MarkSFC

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......

David Wagner?

How confident are you on both counts? I'm very confident Virgil will stay one more season from what I've heard. I just hope Puel is given a one way flight back to France this month!

By days, weeks or years??!!!!

Last summer we were in a very strong position to really kick on, and much like after the FA Cup in 2003 (albeit with different people) I think we have bottled it. We should of got a higher profile manager last summer, one that would help to attract the sort of players we needed then to possibly challenge for a top 6/7 place. Now we need to invest significantly more and with this manager I fear we have little chance of attracting as good a player we would have with Koeman. Overall I'm actually ok that Koeman has gone but no doubt his reputation in the game was a major plus for the club. No doubt there was a clash of egos last summer between RK and LR, and hence what happened. Puel appears to have little ego, and is more the yes man LR probably prefers. If Puel is relived of his duties I suspect we will go down a similar route with someone whose profile is sufficiently low enough that LR doesn't clash with him and can control him more. So the suggestion some have made with Monk and Beattie is not too far fetched but I find myself preferring we keep Puel over that scenario which says a lot. I would like us to go for a young manager who was a top player, who has a good reputation and can attract certain players as much as the club can. As a club we are not on our own a strong enough pull like the big clubs are and so the people in our club have to add to that.

Maybe the deal with Chelsea is to loan him back to us for one year......ie they get him signed now, but we keep him for one year, everyone happy.....and maybe we get Ake or Christenssen next summer?!!!

I am hopeful he will stay for one more year but when a bidding war starts it's very difficult for someone to ignore. Even if he had every intention to stay for one more year - and even if his GF wants to stay - it will be difficult. Winchester to Cobham is only 30 minutes more than Staplewood! IF he does go we need to make sure it is 60-70m for 3 main reasons. 1) he has 5 years on his contract. It needs to provide value for the club. 2) he is that good. Not the greatest ever but even though it's a WR for a defender it's not relevant because priced just go up and up. 3) because priced go up we need to get at least 2 decent players (wages included) for the fee. Hopefully we can secure Ruben Samedo before he goes if he does. As ever it's going to be another exciting summer!!!

Brendan Rodgers will never come to Saints, his massively over inflated ego would never let him. Thankfully.

Les Reed has structured the club based on succession planning (or so he leads us to believe) but now it is the time to get his successor in. Keeping a team/squad/club/department/office/business fresh and on top of their game requires regular but well managed human resource development, progression, leavers and recruitment. The only significant role in the first team set up at Saints that is potentially getting stagnant is Les Reeds. As the director he has created the vision, implemented, worked through a 5+ years cycle and now he needs to get his successor in to re-fresh the vision; new eyes, different mind, but evolution not revolution. Maybe when the seemingly imminent takeover will see that happen.

A good question. For the most part of the season he definitely did not but when he reverted to the 4-3-3 set up versus his diamond with only one sitting CM it "seems" to be a bit better but certainly not very good. I think generally his instinct is shape first, possession second, defend third, and attack fourth. But it is clear he has an eye for the skilful player (look at his background) and I think he deserves a bit more time. I get the impression he want more speed up front to play more counter attack football and Tadic probably does not really fit into that, but he is a decent player. I expect him to go and to be replaced by someone of Antonios ilk (best example I could think of , off the top of my head!), and also I expect Ausin, and JRod to leave and at least one decent forward incoming to play with and or push Gabbiadini. Can't think of an example! Without Europe he will have more "coaching time" so I expect a decent season, that being 7th-8th, and no less than 10th and hopefully a decent cup run again! The CBs he buys to replace VVD are as critical as the 2-3 forwards he buys!! Fun times as ever!!

Sadly I think you might be correct. Like you I expect(ed) one more season, he would still have 4 years left on the contract next summer, but it does seem like the vultures are circling. I accept that players have ambition and as a supporter of a medium sized club the players who come to us will always potentially have bigger clubs to look up at but it's a double edged sword for us fans. When VVD does move I just hope we get upwards of 60m for him and he goes to either Real Madrid or Barcelona as I think he is that good. I could stomach him going to Manure, City or Chelsea, but anyone else (except possibly Arsenal -despite their real lack of ambition for a big club) and it would amuck of a money move over career and he does not need to worry about that. We have to accept that when we find the rough diamonds and polish them up that we have to sell to survive. It what we must ensure is that our baseline standards remain intact, i.e. that we are an established top 10 side. Any lower is a poor season, top 6 is a good one. To be a 7-10 ranked side you do not need to have a world class CB like VVD, but we do need better than Maya and Stephens so we need to buy two really good CB to replace him!! There is the real concern, but then again we have spotted a few good ones over the years! It's going to be another annoying summer I feel.....

