Lallana's Left Peg

I don't want to believe it

Fair enough. I do not believe we are in a poor financial position and need to sell players. I think if anyone leaves it will be because they want to or the club thinks it is a great deal. The concern is that if Pochettino wants further investment and we can't oblige then he may leave and there could be a domino effect with players.

Why do we need to pay off £30m of debt? Unless someone can show me that our operating costs touch £100m that debt just gets paid off by TV money each year?

Looking at it another way, if the club feel they can justify the prices then hopefully we're in for a reassuring summer personnel wise?

Hmm, I can see both perspectives on this. I reckon fans will moan and then renew. But if the club sells players in the summer...

You mean from this tweet which was made 2mins before your post!?!

Probably a bit misguided to try and attribute values to players as what they have contributed to Saints will count for very little, and it is far more important what they have done for us while they were a Saints player. On that basis Boruc, Clyne, Lovren, Yoshida, Davis, and Rodriguez have all been great. Wanyama only has half a season of work, Ramirez hasn't really worked out, and Osvaldo, Forren, and Mayuka have been bad buys.

Was going to post that I think he just got annoyed by the bedwetters on here but I see it's been covered already.

Winning relegation at the moment, fair play to them.

Really feel for him, but I know the club will rally around him and he will come back strong.

Toure is an absolute liability defensively. He's hard to get around when he sits deep but that is because of his size. The rest of the time he ambles about, looks unfit, and doesn't track runners. Poor Fernandinho is absolutely crocked having to cover for him.

Nothing about the way we play has changed other than the team having to do more things than others as the season has gone one due to our opponents paying us more respect. At home we've made several adjustments as we've often been gifted possession and teams have sat back. Away from home it is the usual story. But the foundation of how we play hasn't changed at all - we're one of a select few in the league that do that.

Matt Hale is listed as Academy Manager in this article: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/03032014-josh-sims-signs-professional-contract-1466016.aspx Existing role or did he join new?

Not sure about length of deal but he is a very promising player.

A free shot at a big boy, looking forward to this. There will be lots of goals I think.

I would love to see what Pochettino could do with a physical beast in our system. I've been incredibly impressed with the way he has developed players in his short-stint with us - and I think a transfer policy that reflects that would be great - both in terms of saving money and seeing players grow with us.

They aren't mutually exclusive, although more than fair to say the latter significantly decreases our changes of the former given how much money those above us spend. What do we think the limit of the team is if our players stay and reach their potential? As the squad evolves then depth will be sorted, and the potential of our players is scary. Keeping them together will be incredible hard.

Hard to work out as you need to take into account wages, and new contracts can spike that quickly if you've had a successful season. The good news is that an 8th place finish this season should garner around £80m in total TV revenue, up around £35m from last season based on the new contract and improving our league position by a fantastic 6 places in one season. We still have lots of financial flexibility but it is clear with those liabilities that we won't be big spenders for a few years. I'm just fine with that but we must continue to improve in other ways which means keeping the players we've got and continuing to make progress. The emphasis shifts even more on the Academy.

The transfer fee liabilities will restrict what we can do in the market, but at the same time our financial status means we aren't desperate for money. The big issue as I see it? The need to increase revenue streams in order to be able to offer new contracts to those who need them. Given how low it appears to be at the moment there should be plenty of growth ther However, recoup our Osvaldo fee and spend half that on a new striker and we're in ok shape. Might get awkward if our best players are willing to stay but want to see some more investment though...

It'll be Hazard I suspect.

Don't mind a bit of ambition but with the public comments the club does set itself up for a fall. Also could be a bit awkward with the summer transfer window coming up...

Too early for him in that respect but depending on what happens in the summer he may well find himself a part of pre-season training camps - not just because of his ability but also because as a winger he plays in a position we are short. However, he is quite tiny and senior football could do more damage than good so it'll be about getting a balance right. He makes JWP look like Wanyama.

Sky Sports News suggesting that Sagna will be signing a new contract at Arsenal so hopefully that puts this one to bed. At least for a few weeks anyway

Feels like the new Board are on a hiding to nothing this summer. If we keep the players we've got I can't see too many coming in at all, but if a few leave people will instantly think Cortese would have never sold them when the truth is that we could never know. A lot of pressure is slowly building up for the summer now and I don't really like it.

Any rumours as to why Mr Williams didn't get the job?