SaintJackoInHurworth

Oops - forgot the link: http://the4thofficial.net/2016/07/profitable-but-replacement-needed-southamptons-decision-to-let-go-of-star-might-be-a-good-move

I know there has been some discussion about Pelle's impending departure but I don't know if this has been posted. If this article is to be believed, evidently he is off to a Chinese club rather than an English or European club.

As I understand it the original reason this whole discussion took off came out of the worry expressed by some that we might not be spending on new player acquisitions using the money from the sales of Mane and Wanyama, the potential sale of Pelle and the extra TV rights money. While some started to hint that maybe KL could pocket some profit from the club, Daft Kerplunk put forward the suggestion that maybe the club were thinking about investing the money in stadium development. This then descended into an argument between him and CB Fry about why the club might consider doing something like that. Personally I don't think it is beyond the bounds of possibility that the club could consider doing something like this, despite some strong arguments against such an approach. Nevertheless, as some have rightly pointed out, it is a discussion for another thread. I would start one myself, but I'm more interested to hear the latest rumours about potential player purchases and anyway I'm only a 'Registered User' so I only get a maximum of three posts a day! Getting back on track, therefore, my biggest concern is that we replace Wanyama. While we have got Clasie, Romeu and Ward-Prowse plus Harry Reed who can all play in the defensive midfield positions, none of them quite brings the same attributes as either Schneiderlin or Wanyama and so I believe we need to strengthen in those positions. In terms of attacking players I would love to see a Mane replacment, but I am aware that we have got a lot of attacking players on the books: Pelle, Long, Rodriguez, Austin, Tadic, Redmond, Gallagher, Isgrove, Olomola, Barnes, Seager, Willard, McQueen, Sims. OK, most of those are youngsters but it does show the full list of the first team and development squads' strikers. I wonder if the club is more confident than we are that Rodriguez and Austin will successfully keep going without further injury this season (at least injury that is a direct result of former injuries). I'm sure we will see in time.

Apologies that I have been slow in replying... As you will see from my post above Palace were one of the teams that still had four players at the tournament - including their Welsh players. These stats are obviously out-of-date now, but I won't attempt to update them.

Subject to injuries and bookings, there is now every likelihood that we will see a player associated with Saints (either a current player or a former player) in the final. We would expect to either see Bale or Fonte and Cedric in the final. Not only that, but if Italy beat Germany and France beat Iceland, each of the semi-finalists will feature a current or past Saints player. Incidentally and on another related point, I thought the following stats may be of interest: * Three Premier League teams have four players still at the Euros: Man Utd, Arsenal and Palace. * Four EPL teams have three players still there: Saints, Liverpool, Swansea and West Ham. * Three EPL teams still have two players still at the Euros: Man City, Spurs and Leicester City. * Two EPL teams have just one player still at the tournament: Burnley and West Brom. Meanwhile, Chelsea, Everton, Stoke, Watford, Sunderland, Bournemouth and Hull players have all seen the international teams that they play for eliminated from the tournament. That just leaves Middlesbrough who did not send any players to the Euros.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36681358 - looks like their source is just that Tweet though. Will this be announced by the club soon?

With the mega-millions that we receive each season from the TV rights, etc. surely we CAN afford MUCH more? I think the frustration for me is that we sell these players for big money, replace them with cheaper alternatives and the profit gained does not seem to be ploughed back into the club. Consequently, we limit our potential to develop as a squad/team to the stage where we actually win something. Having said all this, I fully accept that £32m is a huge amount to turn down for a player who wants to move to one of the so-called 'big clubs', especially as when these players move to these clubs they rarely manage to replicate their form for Saints at those other clubs (with the exception of Gareth Bale). Yet, if Liverpool were offering £30m and we wanted £40m I don't understand why we haven't strung it out to get more. Does this suggest that we too easily let Liverpool call our bluff by saying they will rescind their offer if we won't come close to their estimation? And what about other clubs? Weren't Man Utd inteersted too? Couldn't we have drawn them into a bidding war to force the price even higher? It would be great, though, if one day we could become a club that doesn't sell and that can afford the mega-bucks that clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City, Spurs, Chelsea... and even West Ham... are prepared to pay. It is in this last area that I pin my hopes... * Maybe the club is building up enough money to build a mega-ground where extra funds can be received from an enlarged fan-base. * Maybe the club is building up the resource to be an even better developer of young players making further profitablity towards future success. * Maybe the club is seeking to accumulate enough resources to one day suddenly transform into a huge club which truly is able to compete with the other big clubs - not just in the short term, but in the long term. Or... on a more pessimistic note.. * Maybe the club has accumulated huge debts from the development of Staplewood and needs to clear those debts before we can begin to build a sustainable future for the club. I just hope that we have not become just a money-making enterprise for Katharina Liebherr - seeking moderate success in return for financial profitability rather than investing heavily in the club in the pursuit of real, meaningful trophy-winning success.

