MarkSFC

Id be amazed if any of those mentioned in the OP play in the Premier League for us, except possibly the odd 5 minutes cameo perhaps. Look at the current U18s for the next breakthrough players I think.

I agree; Bruno Martin Indi or Terence Kongolo??

Concentration can certainly be improved, ask any psychologist, it's just some need to work on it more than others. Awareness is more difficult and harder to quantify. It is also linked to experience and instinct which is learnt over time and general confidence of ones ability. Some people are also worse at visualising and this may be Maya. If he struggles to use imagery and is more inclined to learn by doing/drilling or being taught by process or stages this may go some way to explaining why he is not aware of situations as the game of football it is extremely fast and fluid and game situations are rarely the same. In something like American football where you learn step by step plays he may be perfect everytime. Great to hear a pro saying he knows he has to improve though!

I was 11 and playing a school match on the grounds behind what is now Chamberlayne leisure centre in Weston Lane when one of mates came rushing up saying Keegan had signed. It was amazing even at that age. I think is THE greatest transfer by an English team in history. Still the only team to sign the CURRENT European Footballer of the year. Its a shame he was injured so much before moving to The Toon.

I hope they reduce prices by the equivalent of 1-1.5 games but I suspect they wont. They should at least "add value" to the ST prices in the form of extra games - the first league cup game or games, Round 3 or 4 of the FA Cup if at home. 10-15% off ancillary sales. Those who purchase up front in bulk deserve more value for their money. I think they should reward the away fans who have been to more than half with something decent. Loyalty programs work and drive sales as long as they appear to be worthwhile....Boots being a good example, Casinos/betting companies being poor examples! Saints are promoting the image of being leaders and innovators in the sport.....be great to see something great focused on its customers, sorry I mean fans!!

6 weeks to decide on his future....new contract or move on. I know which I prefer...where's the exit?

When it's over. In 40 years I've left before the end twice, once when we were 5-2 down to Spurs (Rosenthal) and once at Elland Road when we were two down with 20 odd minutes to go and Stuart Gray decided that Benali was the answer off the bench. If you decide to pay the money it is your right to do what you want. I think Liverpool fans did it in such a way that got great press coverage but as I've suspected for a long time, the effect on players seeing people leave early must be negative and Sunderland scoring two to draw adds weight to that argument. I back the war on pricing but there are probably better ways to make a real difference that don't effect the team in the pitch!!

FF Cedric VVD Fonte Bertrand Targett (if fit) Romeu Clasie JWP Long Austin Bench; Yoshida Steklenburg Pelle Mane Tadic Reed Juanmi Lots of impact!!

yep!! it "should" be about maximising attendance first....

I was discussing this with a mate the other day, in the sense of how within 2-3 years we will be in a far less strong position in terms of matchday income. Without wishing to take this in to yet another "stadium" based thread the size of our groud is going to have an increasingly bigger impact over the next few years - either positively or negatively. Soon capacities will look like this (estimating exact figures for illustration); Man Utd 78,000 Arsenal 60-65,0000 Spurs 60-65,000 Liverpool 60-65,000 West Ham 60-65,000 Man City 50-55,000 Sunderland 50,000 Newcastle 50,000 Everton 36-38,000 currently but looking to expand / move Villa 36-38,000 Chelsea 36-38,000 currently but looking to expand / move After that come a whole host of 30-35,000 stadia; Us of course Middlesborough Derby MK Dons Leeds and Im sure there's one or two Ive missed. The point is though that pretty soon there will be a distinct gap in stadium size and therefore the gap in income becomes even more and effectively sends us back equivalently to when we were in The Dell. We almost certainly will never create a demand for 50,000 but I seriosly think that we need to get up to 40-45,000 level. And before the old arguements come out like "we will only sell 36-38,000 so why....." the investment in the stadium needs to get ahead of our current demand and create availability and opportunity for growth. West Ham may be the model we should follow - definitely not the same number - in terms of thinking ahead and looking at how stadiums will be filled in the future. They are banking on a certain percentage of "tourist" fans, those who are attracted to either the stadium or the team (or both) and the fact they are in London they have an obviously bigger market place. Our city is in line for major developments over the coming years - Watermark, The Pier Development, Ocean Village, increased Student numbers, increasing cruise numbers, not to mention the fact that the clubs own reputation is building internationally. There will of course be those who hate the "plastics" for want of a better phrase but every successful club around the world, not just in football rely partially on these type of customers. With the next TV deal being so large we have a great opportunity to invest in the infrastructure as well as the team. If the club wait too long then I fear we will eventually (5-10 years) end up back in the Championship / Low Premier league pack and find it even harder to move up. We've significantly improved the training ground, the first team squad, the support team, the manager.....next should be the stadium!!

