Smirking_Saint

Nah genuinely think Sesko is the real deal He’ll be picked up before too long, pace, power and technically proficient… he didn’t have the greatest campaign last year but I think there is a definite player in there Fwiw Im very excited by Mara, but I do worry about a couple of parts of his game, he’s a bit greedy and does lose possession a lot but I think he’ll be a star Im most excited about Lavia… really gutted he didn’t play yesterday, that kids got a really really bright future and Im glad he’s here

I thought you meant Sesko Who we unfortunately have zero chance of signing, I think Id discombobulate if we got him

Agree with all of this Even in the first half, there were no obvious poor players, outside of potentially Ely who was rather anonymous.. but it felt more like disjointed tactics rather that any overall poor performances, it all clicked into place after HT Ive also been critical of Djenepo, but he’s looked very good in that LWB position Overall it made me feel like Diallo, Stephens, Lyanco, Valery, Djenepo and Redmond.. although maybe not what we need to move forward as first team 11 players are still good enough options as squad players

Not sure what game either of you two watched, Valery was solid in defence and progressive in possession Lyanco was solid and much more composed then Ive seen him before and played some good forward passes, he rattled WBY early on and even managed to rectify the situation that AM almost put him in with a terrible pass into trouble

Tadic and Pelle were very good in the Eiredivisie, we’ve seen plenty of dutch imports unable to take the step up from DVB to Bergwijn… Pelle had also flopped everywhere else in his career, he only showed any promise in two seasons at Feyenoord Alderweireld played 12 games in 2 years for AM Forster - Difficult one as again ultimately its a poor division but we have done well out of Scotland overall Mane - Good stats again in a poor league in a team expected to win the division was also an expensive signing overall Bertrand - I disagree, was a good player being kept out of the Chelsea side by good players, was also a loan which reduced our risk significantly Im not convinced that these are any less of a risk then say ABK who has had a goid season in Germany, Aribo who had a fantastic campaign for Rangers or Lavia who was the PL2 POTS… of all of our incomings probably only Mara is the one Im looking at wondering if he can integrate effectively due to his apparant struggles in ball retention (stats wise) but Im comfortable that the fee is a good one My overall point was that we aren’t in a position to make relatively risk free signings, that is generally for the likes of City/Liverpool and (should be) Utd…. Unfortunately, and as Ralph has already said, ‘experience’ costs extra and wants long expensive contracts that arguably makes us more exposed if the gamble fails (Barkley/Alli/Drinkwater etc etc)

What 25m strikers and CBs are out there ready to go that don’t pose similar risks to those we have bought out of interest ? I keep hearing ‘we should be looking for experience not Delap’ then get quoted the likes of Broja, does he really pose enough experience to be comfortable? We dropped 15m on AA who in theory should have the required merits to hit the ground running and effectively flopped, Villa bought Ings for 30m and he proceeded to be average, nothing is guaranteed here

So much guff gets spouted at times, we’ve had comfortably one of the most conclusive transfer windows since possibly the Koeman years, yet we’re still just gripped with this negativity Lets look at that much lauded transfer window; Tadic / Pellè / Alderweireld (L) / Forster / Manè/ Bertrand (L) At the time, outside of possibly Bertrand none of these had any obvious premier league quality, and even since that point from memory only Austin/Ings had any clear pedigree at this level abd even then they had potential issues around injuries etc We’ve never operated in the ‘established’ market. And since have moved into signing some of the brightest young talent from the brightest academies I much prefer this to signing ‘known quality’ the risks are still there, but generally they have no real upside, often in high wages or high fee’s and are they any less of a risk ? See the likes of Dele Alli or Ross Barkley for instance Profile wise our new strategy is backed now by the overseeing eyes of the much lauded Joe Shields, and will almost certainly lead to us eventually losing our brightest talent but aslong as we make the correct signings in replacement then I’m comfortable here We are currently a lower premier league side, with a likely ceiling of maybe top6 at our absolute maximum, we simply cannot/ do not operate in the Coutinho/Botman even Tarkowski markets that many of us want to Of course I would like to see us sign a real known entity in attack.. but its unlikely, look at Graziano.. arguably one of our more positive signings in recent history… he was a risk, he’d done very little before Feyenoord yet the risk worked out… this is the sort of signing Id expect us to see over the next couple of weeks, a well scouted forward appointment that fits our system and will likely have potential downsides Lets give the side time, we have a month of the window left and so far look very promising.. if this was a Gao window we’d be staring down the EFL right now but I feel SR have given us a real chance here

Brentford are doing some good business, lewis potter looks a great player Dud I read a 6/7 yr contract !?!?

The point Im making is we know Che’s value (which is more than just his goal output). Delap could be a revalation in the prem, he could also flop (see AA) so losing Che to bring in an unknown is a heavy gamble As for Broja… Im not convinced his potential is sky high to be honest, he is ok, good on the ball and big and strong but again he is a gamble… and despite the bluster on here by many he simply had less goal involvements last year than Che without offering the same work rates So basically I’ll stand with where I was before, I welcome strengthening our frontline but Id almost certainly want Che to hang around for atleast this season

Honestly people are slagging off Forest’s transfer dealings but Niakhate and Richards are shrewd and show value imo… Neco Williams is expensive but he is a good player Other than that Id say the windows been quietish… Id say so far us/City have strengthened well and Leeds with Sinistera is potentially very good.. would have loved him here

