david in sweden

Agreed, but nationalities aside....he must admire Pelle's qualities , and GP does have a reasonable record in the Prem. already. Conte knows Pelle's capabilities...... (and you can be fairly sure that even Mourinho will buy in a few players for MU who he knows from previous clubs).

Of course I understand that, but do they need to make it sound like the club is imploding, and there will be a mass exodus ..again?

.....you mean ....like the Echo's website ?

OK ...but maybe understandable in view of the fact we also have; Austin, Long, Mane, Rodriguez and Tadic as potential goalscorers. I'd like to think he'd stay....(wasn't Rickie still with us when he was around 32 ?.)...... However, if Pelle does stay he'll be spending a bit more time on the bench - when everyone else if fighting for a place.

..or alternatively.......all those names are just a smoke screen from his agent.....and he really is negotiating with Saints. (I read a story last year......that Koeman wanted him to come, but his mother was very ill and he didn't want to leave Holland at that time ????) Most likely..... we have moved onto other targets and he'll end up in Italy or Spain.

....this headline looks like a " space-filler " in the Echo - doesn't it ? OK ...from the time that Victor Wanyama asked for a transfer last summer ..and later refused a contract extension it must be obvious that he wants away. Not sure how much his agent is getting on the deal.....or how much Victor will earn, but it's certain that his wallet (sorry his head) is already at White Hart Lane. He'll almost certainly leave as soon as we reach... July 2nd, and hopefully we will make his new club pay well for the privilege. Graziano Pelle......will look back on his career and admit that had Ronald Koeman not pulled him out of the Dutch league and given him his chance in the Prem. he'd still be in the wilderness....and the very idea of playing no. 9 for Italy was only a pipe-dream. So why are people shocked to think that he also wants away. Everything has gone well for Pelle...and in retrospect, I wouldn't deny him the last chance to play at the top level in his homeland....(shades of Rickie Lambert) HDAJFU - when it mattered. We should recover our original outlay ...plus a £ bit (hopefully) and get a replacement a year or two younger. Cuco Martina ....captain of a third World footballing nation....(FIFA ranked 149 a while ago) and undoubtedly DAJF Erwin in Holland in the past, and the £1 million fee didn't break the bank. It's difficult to disagree with the majority who said he isn't Prem.standard, but he managed to keep Cedric out of the team, and whatever else we say ..no-one is likely to forget his Goal of the Season. A 2 year contract was a reasonable deal, but I doubt if he can expect a 2 year extension. There can't be many people who weren't aware of the basic facts..... so Echo .......where is the dilemma ? ...it all seems fairly obvious to me.

I agree totally CB. Leicester had an exceptional season, and sneaked by everyone else. It has given a lot of inspiration to the " smaller clubs " who also see - it's not impossible. But I also recall that in the early days of the Premier League (or was it the Premiership then ?), Blackburn benefited from the generosity of retired millionaire Jack Walker who plunged much of his fortune into bolstering up the club;(including buying Shearer, Kenna and Tim Flowers from Saints) and got Kenny Dalglish to manage the side. They won the Prem. (once) but after a few seasons, sank down the table and were eventually relegated. All glory to Leicester, but in all honesty I don't see them repeating the feat..and (sticking my neck out) think they may well struggle to finish in top four next season, and maybe not get past group stages of CL. It would nice to be proven wrong (for their sakes) but clubs with enormous financial backing will always be there or there abouts. Leicester are NOT a big club , but the memory of their achievement last season may stay with their fans for generations.

well that's clear enough. Obviously our perceptions (in UK) of Dutch football are usually based around the bigger names like Ajax/Feyernoord. However, it seems to me that if less successful clubs in the lower end of the league are to improve they need to consider a few alternatives if they are ever to succeed. btw ....I wasn't the one who suggested that players were loaned for free.....but Saints might well subsidize a player's wages to get him some game time / experience. I think you might find that some of our younger players are not paid quite as much as you think...... Saints fans were sad to see Alderweireld leave, but we certainly got our moneys-worth for his loan even if it was only one season. If Saints do partner with a Dutch club, it'll be interesting to see who they go with and how successful the loan deals are (for both clubs). Thanks for the mail chat. David.

