UpweySaint

Come on, you know it’s not that simple. If he doesn’t have an agreed release clause (which is unlikely) then yes technically we can hold him to his contract but there are many reasons that is rare in modern football - many of which are clearly exacerbated by using being relegated. Sports Republic have got plenty wrong but they at least held out for decent fees for players last time around and I can’t see why it would be different this time. I hope nobody meets our valuation for him but if they do hopefully it helps us keep a competitive squad together.

We were linked in the Autumn, i don’t know if it’s genuine but you would think his price is likely within reach for us given the year left on his deal.

I guess wages might be a factor too. If he’s on a wedge clearing that and bringing in a okay fee may either help us get in somebody Still wants or get us closer to being able to retain one of the handful of players we would actually be keen to keep. Personally if the fee isn’t a complete piss take I’m not bothered. I don’t rate him particularly highly and think Stewart looks a better all round player - with a major caveat of ‘when fit’.

Johannsen also showed a lot of class in the Rotherham home game calling for the game to be stopped - as well as pulling off some really impressive saves.

Fair enough, good fishing! 😅

Really like him? I can’t see there being too many in that camp. He’s been distinctly average and I can’t imagine much more than a collective shrug if he stays or goes. If he goes you hope we can find somebody better- if he stays he is a good squad option and has demonstrable versatility. Nothing against him but I would be curious if there are reasons, footballing or otherwise, saints fans would have strong views on Aribo? Other than having a decent-ish song that’s easy to trot out …

He looks like an accomplished finisher - if the system suits him I think he could do well for us next season. I’m convinced there is a player in there (disclaimer - I thought Cedric was going to be top drawer and after seeing BBD against Lazio I thought we had done fantastic business!) 🤦‍♂️

Ebbsfleet’s new kit looks pretty good - the stripes stops for a clean sponsor then starts again…. This in white and red with P&O Ferries in the middle?

Shout. There is smart business to be done - Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford are all proof positive. Starting to think we should change our name to BSouthampton - foolproof… Mentors/leaders of the right standard are so important. We haven’t had enough for a long time and it shows.

Fair point about the balance. Worth saying the market has left us behind to some extent. I dread to think what a lot of the players mentioned would cost now. Investing/gambling on potential is a sound strategy for a club in our position but it only really works when those players are bedded in to an existing core of senior pros of a good standard. I know he’s homegrown so misses the point a bit but take Dibling this year for example. He came in to the side and we ended up basically relying on him on a way that was unhealthy. Dibling playing off a Lamberts or a Pelle or even a prime Rodriquez is a different story. Easier said than done of course but from his talk it seems like Spors at least gets this.

I don’t agree. It’s a gamble. If things came together and they stayed up Delap’s goals would have likely been vital. Had they stayed up I presume the release clause wouldn’t have kicked in or been set higher. They’re probably down overall in financial terms but we’re not talking mega bucks comparative to the potential upside of the deal. I would have taken the deal in a heartbeat - we ended up with BBD and Archer instead - both likely to be out of the club and possibly at a loss.

Maybe though the counter is they got a top quality striker for a year without losing out. If they stayed up he would have been a massive part of it and I think the clause only kicked in because they went down. I would have loved him here and I think we would have looked miles better with him up top.

Christ if we only signed players I had heard of it would really narrow our scouting range! I agree that data can be used poorly and quantifiable data used in isolation is flawed but surely ‘good scouting’ includes the use of data?

What makes you think this is a data driven signing? I personally don’t get the anti data view but either way surely this signing is a bit more old school as the player has come from the same club as our new chief scout? I would assume he has watched this lads development in person.

Hard pass. Some things are more important than money. Ultimately we have no say and little impact on the club ownership but I would rather not see us used as a vehicle for sports washing.

I think there is a fair argument that he may not be at the standard we need but I thinking making out he shouldn’t be playing professionally as a goalkeeper is hyperbole. He’s represented Ireland (and had some good games), he was player of the season for Pompey in League 1 - he had a few decent games for and is still very young in goalkeeper terms. Ramsdale is infinitely better but with confidence and a solid defence I don’t personally think he’s as terrible as being suggested. I would prefer the Stoke keeper who had a blinder against us for Rotherham (his name escapes me but he was a Scandi chap) but if we start the season with Bazunu in goal I don’t think it’s a crisis.

