MarkSFC

meh...£25m is probably about right, obviously more is better but not sure he is all that. Morgan and Victor were better when they went. Will be interesting whether RH has a new player in mind in terms of a purchase or whether he feels Reed will be good enough, with the possibility of Jankewitz coming through in a year or two.

If Reed wasnt "one of ours" would anyone think him good enough? I doubt it very much. I dont. Devent enough professional mind but not good enough for a Premier League team with ambitions to challenge the top 8 positions. We need to find a first choice DCM to compliment JWP and Armstrong in the main, with Smallbone, Romeu, and Jankewitz(hopefully) as the more itermittat starters.

interesting..thanks MLG.

I'd be tempted to get rid of FF and AMc, get a new clear no.1 and a younger keeper, up and coming from the Championship perhaps, and send Gunn out on loan. Completely freshen up that department of the team. There will hopefully, likely be at least 1 if not 2 new CBs plus RB and even CM, so they'll need to gel as a unit anyway!!

crikey....he looks exciting...comfortable with both feet at that age....something Michael Owen for one never was. If we get this kid ahead of others I would regard that asa coup based on that video..

Of all the recent "probably too good to stay" classed players I think Ings will stay. Sometimes in life happiness, stability, contentment are going to be more important than money, and you just need to watch him on the pitch and his interactions with other players and RH and he looks incredibly happy. Sometimes footballers just want to play football....I think we judge a few a bit too harshly sometimes, assuming its ONLY about money (probably because of our own jealousies of the amount they earn - which actually I am not). Obviously if you want to leave and money is important then it is all about money. If however the football is priority because you know you're getting a shed load regardless, then other things become more important. Of course I could be totally wrong and he goes in a months time, but if I were betting on it I reckon he will sign an extension rather than leave. As others have stated, he coould become a true Saints legend if he sees out his career here. 🤞

given the financial situation I'm not too adverse to that possibility, regardless of the past. Clyne would be good experience for Valery to learn off as still think he will be good despite how he has looked in these first two games! Lallana would be less neccessary but hes still a quality player I think, better than most of ours, but the uestion is whether he would fit RH style. Lallana in, Boufal out? The reality is that this summer will be one of wheeling and dealing getting out as many as possbile primarily. 2 x CBs are the priority for me.

what a fantastic idea!!! You should get in touch with club asap!!!

Schneiderlin and Wanyama were better when they left us than he is now, and neither of them really made it elsewhere. I'd like him to stay but if he goes I doubt he will fare any better than those two I have mentioned.

Its not difficult to concude ffs....ALL business regardless of level of tunrnover requires "cash flow" to operate. Football and other sports will very likely be the last business to get back to normality with no limit on customer attendance, hence they are very much at risk of administration / bankruptcy. It doesnt matter whether they have hughe assets, loads of creditors on the balance sheet, without the cash to pay the weekly bills you are fooked.

The idea of having no relegation is ridiculous. Those advocating for that are obviously those at risk, and as per usual its all about the money to them as opposed to sporting integrity. My admittedly very simplistic viewpoint is either scrap the whole lot and start again - definitely not what I would like to happen or think should do - or complete the season in anyway possible over however long it takes. Of course there then comes the issues with contracts. I think what the governing bodies and players need to agree is that because there has been this pause in their work (ignore any argument about theyve still been "working" by training at home nonesense) that when football starts again in each country, then everyones contracts (where neccesary) are automatically extended by the time frame where there has been no football or until the seaosn in their country ends (whichever is sooner). From the point the season actually ends the transfer window is open and extended beyond whatever original closing date was planeed by the time "lost" from the date it was due to open until the date the season restarts to finish. Then once timescales are known about restart and then probable finish of this season, decisions can be made for the 2020/21 season and what happens. I doubt much would need to change other than probably a few more midweek games or dropping the League Cup for one year whichseems to be the least worst option. Seems straight forward to me....but bound to have missed something!!!

Dodd

This is fantastic, well done!! Thank you!!

In the summer I am hoping for this; OUT Forster Elyounousi Lamina Hoedt Vestergaard Carrillo Boufal NEW CONTRACTS PEH - 3 years LONG - 1 year, but probably need to be with an option for a 2nd year. IN 2 X CBs 1 x DCM 2 x AM/Winger Added to a squad of McCarthy Gunn Bertrand Vokins KWP Valery Bednarek Stephens Romeu JWP PEH Redmond Djenepo Ings Adams Long Obefemi So the question is can we raise enough mo ey from the 7 sales (if we can even do them!!) to buy 5 good players!! It's going to be interesting!!