No. Filled a gap. Lack of striker signing last January cost us. People who think what you do must surely have no idea what a squad is. Squads win, squads make top 4, top 6. Teams try to survive.

It wouldn't be the end of the world to see Pelle move on as I think our style of play has evolved and we now need more mobile and quicker forwards. That said we should only do so if we replace him.

I think it's fairly obvious that we need a CB (a left footed one at that) but I doubt it will be today or tomorrow that we sign him. Yoshida is not reliable for more than the odd game or three or as a sub but if he was needed for a run of games due to an injury to Fonte or VVD I'm certain our goals against column would increase more rapidly! Gardos is still injured I assume but even not none of really know if he's good enough but the little we saw of him suggests not.

http://wall.saintsfc.co.uk/Article/1728681-ON-THIS-DAY-Moran-strikes-to-knock-out-Pompey

I'm guessing that part of the Townsend to Newcastle reason is the home-grown quota rather than literally because he's a good player....the best they can get that's home-grown!

I knew who you meant. It's called humour. People have bust ups and disagreements all the time. Easy to make things up given recent comments in the media.

Just because he ain't playing? Sell him then.

I'm not as bothered as some on whether Wanyama stays especially if we can get around £20m for him. I think he is excellent when the team are mainly in control of the game (like Saturday) and when the pace of the opponents is not overly quick, and also when they are more runners with the ball than quick passers. When teams play quickly through midfield (like Watford) he gets turned more and caught out of position more and when he is running back towards our goal I think he is far more liable to errors. Thats not to say he is poor but he has this weakness. Against teams like Watford our high energy midfielders like Clasie and Romeu are far more suitable and I think we will come up against more of these types of teams especially if we get back into Europe. I hope he stays because like Saturday he can control a game but £20m would be a good fee and I'm sure we would find a younger model and a cheaper model!

Terence Kongolo?!!

Youre obsessed!! Its called market forces....the fact that Hull only signed him a few months previously was exactly why it took 12m to get him (Steve Bruce said as much at the time "too good an offer to turn down" to parphrase). We ONLY paid 10m for Forster so overall £22m the pair seems excellent value to me.....swings and roundabouts.

You seem to want to justify that the price is too high by saying he is a squad player. The vital point that you and many others do not get is that Premier League football is all about THE SQUAD. In every team especially in clubs of our size we will have a handful of players who likely play every game or at least the majority. In our club the quality of our "squad players" as you put them is vital to our quality overall. The problem with talking numbers is that they all sound ridiculous compared to us mere mortals who earn less per year than they do each week so they appear high. The club however simply (although it isn't simple) need to balance the books to fall in line with FFO as you say whilst maximising quality. Looking at individual players is a mistake, because some we will over pay in some people's opinions but under pay in others. Given how much we have sold players for supposedly paying over the odds for one player really shouldn't be seen as a problem. To be fair if Long plays how he did Wednesday every week he's worth double!!

Well said, those who do not see the value of Long do not understand football. He is on course for 12-15 goals this season, very decent and adds loads more than goals. He wont always be first choice but he is great off the bench when defenders are tired and he is great when we want to play a high tempo game. He was brilliant on Wednesday. I'd pay £12m again for him every time, the number is almost irrelevant nowadays.

Absolutely we should of and would of. We need him now.

" I'm clearly not good enough yet....I must work harder, and be patient, or move on"

I think Koemans comments in the last few weeks are more about frustration with the players, with results, with injuries. Mostly performances have been ok to good and we still out play in terms of possession and passing football the vast majority of opponents. You dont become a poor manager overnight nor do you become a good one overnight, same with players. I think we are now in a vital moment in our recent history (since the re-incarnation business wise) and we now need a manager who will be around for a few years not just 2-3 because the potential development of the club and of the team is much smaller than is has been in the last few years and so we are more likely to achieve that with someone who understands that and accepts it rather than someone who wants to come in and make a big impact. Koeman does not seem to have an ego but he certainly has ambition and I would love him to sign for a long period but if he is not committed to sign BEFORE the opening of the summer window then we need to make the change then. I also beleive that a small part of the players attitude that they will be here for 2-3 years before they get their big club move is albeit unintentionally I'm sure, ingrained by the clubs recent history of manager tenures. Its a bit catch 22. If Koeman is fed up with the attitude he needs to set the tone himself and sign on the dotted line.