UpweySaint

Interesting read, cheers. He sounds like the sort of full back Still likes - if he is on our radar it fits with the push for more athleticism. a few comments on that thread about Rudoni too who some have mentioned. A double raid would piss off some Cov fans for sure and in some ways they feel to be a ‘similar’ size club but it’s not entirely impossible and would make a lot of sense in terms of recruiting top championship players with scope to kick on if/when we go back up. I would feel a bit for Cov fans. Generally a nice bunch and have had a few almost moments after years of dross and uncertainty.

Before anyone has to leave. As in we would target them whether we made sales or not. Getting sales done early is a bonus all the same!

I think there is a risk of oversimplification at times. Some top championship players make the step up, some don’t. Some young foreign punts end up representing great value, some are Bella-Kotchap. Players aren’t signed into a vacuum. A player coming in to a good team with talented coaches and a defined culture in terms of tactics and the bigger picture stuff such as a strong dressing room with leaders are more likely to succeed than those coming in to a shitshow. Wanging on aside I like Sainz and Rudoni from what I’ve seen. I don’t know how realistic either is at this stage - Sainz apparently has admirers higher up and Coventry would likely see us as a direct rival so would want a sizeable fee for Rudoni. If Spors and his team can pull a Marty Fernandes type deal from abroad then I’m all for it!!

Hard to see past Ipswich as favourites. As others have said they are a settled side with quality and a good manager. Plenty of us questioned their squad depth last time around but it didn’t seem to be a factor. They probably need a centre mid (or two) and possibly a striker but otherwise they look strong. I’m confident we’ll challenge but if Ipswich fly out the blocks while rivals are still getting together- us included - they could be hard to stop.

Fair enough, game of opinions! There aren’t many players I’ve preferred watching for saints in the last decade or so but I get that he could infuriate. Your main point - Dusan at 37 isn’t right for the championship - yeah no arguments. I don’t think he would fancy it and I couldn’t see him being up for a 46 game slog. It would be fun to see him doing his thing back in a saints shirt against lower quality opposition but it doesn’t feel like a se sensible or realistic bit of squad building.

Nostalgia may play a part but I don’t think it’s revisionist to say that he was technically one of the best players we have had in the past decade. He gave the ball away but also tried to, often successfully, make things happen that others couldn’t. I don’t necessarily think he’s the answer in the championship at his current age but it doesn’t diminish his ability.

This. I would guess (we’ve established its guesswork at this point) they are also both on decent wages having joined us in the Prem so we can put that towards signing a forward who suits Still’s game. If we can shift ABK for any sort of fee too that would be great.

Hard to quibble with much of the interview. I know Martin splits the crowd and I think most agree his position became untenable but it’s interesting Solak cites the VAR decisions that cost us points. It’s all if and buts though I do wonder what our season could have been like with a few more points and the confidence that comes with that early in the season.

Fair point, difficult to justify carrying them both with the fitness risks. If Onuachu and Armstrong go and we bring in a younger striker on a lower wage who may need a bit of bedding in I could conceivably see us having Ings and Stewart in reserve with Archer the main man. If honest I don’t see Ings as likely but I wouldn’t be unhappy if we signed him.

Broadly agree - there is a finisher in Archer and he may yet come good. Ings in for me depends on who goes and how any wages are structured. He could be a good option in the squad - he’s not the player he was when he was with us but we’ve not really got close to matching him since…

Was he at Barnsley or am I confusing him?

Guardian have it as basically a done deal. I don’t really judge Selles on his time with us and he’s reasonably well since leaving but I feel less worried about Sheff Utd with Wilder gone. He did a really good job with them last season and the fans understandably hold him in high esteem. If Ruben doesn’t get off to a strong start things could get tense their way. The other interesting tidbit seems to be Rohl linked with plenty of jobs but still being at Sheff Weds. There has been speculation about him holding out for better offers or Chansiri not wanting to budge from a big buy out clause. Either way if he is still there when the new season kicks off it could be an interesting watch… Have to say I’m feeling more pleased we got Still and got him relatively early. Throw in Edwards at Boro, McKenna linked to Brentford and whatever Leicester are up to and it feels like a lot of the fancied sides will have had a lot of upheaval. I almost forgot Manning to Norwich from Bristol leaving them needing to find a replacement.

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?