SaintJackoInHurworth

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!!

I don't know if I should be posting this as a separate thread, nor how reliable this is... nor do I understand why he has not posted this himself as I believe he is a regular poster on this forum(!!).. but I see that Connor Armstrong is reporting that we are in discussions with Atletico Madrid about the possibility of signing Mario Suarez: https://twitter.com/ConnorArmstrong/status/621086005232304128 I also see that this has also been reported on some dodgy looking rumour sites in Spain. For example, this one: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.todomercadoweb.es/primer-plano/atletico-mario-suarez-cerca-del-southampton-133693&prev=search Anyway, I thought I'd post it anyway. I will let Connor tell us more if there is any more to be known!

Surprised at how positive a response people on here are giving him - especially considering the paddy he threw last season which has ultimately led to this (and reduced his value too imo). Personally, I am gutted he is going and particularly wish he wasn't going to Manure. Last season they were dire and extremely lucky to finish where they did - in my opinion we could and should have finished above them and I think only a huge dollop of luck and some poor refereeing led to them finishing above us. Of the top four clubs they were the team that we had most chance of finishing above, but I fear that having got so close this season, we will not now get another chance like it for a very long time. Also in relation to the response to Morgan leaving, I don't quite understand how people can have been so hateful to Lallana, yet so positive to Morgan. Both have contributed massively to our rise and both went about getting a move last summer in the wrong way. The fact that Morgan didn't manage to get that move doesn't change that. Similarly, a lot of hate has been aimed at Shaw, Chambers, Lovren, Clyne and Toby for leaving, yet all of them except Toby and Clyne have gone to clubs who were in the Champions League at the time they moved to them (Liverpool may not have lasted long in the competition, but let's not forget that they actually finished second in 2014 and competed in that competition last season). Personally, I am very grateful for all that these players have done for us, hope that they can get established in the first teams of their respective clubs (and ultimately get a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona with a large sell-on fe coming to Saints as a result!), but beyond that my only wish for every single one of them is that they and their clubs will finish behind Saints in the EPL table!

Except that we have just signed Martina to play right back for the first few games! I'm anticipating that we will possibly see Targett going out on loan once Bertrand is back from injury, although I do hope he might begin to show his potential and come through as another excellent player that has been developed by Saints.

As the song goes, 'Let's all have a meltdown, let's all have a meltdown. Na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na!' So... last summer we had complete meltdown but that was followed by our most successful season for many years and one that would have been more successful without a few injuries at key times and/or more strength in depth in our squad. Now it looks like we could be in the midst of another mini-meltdown with the departures of Clyne, Alderweireld, Bence, Limbrick, potentially Schneiderlin and also injuries to Forster and Bernard. But, like last season, we have also seen some potentially significant arrivals and I'm sure we will see several more (and hopefully with them an increase in our strength in depth, which could be further enhanced too by more development squad players beginning to step up a level). So... based on last season's experience, what's the likelihood that we will not only cope with the departures but once again emerge stronger and better and more successful? I'm gutted to see both Clyne and Alderweireld leave (especially Toby) and will be even more gutted if we lose Morgan, but maybe, just maybe, we can surprise the naysayers once more! I certainly hope so! COYR!

You all seem to be assuming that the rumours are right that he has signed for Spuds. What if those rumours are not true? What if the rumours that his Dad/agent has said nothing has been agreed are true? What if we believe the discussion between other football agents and journalists on Twitter that this is just part of the game of how transfers progress? What if the rumours that he has told friends he wants to come back to Saints are true? And what about the assertion that he was not having a medical today by the very same journalist who is now claiming the deal is done? What if he was correct last night but is guessing tonight? Let's just wait and see. Even if it is announced tomorrow that he has signed for the Spuds, he could end up having to sit it out at WHL while the legal experts get to the bottom of it. Or maybe they will allow him to play, but once they discover that AM have broken their contract with Saints, perhaps they will insist that the surplus transfer fee over what Saints had agreed to pay be paid to Saints instead, plus any sell-on benefits, etc. plus some level of fine.

I thought he was a money guy not a legal guy? Still, you can't help wondering whether his departure has something to do with this. Perhaps he was leaking financial details of the contractual agreement between Saints and AM to Spurs and he was found out. Expect to see him getting a job at White Fart Lane next...!

