Clifford Nelson

With an extreme price tag and a demand to play premier league football we let go and signed Gazzinga. Butland is history as far as we are concerned. Let's move on.

That would be a nice step forward. But it will leave a striker in the middle of the midfield three. Ibrahimovitch did it for Sweden...

I think it is without doubt what will happen to him at the end of this season when his contract expires. In the meantime I will keep my mouth shut about him and await the inevitable. On a personal level he doesn't deserve the abuse better than Guly. Nobody deserves it, and since he never appears in a competitive match it is a bit of an irrelevance.

No player of ours should have to endure the abuse levied at Guly last season. That kind of behaviour is embarassing and demeans the club. Regardless of my thoughts of him our management has considered him important enough to extend his contract so that he will be here for another two years. If that is an appalling decision from a clueless management, please attack NA and NC for their cluelessness. Guly hasn't forced himself on us, but is here due to the boss wanting him. Let's get things right and leave him alone. Personally I'm delighted that he'll stay here, but he will be a better asset, as will all of us, if we are appreciated, rather than reviled. How would any of you cope at work if you received that kind of abuse.

There seem to be some general agreement that we have got 4 CMs, whilst I can count 5 in DH, MS, JC, RC, and now SD. I don't know anything about SD, but hope he will bring something we haven't got already. But you can't go and compare Deano and Morgan with Cork or Chaplow. Surely we must agree that there are at least two types of midfielders. For one thing I couldn't imagine Cork and Chaplow appearing together in the middle of the park. Any midfield needs an anchor, which means Deano or Morgan. We tended also to have a problem playing those two together because they like to occupy the same space in front of the back four. Who Davis competes with I don't really know, but it looks a bit like one to many for me. It is also not at all clear to me that it would be Deano to give way. Apart from a brief purple patch playing on the right and into the box Chaplow was, injury accepted, a disappointment to me last season. I also got my doubts about Morgan for his tackling which more often draws a free kick and/or a yellow card. We can't really afford that many opportunities for the opposition from dead balls centrally in our third of the pitch. Finally I can't help to mention whoever it was who suggested that we gave Deano a new contract because of what he can do for us after we have been relegated!!! That must be the strangest suggestion of perversted thinking by NC that I've ever heard. By the way has anybody got fears in playing Wigan, West Brom, Swansea, Fulham, Stoke, Norwich, QPR, Radking, etc? That is the main of our opposition the coming season, which should make the PL look more like normality and less like the "promised land" which is how the PL is often described around here. In summary: Deano will play, so will Morgan, Cork and certainly Davis. Chaplow will as well if he's here when the season starts, and don't be surprised to see Guly at the top of the diamond.

Part of a swap deal?

When exactly do you have to have made it in the first team before you try your luck elsewhere. 24 looks very generous to me. 20 or 21 is more like it. We have persevered with many a player in the past, but I can't remember anybody who suddely broke through from the reserves at 24. For a footballer, that is really middleage.

Unless we can find somebody to run around purposefully.

If there is any truth in this, which I doubt, could it have something to do with us sending Falque back with an "oh my God!" rather than signing him for good which Spurs hoped for, and if the truth be told we might had led them to believe. We've had Forecast from them, then they tried with Falque, and now it's Jenas. What's the connection with Spurs?

We have a screaming need for centrebacks, goalkeepers and a midfielder or two, but there are precious few believable rumours about any of those. That is why I can't help thinking the agents like linking us to whatever player they're trying to sell, without any foundation in fact. On the leftback we've got Fox, Harding and Shaw. (I'm writing off Dickson at this point.) Shaw is for the future, but he will get a run-on in a cup game or two. With absolute certainty I can declare that we will not be buying left backs before both Dickson and one more, probably Harding, are gone or are going. When Cortese arrived we had an enormous squad of players, most of which were never going to play for us again. Finally there is only one left who is a goalie nobody rates. NC isn't going to make the same mistakes which brought us to that point, so let's stop dreaming. If there is any truth in this rumour it is because a deal is being made regarding one of our existing leftbacks.

No real surprise. It was difficult to see a role for him next season and beyond. Played an important role in L1. Best of luck.

There is an awful lot of suggestions made from wishes and dreams here, and precious little based on any analysis of what NC and NA is trying to do. I, for instance, fancy a 4-3-3 way of playing, but based on all the evidence, that is how that matter will end: As my wish, whilst we are playing 4-4-2. No point in discussing it at the moment, is there? With 3 LBs and 2 RBs in the senior squad, one of which (Butterfield) who has just been given an extended contract, PLUS 2 highly rated youngsters, which it is our policy to bring on, I am struggling to find any evidence to back up the wishes and dreams in that department. I would welcome a discussion about whether we will have 2 or 3 GKs in our permitted 25. We haven't got any young GKs elevated to the senior squad, which makes it too thin to rely entirely on somebody like Butland, however talented, but he needs to be in the first team squad to advance into a no 1 keeper. The evidence seem to say 2 GKs on their way in, one experienced and one a young talent. (Discuss)

There are only 25 players allowed in the squad, apart from U-21 from our own Academy. 25 players minus 4 strikers equals 21 remaining positions in your squad, whatevever formation we play. I think that NA has made it very clear that he wants to play with two strikers. I think that gives us a rather inflexible way of playing, with the only real variation is to play the midfield in a diamond or not. 4-3-3 varies much easier to 4-3-3-1; 4-5-1; 4-2-3-1; or even 4-1-3-2; etc. I don't think I'll be able to change NA's mind about it, and I can't argue with two consecutive promotions.

