walcott, Bale and Oxlade-Chamberlain were all outstanding - even though we were in a lower division, and everyone understood it was only a matter of time until they left. In time, there maybe more who leave?...but the majority won't make the Prem. grade may become good role models for clubs at another level. Not so bad, eh? as for those who left.....they suffered from " the footballers disease" - namely AMBITION. Widely lauded in every other profession, it's considered a curse in football.

agree totally. It's part of the background to the work of agents to get the best deal for their clients, but much of this is just plain "disinformation" to the Press and for players with a two digit IQ, (I'm not putting Wanyama in this category, btw ).. an unscrupulous agent may dangle the prospect of a bigger salary to the player who won't consider that a new clubs formation may not suit his playing style, and his career prospects worsen). Plenty of examples in the "Big Four" clubs. Very few of last summer's departing Saints' had a good season at their new clubs... merely a bigger bank balance. I'm sure many would prefer to play every week. Rumour storylines like these only go to upset the harmony in the dressing rooms and the Boardrooms of many clubs.

........unless we start to employ opera singers - probably not, but at current rates say - £40 K a week - a 7 year deal would cost us £14 million per player + taxes the maths is easy after that ......anyone on 80K would cost the club £28 million ...now consider an " average fee " at MU is already around 100K /week. How many of those would you expect to have?.....History shows that buying "super stars" for huge fees, and then having to pay them enormous salaries is ridiculous. Fernanado Torres move to Chelsea and Andy's Carroll's move Liverpool were a total catastrophe for both players and their new clubs. Deals like that can bankrupt a club - look at Leeds and Pompey's history .....Saints are wise to look for developing talent, if they want to stay - fine, otherwise the "selling on" of good players has always been part of football, and clubs do it all the time. Shaw and Mata to Man U.... and Sterling to Man City. are typical examples.

..which would be a perfectly reasonable action and quite legal, but then again some fans would call it ..." asset-stripping " wouldn't they ?

..that can't right !....MU are unlikely sign anyone for less than £20 million ......but a free transfer ..I don't think so ....

Good post . My thoughts exactly.