david in sweden

maybe we can see another side to his game, now that he doesn't have to " compete " against Lallana for a start place.

EXACTLY, and we were well and truly " stitched-up" on that one....along with 16 other Prem. sides. However, if we can show sets of annual figs. in the black, not only will we be an unusual exception, but we might even get around that discriminatory ruling.

as for the FFP £52 million salary ceiling,..... as long as we can continue to bring in new talent, and not have to pay them " astronomical salaries ", we can afford to sell the " creme de la creme " every season, replace them and still make a profit.

.....don't mind what he thinks about ......as long as his feet and brain are at SFC.

perhaps we will see him come into his own.... now that Lallana is " out of the way ".

......and the magic spell only worked at SFC.

Many people cling to the monotony of a " regular team sheet ", and fear rears its ugly head as soon as we have an injured player, or someone subbed, when the sub.isn't upto the same standard. Last season, there were numerous Doomsday critics who appeared whenever..... Lallana was injured, or Lambert went three games without scoring. The truth is that a team (any team) is in flux all the time. Every game is one game closer to the end of " someone's career " , or when a new face appears on the bench threatening the status quo. Like (most) of us, I enjoyed many performances last season, but it stands to reason that we would be looking for a replacement for Rickie Lambert (Pochettino tried last season with Osvaldo - and everyone saw what happened). Any new manager would certainly be looking to gracefully " phrase him out " and find yet another new striker .....whilst RL would spend more time on the bench than on the pitch. Many of of us noted that Adam Lallana often failed to play a full 90 mins. (17 subs. in 37 starts). Q - Was he being " nursed " through a permanent injury crisis. Liverpool will find the answer to that one. Many great performances from Luke Shaw, and didn't he look exciting going forward?.. but did he look " so good " because of good covering from fellow players. But £27 million for an unfit 19 y.o.:badger:is surely a " no brainer ". I hope for his sake that he gets " Gaal-fit " and can DAJF them but, what if last season turns out to be the peak of his career, but then again, he does have the comfort of that £100K /week contract. In a way, a bit sorry to see Lovren go, but the manner of his leaving was quite un-professional and opportunistic ....(rather like our former manager.) A lot has happened, but the bank balance has never looked so good, and this maybe the start of something better. Maybe we can (paraphrase the OP) and say..."we haven't had it so good - up until now". Another quote from a statesman came to mind. Former French President Charles De Gaulle who said ..something along the lines of .... " the graveyards are full of irreplaceable men "

......are we sure it's not.... the other way around..? Periodically, we seem to have an interest in Celtic players / former players ....and they'd surely be worth " a bit less " than SFC..

......thought I read somwhere...... that he wanted Saints to play attractive, free flowing football, score lots of goals and win more games.......... No chance .....I mean.... who does he think we are ....Chelsea?

YES I agree, but his best years were at Liverpool, and they let him go 2 seasons ago. He's 33 now ??? not much milage left there

ANY sort of deal that gets Osvaldo off the books is OK by me. This was a major, and very expensive mistake in the Pochettion era. He thought he could " tame " Osvaldo - and we saw the result. Nice memory of his goal v. Man City..... but nothing else to brag about at all. Arrivederci !

Always ask myself if Boruc REALLY feels happy at SMS? I like him as No.1 but KD and PG aren't in the same category(for different reasons), and we need reliable back-up / cover ( call it what you will) In Boruc's 10 games absence(s) last season ...they (KD+PG) let in 20 goals between them, and we got only ONE win in those games. (indirectly it cost us an even higher League finish). I'd be sorry to see Artur go, but in football nothing surprises anymore.....and IMO Forster would be a good replacement, but who would be HIS back-up)?

a fairly predictable reaction given the kitty after those sales, but also a good position for us dealing with clubs who are cash-strapped and desperate for capital....expect to see some sign, anyway.

good analogy. I never understand why some people get so upset at the thought of having a loan player - for a whole season. Pretty sure we may see some action from Matt Targett, but Bertrand has over 200 League games already, but obviously has a tough task to take a regular place from some of Chelsea's international talent. Bit like Jack Cork, a good playing record, but to say he's not upto " the Chelsea standard " is no disgrace. As for the "loan deal ".....it's a win-win situation. If Targett doen't make it this season. RB will be a good back-up. If he's a success .....we can buy him in a year for £10 million.....to replace a player who we sold for £27 million. If he's not what we need .....we can send him back to Chelsea........so where's the problem?

it seems that DO had been relegated from the site ......until I found him on page 6...... Seems that a few Italian clubs may be keen on him again - (especially after Italy's World Cup fiasco which he was very fortunate to avoid). the media will once again be making big headlines when he (eventually) leaves - please God !.....but let's not kid ourselves, he was out of the picture already in January after his punch-up with Fonte. Quite simply, he was a bad signing, obviously made to placate Pochettino who thought he could rehabilitate him....bad call, that one Mauricio...(I suspect you'll find more than a few like him at Spuds). I for one, will be glad to see the back of him and happy with the memory of his ONE great goal (v.Man City ) ....and the thought that we will be saving £45K /week on his ridiculous salary.

1- yes. they were (argueably) ...some of our best players.... 2- NO-ONE is irreplaceable! .....and don't forget... they weren't always that good, and it took time for them to reach that standard.

......except that income doesn't increase when we play 8 games less than the Championship sides do.

sssh !....you're not supposed to say anything:suspicious:..by the time the big clubs realise .....oops ! (say no more)

..my thoughts EXACTLY !

at first home game next season....... RK - Hey .....why do we have so few players in our team?...is it five-a-side today? RH - where's all the England players you bragged about? ..I thought I saw a lot of familiar faces at Anfield, but... LR - don't worry Woy, we've got more. See that little blonde lad.....he's England standard already... and only just come into our U16 side....

ridiculous isn't the word.....next it will be our groundsman who produces such a fine playing surface at SMS....... AND ....it's rumoured that the tea-lady makes a pretty good cuppa'....

Certainly not .... if he wants to continue getting more ITK info....AND publishing it .

much prefer this version to the original, although buying in new players before the others leave does rather smack of " we know you're going, so .." . That way no-one can say we forced them to go. PREDICTION: I think that there are more deals in the pipeline, but transfers (as I'm sure you know) are often FAR more complex than simply the player signing on the dotted line, and I don't accept the theory (by others on here) that replacements will cost twice the fee we received from the original sales. Nice summary though.

BULL **IT...in the 10 games that Boruc was out injured last season, our "other two " goalies let in 20 goals between them ..and we won only one of those League games! They lost it for us not AB.

good question..Robbie ... I'm back from holiday ...has he published it yet ?