If we look at the squad and keep a bit conservative (we aren't having any more full backs for example) then we will by 2 goalkeepers (forget Forecast); 1-2 centrebacks (how highly do we rate Seaborn?); 1 midfielder and one striker. Even that amount to 5-6 new signings! When did we see that the last time. The idea that we are in the market for every position in the team is naive.

Two of the not very endearing traits of the undeveloped emotional mind is the sympathy claim (poor little me, you must help me!) and blame (it's the chairman's fault, well maybe not, it's the manager's fault...). If JP is going to move on as a person and therefore as a footballer he needs to be able to look himself in the mirror and see something else but somebody badly misunderstood. I always wondered why he didn't have a better background in football, but I think I can see what is happening. With such a deep lack of self-esteem he won't be much of a team player. I'd be surprised if we don't move him on if we can.

With Lambert, Sharp, Lee and (as it seems) JRod as our four strikers, plus Guly being able to play there as well, I can't see Barnard being in our 25 man squad. There is already only 21 players left to allocate, which will be two for every other position (20 for those who are arithmetically challenged) plus a third, yes a third, goal keeper. Barnard is not in contention however well he did in L1.

It seems that we have forgotten that we really need two keepers. I won't join a debate on Forecast, but there seems to be a unanimous opinion, which I imagine that NA, as an ex-keeper, likely shares. But the forgotten chap is Jack Dovey who has now signed for Eastleigh. Obviously not somebody we thought had it in him for where we are going. This means that we both need a replacement for Bart, and a young keeper for the future. Whether Butland's head has swollen too much being picked for the motherland to accept being a third choice here for the time being, who knows. But the argument about that the only cover we would have is a young lad between the sticks with no experience at all is a strong one. I can't see that NA would put all his eggs in that basket and keep his fingers crossed. Whether the other signing would be Green I feel doubtful about. I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody from Holland, for example.

Having recently signed an extension with Butterfield, Richardson fancied throughout the season and Jack Stephens elevated to the first team we have three right backs there. I can't see that it is a position that either NC or NA is looking at. A couple of CBs, a striker (looks sorted), a goalie and possibly a midfielder will be the deal I reckon, however tasty Clyne appears.

Idiot he isn't, and loans between PL clubs is a comparatively new thing. Bringing in a loanee to push another player out of the team, and then for him to wave goodbye in the end of the season is really poor for the team building aspect. It brings us close to the usual culture of a bunch of individuals, possibly talented, but not playing much like a team. Is NA going to want that even if NC does? I doubt it.

Thanks, I started to feel a bit lonely here.

But there is nothing different in it from the way all clubs whose owners have a bit of an inferiority complex would do it. You may accuse NC of many things but not for having an inferiority complex. I don't think he'd contemplate it. So far he, with it must be said an excellent helping hand from NA, have produced two promotions on the bounce. I don't think he has gotten to the PL to struggle, and like most successful executives he has got complete belief in his plan. Would I take KdB on loan? I think that I may get swayed to do it. I reckon that is one of the differences between me and NC. - This is what I think NC will do, and has nothing to do with my appreciation of KdB. I still think the drooling messages on this board about Falque is worth contemplating as comparison.

Whoops, are we comparing Kevin de Bruyn with Carlos Tevez now? Apart from that I think there were plans for buying CT, although I must admit I don't follow them, so I don't know for sure.

I'm sure that NC will turn up opportunities like that, whilst a number of fans wouldn't. If we are going to be competitive in the PL it will be because we are doing things differently. One of the things we will need is to believe that we are up there to compete. If we get all weak at the knees about a good midfielder who sits in a big clubs , has no experience of playing PL football, but all the same is going to give us the benefit of his experience, then we need to ask ourselves questions both about the club's and our own confidence in the future. There is an echo of the exaggerated expectations of Iago Falque here.

A season long loan? That wouldn't be in line with the plans for the club. If there is an option to buy it will be a different story. Do you really think that NC would accept Saints as a farming club to Chelsea? Our Chairman appears to have much more self confidence and much bigger plans than most contributors on here. If this turns out to be true in it's simple form I'll be very surprised and will have to re-assess what is going on at SMS.