david in sweden

Did he jump - or was he pushed?..... Everyone was desperate to do better last year (wanted Euro football) and the fact that we are losing top players isn't just the money....it's ambition to play against better (Euro) opposition. If we want to blame anyone it should be Pochettino. There were soothing comments from grateful fans after last season, but when he jumped ship, he triggered all this " player panic ". Do you think these players would be wanting away - if he were still manager? I've always found it easy to dislike Spuds as a club, and there's no way that'll change next season now that he's manager.

You have to build a team around (the talents) of your strikers. It has been the same in every generation. Wayman, Reeves and Ron Davies succeeded with a good supply of crosses from wingers. Later on.... others did it with skilful midfield support. Lawrie McMenemy's famous quote about... " 8 roadsweepers and 2 prima donnas " still holds true. Pardew / Adkins moulded a team built to serve Rickie Lambert, now he's moved on...... Koeman will start over. He will know the talents of his strikers and build the team around their needs. If he gets it right....we'll score cart loads of goals .......it will take time, but if we see it working from the start, it'll be down to the fine-tuning.

good summary CB.

Some managers (McMenemy was one, Strachan, too) had a talent for rehabilitating "bad boys" and getting them back on the straight and narrow. As someone (above) pointed out Fonte (now 30) may a limited shelf life, and if/when he goes there will be few memories of that training ground "spat". The question remains, will Koeman attempt to reform Dani?..... or ship him back to Italy for the first reasonable offer. It may be that a new playing formation may suit his style more and he'll stay on.... He surely does have talent, and (whatever anyone says).... I think his fantastic goal v. Man City was a good runner-up to Lalllana 's goal of the season.

baaaaaahd news !

......and they call themselves "sports journalists " .......better go back to writing on the cookery page:lol:

......you (or I ) don't know that we haven't. Just because there's nothing published yet.....and the transfer hasn't been reported doesn't mean no-one is coming.....there's no rule that says we have to register transfers the same day ! I'm sure there can be " delays" that suit our purpose. Rememeber Les Reed said there was " paperwork to complete " before SFC announced Koeman's arrival when he knew very well RK was coming.

Some very good players -just don't want to stay with their present club - and /or are out of contract and won't re-sign.......So with no transfer fee, then it's just a matter of agreeing personal terms.

I'm sure you calculated that very carefully, but I don't expect the " replacements" to cost anywhere near the same fees as those who will be departing. Expect one or two f. Academy names on the new teamsheet and some clever bargain buys from different countries. (mainly Holland) . History dictates big money signings don't always mean big success. My guess..spending by Aug 16th ..Max £60 million. ...maybe a bit more in the January window when we see how things have progressed.

The Chairmanship role varies a lot between clubs / individual personalities. Rupert Lowe seemed to want a " hands-on " role in relation to player purchase ...... Nicola Cortese employed people with "know-how " who could do the job and he seemed quite satisfied with Les Reed's peformance for over 3 years. Ralph Krueger has a truly international persona, has status and knows his way around the whole World. Even giving lectures politicians, economists and business people (take a look at Wikipedia / You Tube) NONE of these three were " FOOTBALL " (in the accepted sense), but all made valuable contributions (at various times). I don't expect to see Krueger " interfering " with radical policies, or making controversial decisions (ala Cortese), but i think longer term we will see the benefit of his nous in the sporting world.

an England goalkeeping coach ..is surely best equipped to give some input on the signing of a future " 2nd goalie " scenario........Foster, Forster....Butland, but surely NOT Ruddy (Norwich) ?

we could try playing 13 players ....with two extra men at the back....and hope the ref. can't count, but I wouldn't rely on it. ..that type of " goal-chance " situation only works very occasionally, and is only highlighted when it works. The rest of the time it's only desperate defending with the crowd shouting " ANYWHERE ".

....and for those of us with much longer memories....Charlie George (ouch).

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during RK's interview at SFC. Les ..said that they had the same philosophy about the game. In some interview situations, the question arises ...." where do you see yourself in 5 years time? " (might sound a bit dumb to some people).....BUT (one of my sons actually had this q. at his job interview) ....his reply was ....." working here, but with a lot more knowledge and experience." He got the job. One of my q. to RK would have been ..." if you were to get the job ......which players would you want to buy for next season ?" If his answers highlighted players we already had scouted /been watching.....then I think we'd know we were on the same wavelength.