So it seems we face another summer meltdown yet it seems that 'meltdown' has become shorthand for improvement in recent years. With Koeman looking destined to leave, what would be the most quality consequences of our latest meltdown? For example, my dream meltdown result would be: Koeman leaves and is replaced by an ever better quality manager who not only leads us to unprecedented Premier League highs, but also brings with him quality backroom staff and between them they show Koeman and his crew how to develop our youngsters into world beaters and how to get players desperate to play for Saints rather than anyone else. Of course, the only problem with that scenario is that it reduces the options for further successful meltdowns!!

It was embarrassing at first but when the thread with all the dead pan humour started taking off I laughed so much that I still only have to see a picture of the statue to find myself instantly laughing. For that I am truly grateful to the sculptor!!

He is still not telling everyone his destination is Saints and not Man United: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36390196 (PS I would sooo laugh if he truly did come to Saints!! hehe)

Maybe the rumours that Zlatan is about to move to Southampton are true... http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/16/arsenal-midfielder-santi-cazorla-names-his-dog-after-zlatan-ibrahimovic-5755306/ Maybe Josh Banfield has something to do with it... http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/saints-fan-is-top-dog-at-crufts-723696.aspx

Obviously I hope and expect that Koeman will stay but if he did go then personally I'd go for someone like Michel Preud'homme. He has an absolutely immense managerial record and has been hugely successful at just about every club he has managed. Other possibilities would be Murat Yakin or Senol Gunes.

So, without wanting to completely write-off our chances of European qualification, it is looking increasingly unlikely. I would suggest if we are to qualify it would require either a win for Man City in the CL or a win for Liverpool in the EL - or both. Currently we can assume that Man City will qualify for Europe by virtue of league position and so their League Cup place will pass to the team finishing sixth. If City win the CL then five teams will qualify for the CL and EL places will go to the teams in sixth and seventh. If Liverpool also win the EL then it is possible that European qulaification will extend to the team in eighth (though some, such as Danny Kelly on Radio Five suggest this is unlikely). However, without spending too long analysing our chances of European qualification (especially as there are others threads which do that), if we don't qualify for Europe, what impact will that have on what happens in the transfer market this summer? Will Wanyama and Mane leave? Are there others that might want to leave if there is no prospect of European football? And what about players we might buy? Could failure to qualify for Europe affect our ability to attract new players?

There are some classic songs that have surprisingly never been used as football anthems. For example 'I'll never fall in love again' by Dionne Warwick (also covered by Deacon Blue) has always struck me as a potentially great anti-West Ham song! It would go something like this: How does it feel to be West Ham, when Southampton come burst your bubbles? That's what you'll get for all your troubles - I'd never be a West Ham fan! (or... I'm following the SFC!) Or what about 'Come on Eileen!' by Dexy's Midnight Runners - that may have been used a little (though I'm not sure who was sung about) but it could be used so much more: 'Come on Clasie, Te-Loo-rah-eh, Come on Clasie, Te-loo-rah-eh,...' etc. or 'Ronald Koeman and Southampton, Ronald Koeman and Southampton,...' etc.) Other songs that could be good include: The Wall - Pink Floyd ('We don't need no Lionel Messi, We don't need no Ronaldo. We've got Charlie, Fonte, Van Dijk, we've got Koeman running the show, Hey Tottenham, leave our kids alone... all in all we're just the greatest team in Hampshire!..) Stay With Me - Sam Smith (replace the title words simply with 'Southampton' for example!) It Must Be Love - Madness (E.g. It must be Ryan Bertrand... nothing more, nothing less, Bertrand's the best!) I'm sure ether are loads more!

