david in sweden

I follow the progress of those lads who "didn't make the cut" in the Academy, (that last year can make or break Prem. career dreams). Last count I got counted past 30 who play / have played in the lower divisions, but some are still going strong. It's an uphill task, and they make a lot of moves along the way but still manage a good career at L1 and L2 , and having Saints Academy on your CV is a good recommendation. Interesting to see that Ollie Lancashire, (whose career was marked by red cards and own goals ) finally clocked up over 300 EFL games, and then came back to help coach our B team, ( dominated by teenagers, and young prospects) whilst they played against Prem. clubs U23 / first teamers. NIce for him, but I bet Staplewood never looked like it does now - when he was in the Academy.

so.....you're easily pleased then ? I'm a bit more concerned about who we have up front at the start of next season.

Signing young keepers can be a minefield. They look good at one level but it's the toughest role to fill in the Prem. Historically, the number of top class keepers in their early twenties can be counted on one hand. A keeper takes the blame if we lose 0-1, whilst your best striker misses 3 sitters in the same game. It's all about confidence and self-belief. In the final analysis a keeper is only as good as the defence in front of him, and both Gazzaniga and Gunn didn't make it when the cards were down. Hopefully, Bazunu may be an exception and it looks a good deal on paper, but even a buy-back of £40 million may be chicken feed in 3-4 years time.

.....now probably down to 80 K /week instead of 85K ... and Spurs got him for nothing. The number of "good deals" we've made with Spurs can be counted on one thumb !

I think perhaps a " mental breakdown " following that 2-5 defeat v. Spurs (when they played at Wembley)..... didn't help much either.....

Agree with that bit, but we wouldn't be signing him for 3-4years, he only wants to stay fit long enough to play for Wales in the WC, and no-one deserves it more. .....if we could afford to have Forster on the books for 5 years at that salary, we could afford to "splash the cash" for just one season.

Why not - if the chance is there. For old time sake, and he is someone who does score goals . He's probably never seen Staplewood as it is now, and we could see if he can lodge with the host family from his Academy days... (haha) Be nice to have a player at the World Cup again, but even if we only sign him for one season.... we'd probably need to mortgage SMS to pay his salary.

.......and no place for Jack Grealish either, AND he didn't fall over once ..

Sorry but I could think of a few stronger phrases than " just very poor ". We got an epic win at Tottenham, two great performances v. West Ham and secured 4 draws against the two Manchester sides. We weren't anywhere near the same after the defeat at Villa...and continued to go downhill and let it all slip in what should have been... a relatively easy run-in (with the exception of Chelsea and Liverpool). 50 points should have been quite attainable. Only one of the last 9 goals was scored by a striker, and thankfully there were 5 sides worse than us this season. I'm glad there weren't another 3 games to play . We definitely need a real makeover this summer. ..starting at the back.

getting that 1-0 win v. Arsenal at SMS probably saved us from the drop zone ............

.... except that as we are no longer in the EU, and with such limited experience it might prove a problem getting a UK work permit for him this year, but if he does well, and gets some game time in the Polish national set-up, it would be easier especially as he will have been " a Saints employee" for a year .

Got game time in a dozen internationals for Sweden last season. Reminds me of the " young " Schneiderlin a bit. YES I know he was French, but Svanberg has a similar style of play. Worth another look at the You Tube clips. Certainly a good deal for the money in today's market, and we need someone to follow Stuart Armstrong who is already past 30.....

finishing 15th is better than being 20th. At least we are still in the mix for next season. Historically (before 2005 relegation) Saints stayed in the top tier ( Div.1 - then Prem. ) for 27 seasons and rarely finished in the top half. We struggled desperately on occasions, ( in part from losing our best players to "bigger money " clubs ) and frequently stayed up purely on the efforts of one or two players. (Can't imagine what would have happened to us in the 1990's had MLT decided to move to one of the London clubs). However, you berate it ...£100 million isn't to be sniffed at.

Hopefully !

This maybe more realistic ....IF Wales qualify for the World Cup and then he will need some game time at Prem. level to get upto speed. IF Wales lose out - he will likely go to the USA with all the other " former greats ".

Agreed, but look at the playing staff Ralph has to work with. The VvD windfall was squandered by (someone else) and we ended up with half-a dozen bad buys who weren't worth their salt, had long contracts on big salaries. Ralph accepted there was little money to spend and the only real favours the club did him was in buying Danny Ings and KWP. As for the remainder ...we will see the " fall-out " during the summer, because we need at least half a new squad, and it won't happen by buying / loaning talented " kids", or those labelled as " one for the future", but players who command a starting place and are genuine "game changers". We need to plan for yet another season avoiding "the drop zone" .......and on recent form that looks very disturbing.

Whilst I agree with your comment Turkish..... ......younger players are " more teachable", whereas some experienced signings often bring their faults with them - and won't /can't lose them and although most want game time, a few are too often satisfied sitting on the bench, get some occasional sub. time and waiting for their big salary.

Of course , the managers doesn't do all the training, but is a strong voice in the dressing room and has the final say in player selection. I never heard of a player who came out on top after an argument against Brian Clough, although he did a lot improve some player's performances. Ferguson was a pretty dab hand with a hair dryer - wasn't he?....or was a bucket ? His obstinate style showed up when he sold the teenage Pogba for a pittance ...(because he had "an attitude" ) .....only for MU to but reluctantly buy him back some years later ....for £90 million. A good manager should be a pragmatist and not a dictator.

...but not as many as Shane Long . Pretty sure that SL holds the club record in that area.

You mean like Brian Clough or Alex Ferguson ? Not many of that ilk around anymore . Nowadays ..."Player power" would take them down in a season.

most of you ( above) have given credit where it's due, and every club needs a " talisman " who can be a game-changer, and although his first few seasons were a bit indifferent.... KD has done his bit ( and a lot more ) for the club. In turn - for their part the club has rewarded him for that service, but if he is determined to pursue a career in the game he should seek a coaching / managerial job in a lower division, and prove himself once again in a new role. Sounds a bit unusual?, but Nigel Adkins' goalie career did him no harm, without which we might still have been a struggling side lounging in L1 / Championship.

Might work well.... if the U18 lads follow him upto the B team level. They are the best Youth squad Saints have had in living memory.

A surprise? ......maybe not. Normally the club sacks the manager first and his coaches go at the same time, but clearly the Board still has some confidence in Ralph.... and / or .... doesn't have a suitable replacement lined up yet. Clearly whatever the coaching staff had done since the Koeman's departure hasn't been enough, and if they stayed much longer they would just become " part of the furniture ", and stay around until they retire. All 3 men are around 40 -ish... and ought to be looking to advance their coaching careers elsewhere. With the squad getting younger, one wonders if they were seen as relics of their father's generation, and the instructions "didn't stick ". The signings of Broja, Livramento and Small signalled to many teenage talents that Saints may be the club to advance them in quick time. I hope we can get a coach with a goal-scoring background, as the likes of Puel and Pellegrino brought their defensive mindset with them and the outcome was dour ...to say the least. As a former striker, Ralph knows about goal scoring prowess, and hopefully we can get a new man with a good strikers background that might raise the standard somewhat. History shows not all good players make good coaches, but the presence of 3 goalkeeping coaches did little to improve the defence ....or the attack. Clearly, it isn't just the playing squad that needs a major overhaul and Ralph probably has one more season....(or until New Year ).....to get results.

I was born in So´ton .....where would I find another team now ?

with a year left on his contract, if we are looking to sell him and get a fee, he needs to be in the shop window now.