SaintJackoInHurworth

When a number of our fans turned on him a few years ago when our defence was struggling under Hassenhuttl, I always thought it was unfair. At that time he was the experienced defender always putting in a good shift and striving his hardest to cover for the errors of others (e.g. Salisu). Yet, because he was the player frequently struggling to cover two or three positions he got all the blame and his head dropped. Then he spat his dummy out and went to Villa, only grudgingly returning when that didn't work out. After he returned he never really restored the level of effort that he had previously shown in my opinion, though he did ok in our promotion season. Last season it felt like instead of being the player covering for other players shortcomings, he was instead the player blaming others for his own shortcomings. I think it illustrated to me that he had lost belief in Saints and maybe even in his own ability. I am therefore pleased to see him go. I hope for his own sake that he can rediscover his best form and be successful at Porto.

That will really limit possibilities including some perfectly valid and good options like Kevin Keegan, Ricky Lambert and Rod Wallace. Having said that I almost thought I might be able to make Rod Wallace work as there was a player who played for us in 1906-7 called Wally Radford, but sadly his name was short for Walter and not Wallace! So, with this more limited field I would go for Charlie George (Lawrence).

Some people have definitely forgotten the thread title was the *best* Saints players with two first names! Struggling to imagine Jack Stephens being in anything but the worst player to play more than 100 games for Saints! However, some laughed at Ricky Lambert, but actually Lambert can be a first name, so I am backing that suggestion! If he hadn't had so many injuries I think Luke Shaw could have got a consideration too, but sadly those injuries have kept him from quite hitting the heights he was destined for! Maybe he could have achieved them if he had stayed at Saints...! Rod Wallace would probably be the player who would ultimately get my vote!

It is interesting that Still has said he will be taking a 'reduced group of players' to Spain, which will send out a message that will be 'pretty clear'. Quite how many players he will take and who will be in it will be interesting to see. Solak has also said that Saints want to trim the squad to no more than 27 players. Whether 27 will go to Spain remains to be seen. In theory this is Saints' current squad of 36 players: GK: McCarthy, Bazunu, Ramsdale, Wright FB: Sugawara, Bree, Welington, Manning, Taylor CB: Stephens, Wood, Edwards, THB, Kayi Sanda, Quarshie, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap, Lawrence CM: Downes, Charles, Smallbone, Sesay AM: Fernandes, Matsuki, Aribo W: Edozie, Dibling, Robinson, Armstrong, Fraser, Brereton-Diaz F: Downs, Stewart, Archer, Dipepa, Ballard However, Ballard has seen no opportunities to play in pre-season (just one appearance on the bench I believe) and now that Downs has arrived you would imagine Ballard and Dipepa will return to the U21s. Similarly, Kayi Sanda, Quarshie and Sesay may return to the U21s or U18s, while Nico Lawrence and Ollie Wright will probably either be sold or loaned out. That would still leave 29 players including Bella-Kotchap, Aribo, Brereton-Diaz and Bednarek. Leave those 4 behind and Still will have a squad of 25 (as shown by players in red). If he takes 27 then which of those four goes too? Brereton-Diaz and Aribo? That still leaves a few questions, though... Will THB go? Is he fit enough? Is he happy to play in the Championship? Will we take 5 full backs? If not, who stays behind? Will we take three keepers? If not, who stays? Is two AMs, Fernandes and Matsuki, enough? Will some of the wingers fulfil that role? Will Fraser go? Is he in Will Still's plans? Would he go as a winger or AM? Or both? The Echo don't think Bednarek will go, but they also don't think Taylor will be there despite the positive things that Still has said about him. Clearly a few players are going to be disappointed - especially quite a few centre backs!

Good point - I meant to check things like that before posting it and had a feeling a couple had already gone. I know quite a few were players that were of interest to other clubs as well as Saints.