Just to put the record straight about what Gaston's lifestyle might be living in the Middlesbrough area, their training ground is not actually in Middlesbrough but across the road from where I live in the village of Hurworth-on-Tees, just outside Darlington. It's a fairly nice village and the area around the training ground is particularly nice. Indeed, the Rockcliffe Hall Hotel (https://www.rockliffehall.com) which is adjacent to Middlesbrough's training ground was one of the hotels used by the New Zealand team during this year's rugby World Cup and comes complete with its own championship quality golf course. Then there is where most of the players live. In general they do not live in Middlesbrough itself, though a few may live in the village of Nunthorpe which is technically part of Middlesbrough. Most, however, live a few miles away in posh Yorkshire town, Yarm, famous for its public school (http://www.yarmschool.org), or neighbouring village Kirklevington, where Steve McClaren used to live. They frequent the nightlife in that area too and particularly Judges Country House Hotel (http://judgeshotel.co.uk) and The Keys (http://www.thekeys.co.uk/yarm). I know this because the daughter of my next-door neighbour once dated a Middlesbrough player. As for the town of Middlesbrough, like any town it has its nice areas and poorer areas - and, of course, unemployment in the area is high following the recent closure of the steel works, which were situated just outside Middlesbrough. It has got two areas of the highest poverty in the UK, but despite that, the people of Middlesbrough are very, very friendly. My own experience of Middlesbrough (and I visit the town often to connect with local youth workers) is very positive and I would say that there are much, much worse places to live. I have also been to Hull (though only a few times) and while some of the people I have met from Hull are quite chavvy, in general it didn't really live up to its poor reputation. Indeed when visiting the town centre I was quite struck by the beauty of some of its buildings. Once again, I would not doubt that the players of Hull will live in some of the nicer parts just outside Hull. Their training ground is in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, just south of Beverley. I have visited Beverley and Brough several times and that whole area is quite nice. So, I would have to say that Gaston has not taken a step down in lifestyle in moving north, so don't feel too sorry for him in that respect. If you want to feel sorry for him, feel sorry that he didn't ever make the grade with Southampton and demonstrate the class that has remained sadly elusive throughout his time as a Saints player.

I have tried zooming in on the squad photo and worked out who is who in the photo despite it being very blurry when zooming in like that! However, it appears that of the current first squad players all who are not on loan are in the photo with the exception of Sam McQueen. Does this indicate that while his photo may be on the website as a first team player he is not currently considered good enough for the first team? I don't know about anyone else, but I am always delighted to see 'one of our own' come through the ranks, but at the moment apart from JWP, Harry Reed and Lloyd Isgrove there isn't much sign of many players promising to make the step up and even Harry and Lloyd seem to be struggling to break through. I guess it is somewhat understandable as the level they now need to reach to break through is that much higher than it was a few years ago. I think it is to JWP's credit that despite his detractors on here he continues to develop as a player and to get selected in the side - at least occasionally, anyway.

13/14 - 2-1 League Cup defeat. Yoshida scored. Sunderland were woeful but Saints just did not show up and gifted them the win. 13/14 - 2-2 Saints throw away a 2-0 lead earned by J Rod and Lovren. 13/14 - 1-0 Cup defeat. Saints were terrible, gifting them another win leaving me with the sneaking suspicion that MoPo 14/15 - 2-1 defeat. Having not conceded a pen all season, we let in 2. JWP is sent off. I went to all four of these games in the last two seasons and have taken one or both of my daughters to the Saturday games (i.e. all but the league cup game). I'm taking them both again on Saturday, so I'm hoping that this time we can at last record a win - in fact a win by at least 3 goals would maybe go some of the way to making up for the previous dire experiences! You've missed out our

OK - so the draw is happening soon but I can't see a thread about it! Does the draw wait for the Manure v M'bro game to finish or does it go ahead before that? What time is it taking place? Who would you like to see Saints facing? Personally I hope Middlesbrough will beat Man Utd and that we will get an away match against them - but that is for the purely selfish reason that it would only take me half an hour to get to Middlesbrough and I would love to see the game!

I forgot to include the Wallace brothers (Danny and Rod not Ray!), Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain - again mainly wingers, but have been used as strikers (Rod was primarily a striker).

Mick Channon, Steve Moran, Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier - all pretty good if you ask me!! You could also add Terry Paine, though he was more renowned as a winger. To a lesser degree you could also add Nathan Dyer who has not done too badly - though mainly as a winger. You could also add: Kevin Davies - Started at Chesterfield but developed as a top-flight striker at Saints. James Beattie - started at Blackburn, but was developed as a top-flight striker at Saints. Peter Crouch - moved around a number of clubs before Saints but only really got established as a top striker once he had joined us - he has always opted to play for teams that play in red ever since - and mostly clubs that play in red and white stripes!! Beyond those I'm not too sure!

