david in sweden

No defence for the player, his action or any intent to provoke, but some of the media handling of the story, like " former Saints star in homo slur " etc. Although RC played a number of excellent games for Saints (in their L1 / Championship days), I think using the word "star" is a bit far fetched. He played 47 games as a Saints player + a couple of dozen more whilst on loan, but the largest chunks of his 300+ game English career were with 6 others clubs which included Burnley and Preston, (who Saints eventually signed him from) prior to our promotion back to the Prem. Was this headline purely because Saints are a Prem. club?..... For the record ...Chaplow left Saints after New Year during our first season back up in the top tier, and " his Premiership career " was composed of a handful of shorter substitute apps. off the bench . It really is stretching credulity to run storylines like this to attract attention, and "taint" SFC in some way with his recent outburst. Very poor journalism IMO.

I noticed that "massive" .....has crept into a lot of interviews - especially with Saints players ?........but can't see Claude Puel using that one too often. .....and why is it " so-called " commentators and "so-called " football experts always delight us with their jolly stories and anecdotes about the most uninteresting events, ....and suddenly have to break off and say ....oh. there's been a goal ... I liked the comment from the legendary Kenneth Wolstenholme....who once said that a commentator should say the very least that is necessary, and not get " in the way".

......maybe they need another CB? ....after all it was Fonte who made Lovren the star player ....."he never was"

not a surprise ?...but that £13 million looks good in our bank account, eh ?

Although you seem to make a good case, the reality is that that you never know if last year's good team..... may struggle in the new season. It's very early days, but interesting to note that both Leicester and Arsenal, who finished 1st and 2nd respectively... have had very uneven starts and like Saints have only 1 point from their first two games. The first two or three games are an indication to the manager (often a new signing, too) as to what his requirements will be. More defenders?, another striker?, etc. It also gives a breathing space for reflection, and pre-season training can also bring its own share of injuries. This year...it's Gardos and Bertrand (again) for Saints. Or like West Ham (who I normally have little sympathy for) having signed Ayew for a whopping £20 million...saw him play for about 30 minutes before he got an injury which will most likely keep him out until the New Year. Now they must start seeking someone else - if they want to hold their high Prem place AND progress in Europe. Whilst the window has its purpose, it was somewhat unfair in bygone days when players could move at any time, and a club going for the title would often sign a top scoring player, or star defender / midfielder to help them " over the line ". Nerve-racking though it can be ....the whole idea of the transfer window is not such a bad one.

10 days left to the window " closing". If he is going ....he won't play on Saturday , or will have a mysterious " injury ". This is really a head / heart debate. Contracturally....he still has 2 years left and the idea of getting £8-10 million for player who will be 33 at Christmas look a good deal. Avoiding the word " legend "....he is the last of the players who made the journey up from the L1 days, and surely few fans would deny him a last big payday, if ....... ....like Lambert he chose to make the move. If he does move .....it'll be a 2 year contract (with options) and a few opening games / sub.apps to bolster up a shaky defence, or give extra strength to defences in the Euro competitions that any new club are likley to have. In this event ; I'd expect to see him on the bench in the latter part of this season after " the new club " have installed " a younger man" with a longer future. Like Lambert, his game time would be measured in minutes... rather than starting apps. The benefits being a larger salary ....and some good memories from SMS. I wouldn't begrudge him a final move so it really is a Catch 22 situation for him this week. Sooner (rather than later) he will need to be replaced.....and I for one (reluctantly) say ...better to leave in a burst of glory than on a free transfer in 2 years time.