Southampton Incoming Transfer Rumours so far this summer I have taken a bit of time to gather details about players who rumours have suggested have been linked to Southampton. I have excluded rumours that seem to be only coming from Saints Marching rather than any more credible source - though not suggesting any of these sources are necessarily credible! Player Club Position Source(s) Date Goalkeepers Anthony Patterson Sunderland GK https://www.footballinsider247.com/southampton-plotting-to-sign-sunderland-star-anthony-patterson 3/7 Daniel Peretz Bayern Munich GK https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/25122469.bayern-munich-goalkeeper-reportedly-interests-southampton 29/4 Yahia Fofana Angers GK https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/southampton-involved-in-double-premier-league-transfer-battle-for-yahia-fofana 23/5 Aleksandar Vulic Spartak GK https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/25122469.bayern-munich-goalkeeper-reportedly-interests-southampton 29/4 Defenders Max Johnston Sturm Graz RB www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-southampton-push-to-sign-max-johnston-as-walker-peters-replacement 25/6 Joe Mendes SC Braga RB www.expressen.se/sport/fotboll/forre-aik-backen-joe-mendes-aktuell-for-flytt 4/7 Juma Bah Man City CB www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/25229683.southampton-linked-man-city-defender-played-still 11/6 Matt Targett Newcastle FB https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/newcastle-could-use-matt-targett-in-southampton-tyler-dibling-deal 17/5 Midfielders Bobby Clark Liverpool Midfield www.thisisanfield.com/2025/07/bobby-clark-wanted-by-at-least-15-clubs-liverpool-have-sell-on-clause 14/6 Lewis O’Brien Forest Midfield https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/birmingham-southampton-transfer-race-nottingham-forest-lewis-obrien 22/6 Besfort Zeneli Elfsborg Midfield https://eflanalysis.com/transfers/southampton-can-land-their-new-pierre-emile-hojbjerg-as-midfielder-reacts-to-saints-links 12/6 Wingers Lucas Cepeda Colo-Colo Winger https://eflanalysis.com/transfers/southampton-make-bid-for-excellent-forward-but-39m-real-madrid-deal-poses-major-problem 11/6 Luis Guilherme West Ham Winger https://www.claretandhugh.info/saints-interest-in-wonderkid-could-have-unexpected-consequences-report 7/5 Adnane Abid Patro Eisden Winger https://insidefutbol.com/2025/05/19/southampton-were-present-to-check-up-on-young-winger/683841 19/5 Jesrun Rak-Saki C.Palace Winger https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-southampton-reigniting-move-to-sign-rak-sakyi 12/6 Forwards Richard Kone Wycombe Striker https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough-birmingham-city-southampton-richard-kone-wycombe-wanderers-5181670 17/6 William Boving Sturm Graz Forward https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-southampton-want-to-sign-title-winning-forward-william-boving 29/5

In Stephens case perhaps it should become donkey jokes instead! Although, of course, the horse jokes weren't on this thread, they were on the transfer window thread! I can see zero logic in this. I did wonder if they might be thinking they could keep him here and then develop him as a future coach on the basis that some of the best managers are mediocre players. But that still doesn't justify a three year contract! We should have left him on one year and offered him the opportunity to do his coaching badges... perhaps loaning him out to do them at Goztepe where he might be a useful back up for them!

I like the rumour that Saints have rejected a bid for Sulemana that seems better than some on here think he is worth. Hopefully we will manage to get an even better deal! Yes, it is a risk, but hopefully Spors knows what he is doing. I think Sulemana's performances at the end of the season are enough to suggest that there is more waiting to be discovered with him. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. Personally, I have found Sulemana hugely disappointing, but those performances at the end of the season have begun to change my mind. I recognise that some of you do not think it possible that he could ever amount to anything more and that is fair enough with what we have seen throughout most of his time with Saints. At the same time, I also think it is quite hard to judge Sulemana's end product when he has had to deal with a complete lack of quality strikers to whom he could pass the ball! Even more so in a system that has been set up by managers who don't have a clue about fast, incisive attacking football! Of course, we can only judge Sulemana on the end product that he has delivered (which is nothing), but I do hope that Atalanta or others might see the positives and be prepared to stump up the cash to buy him!

Age is a significant factor in all of this. At 31 years old, Onuachu is no spring chicken and getting €8m for him is actually quite a coup - especially for a player who is so lacking in pace and skill. On the other hand, Sulemana is still young and while all the naysayers are slating him here, in the last few matches of the season he was one of the few bright lights in our side and there were glimpses of what he could become. While Jones brought him in out obsession with pace rather than any consideration for his tactical nouse or ability to cross, Simon Rusk did seem to unlock a little bit more than others have managed. With that in mind, I think the club have done the right thing to turn down a fee as small as €10m. Hopefully if he does go it will be for a fee significantly in excess of that and closer to his original purchase cost.

I think the challenge for Saints in many positions and especially striker is not just to sign players that will do well in the Championship. We already have plenty of those in many positions. In terms of goal scorers, all of the following are pretty good at this level: Stewart Armstrong Archer Brereton-Diaz The problem is that none of them have shown the ability to replicate that at Premier League level (though Stewart's injuries did not help him!) While providing more passes to strikers will help, maybe we also need to explore whether we can sign players who may be able to demonstrate great goal scoring ability at the highest level.

