Saint86

Yeah thats the gist of it for me as well. Its quite simple really, he's entering the final portion of his career and wants to maximise it after his injuries - his last real chance of a world cup / euros is Qatar, and he'll target the highest level regular football he can to get that. He'll end up at the place he feels gives him the best chance of getting that provided the pay is reasonable and he gets to start - i.e. i don't think he'll move sideways when he has a good thing at saints (main man, 2 up top, very attacking), and i don't think he'll move to be a bench player - he'll want to be the main man. So the only question remains - if he won't sign. Do we force his hand and either try to sell him anyway, or failing that, get Armstrong in and bench danny unless he signs, or do we let him run his contract down?

I for one don't think we'll get relegated under Ralph. The time for that has passed in previous seasons. We even managed to be clear last season and we could barely get a win for half of it.

He won't blame himself. Far rather just disrespect and generally name call anyone who agrees with his own viewpoints. 😅

Not sure if misreading this, but how can you even imply Che hasn't progressed? He's a good player for us and has developed a lot since he's been here. But yes, armstrong looks a player. On paper he ticks all the boxes you could want when making a signing from the championship. Obviously you never really know until they get to play a run of games. But I am very excited by the link to him.

Love it 🤣

Yeah because the club would never talk utter bullcrap until season ticket deadline day to con fans. Also, wait, we signed vestergard for £22.5m?!?!? According to trasnfermarket he is our record signing 😅 with Ings and Carillo just south of £20m.

Yeah exactly. Those fans have misjudged him imo - as proven by him signing for a superior squad. Do i think Perraud will be an upgrade for us, hopefully yes.

I hadn't realised Leicester missed champions league. Brilliant 😆 But yes, a top 5 team in europe wanting Bertrand 100% invalidates my point 🙄

"Not good enough" for some saints fans - signs a 3 year deal (effectively) with a champions league team. 🤣

Come now, you're being disingenuous, its "the land of dugouts and floodlights".

Personally think those are horrific.... what are you guys on? 😅 Or is that the point? Maybe they'll grow on me i guess...

Not sure I agree with that. Tella would be a starting CAM i hope next year (over redmond/djenpo/walcott), with Stu being the other. Adam Armstrong would be signed to play up front with Che or Ings, with obafemi possibly still being here as another option. With our finances, we don't sign a player like Adam Armstrong (with his goal scoring record) and then play him out of position... (or at least i bloody hope not!) Also, i think its very unlikely that we end the transfer window with both vest and ings - happy to be wrong.

I always assumed that was Obafemi's role? I think if we buy Armstrong, it is to replace Ings. I am fairly comfortable with the prospect of Armstrong and Che upfront, with Obafemi as a pace option.

We'll sell ings i think - There is no other legitimate reason we'd be sniffing around Armstrong otherwise (not with our finances). Personally, i'll be happy with that trade off as I think Armstrong is a great prospect and younger. Vestergard is also seemingly off as well? (based on the total absence of any noise re a contract extension and him entering his final year) - although given that, you'd hope we're signing 2 wing/full backs and a CB as a minimum.

Agreed.

I don't think many of the current issues are on Gao, he let's the club get on with running itself by and large. The issues like with the awful transfer policy that saw us destroy our team, saddle us with debts, and sign players like lemina, hoedt, Ely, carillo, etc. For tens of millions and on long contracts. Not only that, but offering long high wage contracts to players like forster, and appointing awful managers like puel and mope. As far as I am concerned, gao's tenureship got rid of the cancer that was Les Reed, Krueger etc, and has somehow kept us in the prem. We were an utter train wreck of a club in recent seasons thanks to that cabal of utter morons. And being relatively stable in the prem is no small achievement. There are worse things. Expecting a rich billionaire to come in, buy a struggling debt laden Premier league team, and poor tens of millions of their own money into it, just isn't realistic. I'm the grand scheme of things, there are far far far worse owners than Gao out there!

When is black joining?

Any word on the away kit? I was looking at the store and noticed this on the infant / baby page: https://www.southamptonfc.com/store/clothing/baby-infant/saints-away-kit-babygrow/c-1/c-266/p-1592 Fairly sure there was no yellow / blue kit babygrow there for last season 🤔

You'd need all of those signings to pay off immediately or be staring at relegation.

He'd be a steal at £15m and I'd bite their hand off for a player of his level for that much. Sod the contract situation.... If he is available for £15m we should just pay it and run before someone else comes in! There aren't many players like him in that price bracket, miss him and who else are we signing.

Don't forget Smallbone who Ralph has mentioned in numerous pressers as someone he's missing!

If anything he is too tall - which will impact negatively on his balance and agility. Fortunately our forum's black spot experts have already demonstrated 5'10 is the required height for top class full backs.

Seriously poor decision. We have Macca and Forster who are a similar standard and certainly not much better than Gunn - both of which are getting on and will need replacing.

BLM is significantly divisive. And people behaving like this is point in case.

She isn't a nice bit of work lets be honest 🤷‍♂️, but then she's also not unique in that regard when it comes to extreme political activists. Who knows, maybe she'll be lucky enough to make a fully recovery, adjust her outlook to become less angry and intolerant. What was a good gesture was all the clubs etc boycotting social media to make a point about social networks harbouring racists. That wasn't politically aligned, it was stronger communal action by the football community, and its didn't draw any negative fan pressures. Funny that. Like it or not, the issue here is BLM UK perceived messaging in football, and by attachment, kneeling down and raising a fist. That and people's inability to have a respectful conversation with those of a different outlook rather than insulting each other.