Saint Troy

i guess thats the plan though currently - rightly or wrongly we get to see him here for two years because hes as good as been promised he will move on. Nice in the short term, guting in the medium term, not sure in the long term.

Hi Justin - Im obviously very keen to go like everyone else! please email on twistanshout69@hotmail.com as would love tickets thanks for your help

For Les? In other news i think its a great idea. Professional fouls should be punished there and then with a sin bin. Theres such a distance between a yellow and a red. Could get a little silly and changes the game (which many will bemoan greatly) but it hasnt caused probems in my opinion in rugby. People doing **** wrong actually get punished

do we have to be young?

one step at a time! If virgil goes (and its very easy to see that he could) we would then be in a different position financially and in terms of whats available in the market of a summer window to get a replacement in. If Tasci comes in we've no idea yet what his terms will be and perhaps he can do well and stay. Stephens and gardos will have had another 6 months by then and we will know where we are CB wise.

Its interesting the number of "we need a new striker" quotes out there. I wouldnt mind an upgrade on Jrod or Long but am realistic about gettng one in Jan. The main thing is that id like to see the stats on which position has missed our main chances this season. When you look at the likes of the liverpool games they fell more to the attacking midfielders (Tadic / redmond / davis) than the main striker i thought. Is this why we are looking for a wider type fwd? That said he doesnt score lots anyway so what do i know! So hard about a CB. The rib crunching to Maya shows how precarious our position is at CB and it would likely be foolhardy not to sign someone with half a season to go but not someonewho pushes Stephens further down the pecking order. To that end the Jag link is actually a decent one - he may not play, pick up a few quid but is there if needed. We'll get hammered if we sign him but maybe its the level we need. Or if VVD is off in teh summer teh somone awesome please!!

Personally would play Stephens at CB and Bertrand at LB. Having VVD out (if as seems likely) id rather weaken one position than weaken two. Having Maya and Bertrand next to him will be a help but if we really think he can make it then this is the sort of chance he should be grabbing to kick on. Cant get Long out of my mind ofor this. Huuuge Jrod fan so think it seems silly not to start him but the option of Long really does keep a back line honest and if we do start to drop deep we have a really option on the counter (admittedly likely an option to shin the ball a few times, get in to a scoring position and balls it up, but hey its an option)

Yoshida ive seen but stephens i havent seen at CB - what makles you think hes not a long term answer?

Does anyone know the most recent info on Jack Stephens loan appearances? Id be interested to know how he was coping in a lower league. Only really seen him at right back to be honest - dont get to kids games and so he could be another McQueen who slots right in (much harder at CB than FB i really believe) or maybe not. Love some info from someone whos seen him play a bit though rather than all the assumption

I fully agree on giving him the season - my only issue is giving him the season and not spending in Jan. Im not a fan of spending in Jan so i guess im saying he should begiven the start of next season and the chance to show us his style with some of his own players. There is such a difference in games that we know that it can work even if it isnt the majority of the time at the moment. I genuinely feel as though ive seem some really slick stuff but it needs to players to carry it out. Playing, driving and looking fwd is a big big floor of our current midfield crop and that needs to be addressed before the manager is in my opinion. Im happy keeping the likes of JWP ticking over as he is still youngish but we need to surround them with a good blend of potential and quality and its the latter thats missing for claude at the moment. Imagine being saints boss currently, yes we could get more midfielders in to the box (for what good that does when its JWP!) but it cant be great knowing you have mainly average (prem) attackers on the bench and noone whose going to put a team to the sword

Just shows what a lottery transfers can be - our board get a bashing (osvaldo rightly so in my opinion as was always a mental) but if Utd can get it wrong on the likes of shaw then anyone can. Also shows the variation in meaning of "wrong". He may be wrong for Mourinho but theres sure as hell a fantastic left back in there who with some application could be amazing

The same thought about more claiming of crosses popped in to my head. I put it down to a few very loopy, close to the keeper things that he had no choice to go for rather than a clear attempt to dominate his area. Could be wrong obviously

interesting one this. If one travelled all the way to Prague to watch a lacklustre performance then perhaps youre far more likely to be more ****ed off then one who watched it from the comfort and non-expense of the telly/internet at home. Can understand considering one more of a fan and their opinion about frustrations of performance being more valid but opinions about the policys of rotation etc are actually more likely to be skewed if youve made the effort.