At the recent fans event which is on YouTube to view, Ralph said that for all intents and purposes he has a "group of assistant coaches" with what sounded like no hierarchial structure. He made the point that he has people doing the roles they need to do. Sounds very good, and by recent times is working very well. Titles are for egos. What people do and the effect ehy have is what matters. The effect is extremely positive right now. I get why people worry about RH leaving given our recent history but I got the impression from that same evetn that he is very happy here and willbe here for a good while. Time will tell of course but real coaches are motivated by development and progress, not by money and status.

I cant believe the way many fans are just so emotionally reactive to what is in fact just 45 minutes where we almost 3-0. The 45minjtes beforehand we won 2-0. Both halves could actually have been any score. Our team is flourishing and full of confidence. Tha k god they are professionals and understand these things unlike the majority of fans who I suspect have never played a sport to any level whatsoever!! Right...bring on Palace....

I cant believe the way many fans are just so emotionally reactive to what is in fact just 45 minutes where we almost 3-0. The 45minjtes beforehand we won 2-0. Both halves could actually have been any score. Our team is flourishing and full of confidence. Tha k god they are professionals and understand these things unlike the majority of fans who I suspect have never played a sport to any level whatsoever!! Right...bring on Palace....

its taking as long as VAR to announce....

Would people be happy IF by some miracle this allowed for us to get Kalvin Phillips? Just a thought!!!

Bowen in niw and then hopefully shift Ellinoussi and Boufal to at least cover his fee. I like Boufal but not sure he fits our style. A LB and CB is more of a priority though.

if he is fully fit - even if not match fit yet - I would say he may well be a good option on loan for 6 months.

Totally agree with the first paragraph. It's exactly that. The winning I was referring to was simply from game to game....during the 80s and 90s at the Dell when we won a game it was the same feeling whether we were doing well or fighting to survive. But you're right, what do people refer to; the players we have sold or the team we "could have". Pretty s***.

Southampton exists because there are fans. If no one ever turned up then there would not be a point to it, but we do because we love the club and the city and for me I am proud to support Southampton (even if we lose more than we win at the moment). Marketeers and marketing will always exist, and surveys will happen as it is a quick and easy way to garner some interest. From your pov Turkish they just didn't ask you the correct questions which does not surprise me in the slightest. Im with you though, its all about the football and the players attitude and the style we pursue. The questions they asked gave them answers which are easier to rectify and companies are obsessed with Customer Scores and feedback. The only feedback I have for them is this, spend some money on decent players and give us hope we can win a game or two at home this season!!!Stop taking the **** with ticket prices and encourage a full ground who are there primarily to watch their team fight for a win, and not there for "an experience". An experience is not something that is part of my life, it is something that happens once in a while and will guarantee happy memories. Watching Saints only guarantees heartbreak, excitement and joy, but who knows when and in what proportions from one week to the next.

The past is irrelevant, whether we were good or bad, whether a manager was good or bad. The reality is that right now we are absolutely ABYSMAL at defending and that is the problem. We have enough attacking players to survive, not necessarily top8 or 10 but enough to survive. The reason we will go down is that any combination of defence is sh**, compounded by the lack of a decent DCM. If this is not addressed in January we are doomed to return to the Championship which to be frank might actually be a god send IF it gets us (potentially better) new owners. This bloke we have needs to **** off or spend big, end of.

Unfortunately the club are in the equivalent of a negative equity position with a house. We bought a load of players and their market value has shrunk but we are still making payments on the original purchase price. To get out of this you need to take a hit in the pocket or wait for the sale value to go back up, which in the case of most of our players (the ones we want to sell) is not going to happen anytime soon if ever. The only way out is to sell at whatever price and start again. Gao has to accept this and provide a way of doing this quickly. Without a detailed look at it, the sooner he does it the less it will cost in the meantime in regard to the money you earn in the PL versus the Chanpionship. It will take 2 or 3 windows minimum to get anywhere near where we were, and the other thing to consider is that in this timeframe, clubs already better than us will have their own opportunity to improve, albeit most likely a little slower, but who knows. The reality is that we need to purchase (as is the market place now) 5 to 6 players in the 25 to 40m bracket to make a big impact in a short time. The other problem is that the wages for that bracket of player probably exceeds or at the very least is near the top of our structure. Amd that's before you even have the challenge of trying to attract those players to us rather than better clubs. So all in all, either Gao stumps up big or we are f***** big time Either way, I would stick with Ralph.