I think it’s certainly possible he stays next season. The £100mil is clearly posture but I expect our valuation of Tyler is a fair wedge. He’s not the finished article by any means so it would be a brave team to commit the type of fee we would be comfortable selling with on what is mostly potential at this stage. I don’t know what our figure is - and there are always all sorts of add-ons and contingencies- but I would be surprised if we settled for much less than a fee rising to upper 30s to 40s. Throw in PSR wrangles and the domestic for Tyler isn’t massive. With Champions League qualification I could possibly see Spurs putting a very structured deal together but otherwise I am struggling to see who else would be willing to part with enough of their budget to force our hand. I don’t know enough about the financial situation of the Bundesliga but several clubs have been linked - I guess that is a possibility but again I think at the price we (hopefully) hold out for Tyler is a big gamble. Quite possibly one worth taking but a gamble nonetheless… A good season as a regular starter in the championship and a new deal with a big wage jump and a reasonable release clause might suit all parties.

I bloody would! 😅 He would be a hard sell to the fans and need one hell of a start to build credit.

I don’t think that was the point. Martin got us promoted at first time of asking - opinions vary on how much credit he should take for that. Swansea, irrespective of what we did, got worse after he left which suggests he was doing a reasonable job with them. There are lots of factors that could impact things beyond the manager but it’s fair to conclude a manager leaving and a club getting worse suggests they were having a positive impact. I don’t think the OP was making a direct comparison between us and Swansea - as you allude to it’s a bit apples and oranges. I do find some of the strength of feelings towards Martin bizarre. I fall in the pro Martin camp but felt that letting him go was the right decision in the circumstances. Fwiw I think the club structure around him and the recruitment didn’t help - a little more quality and a proper DOF to offer more challenge might have helped - we had some okay performance early season but kept being undone by repeating silly mistakes which was the major frustration. He had a couple of grumbles at the fans in press conferences but didn’t do anything horrendous. He was stubborn and naive but it feels that his personality has rubbed some up the wrong way more than anything else. It will be interesting to see how he does at Leicester - assuming he gets the job.

Probably a question for another space but does anyone know where Birmingham stand with having headroom to spend? Wrexham have massive revenues from rapid commercial growth but Birmingham don’t and spent big last season. It will be interesting to see how both do but the step up from league one to championship is a steep one and Birmingham were dross when they went down…

The proof will be in the pudding and all that if the new hires are any good but it is good to see Spors cracking on and making a lot of change behind the scenes - our recruitment has been our Achilles heal for years so hopefully change is a positive.

Well that’s a short statement. No frills. I wonder if he pissed off the chairman? He’s not pulled up any trees but kept them up. I don’t fancy him back here at this stage but I wonder if the job he’s done at Reading is enough evidence of a coach with potential.

Sam is a shout, I hadn’t really thought about him but he was decent at Championship level . I don’t see Fraser as an option - did we give him a one year deal or two? I am assuming AA, Sulemana and Tyler will be off but could be wrong. I would be surprised if Robinson was ready to be a starter. I quite like Sargeant - he is a good presser as well as other attributes which may suit us if we go back to that sort of style (seems likely based on what Spors has said). It’s hard to know what the make up of our squad will be after departures but I think both Sergeant and Sainz could do a job for us. If we bring in money and shift a lot out I wouldn’t be disappointed to see us signing either/both for the right price.

There doesn’t seem to be much of substance in the press linking us to either but the Norwich DOF has done a fairly standard “we sell at good prices” comment on Sainz and Sergeant who I know a few on here have mentioned as potential targets. Sainz had the spitting incident which is a bit of a black mark but he has impressed at Norwich and has really good numbers. I’ve not seen loads of him but I’ve been impressed by what I have seen and I like the idea of us buying players who we know can excel in the championship with scope to kick on if we are promoted back up. No idea what Norwich would consider a ‘good’ price but may be one worth keeping an eye on.

To be fair Still has a pretty good record of progressing clubs to go along with the hype.