What the majority seen to miss is the amount of development of players that has occurred during this season. Stephens, McQueen, and Sims have become regular squad players with the first two getting quite a bit of game time albeit due to injury. Any team of our size that loses "the best "CB" in the league for half a season is going to be weakened. Add to that the top scorer out for a longer time and we have done ok. Others have improved over the season, JWP, Redmond, and exceptionally Romeu. I have not enjoyed some of the football played mostly around the end of last year but at times it be been very good. I think that the summer window will be a very good indicator of exactly what type of manager Puel is coupled with where the ambition lies with the new owners. I hope they back him significantly.

I would think that Caceres is better suited to handling Costa out of the three of the CBs but obviously its a tough first game! Maybe we match up and go 3-5-2? Would like to see Boufal and Gabbiadini up there together with JWP in the hole ----------------FF---------------- -------Yosh--Caceres--Jack----- Cedric---------------------Bertrand ----------Davis---Romeu-------- ---------------JWP--------------- ----------Boufal----Gabbi different but would be interesting!!

all quite interesting but what you really need to produce is one chart comparing to every other club for the following stats; 1.number of players who made debut for academy club 2.number of academy players who made a career in football (maybe minimum 100 career appearances) - this would be the really interesting one, especially if you went back to at least the start of the Premier league. 3.the total number of sales (from academy club) and the average per sale I looked at the other 3 you linked and it looks very favourable, but the trouble with comparing to generally bigger clubs is that it is harder for academy players to breakthrough hence why point 2 above would be the great stat to see compared against all other clubs!

1. how? he's got 5 years left anyway.....we do not need to sell. 2. agree on one decent CB....Stephens looking better than I thought he would to be fair so hope there. Yoshida had a decent season, so one better than both will be excellent. 3. He has to go for his own career and I wish him well in doing so, we have clearly moved beyond him now. But when he leaves (and I think Long will too because he's not really suitable for Puel's style, which is fine by me) we probably need 2. One decent one to compete with Austin and Gabbiadini, and one with potential - or possibly Gallagher. Others......sell Classie, replace with a better DM. Get rid of Martina. Sign Hassan if good enough and let Gazzaniga go, hopefully McCarthy is fit again.

I'd happily swap Forster for Willshire! I hope Bertrand stays but McQueen has done well although we would need a more experienced LB with him as I don't think Targett will make it. Happy for JRod to go deserves to be playing regular somewhere and won't do here. If we can sign a decent CB, a CM (Willshire), a striker and a keeper we will be in a good place.

The wait is killing me.....pub then St Marys screening thing for me. Please win Saints, not sure I could take the heartache!

I hope he goes 4-2-3-1 but think he may well revert to type and look to remain very tight. I'd go with; ---------------------Forster--------------------- Cedric------Yoshida-----Caceres-------Bertrand --------------Romeu-----JWP-------------------- ----Tadic-----------Boufal---------Redmond ------------------Gabbiadini--------------------- But I expect Davis to play either for JWP in the two or in the normal 3 midfield with JWP and with Boufal on the bench. Exciting bench though with Long, JRod, Boufal/ Davis, Sims.

I dont know if legally this could happen but I'd like to see a structured table of base earnings, with "additional" earnings going into a trust fund / pension pot for when the player retires. This way whilst they are playing their disposable finance is far more level and less influential. So for example; Everyone at Man Utd (main squad players) gets £20k per week PAID. Any bonuses for goals, clean sheets can be paid or if the player chooses this goes into their trust fund account. Then whatever an individual player negotiates as their weekly fee; so lets take Rooney on £300k, the remianing £280k each week goes into his trust fund. The upper limit of say £20k per week could apply at all levels and so players can take it all or place in their trust fund / pension pot as is their wish. So someone on £5k per week may want to place £1k into his TF.

Although I have not completed some proper research, you will find I am sure that the vast majority of footballers (and athletes in general) who between the ages of 15/16 to 20/21 standout, look like they are miles ahead of others (and are in many respects) do not actually go on to fulfill percieved expectation from that snap shot. What has actually happened is that they have merely developed quicker (in strength, speed, emotional, sporting inteligence terms) than those around them but this is no guarantee of their eventual peak. I would like to see a rule that prevents players moving permanently before the age of 20 as I think that is a better marker generally than 16 or 18. Clubs, especially those at a lower level should be given more time to create players and players should not feel like they need to rush. Players only really establish themselves in top flight teams from 24/25 onwards when they begin to really understand themselves as a human being but also the game, and then improve consistancy of training, preparing, playing, recovering etc etc.

Probably not unreasonable but stats are not the important judgement, they are merely indicators and help with comparisons . If your stats have him at 10th best in Premier league that's not good enough for a club which wants to be top 8 or higher and competing in Europe. Surely that's even clear to you on your spreadsheet?

I did forget about Pied so that's that sorted. Forster may go to Everton, but he's not as good as you think in your stats world.