MarkSFC

Brilliant. Thanks for your insight.

Seems very very uninspiring.

Well we sold him for 16m so not that difficult to accept especially given the way the market has risen generally since. I'm not sure he's improved massively but I think after the initial dodgy year at Arsenal he is starting to look more consistent. I'd be happy enough with him coming back and seeing how good he is alongside VVD. IF he hadn't been ours in the first place he fits our usual profile very well....early 20's, (English, bonus), prem experience, lots of potential. Question is can we get better......

Wouldn't be upset to see Lewis Baker become a Saint.

I think it could be very exciting appointing Viera.Everytine I've heard him speak he comes across as someone who knows the game inside out but is very cool cal and collected. Other things I've read suggest he is some who has a coaching philosophy and a management style which promotes calm, unity, and winning. Nearly all of the greatest managers ever started at a club beneath the big club and that is us. He will not be more driven than anyone else. If he were to relatively fail with us that's his career scuppered. Some suggest it's a risk for us it also is for him. He obviously isn't in management for the money because of the wealth he would of got for playing so I think it could be a shrewd move. He is a big name in the game and that could help bring a slightly better quality of player to Saints. All conjecture right now of course but I say get it done Saints!

I think you may well be right. When I read that report I instantly assumed the mystery man was the main target as why name some but not all via the club insider. Although ha ing said that it's probably because they are already in a job, so hopefully the guy from Fulham whose name I can't spell. But when you go to people already employed the list of targets can easily multiply!!

I think it's inaccurate to describe our players as average. Several are very good hence their attractiveness to mkre successful clubs and many a decent pros. In terms of the Premier League then perhaps you could place a few in the average category but it our assessment (and mine) is based on the standards of the best clubs not against every footballer. This is because our expectations have risen and risen, which is good in general but the downside is that we sometimes lose sight of the reality. I think this appointment is possibly the most important since our takeover because the club is determined - verbally at least - to to push for higher domains still. This is great but it needs to be matched by the leader they select and the players we recruit. Get the right man and we attract the 2-3 decent players we need to compliment an already very good group. Last season though the manager got it wrong. I doubt we are in really that close to relegation battles but I see why you might think that. We are 2 summer windows away if the recruiting only focusses on 20-22 year olds. The 2-3 I speak of need to be close to the finished article and probably 25-28. I think thebtype of manager we need is one who can attract players because of him as well as the club and that we are a stepping stone which should be our USP. Hopefully it will all become in a matter of days!!

did that take you ages to come up with that one? jeez......

good luck to him. cheap enough to let him move to a decent enough club whilst we have one or two RBs coming through the ranks anyway who I suppose we think are better prospects.

It's almost like the press/media don't want anyone to break the stronghold if the top 6 teams especially not little Southampton. Can't believe that's what drives this speculation though. Would love to see the public statement from VVD that he wants to move.......surley they having made that up?

I think that's a fair question but he is suited to a faster style of play making runs beyond the midfield which is when he shines. In Puels slow left to right and back again style he is stuck. A decent defender nonetheless but his real difference is his ability in the opposition's third for a full-back. I hope we keep him but if City do come calling then I would not begrudge him another crack with a big team but for 30m!!!

Happy to see him go but for more than 20m. Swap for Sakho.

I think VVD DID talk with Klopp and probably thought it wouldn't matter. The reason I think that is because if I was him sitting on the airlines for a few months watching the sh I t on the park that Puel was producing I'd start thinking about moving!! A player of VVDs obvious talent deserves to be playing in a decent team but despite the 5 years he has left we did not do much to encourage him to want to see a few more out down here. Reed must act decisively (something I think he struggles with) and replace Puel and sign 3-4 quality players that tells VVD and everyone else that we do actually mean business and will not settle for mid table stability but push as hard as it will be to break into top 6.

It's because the thick amongst us are obsessed with having people with former connections to the club. Monk is not good enough. Never was good enough as a player for us and will not be a good enough manager to warrant appointment at a club that says it is aiming for Champions Champions. Says....but not really acting in that way at the moment.....but that a different argument!! Someone with passion, status and tactical nouse please....

