sydneysaint17

Just spoken to a friend at the club. Expect movement by this evening if all goes well apparently!

Funny that given Corteses reputation for keeping his cards close to his chest, now he's left, we know even less about who the club might be signing. Theyve been more open with injuries and whether deals will happen, yet previously we had several weeks of speculation about whether we would be getting Ramirez, Osvaldo, Wanyana etc. Katrina obviously doesn't want what shes planning getting out!

Him and Lallana exchanged a couple of passes as the Saints players came out to start the second half. Good to see I thought!

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/liverpool-hand-trials-aston-villa-target-oskar-jansson-3979855#.UuZbDRY4now

Rooney being made captain at United apparently. Given that Evra is currently captain there, they may be willing to annoy him if they know they have a back up coming in..All speculation though

Won't happen - someone has just made the Sunseeker link and thought up a story. No evidence to support and some evidence to suggest its not happening.

Taking the captaincy off Adam could cause more problems than is necessary. I appreciate that the captain has a role, but realistically with the characters they've got in the squad, theres a few who will be doing very similar things to Adam behind the scenes (Lovren, Fonte, Lambo etc.). Its nowhere near as bigger thing as a sport like cricket where clearly the captain directly influences the game with his decision making and tactics. No point in changing whatsoever.

http://www.skybet.com/football/transfer-specials/event/16079603 10/1 with skybet

Sentimentality aside, if Saints have got a younger, better replacement sorted (possibly Monk's player from the other thread) then I don't have a problem with it. They wouldn't sell without bringing someone in, and they know that if theyre realistic about challenging the top 6 it should probably be someone half decent.

Fingers crossed its Vela.

Or a notepad

Out; Billy Sharp 14th Jan In: Davide Astori 23rd Jan

Davis Clyne Fonte Lovren Shaw Morgan Cork Gaston Lallana Davis Jay Rod

I am a little bit ITK on this one from an unreliable source. Cortese thinks that with CL football St Mary's would be nowhere near big enough and developers want to take St Marys off his hands as part of the redevelopment of Southamptons inner city (West Quay watermark etc.). Last I heard the developers were still in talks with the club

Cant see Cortese getting too sentimental over the club legend status. Lambert is an asset, who in a couple of years wont be worth anything like 8m. On the flip side, Im sure theyll appreciate that Gallagher isnt ready, Sharp isnt good enough,and Osvaldos temperament will see him ruled out quite a bit, so I can only see Lambo being sold if they have their eye on someone younger who is as good/better. If they do then great, if not, then Lambert is worth more than 8m to us at the point in time.

Agree with that. Can see Poch buying a new AM more suited to our style and giving them preseason to adapt. Depending on how much he plays, I think we can recoup what we paid for Gaston - unbelievable potential.

certainly hope not. However inconsistent he is, he was involved in a lot our goals last year and created several chances on Sunday. Would love to see him given a chance to prove himself in the team

Overall okay performance. Everton dealt well with our pressing game and when they didnt (gave the ball away near the penalty area) we failed to capitalise. Highlights: Gaston excellent when he came on, Lallana had some nice moments, Chambers/Shaw looked good as well. Think we missed Schneiderlin a lot. Lowlights: Lambert and Rodriguez struggled to get into the game, JWP shouldnt have let Coleman turn inside him and maybe we switched off a bit for the 2nd goal. For Chelsea game; IN: Gaston, Morgan, Clyne, Osvaldo OUT: Davis, JWP, Chambers, Lambert

Overall okay performance. Everton dealt well with our pressing game and when they didnt (gave the ball away near the penalty area) we failed to capitalise. Highlights: Gaston excellent when he came on, Lallana had some nice moments, Chambers/Shaw looked good as well. Think we missed Schneiderlin a lot. Lowlights: Lambert and Rodriguez struggled to get into the game, JWP shouldnt have let Coleman turn inside him and maybe we switched off a bit for the 2nd goal. For Chelsea game; IN: Gaston, Morgan, Clyne, Osvaldo OUT: Davis, JWP, Chambers, Lambert

Out of our current squad, Id say Lallana would be the most likely to reject a top 4 move in favour of pushing on with Saints.

1. How have you found the league so far now that we're approaching the half way mark? Very few games where we've played badly. Injuries havent helped and had we been more clinical in certain games we could easily be top 6 at the moment. 2. Which position if any will you be wanting to strengthen in the next transfer window? Would like to see a back up LB brought in, possibly on loan. Shaw is fantastic, but seems to miss the odd game through illness/injury and Fox isnt up to it. 3. You must be delighted with the International recognition of some of your players. Are there any others that you feel are worthy of a call up? Would take Lallana and Clyne to the World Cup. This season there have been better English strikers than Rodriguez and Lambert. Jay Rod more deserving than Lambo in the last couple of months though. 4. What are your thoughts on Mauricio Pochettino and is he really that different to Nigel Adkins in terms of coaching? We played good football under Adkins, but Pochettino has tightened the defence and introduced high tempo pressing. Also, I'm not sure we would have persuaded any of last summers signings to come to Saints if Adkins was still in charge. 5. What are you views of Everton as a club, our fans, and our style of football, and if you've been to Goodison before our stadium? Enjoy watching Everton a lot and always liked them as a club. Will be interested to see how your squad develops next summer assuming Lukaku and Delufeou go back to their clubs and you receive large bids for Barkley and Baines. Get the impression that it will be important for Everton to finish 6th or 7th so that they can attract the required calibre of players so they can continue to push on next season. 6. Can you name a best eleven plus a subs bench using players from both sides? Howard Clyne Jagielka Lovren Baines Wanyama Schneiderlin Lallana Mirallas Barkley Lukaku Subs; Boruc, Shaw, Ramirez, Distin, Mccartthey, Osvaldo and Ward Prowse 7. Where do you think both teams will finish in the table? Everton - 7th Southampton 9th 8. Any predictions for the game? Close game, 2-2.

If we are indeed in the market for another high quality striker, I wouldnt have a problem with sending Rickie out on loan to take points off other mid table teams (In the same way as Puncheon) - particularly considering the clubs apparent high opinion of Gallagher.

Where did you hear that? I didn't know that was part of the deal? Seems a strange clause to have as a 12 year old! Good forward thinking by Bournemouth if true

Been a fantastic season to be a Saints fan - particularly until late October! Stand out players so far; Lovren, Shaw, Rodriguez, Lallana. Honourable mentions for Davis, Schneiderlin, Clyne and Boruc as well. As well as we've played, if the club are serious about playing in the Champions League, it is quite clear that they need greater squad depth and a higher calibre of players coming in. Would like to see a new GK, young LB, CB and an attacking midfielder coming in before the start of next season.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2528940/Manchester-City-Liverpool-train-Christmas-Eve-ahead-crunch-Boxing-Day-Premier-League-clash.html this article reckons Kelvin is fit again. If true, best Christmas present ever.