david in sweden

IMO..... he's done OK so far, and in retrospect some of the deals that Cortese " arranged " haven't turned out half as well...... Biggest coup of the season would be ...getting Toby back to SMS !.......How about it Les ?

We can only hope a good solution is found for Osvaldo which would mean he doesn't darken the doors at SMS again. Meanwhile...... Gaston is back training and looking like " one of the boys " which may make his eventual move back to Italy on August 31st seem more like a " normal " transfer.

Yes - exactly the point I've made on previous occasions. Many players who suddenly have " one good season " are in great demand, but in the long run turn out to be failry average / poor. I shall be interested to see how well Harry Kane does ....in the coming sesaon, because Spuds would really have been in the s**t without him last season.

good deal alround really. Bought him for £2 million (?) since when he's developed into a player good enough for England, (whatever that means nowadays) .and we bank £10 mill.(after Palace get their cut) ......and all this for a player who could walk away for £0 next summer. Fairly satisfied with his time at SMS, and the move obviously suits everyone.

they weren't BAD players when they left. Rickie Lambert didn't become a bad player during his summer holidays, and Lallana was good enough to be voted player of the season. Brendan Rodgers didn't realise that the success for those two was that they played together in the team....he scarcely had them on the pitch at the same time. Lovren was made to look better than he was (as he was good at times) BECAUSE he played alongside Jose Fonte. Rodgers (in retrospect) signed the wrong CB.

his renewed contract was for (wait for it )....8 years, and I think he left after 3.

so .......is the long term idea, that we have a 45K stadium built on the site of Jackson's Farm......and leave the U21 's to play at SMS ..... Not April 1st - is it ?

I see that Swansea have signed Kristoffer Nordfeldt, a Swedish keeper who began his career with the legendary Brommapöjkarna (Academy type club) in Stockholm. He moved onto bigger and better things in Sweden ......and then onto Heereven in Holland. Has already made a few apps. for Sweden's national side, but I really wonder if he is upto Prem. standard?......time will tell.

....whilst the ongoing arguement about a winter break has become an annual talking point in the UK, the Swedes regularly take their break in mid June (to coincide with joviality and drunken philanderings that go on around the Midsummer Festival in this country). This is the only time of the year that you can expect any pleasant warm weather, although even that has deserted us so far this year. However, at the break (13 games of the 30 game season) Gothenburg have taken a commanding 5 point lead in the Allsvenskan table, having lost only one game. It's a relief for fans of the west coast club who've had a lean, and somewhat embarassing few seasons, and have consistantly lost out to their arch-rivals AIK of Stockholm. Norrköping and (Anders Svensson's Elfsborg side) share 2nd /3rd place ahead of last seasons champions Malmö who will have to find some good form if they are to retain their title. Despite recently celebrating his 39th birthday...Anders isn't losing his grip on the midfield spot he's had regularly since returning from his spell with Saints almost 10 years ago. The race for promotion from " Superettan "(read Championship) looks good for Jönköping South, who lead the division ahead of the northern side Östersunds FK and these two clubs already have a 7 point lead over the 3rd placed side Degefors. It would be a triumph for Jönköping to get promotion as they haven't played top-tier football in over 40 years. Those travelling Saints fans I met who followed Strachan's post Cup Final tour over here, may recall Jönköping's ground, which is placed on a high plateau outside the town. Of course lots can happen, and we have often massive reversals of form after summer breaks, both - good and bad - to other sides in past years. The League games will restart in a few days, and culminate with the onset of the winter snow in November. Brrr....Meanwhile the drizzle is rather un-inviting.

could be interesting .......to see if Pompey get more than 2%

some of us who are a bit longer in the tooth might say that it's not always the best player who gets to be Captain - it's often the best motivator, or "talker" on the pitch. ......" Future England captain" sounds a long way off, but let's see if he gets the nod after José packs it in .....

of course, Frankie Boy has had a bit more experience than JWP- wouldn't you say ?

.......didn't re-print the whole of your epistle Latheal, but highlighted the last part. I always wonder why the " football world " always consider players who cost an enormous fee as being " better " than those who were home-grown or cost a small fee. Many times they show a great deal of inconsistancy, and the " big money " strikers rarely get more goals than the average ..... Looking at some of the players that Spuds bought from their windfall after the Bale transfer. I'd hide under my seat in embarrassment if I had to watch them every week. In the end, they would have ended up mid-table last season, had it not been for Harry Kane. If he ever leaves Spuds, they will be in real trouble. A list of Saints' top scorers over several decades show that almost all of them were either " youth products ", or cost a relatively small fee. Buying people like Osvaldo and Ramirez rarely shows a good return on investment, and leaves us with big salaries for players who are frankly just a waste of space.

don't get upset at some of these comments Redslo, it's just our English humour.....it doesn't well . After 30 years my (Swedish-born) family still can't get to grips with it. Really enjoy your stats. btw.

think it's Matt Hale ?....who is in charge of the Academy - on the admin.side.(i.e. not a football coach)

Hope not ......I think it's fun. Ronald is a lot smarter than LVG, and must enjoy the opportunity to get a dig at him......

......so hopefully, we'll get 2-3 good seasons out of him before he departs .......but perhaps £30 million sounds " a bit cheap" for the going rate in 2018?

Apparantly...... he fell foul of Felix Magrath's " clearout " when Fulham were having a bad time in the Prem. He wasn't the only one, and I think the Fulham defence were as much to blame as Maarten himself Monaco have been doing pretty well with their regular keeper, so it's no surprise that he's spent most of the season on their bench. As someone pointed out earlier on this thread, Koeman gave him his (Ajax) debut whilst he was still a teenager, so we have to trust that Ronald knows what he's doing.....

Sweden 0 England 1....... Sweden didn't deserve to lose, and aside from Lingard's goal (good though it was)....England were barely worth 1 point - let alone 3.

nonsense! ....just beam me up Les........

I think we did pay a lot of money for a player by that name, but few people ever recall seeing him play a real game of football in a Saint shirt.....and then he disappeared.

depends "Who " you think represents the club? I'm sure Les Reed can hold his tongue, but there are surely other people ITK who know and a relaxed chat with his WAG, or the postman can result in gossip....

......so maybe he's only the first one ? Early days yet.

......or looking at it another way.......didn't buy the best CB. Thank goodness !

might also say it was a "win-win " situation for both him (and Pellé )......as the latter didn't get off the bench and become tainted with any blame for the Italian defeat.