This is true but in most business the best people will still change roles even if they stay in the company. Footballers cant get "promoted" or "take on a new challenge/role/project" without moving clubs.

Well that's the main reason you sell your best players, when they are coming off a very decent season and so you sell at maximum, or at least should do. When Kruger stated a few weeks ago that we have never been in a stronger position in terms of contract lengths he was telling the football world that if you want our players then you need to pay top dollar. We will always sell but over the next 3-5 years if we do not see that slow down to no more than one (top player) each season then the business model is not placing football results at the top of the objectives. The model we have had since Leibherr bought the club has allowed us to get to this point. On the pitch we have had a small set-back (but that was inevitable at some point) so this summer is going to be the most pivotal in recent times. I'd be disappointed if VVD goes this summer (especially if less than £70m, and to Liverpool at any cost really, as hes too good for them; which means he is better than us but we have him!) but I expect 4-5 departures as the squad needs some freshening up, particularly if we replace Puel too. In a club of our size and ambition we need our best players to be the spine of the team, GK, CBs, CMs, Striker(s), this is where we need our best players. If our best players are our full-backs and our wingers then we will not be a top 6 side. For this reason I would not be too concerned if Bertrand, Soares, Tadic, JRod and Long were all to leave. I should think we could get between £70-80m for that lot meaning we could sign a decent CB - Samedo seems the chosen one for c.£15m. - a DM for £15-20m, an AM for £15-20m, and a ST for c.£20m. That would be roughly an even net spend, plus wage differences, easily manageable. This is the art of football management, buying and selling to make the overall whole better. It is also hypocritical to criticise the club for selling, because if clubs did not sell then we could not buy - it is the world we live in. The generation that is currently in their 20s (our predominant age group) is an age group where moving jobs every 2-3 years is normal in every day life and why should footballers be much different? Of course, as emotional fans we want longer commitment but it works the other way, as we would never get some in the first place. Many will not like it but we all need to accept this way forward as it is the business model and will likely continue to be so even if we are bought by new owners - we might just see players of a slightly higher calibre but I'm not convinced by that, I think the investment from any potential new owner will be for ground infrastructure as much as the squad. Buy, sell, buy, sell, this is what football is all about, this is part of the excitement. If we don't sell we don't buy. Unfortunately we have to hope that those in charge can create a culture within the club where players stay for 3-4-5 years more often than just 2-3. Longer contracts should help with that so we will see this summer the reality.

If we get 50m cash plus Salvo and also sign Samedo I would suggest we would be stronger overall in defence than right now with about 35m profit. If however we spend 15m on Samedo and keep VVD for one more season we will be stronger still in CB area but effectively 50m worse on the balance sheet. Personally I would like the 2nd option with the expectation of 60m next summer for VVD. These are the decisions Reed is paid the big money for.....

Exactly this. We do ourßelves a disservice very often on here because of our emotional attachment. From a purely sporting logical point of view we are indeed a very attractive proposition for an ambitious coach. For a coach who manages rather than an older school type manager who coaches (Redknapp type for example) we have the ideal philosophy and set up. Develop, develop, develop. What I've read about Tuchel seems to suggest a great match. Here's hopìng!!

Good post. For SKD to say VVD has been a "great servant" is hilarious. He's been here 2 seasons and missed half of one!! I can accept players going when they enter the last 2 years of their contract, I think that's the point of fair compromise. If a player has longer left and wants to go then they are disrespecting the club. There is only one exception for me with VVD and that is IF Real Madrid or Barcelona cone calling. I think they are the only two clubs I could accept him going to this summer - for top top money though; 60+!! - because he is that good. Like Kruger or not but what he says regarding the strength we are in with contracts is true. The club now need to see it through!!!!