OK - I voted Saints because... * They are the best at giving me enjoynment when they win (and depression when they lose). * They are the best improved team in recent seasons. * In recent years they have been the best team at developing new talent (though admittedly the other three haven't actually been too bad at doing so either). i.e. we have the best academy. * They are the best run club. * The question asks about them as a club, not which has the best performing team. * Last season I actually think we did deserve to finish above the others in terms of performances when at our best - i.e. our best performances were better than the best performances of the other clubs and if we had maintained that without so many injuries we would have finished above the others. * They have the best kit - all-white and all-red are just boring but put them together in the form of stripes and you have quality! * Southampton is the longest single word in any of the club names. * Historically we were set up with the most community-minded aims. Southampton St Marys was set up by the church to serve young men in the local community, whereas Spurs were set up for the kids of a grammar school bible class, Swansea were just set up for the sake of having a football team alongside their rugby team, while Liverpool were set up by the businessman who owned Anfield, which had previously been the home of Everton. * Our club is in Southampton, whereas the others are not. * Unlike the others, we don't have any stupid bird pictures on our club crest. We are the only club with a proper (slightly) historic, symbolic, meaningful club crest. * We have the best manager. * We have our own way of doing things which is distinct and better than the others - The Southampton Way.

Atletico Madrid have decided to honour their agreement with Saints and Toby will be our player in the next few days. In addition, despite speculation, Clyne is still negotiating his contract and the deal is almost done for him to extend his contract with Saints for a further five years. On returning from England duty this week this too will be completed in the next few days. Oh... and for those assuming Schneiderlin is on the way out, he has declared he will not leave Saints for any more than Champions League football and also wishes to stay in England. Both Man Utd and Arsenal have stated that the price tag that Saints have slapped on him is outside of what they would be willing to pay and are looking elsewhere, while Chelsea and Man City have no interest. Consequently, Morgan has now enquired about the possibility of an improved deal with contract extension. In other news, a goalkeeper is also in advanced negotiations to sign. This one is under wraps, but I believe that Saints have been talking to both Tom Heaton of Burnley and Orjan Nyland of Molde and one of these two (possibly both, but unlikely) will also be unveiled as a Saints player this week. There is also news that Saints are negotiating with both Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jordie Clasie and will sign at least one of them despite Morgan's descision to stay. Finally, Martin Odegaard will be making his anticipated loan move from Real Madrid. What is interesting, though, is that they are negotiating a similar deal to the one they had with AM for Toby - except that there will be a larger buy-out payment to cancel the sale and Real will not be able to sell him for two full seasons should they cancel the deal. ... if Carling... (or maybe Tetleys?)... did ITKers!!!

Surprised no-one seems to have commented on this (unless I have missed it), but now that we have signed Juanmi, I doubt we will be looking to sign another striker, especially as Rodriguez is back from injury now. We've got Pelle, Long, Mane, Gallagher, Juanmi, Mayuka and Seager. While I expect Mayuka will not feature (except perhaps in the League Cup as a substitute!) and that Seager could end up going out on loan to gain experience, that still leaves us with five strikers! If we are going to buy (or loan) any further attacking players then I would hazard a guess that they will be wingers not strikers!

Skacel had one... Ramirez had one... Osvaldo had one (though not as long as Skacel's or Ramirez's!) So, who is going to be the next player to have such a thread and will they be any better? And why is it that when we have a player who some suggest should be out of our league in terms of quality and we sign him, he turns out to be not really good enough?! That having been said there have been some other long threads for players that we have not signed, especially Ever Banega who, of course, has just played his part in helping Sevilla become Europa cup winners.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/portsmouth-city-council-leader-donna-jones-defends-red-and-white-spinnaker-tower-deal-1-6783325 Obviously the leader of the city council thinks Saints play in all red and doesn't realise we play in Red and White! LOL

Only a few minutes to go and it's 0-0. If it stays like that City are confirmed in second place and will have less to play for on Sunday. Hopefully that could help us. As I'm sure someone has said, if we win and Liverpool and Spurs don't win then we finish fifth.