It seems the "new formation " is as difficult for fans to watch, as it is for the team to play. Playing "slightly-built " (OK...short.) midfielders against " opposition muscle boys " showed up in both games so far, and our guys were punching below their weight. Majority % possession stats. are no replacement for the " fear factor " we had with the tall Pelle, or Mane's do-or-die heroics. Shane Long was a good complement to them, but Redmond (for all his skill) doesn't carry the same threat. Also neither Long or Redmond have scoring stats. anywhere those of near the above-mentioned pair. Neither a fit Austin, or a rejuvenated Jay Rod is likely to get a look-in the present set-up which negates the use of " the big man up front ". Puel's Henry/ Redmond comparison may come about (in some small way), but we can't sacrifice the whole system waiting for it to come to fruition. I'm not alone in praising Tadic's skill, but he does seem to want to do it all alone and always wants to make one pass too many. We've had 37 shots in the first two games resulting in one goal and one point. The possession stats. may look good on paper, but prove little else. One solution; Leave Long on the bench until after HT when his speed/guile may work better against tiring defenders, and alternate Austin and Jay Rod until one of them comes good and gets in the goals. I go on record every season that I don't take a serious look at the table until game 6 or 7 ..at this rate we may be looking at the wrong end before glancing at the top six.

Coventry aren't a rich club - even by L1 standards. Probably a few hundred K (if that) but hopefully a big % sell-on ....in case he eventually moves to a higher level club.

.....well he's certainly on a learning curve now !

I don't know how many threads I've posted that statement on in the last few years, Whitey...... but some people just don't want to listen.

Indeed we did . A closer look at those stats. would surprise quite a few people.

we're all disappointed at the poor start, but looking at the League table you see that Leicester and Arsenal ..who finished 1st and 2nd respectively... also have just one point. it's a long season with 36 games still to go ..........

one of our Dutch contributors said that nearly all Dutch clubs are short of cash, and need to sell (their best players) to survive. Koeman probably had little cash to buy with, and the players must have been underpaid (relative to Prem.salaries), and although he said taking the Saints job - "wasn't just about money"..it probably helped. Everton offering to double that was an offer he (and his staff) just couldn't refuse. If he flunks at Everton and never manages another top side, he's surely set up for life with his new salary.

Hesketh has looked good since he began in the U18s ..and probably before, but although Saints always say..size doesn't matter ..(where have I heard that before?) .......the truth of the matter is, no matter how skilful they are on the ball.....they can't get the better of " the big men" they come up against. I watched our lightweight midfield against Watford and their "muscle men " barged our lads around a lot. The likes of people with the stature of Zlatan or Pogba are always going to get the better of an underweight opponent. I like Hesketh (and even JWP and Clasie) in form, but they need to be able to take knocks and that's not easy for someone giving away 2 stone to a tough opponent.

good observations Batman...losing Romeu was bad enough but we also lack a "toughie " (type Wanyama) as DM. Clasie was no replacement against " MU big men ". Hojbjerg was very creative and showed lots of effort. Davis and Long both below par ....and Redmond, for all his speed and skill was starting from too deep. A number of United attacks came from our bad passes and they created little from their own invention. No doubt Pogba, Martial and Zlatan will win them games, but they will be hard-pressed when coming up against a really creative footballing side in Prem / EL.

Austin could play well...... in the right formation....and this isn't it. Whilst we continue to play a slow-build up and multiple passes, allowing the opposition to re-group ......there's no way he'll get chances in front of goal.

Diffiicult to assess his capabilities now as his previous success was over 2 years ago. He looked good then - in a team that was playing well. If Puel continues to play two fast, lightweight strikers (Redmond and Long) then JayRod gets no place as a traditional style front man. He needs some more games in PL2 to help him find form, but it's no idea to let him go, unless we have a proven replacement " hidden away in the Black Box".

at least he's trying. He'll get better in time.

it's all relative - isn't it ? the last 7 years have been " fresher in my mind ", and had been more successful in a number of ways. Not to say that the " Lawrie years " weren't exciting too, but these 7 years have all been on the up and especially as the competition with other sides is more intensive. I love Cup runs..(don't we all) ..recalling the 1963 Cup run, but that Semi Final defeat was one of the biggest downers of my supporting days. Losing a Final is worse. Of course the period of " Five England captains " will never repeat itself, and even finishing 2nd to Liverpool in that period had its own disappointments. If it's going to get even better...I don't mind waiting. It may be difficult to us to think that we'll finish 5th - or better this season..but we have the groundwork for more improvement - even if it doesn't all happen this season.

which in itself is a bit better than pursuing a player who's played a couple of good games in a tournament, or who looks good on a You Tube post.