The fact that there is such a feeling of discontent with Puel, says it all; he needs to go. Football fans in the main are a fickle group and many of us will change opinion fairly quickly and many are totally reactive to the latest result. I like to think that as much as I get very passionate and emotional about this club I am capable of taking a logical viewpoint on most situations (my work necessitates it). For me there are five main aspects to the quality of a manager on which he should be judged: 1. Results. Did he achieve enough points in the league / finish high enough to maintain his job and satisfy the fans in the main and his employers. YES on this occasion. 2. Style of Play . Did he produce a team that excites the paying public primarily, the players enjoy it secondly, it fits with the club policy/vision thirdly, and lastly the wider footballing world recognise the team as one that plays a decent brand of football.NO on this occasion. 3. Player Recruitment. Did he sell and buy well. Avery subjective category but key to points 1 & 2. NO on this occasion. 4. Player Development / Progression.Has he developed first team players? Has he blooded younger players from the Academy. This is the aspect which separates a coach from a manager. YES on this occasion. 5. Game Strategy and Tactics. Did the team set up to attack when it needed to / should do. Were his substitutions effective / timely? Subjective but effects point 1 significantly. NO on this occasion. So based on my subjective list of measurables I have to conclude that he needs to go. It is not clear cut as he has made some difference to the club but those differences are both positive and negative. With my emotional instinctive head on, he lost me early in the season but I was willing to see how we did after exiting Europa. Sadly it just got worse except for 3 games in the EFL Cup. My concern is that should he stay that we will plunder further into negative "safety first" type of football and although I'm not worried about relegation we would certainly flirt with it, and then next summer be in an even worse place and less likely still to keep hold of many more players who will be a further 12 months nearer the end of their current contract.

We have a wonderfully skilful player on our books with Boufal. Supporters need to give this young player some time. We can never know the impact for someone of his age moving abroad - money does not make any difference sometimes - and the general consensus from pundits and ex players is about 6 months to settle but some will take longer and given his injury he deserves a full pre season and to be judged through next season. Like Redmond we have 2 very talented attacking players.If we could add Sigurdsen to those two behind Gabbiadini/Austin/New striker it could be very exciting!!!

clueless. He will become a very decent player over the next two seasons.

A hint?!! From what you know do you think a takeover is more or less than likely? And if so, good for the club??

Long needs to go, probably get around £10m in todays market. JRod should go for his own career I think which is a shame as I thought he was going to be excellent, but the injuries have meant we have moved on. Again £10m + is very likely given his age so £20m+ we will hopefully put towards one top striker, Ineachio (or however you spell it!!) would be great. Him, Gabbi, Austin, and Gallagher would be a decent group of strikers. Back them up with Redmond, Boufal, Sims and hopefully a replacement for Tadic (more speedy and powerful than skillful) and we would be equipped to score plenty more next season. As long as Puel goes or at least changes the style of play.

Good post. Plenty of other options either for short term gain or longer term planning. We need a tactician but one who is motivational and can engage with the fans as well as the players. When you're a club of our size you need a manager who can both squeeze every last drop of talent out of the squad but also attract players who perhaps could go to slightly better teams. This means that they must have an established reputation in the game either as a manager or as a player, but in all likelihood for us it will be the latter that we can get as if you have a big rep as a manager you will get bigger jobs. I think the decision that Les Reed must make in the next couple of weeks is THE biggest test of his credentials here since his appointment. The installation of Puel divided opinion right from the start but 9/10 months later the vast majority seem to be against him. After 6 years of total excitement climbing back up the league positions we were bound to have a set-back at some point. The higher you go the harder it becomes. At the start of the season I was hopeful and sort of expectant of a bit of transition season given Puels supposed skills in player development but although I think from this point of view he has done an ok job (JWP, Redmond, Stephens, Sims, McQueen have all benefited and improved) the way in which he has achieved this is the problem for me. We are not a club who is going to challenge the top 6 every single year although we should be challenging on a game by game basis, and so the important bit for fans is enjoying the football we play. There have been the odd moments of exquisite football but tonnes of drab side to side, back to the GK, possession without penetration football and this is not what Southampton fans need. Whoever the manager is who comes in to replace Puel needs to play a good style that will excite the fans....the majority would rather lose 4-3 than 1-0 of course but at no time this season have we looked like scoring more than 1 let alone 2!! FWIW my shortlist would be; David Wagner Jokankovic Howe Stamm G Neville We will see......