I guess because he has the job in the first place. btw ...which " duffers " are you referring to ....and do you know that LR had the final say in their signing ? IF YOU SAY ; Osvaldo....surely that was Pochettino's call?. He obviously felt he could " tame " the fellow, who clearly belongs in the same psych.ward as Suarez

.....(headline).........I guess it depends on how many Academy graduates will make the grade this season. No matter how much we think is availalble, RK doesn't have to spend it all by Aug.16th... If he's wise enough, he 'll hold over some for the " January window" .....just in case.

On top of everything else.....one of the more obscure sites has quoted us as back in the hunt for John Guidetti. (Man.City). Best news all year. Now 22, he was a real find (from the Swedish Academy club Brommapojkarna. Played at U18 level here, before he was signed by Man.City 4 years ago (?) and was star of their Youth sides for a couple of seasons. Citeh loaned him out to .. Feyernoord......(now where have we heard that name before ?).....where he scored 20 goals in a season (during RKs time there.) He developed some type of food-poisoning/chemical allergy which kept him out a long while. Back in England he was loaned out to Stoke last season, but Mark Hughes only used him for 10 min. sub apps. This lad is really great (type : James Beattie).... and Swedes still talk about him as a future international . If true, I'd really look forward to seeing him play again.

EXACTLY, he' s one of the few who passed the " Cortese Test of Efficiency ". A lot of his work goes on behind the scenes and he's obviously got the talent for something in the area in which he works.

what is the 50% that he's got wrong ?

What happened to the tight ship?.......the captain was the first one in the lifeboat. Pochettino's " ambition " has suddenly led to a mass panic evacuation. He thought he was exchanging the Isle of Wight ferry for the QE2....he should remember that the Titanic got into deeper waters before she met with disaster.

We've had Adam at the club for 12 years. As a teenager he was promising but wasn't the world's best, but really came good after we went up from L1. His pefromances in the last year or so have been great. But at 26, it's good money AND he's going to have to start over with a new club. Of course he'll show up well playing with Rickie Lambert, but we'll see just how good Liverpool are WITHOUT Suarez. Luke Shaw!Wonderkid ? or...but let no-one think that it's just going to be like changing a wheel on the Man.U vehicle. They too are undergoing a massive overhaul, and Luke will have to find his place. ManU will want to get back to Euro football, but few people were impressed by MU players at the World Cup and he may not be the only new face having to fit in MU's brand new back line. For a fee around £30 million - it's seems like a no-brainer for a kid with barely 60 games behind him. The sale of the century ....or a giveaway?. We'll need to wait 2-3 years to find that out. (We might as well mention Schneiderlin and Lovren, as well. Morgan has given us good service, and finally got his French cap.(well done)... but he has his own ambition and I for one wouldn't deny him that. I think Lovren was talking to Spurs last season.?... before agreeing to come to us, but he was always Pochettino's man - as will look to join him at Spuds.. BOTTOM LINE is ....if they're not happy. Let them go but (as Les Reed said) the price won't be cheap. That goes for Osvaldo, Ramirez .....and anyone else with itchy feet. Ronald Koeman will have (almost) unlimited funds and if he buys wisely, it'll be a whole new-look and maybe even that Euro place in a season.....or two.

what we need is TWO keepers capable of being no. 1 ...and both competeing for the shirt. Things maybe OK as long as Artur is fit and in good form. ...but he was out (injured) for 10 games last season. In 29 apps.(13 of those clean sheets) and he conceded only 26 goals. .......whilst his two replacements (KD and PG) let in 20 goals between them in only 10 League games only one of which we won, and we lost 25 out of 30 possible points in the process. If that doesn't say something I don't know what does. Many people think we have no need of another (top) keeper, but contrary to your statement. .....some stats. I researched prior to last season showed; (at that time).... THREE Prem. sides (Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea) had THREE international keepers on their books. EIGHT Prem. clubs had TWO keepers with some international experience. QPR - (back up for next season) have Robert Green (Eng.) and Julio Cesar (Brazil) on their books. The season we were promoted to the Prem. we had NONE (only Kelvin Davis). (No disrepect to KD,... and Gazzaniga was no credible replacement). Sorry .......but every Prem.side needs at least two top class keepers, in case of unforseen incidents.

typical ....another Chelsea reject. Still he'd have no chance of getting first team football there, but at OUR Academy - who knows?

.....and how much do you think their transfer fees will be by then?

not a total surprise, perhaps. There were rumours several months ago .....and it was Arsenal. After all, if any Saints player could be called " cultured" it would be Morgan, and thats Wenger style football. So ....a Frenchman playing for a French manager and coincidentally both come from the Strasborg region, and I think that Wenger has a lot of respect in the game. the alternative being Spuds for obvious reasons, but if he has to go anywhere (in England) ...I hope it's the Emirates.