Does anyone else think that Man Utd have suddenly become afraid of " little Saints " ? Is it going to be a David v. Goliath game again ? It must be embarrassing for them to have been turned over by us at home for the last two seasons, especially having LvG spending that huge volume of money on players who later proved to be ....less than they expected. Now that they have signed the " top striker in Europe", and the most expensive player ever ....and signed a manager, (who on his own admmission) is " a bit Special " .. ...they surely are desperate to win every game convincingly. The media coverage around this has been a bit unusual to say the least. The Jose Fonte story, may be a little smoke before the fire starts, or is it just a smoke screen to upset Saints?......(I noticed that Claude Puel smelt a rat there.)..... Mourinho says that Pogba may " get some minutes "(perhaps suggesting he will start on the bench) and come on to slay a tiring Saints side (?) if MU are struggling, and JM has gone public with a demand for the Old Trafford fans to "out-sing" the few thousand Saints fans who will be crammed into one corner of their 75,000 stadium. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it we manage a hat-trick of wins tonight there will be more pressure on the Man U staff /players than they could ever have imagined. COYR!!!!!

Of course not fraud, but certainly an element of "favouritism", but I was referring to the period when Cortese was holding the purse strings, or should it be cheque book ? A good " mainly British squad " was assembled for just a fraction of the sum wasted on these three failures. Hence my comment about the Black Box not functioning then as it apparantly does now......if indeed it was being used then? Pochettino certainly got carried away with his demand for Osvaldo to join and Cortese trusted him (!) Of course prices have gone up ...just look at the level of transfer prices then compared with now. Historically when a player goes for a huge sum of money, others dare to demand more. Alan Shearer's transfer to Blackburn 1992 was a British record at over £3 million.....shortly afterwards it was Paul Gascoigne at £4 million. Not so long ago £50 million was an enormous transfer sum..then came the Bale transfer (£86 million (?). Now £50 million is almost par for the course for big money clubs. The Pogba transfer is laughable in as much as Man Utd actually let him go for less than £2 million just a few seasons ago, and now buy him back at a price that lays the groundwork for the first £100 million transfer. Daft I call it . For that money.....I'd be embarrassed to be a Man. Utd fan if he isn't MoM with 9/10 every game. With less than 40% of English / British players in the Prem. it's now inevitable that we have lots of foreign players - especially as less than a handful of Prem. clubs have British managers and fewer are " British owned." If you employ a Dutch manager you get Dutch-based players...so I expect a few more French names to come to SMS... I've nothing against foreign players. Saints have been at the forefront of bringing players from abroad. The first Yugoslav, the first Russian, the first Latvian etc.... The Black Box..(the subject of this thread by the way)....has a better insight into the performance of players than the "amateur" attempts of Nicola Cortese to enrich the team by buying from Italian / Swiss clubs when that sort of money could have be put to good use with home-based players who knew the English / British football scene, .....as has been proven by the list of the excellent buys you gave yourself.

I think that Katarina must be satisfied with the manner that the club is handing finances. Once we have the Osvaldo / Gaston debts off the books it may look even better. Interesting...that for a club that has finished 8th, 7th and 6th in successive seasons without resorting to the level of expenditure that the Manchester / Liverpool clubs have must show some credit, and eventually we may produce another Walcott, Bale or Shaw which, in today's "mad market" will save the club considerably more in the long run.

Think this was a bit of PC /PR on Puel's part. Of course Redmond started, but we saw all " the regulars " paraded for the fans before he introduced Hojbjerg and Pied as possible alternatives. Not much chance to judge Pied (did nothing wrong) but he was a step-up from Yoshida (who should never play at RB - he's a better CB....IMO) Hojbjerg was a breath of fresh air, and I can see him getting a lot of game-time, when we can sort out the best midfield set-up for each game.

Good response Duncan, whilst we talk about those 27 seasons in the top tier, let's not forget that it was regarded as a success when we staved off relegation - let alone finished in the top half.