Lallana's Left Peg

I don't think there will be much in terms of transfer fee revenue but if we can get their (alleged) £60k+ per week off the books for good it gives us more wriggle room for contracts for existing players and / or new signings.

It is net transfer debt though. So it is money we owe for transfers heading into last summer. It still has to be paid from somewhere. Whilst it is standard to usually owe money for transfers year to year, it still has to be paid by the club and I think the vast majority of it was owed last summer.

Yeah fair point - if Clyne and Schneiderlin go then I can see us spending 2/3rds of that money which would amount to a lot. But if they stayed then I can't see us doing much.

Heading into last summer we owed £27m+ in transfer fees. Last summer / this January we sold players for ~£94m Last summer / this January we signed players for ~£65m We're about evens for transfers in and out - however to be fair it is normal to have rolling transfer debt each season. Our Chairman has already acknowledged our wage bill has increased this season from last, even taking into account the departures. I'm not saying we're broke, but I don't think there is much money to play with. I'd imagine we could sign Alderweireld if we can get that deal over the line, and maybe a few prospects. If we sold Clyne and Schneiderlin that would give us far more to play with but I just can't see much money being spent - I think our wage bill is significantly more than people estimate, and the new TV deal doesn't take effect until 2016/17. It is certainly worth dispelling the idea that we have money left over from last summer - all of that is gone.

Not to derail the thread, but I can't see us spending much in the summer at all. Toby will be a hard deal to get done (but not because of finances) and Elia looks likely at £4m but I don't think there is much money left in the pot. Even if we got £25m for Schneiderlin and £15m for Clyne, I could only see £22.5m or so of that being spent on replacements. I don't think we have much wriggle room with wages at all.

Do we know if Boca Juniors have any money? The crazy bastard seems to be doing ok for them - would be great to sell this summer and get the wages off the books as well.

I suppose all it needs is a court to define a list of 'reasonable' reasons for letting a player go and the ruling doesn't mean much, but it does sound like it could be messy for a period.

Come the summer there will probably only be 6 other clubs more attractive to players in this country than Saints. That's all that matters to me right now.

His transfer fee will depend on a number of things but I think that Bony fee in January has set a decent benchmark for us this summer.

Can always sign someone in the summer on a 1 year deal or get someone in on loan. There should be plenty of keepers available.

Only at top speed - takes a long time to accelerate and not the most agile of players!

As Pap has mentioned, their shocking defence has completely undermined everything else they try and do. They just don't defend well as a team, and have a lot of players who legs have gone (Distin, Barry) or are going (Jagielka, Baines). Gareth Barry runs like he is wearing wellies and at 34 has two years left on his contract

His groin couldn't withstand the extra games that European football would bring. But lets not tell the clubs chasing him that.

I'm not sure we can consider a 'if you build it they will come' approach - it may be that all those expansions were done after the clubs qualified that they would be filled. Also, I think we need to add Cardiff to the list to Wolves.

He's out of contract and I think that bridge has been burnt a long time ago.

What substantiates this though? For the level of investment required there isn't really any supporting evidence which says it would make financial sense.

He's out of contract I believe, so free to do what he wants. I'm not really a fan of Richards - gets injured far too much, I don't think he has the right sort of build for the modern footballer, and I am not convinced of his football intelligence. That said, the assist totals he got at Man City were quite impressive. I'd like to think we can do better but you never know.

Fonte has been better than Alderweireld though. I'm not saying he is a better player, but Fonte's performances have been better over the course of the season.

It will be interesting to see what Tadic does in his second season in the league. He first season has been better than Lallana's was - in fact, far better over the course of a season.

I don't think ticket prices would go down if we expanded the stadium. It's a nice thought, but I don't see it. I can't see the club passing on some of the new TV deal money to the fans by virtue of lower tickets prices either. FFP makes every source of revenue absolutely vital to optimise.

It's this 'exceptional talent' loophole to work permits for non-EU players that is the biggest bunch of nonsense in everything.

Skrtel has been done - step forward Lovren...

As long as our replacements cost less than we sell for and perform to an equal level we can build. Whether or not a recruitment strategy can be that successful is the question. But it is certainly possible in theory.

I think they still would. Football is a game of momentum, if you could slow down the momentum of the opposition by time wasting at that moment you'd still do it knowing the Ref would add time on at the end - it would be worth it.

1. Did the United win put us pretty much out of the race? No. 2. Is there even a race or will it just be the top 4 as they are now? There is still a race but it is starting to look more clear cut that the incumbents will remain where they are. 3. Were we ever realistic contenders or does our relative squad size make it nigh on impossible? That little surge after Christmas was not expected but over the course of a 38 game season the little moments of quality and squad size are telling. We've given it a great shot (and will continue to do so). 4. Would you be in any way disappointed with Europa League because you thought we had a shot at the CL? Not at all. 5. Assuming we get there, would Europa be of equal, lesser or greater importance relative to the PL and other Cups next season? A club of our size will see its League Form take a significant hammering from competing in the Europa League - you can prioritise really, but just try and manage the squad the best you can in the circumstance. As long as we're safe in the league I'd like to see a strong effort in the cups.