Delap has played how many minutes in the prem ? Che had more goal involvements than Broja last year and remained interested until the end of the season Would I want him to be our only No.9 ? No… hence why we are looking fir others, but either way 20m is too cheap… Stop the nonsense FWIW I wouldn’t be convinced by Broja as our only No.9 either

Im not really sure why we’d sell Che and certainly not for 20m… who are we going to bring in for that money ? Last year; Broja 9g1a 260 minutes per goal Che 8g3a 268 minutes per goal Some people really lack critical thinking and the recency bias kicks into play Che’s all round game is also, imo, far superior to Broja and Che is likely to remain a solid foil to whoever comes in for us, Im not sure we need to sell, and Id say 20m is too cheap, not due to value, but because as others have stated, it weakens us and strengthens a rival

Not sure on overall aims, outside of ensuring we are clear of relegation, thats the overall ‘worry’ from last year… ‘something has to change, we cannot continue being inconsistent’ were the exact words As far as Ralph, no overall detail outside of the fact he has until a set point of this season to prove he is the man for the job, if we are failing at that point (around October) then we will back a new man in January…. I get the impression they want to keep him if possible

Good player at a very good price, also adds some versatility and I think he also has leadership ability too We really are having one of our best ever windows here It’ll be interesting to see where he is employed, I imagine either as a CM as part of a 3, or as a No.10 in either a 4222 or 433 Either way Im really impressed with this buy

I don’t know if he will or if he will not I don’t know anything about targets etc, I’m just putting forward the info I know, which is that financially we don’t need to sell KWP or JWP to fund this years spending and we have funds available to back a new manager ‘if required’ in January

FYI… as far as I am aware they are comfortable investing to strengthen their product and I believe their hand has had to be dealt early due to the end of last year’s campaign Ralph is to be given an amount of time, and money, and certain autonomy around his coaching staff and will be assessed up up to around the new international break Should it be required there are names and funds available for the January window and new management team Thats the depth of what Ive heard, Im not sure where we are around ‘balancing’ any debt but I get the impression we have strategic funds available and no need for unnecessary sales… surely if we needed to we’d sell JWP ? This effectively ‘clears’ our debt, or atleast a significant chunk I wouldn’t expect us to start moving like City/Newcastle but we have been told that we will be sustainable however no longer need to sell to buy and that public narrative fits around what Ive heard internally Southampton are and will remain the ‘major club’ of SRs new project, and relegation puts that project on the back foot, hence why we are seeing significant action here now As far as the rest of the crap above, Id be gobsmacked if KWP goes for any less than 25m… I’d also expect to see Bednarek/Valery and likely atleast 1 No.10 go to balance the squad/books

Im not sure why everyone keeps mentioning Williams Was awful at Norwich

Spot on Taj… Ralph trusts him and Moi is tactically flexible, he can even play CM at a push Not a bad option at all from the bench Had we not brought in first team replacements Id be concerned, but seeing as we have this feels sensible

He has been given everything he wants, the players he wanted (within reason) and autonomy around his coaching team… I would say he has until October 👀 If he is failing by then Id ‘suggest’ we have funds available and managerial targets lined up Sports republic are serious and fear relegation will disrupt their organisation

What about his game makes him suitable ? Out of interest ?

A reasonable read but nothing relatively new in it to be honest The disconnect between senior ready academy starlets and the new scholars isn’t really difficult to understand considering that age group is likely around those that would have been affected by our falls down the leagues TBH I’m pretty comfortable with our current strategy, we seemingly are trying to position ourselves as the premier destination for young talents at the levels below say Foden etc and I think as a club our size that is very sensible, look at those looking to ‘break’ into the top 6 using a spend model, aiming for players such as James Rodriguez or Coutinho is a risk at high values and Id much rather buy good up and coming talent with good pedigree. We probably do need an ‘experienced’ head, I know thats a marmite word on here, but in my eyes I mean leadership ability not necessarily time in the game From the outside sports republic look like they’re moving in a good sensible direction

So… as far as I understand yes its a 3 year rolling equation and you are not allowed to make losses totalling more than 105m Lots of other things go into it such as money spent on infrastructure etc that effectively offsets it… as does COVID losses which is a bit of a sticky one and causes some creative accounting Because of COVID it is now a 4 year rolling equation and Everton where effectively on the precipice of sanctions unless a sale was made (FYI it wasn’t just the ‘fee’ it was more the ‘profit’ needed) hence why Digne and now Richarlison were sold recently I think they’re still in the shit overall, but now not staring down the barrell… whether they spend or not this year is to be seen

21 yr old RB, full international Not sure too much about him

Personally Im very happy with the start we’ve made, signing some very highly rated young players I do agree experience for experience sake isn’t the answer, you certainly need the ability to go with it… what we do need and have lacked is leadership though… many of us have said this since Fonte/VVD has left… I think a couple of good forward signings and some real on pitch leadership and we’re well on the way towards the best TW since the Koeman years and perhaps even better My ONLY concern is around the buy back clauses, I appreciate they may have been necessary to acquire some of these talents I just hope that they are favourable… the ex buying back and selling on doesn’t even worry me too much so long as they don’t look too cheap in a couple of years

He’s 16 isn’t he ? Realistically he won’t make either first team until he is 20 unless he is very very exceptional A 3 or 4 year deal on those wages is impossible to turn down really and one we can’t match… a big shame but we cannot match it and I assume will get a tribunal fee ? I believe thats how it works ?