Like others I feel the analysis in this seems pretty insightful and it will be interesting to see if we are linked with any of the players mentioned. Johnstone, for example, sounds like a good possibility in goal. Having said that, however, I would be surprised if as many players as they are suggesting actually leave or are sold. In effect they are suggesting that all of the following will leave: GK: Ramsdale, Bazunu, Wright Defenders: KWP, Sugawara, THB, Bednarek, Stephens, ABK, Taylor, Larios, Lawrence Midfielders: Aribo, Fernandes, Brereton-Diaz, Lallana, Forwards: Sulemana, Dibling, Robinson, Onuachu, Ballard While I can see a lot of those being sold and others being loaned out, I would be surprised if all of those were to be out of the building by the end of the transfer window! In particular, I would be happily surprised if Stephens were to leave! But who knows?! If we did shift that many players and those ones in particular, I would guess we might bring in up to £150m for that lot (some bringing in significantly more than others!).

No!! The late 1970s kits all had black shorts. Blue shorts was from a much earlier time - 1950s or something like that. Personally I don't get the interest in having blue shorts with a home kit. I think it is better to have blue shorts with an away kit.

Southampton Squad June 2025 I am posting this as a kind of mark in the sand of where we are now! With all the returning players and before anyone is sold or released who hasn't already been sold/released, I think this in effect is our current senior squad: Goalkeepers: Ramsdale, Bazunu, McCarthy, Lumley, (Wright) Defenders: Walker-Peters, Sugawara, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood-Gordon, Bednarek, Stephens, Edwards, Quarshie, Kayi-Sanda, Bella-Kotchap, Taylor, Welington, Manning, Larios, (Nico Lawrence) Midfielders/wingers: Downes, Charles, Smallbone, Aribo, Fernandes, Fraser, Sulemana, Dibling, Edozie, Armstrong, Brereton-Diaz, Robinson, Lallana, Kuryu Matsuki Forwards: Stewart, Archer, Onuachu, (Ballard) I have not included Amo-Ameyaw as he has effectively already been sold. I have included the players on loan to Goztepe as all of their contracts expire this summer. (Edit Juan is returning to Goztepe, so I have removed him) I have also included Lawrence as he is too old for the academy but still has a year to go on his contract and has previously been talked about as a future prospect. I have also tentatively added Ballard to the squad as a player who may be considered for the first team and still has a year to run on his contract. I have included Wright as he still has a year on his contract but is too old for the U21s. It will be interesting to see how this changes over the coming weeks: Which players will be sold, released or loaned out? How much money will that bring in? Who else will be brought in? Will the Goztepe players stay there with renewed contracts or will we add them to our squad? Similarly, what will happen with Lawrence, Ballard, Edwards, Wright, Edwards, Armstrong, Brereton-Diaz, Charles and Edozie following their loans this season? Will we replace Walker-Peters? Will we renew Lumley's contract? Will Lallana retire? Will he be given a coaching role? What will happen to Simon Rusk? Will Larios find a new club or will he now finally be able to get sufficient fitness to be able to push on? (Edited - I incorrectly thought his contract expires this summer) What will we do about players that we don't want but who we can't sell? Will we have to put up with Onuachu, etc. for another season if Will Still doesn't want to include them in his plans? Presumably we will have to announce our retained player list soon. The rest of the Championship clubs had to announce these a couple of weeks ago!

That's true - but it's also due to Ballard missing almost two seasons of football with injuries. Of course, that time out with those injuries could also have an ongoing impact that may never be overcome. However, his finish to the season suggests he may yet still rediscover his previous form and hopefully he will finally be given his chance in a few matches under Will Still. Personally, I think it is such a shame that Ballard was never given the chances that Dibling and Robinson have been given, especially bearing in mind our attacking struggles of the past few years, but maybe there are valid reasons for that. While Ballard has seen success in the U21s alongside players who know him and are therefore keen to pass to him to score, the demands of first team football are obviously much higher. Similarly, while a midfielder/winger has a degree of flexibility to come deep and/or find space out wide, the positioning demands for a striker are very different. (* Sorry to take so long to reply - been busy and haven't visited this forum for ages!!!)

Lowe initially overspent on the stadium then became incredibly tight with player recruitment. The impact of that was that we were relegated. That in turn left us without the Premier League money and up the creek without a paddle. He had no clue about how to invest and spend wisely; he had no plan, no heart, no commitment. Just failed dogma. Just like his political views and those of the people with whom he has been associated, arguments and fallouts aside. Defending Lowe is to defend the indefensible.