Saint Pete

Well, as you say, how happy he is if we make him stay without any offer to improve terms is another question. Of course, we can put our foot down and say "you are under contract and you are staying" but experience tells us that doesn't always work out well for the club/team. I suppose the way I'm looking at it, he was our best player last season (majority on here voted him as player of season as I recall) so whilst we don't have to give him a pay rise, I don't see it as ridiculous for us to reward him for his efforts last season, especially if it helps persuade him to give it another season in the Championship to try to get up with us. Of course, it will be difficult to replace the impact he has for us in this league (although I accept noone is irreplaceable) so surely better to keep him as a happy, committed player if at all possible?

I didn't read his comments as arrogance or that he is "moaning". He's just saying it was frustrating that the chance of reaching the Prem last season was taken away through something beyond his and the players control. Factually correct. He wants to play in the Prem so he's saying he wants to talk to the club about the best way of him achieving that. I don't see it as a problem that he is open about that, it's quite refreshing rather than the usual interviews where players just blandly say they are happy with everything when you know they are probably instructing their agents to get them a move elsewhere. He's saying he is "open to anything" so I still have hope he may commit to one more season in the Championship if he feels there's still a strong chance of getting to the Prem with us next season.

Because he may agree to commit to another season with us if we offer him those improved terms. Realistically, he will not stay beyond the end of this season if we don't get promoted again. Obviously, we should stipulate that we will only let him leave next summer if we get a high enough offer. At the end of the day, only Scienza and his agent know how desperate he is to move to Prem now.

Yes, I would say it is worth Saints trying to head off the potential of losing Scienza late in the window by offering improved terms plus agreement to let him leave to a PL team after this season if we don't go up as you say. Whether he will go for that, we don't know... I think the Tonda situation is a poblem as not sure he will make that commitment while there's still a chance we have to change manager.

The transfer fee we payed for him originally is kind of irrelevant now though isn't it? More relevant is that he would be free in terms of transfer fee if he stays now, whereas we would have to pay a significant fee for someone with equivalent ability to him and even more if you are right that we should aiming for someone a lot better. I guess we should be in a good place to assess how much of a risk he is now in terms of injury. But I would probably be in favour of him staying if he wants to, that way we can use that money in other positions where we might lose players before the end of the window.

No, it's not the club's fault that the FA have taken so long. But I feel they could have been far more vocal in applying pressure to speed things up. Can't help feeling that a bigger, better connected club wouldn't have been meekly sitting back waiting for the FA's open-ended process to play out, so that we end up with a decision and potential ban looming right at the start of the season. They would have at least been making it known through media channels that the club are keen for matter to be resolved quickly and feel it would be unacceptable for FA to drag their feet on it all summer.

What I do think we could and should have done is pressed the FA at the end of the season for a clear timescale for when a decision would be made and publicly push for it to be as soon as possible to try to avoid the situation we are in now where a ban could be dropped on us right at the start of the season. I think that should have been totally unacceptable given the facts were all known already.

I'm afraid I'm pretty cynical about the reasons. The facts were all out there at the end of the season so they could/should have charged him there and then. But it wouldn't have had the impact in terms of media coverage or of the ban itself if decision was made on the eve of or during the World Cup. It's pretty clear this is being timed nicely so that the ban is dropped a couple of weeks before season starts and the FA get a nice wedge of media coverage on how they are making an example of Tonda/Saints to ensure better behaviour in the future. I fully expect a meaty ban, so anything less will be a pleasant surprise!

So the FA have taken nearly all summer just to decide he should be charged? Fab. Purely coincidental that they have got to this stage just after the World Cup is over and there is a bit of a lull in football news in the media?

I would be happy enough to see Stewart back with us next season as he's a good player but can't see it happening somehow after the extension wasn't done at end of season. If it is to happen, it needs to be soon as others have said above.

I'm with you totally on the yellow cards. I saw several games where there was a total refusal from refs to apply the rules on what should be a yellow card. The ones that spring to mind immediately are Paraguay-France, England-Argentina and then the Final. In fact, pretty sure all Argentina games were subject to the same! Would be interested to know if there was an instruction to refs not to book players so much generally or if it was more selective than that. No-one likes to see matches decided by yellow/red cards but refs have to use them in the modern game to avoid teams like Argentina taking the piss like they did in this tournament.

He obviously had immense talent, but I think what characterised him most was his massive enthusiasm and passion for the game and that he was very much his own man prepared to do his own thing, not what everyone else expected. Hence how he came to sign for us when ballon d'or winner! And then joined Newcastle when in Div 2. Great character.

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2020/04/29/when-southampton-signed-the-two-time-ballon-dor-winner-kevin-keegan-and-no-one-knew-about-it/ Very interesting read on the signing of KK and his time at Saints. Amazing times.

The word legend is overused these days but he was a genuine legend of the game and an iconic figure. And from a Saints perspective a key part of the most exciting period in our history, and definitely we will never make a better, more astonishing signing than him! RIP.

I hope in time people will remember the Mexico-England game as much as if not more than the semi-final exit. That was a bona fide classic of a match and for me the game of the tournament, which showed how exciting international football can still be if played right. A truly great England performance given the environment they were playing in and everything that seemed to be against them on the night.