i agree we need a striker. One with a bit of physical presence would be good. HOwever - how much money do we need to "ensure we qualify for europe again"? If we signed Costa im not sure we'd qualify myself. For a start he could get injured so to ensure it we need another one similar. Its all a bit unrealistic. If its great to keep him there on loan then the assumption is thats because hes going to come back here at some point and do a job. May as well do it now while confidence is high and he will get game time if you ask me

odd one this - agree with what you are saying but you are almost arguing that we are having to rotate the team more than others because of the fixtures which brings its own problems. No way its our only problem at the moment but cant argue that it will have no impact at all

in terms of the more physical presence i think that we may well see Sam Gallagher as the next in line and (given we are out of europe and 7th is likely best spot) there will be no point bringing someone in if Sam can come back from a year in the championship playing like he currently is. Who knows if thats right or if it will work but it fits in with the clear plan of getting youth through and the fact we talk to him after every game its clear we are pushing him heavily (im assuming we dont always do that with every loanee). Means we wont buy anyone like that and probably worth keeping long as he has good energy, is a good pro and if Jrod breaks down (i really hope not after his last few weeks) we'll need him

from puels comments sounds a bit like we're not going to push hard for someone for the sake of it. if someone good comes up we may well. Its a bit dull but sounds sensible to me - another transfer like hte Long deal would be a bit rubbish (i like long but probably an ok example of what you would get by spending 15m in jan and not really improving things much)

Why? Odd assumption to say the least - youve picked two teams that have spent less than us in the transfer window so it really doesnt make much sense to assume that. Im not being antagonistic in my post, its clear who im hinting at - not least because i mention Man City as an eg. The only thing i can think you mean is why didnt we get Wilshire? If so thats a toss of the coin for me, could work really well, could be terrible. The guy is talented and i dont agree with those saying he isnt but hes injury prone and his attitude is certainly questionable. Not the role model id want for our youngsters. Not a risk id be after personally, can see why people would be keen but not for me and dont think it is clear cut enough to be reverent to my post at all.

Whilst its a clear question and there is logic there, its possibly not actually a very fair question in terms of representing our real situation. Southampton cannot compete with the big spenders that you are alluding to in financial terms. That means we have to be sensible with our spending rather than spending big. Yes if you spend more you get more success, thats because the highly expensive failures that occur have less impact. Man city buying a 30 m player and him failing will not hugely imp[act their season because of the other quality they have and can bring in. A 30m failure to us could have huge negative implications. I get that they are in that position because they have spent more historically so im sort of arguing against myself but its long term huge investment that gets you ther end not one window. Its the same logic as teh more money a player costs the better he is - whilst generally thats totally true its not really as simple and we all know it

There could be some justification i think. If Jose is offered a top deal by somewhere like utd or everton (who knows if true, just lets suppose) then we have three options - stick with what we have, let him go or improve so he may as well stay. The results of those are probably a grumpy club captain who would rather be elsewhere and feels undervalued - not great, lose him and try and replace him with 9m - very hard to replace so really not great, happy Jose on the money he deserves after proving at the euros that he is not only worth the value of himself but has teh ability to improve who he plays alongside as a partnership. Know which option id take. Never as simple as all that but dont think its too ludicrous if true at all Cedric not so sure b

When will people learn, you can't buy success

I see this as different. In this case the agreement effects the individual that signs it so can see it sticking. With this example something signed by Ron and the club or the two clubs will potentially impact the career opportunities of other people. Dunno but think it could be worthless and the fact it never happene makes me wonder

Posted this before but I'm not sure it's at all legal to do this from an employment law point of view. Are there any examples if it happening previously? Ps I'm nothing like a lawyer!

Is it legal to not allow a player to move clubs because of a managers history? Feels like a restraint in their rights to work wherever they want to really? I know there can be reasonable restraints in terms of pinching clients etc but these are stricter the more specialised the area you work in and football is certainly not specialised. No idea really but be interested to know if this has been confirmed as happening at other clubs. Feels a little unenforcible to me and wont be in any of the players contracts about how they can leave the club i assume? . But then again im tapping away on an internet forum when i should be working and not a lawyer so what do i know!

Pretty sure it was well documented Kelvin stayed although have higher league offers. Probably not the best case in point