still think you haven't grasped the benefits of " loan players ". As Saint IQ said on the above thread....the idea is you get an up-and-coming player to help stabilise your squad and it doesn't cost you very much. If (as you say) you don't have money to buy - why refuse a loan player who will cost you very little. Of course all clubs have good players who move to bigger clubs....look at Saints' recent history, but when you need to buy replacements....at least you have the benefit of a good loan player who won't cost you a fortune - and you still have your money to buy others. You won't see many 18/19 year olds being loaned out by Saints. Players like Lloyd Isgrove (who is 23)... has been a huge benefit to Barnlsey this season and helped them to win a trophy at Wembley AND get the 3rd promotion slot into the Championship, and Jordan Turnbull has had excellent reviews after his second season with L1 Swindon. Don't really understand your comment about .....expecting a kid to come in and " carry the team " ?.......it's your more experienced players who should be doing that. In the best scenario..... the player may make a permanent move if he can't get in his Premier League squad. There are British players who play in other Euro countries. I respect that you have your opinion, but if - as you say - a club has little money, then even one season with a good loan player will save you money, and may even help improve the overall quality /position of the team. You surely don't expect players to stay for the entire career? Although every club has it's long-serving players, the average stay for a player in an English club is often only 2-3 years, but obviously the best players are given much longer contracts. Only since the Liebherr takeover in 2009 have Saints had " real money " to buy better players, but in over 50 years as a fan I've always known that Saints weren't a rich club and selling your best players was the only way to progress......if you are really lucky, they like the club long enough to stay longer.

People might argue Clyne was a loss, but have we really suffered from losing " the others "? Certainly our bank balance was a big winner.

would be sorry to lose a good prospect, but he's hardly likely to break into the first team line-up (given our present squad). In all honesty..... he deserves regular football and has played in most of Barnsley's games since the loan out in October. They must have a great team spirit there now, so maybe (?).... a permanent move would suit everyone. Just as long as we get a good sell-on clause in the contract, Les.

I stand corrected !

yes I did, but it quotes "refereeing mistakes". No suggestion whether that is .....decisions they made that were wrong .. or simply missed altogether.?

OOPs !... sorry Vectis....of course you're right....(and I'm sure we must have scouted someone from Brownsea Island at one time or another...) AND of course .....Aaron Martin and Wayne Talkes (who might have gone further than the Reserves had there not been so many good names in the first team at the time) .......the others you mentioned weren't Saints recruits, so I hadn't considered them in the same way...... Bath seems to have been a really good source of talent for us. Gareth Bale went through their hands, and going back a bit - wasn't Jason Dodd from Bath, too? The argument against us having a Centre in the London area was often used by those clubs not smart enough to have found the talent themselves. If we had been restricted to the area from Boscombe to Gosport.... we would have a very small area to work in, but we still find talent there ....whilst the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea go abroad with their cheque books to buy established names, yet ignore the opportunity to develop their local talent properly. I noted that two up-and-coming names; Harley Willard and 'fela Olomola who have been given long terms contracts (though they are still U18's) - were Arsenal "rejects".

TRUE....but if other clubs situated in a coastal town don't have recruitment centres - where they are allowed to - it's their problem. We make our work.

.......and not so many good prospects on the Isle of Wight.

whilst I agree with every word of that ......Young goalies are not like young midfielders / strikers....it does takes time for them to develop properly. Gazza needs one or two loan seasons and game time with good Championship clubs..... who are " on-the-up." If he is still in the wilderness after his deal runs out, we should look seriously at a further extension. As I recall, Brum (reportedly) refused our offer of £6 million for Jack Butland, and Gazza was next of the list......all in all ....not " a quick fix ".

PERSONAL NOTE: I've waited nearly 50 years to be able to make jokes like this about Liverpool......I'm making the best of it .....

meaning that they need to sign a defender who can keep pace with Mane the next time they come to SMS....... Why?.....when they've already signed Lovren and Caulker

.......and what would happen if they went out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup in January ? There's only the derby game with Everton left to look forward to ......

looking at Spurs' strike force .....the lad would be more more likely to get game time in the Europa League with Saints, than in CL with Spurs...... ......but of course, he'll get richer quicker ......if he wants to spend half the season on their bench......

?? How many Chinese fans do we expect to come to SMS?.....they' ll soon feel at home, there are plenty of Oriental restaurants in the city.......

...the video clip wasn't long enough..... we don't want Liverpool stealing him too early.

ah well, there's one that's down to interpretation, Whitey. .....to me it suggests a player who's never quite good enough to settle in one club and is always on the move. Maybe not his fault, but insinuating negativity. So we can agree to differ.