A lot of people are assuming that we will play a system of two defensive midfielders and one in the hole, but I think that should not be assumed. With the players we have now, I suspect we will be able to vary that system a bit with Clasie sometimes playing more of a box-to-box type role. It could be that Wanyama or Romeu play holding player while Clasie plays in a box-to-box role. Alternatively, one could play holding player while two others adopt the box-to-box role. There is no question that we now have the scope to vary our team line-up according to who we are facing in these ways and also in other ways. So, for example, against teams that are weak at full-back you could imagine Mane and Tadic both starting, whereas in other matches we might play with just one winger and either two strikers or a more orthodox number ten (i.e. Rodriguez, Juanmi or Ramirez). It could be interesting to see not just who gets selected, but how they are used.

Another question is whether he will be able to get a place in the first team squad. With more foreign players not developed in England, will we have a squad place to offer him? If not he will either have to wait for cup games or find a club able to take him on emergency loan.

Personally I still think he's still a quality player and if he decided that Liverpool wasn't working out and wanted to come back that would be enough for me to be convinced that he had learned his lesson and could again be a useful asset to Saints. If anyone could help him get his head sorted and get him playing to his full potential then it's RoKo. As for the thought of him going to Spuds, that for me would be worse than anything and is just an extra reason that should he become available we should (cautiously) welcome him back. The thought of him re-discovering his best at Spuds is not a good one! I understand the anger of many on here, but a lot of that anger comes from a feeling of betrayal and I suspect that for many those feelings come from the fact that he used to be the player we most looked to be our star player. It's a bit like the anger between two lovers having a tiff! Yet, in time, reconciliation is possible and with that could come the possibility for an even better relationship with the club than before! This is not to say I am not riled every time I see that awful LFC/Nivea advert! That winds me up something chronic!!! Grrrr!

OK - it's disappointing.... A few weeks ago we had signed Clasie among several other players, with more players coming in than going out... At that time we had also just thrashed Arnhem (supposedly one of the toughest possible opponents we could have faced)... But now, once again, Saints fans are in meltdown - it has all seemingly gone wrong and fans are even going as far as to question whether Koeman is quite the brilliant manager we all thought he was last October... some are again talking about us facing a relegation dogfight this season. So let's get some perspective here: * Last season we expected to be in a relegation dogfight but ended up having our best league finish for almost thirty years. * Yes, we have put in some disappointing performances recently, but then we have been without Bertrand, Forster, Clasie and tonight Mane and Wanyama; we have also not yet signed a replacement for Alderweireld. In addition, Rodriguez is not yet fully match fit and a number of players are still adapting to playing in the EPL. * Playing poorly in cup competition, especially when away from home is nothing new for Saints - remember Sunderland (several times), Sheff Utd (at least a couple of times), Mansfield and many other games like them over the past few years and realise that, unlike in the Lawrie McMenemy era, we are not a great cup side. * For those that are slagging off Targett, remember Luke Shaw when he first broke into the side - he was similarly nervous and seemed poor! But when he got a second chance later in the same season, he suddenly started to turn a few heads, grew in confidence and ultimately earned a big money transfer to one of the financial giants of world football. * Similarly, those that are slagging of JWP, just think of how long it took for Lallana and Schneiderlin and many others to really establish themselves in the Saints first team. So let's cut him siome slack - after all, in one or two games this season he has actually been one of our best players going by some reports (sadly I wasn't at those games, so can only rely on the 'expert' views of analysts). * Finally, let's remember last season, how clubs like Liverhampton and ManUre started very slowly, but built up confidence and momentum as the season progressed, ultimately finishing above us. We may be on our poor spell of the season right now, but who's to say we can't turn this around and begin once again to challenge the so-called big boys at the top of the table (or at least the positions from 6 through to 10)? So let's not have a meltdown just yet; instead let's keep the faith and believe that RK can and will turn this around and further develop our reputation as a football club who do things the right way! COYR!!

I've not got a feed to watch this game, but sounds like we are playing the way we have played against Sunderland in the cups for the past few seasons. I'm guessing from some of the comments that most of you were fortunate enough to have managed to avoid those games. It is gutting that in recent years we have been so rubbish in cup competition, especially away from home and it looks like this is another example of that. Nevertheless, I remain confident that when Bertrand and Clasie return from injury and when VVD signs, JR gets back to match fitness and Juanmi, Cedric, Martinez, etc. begin to adapt to the English game we will again see Saints beginning to surprise the big clubs. Just look at it like this: last season we started strongly but ended weakly while other clubs like ManUre and Liverhampton did it the other way around. Hopefully, this season it will be us that finish like a steam train and push on to finish even higher than this year! It's disappointing to see us drop out of Europe, but we will bounce back! COYR!!