sydneysaint17

picture of him holding them on Twitter. All kicking off

Since he's come back we've looked a lot more solid at the back. That said, we've also looked a lot less dangerous going forward.

Dull game - Swansea were very average. We looked composed and stylish without ever really threatening apart from in the last 30 seconds obviously. Was disappointed that Gallagher couldn't get in to the game more, he hasnt really taken his chance this season in the same way that other young players (Shaw, Chambers etc.) did. Obviously still very young and clearly the staff rate him highly, but from what Ive seen he doesn't look ready for the PL yet.

Old friend of mine claims to know someone at the club (I know he knows all of the ex players very well). Didn't saying anything new, but said he'd been told Pochettino was very likely to leave and that if he did, Lallana and Shaw would be gone to. Dull/old news/bedwetting I know but thought I may as well share. Must add that I have no idea whether he is actually ITK but can't see any reason why he'd lie! p.s. dont acuse me of "trolling", just sharing what I'd heard from him.

no idea who the player in photo number 18 is

Agree - after Lallana V Mccarthy can see him being fine with a place on the bench though. Did anyone else see them squabbling during and after the game on Saturday?

He's done alright this season, nearly a goal every other game. Plus he seems to perform in the big games and has always looked decent for England. With regular playing time I reckon he'd be a very good buy (assuming it was a reasonable price).

Isgrove hasn't played a lot whilst out on loan in a League 1 club. If we want to push 4th/5th/6th, he'd have to make a dramatic improvement to even be considered. He is 21, so at the make or break age. Suspect if he didnt get much of a chance at Peterborough, he certainly wont at Saints!

....................Schmeichel............. Chambers.....Lovren.......Astori.........Shaw .............Wanyama..........Morgan.............. Scott Sinclair.............Lallana..............Rodriguez..... .......................Lukaku................... Bench; Boruc, Clyne, Fonte, JWP, Cork, Davis, Lambert In Schmeichel - 8m Astori - 10m Lukaku - 25m Sinclair - 5m Spent: £48m Out Ramirez - 8m Osvaldo - 8m Forte, Guly, Isgrove, etc. - free Received: £16m Net spend; £32m. Would consider £15m + Welbeck from United for Shaw. Reinvest £10m on a young foreign LB or buy Cresswell from Ipswich. Optimistic but not unrealistic IMO.

Firstly, apologies as I realise this thread is a combination of a few that already exist. Basically, Im bored of reading about how all our players will be tearing up the Champions League next season, earning 150K a week and not even sparing a thought for little old Saints who will be scrapping it in a relegation battle. With very few rumours about how who we'll be bringing in, we have a bit of room to dream after recent comments from the chairman/players about our apparent level of ambition. So here's the football manager style question; you are allowed a net spend of £35m with the goal being to finish 5th/6th in league in 2015, and then pushing CL football the season after. What would your squad be for the first game next season? Assume Saints players are worth the following amounts; Lovren - 15m Shaw - 30m Morgan - 20m Lallana - 25m Gaston - 8m Osvaldo - 8m Chambers - 10m Clyne - 6m Rodriguez - n/a

This.

Thats enough, timeout please.

Not sure about this "Southampton Saints". Other than that he seems to be making all the right noises!

Im now thinking a lot more about who we will be bringing in, rather than whose going out.

Very good statement to make. Has made it clear in my mind that the club wont be selling without very good reason. If the club were now to sell 4/5 first team players, it would completely undermine the new board of directors and send out the wrong message to fans, the players and other clubs. We may well move on 1/2 players, for me the most likely candidates being Ramirez and Osvaldo, but I am now confident that it will be a positive summer and that we will come back in August with an improved squad. If they get a huge offer for Shaw then he might go, but Im sure the club will be aware that no matter how much money they receive for him, they wouldn't be able to attract someone of the same quality or potential. If they are serious about pushing onto the next level, which their statement would suggest (keeping best players, pochettino and improving squad), then they will be doing all they can to retain Shaw, Chambers, Lallana etc. Very positive and looking forward to seeing what the summer has in store!

Sterling has been fantastic this season. A front 4 of him, Lallana, Rooney and Sturridge at the World Cup is quite formidable...

Few of the possible relegation candidates have some gettable, decent players. Shame Palace are safe, that Puncheon looks handy.

Toure - "people know Messi's face but not mine"....Could that be because he's a bit better than you Yaya?

This. Teams challenging the top clubs have to look to strengthen their first team, not buy replacements. Since Pochettino arrived, that seems to have been the goal.

Makes the right noises but a lot of management speak. Ill be making an initial judgement on him at the end of this summer.

Pochettino has always said those two cannot play in the same team - they're too similar. If we sold Morgan, we have to buy another DM (for Poch's style, probably a box to box midfielder). I think we will sign a GK, CB and then replace any players that are sold.

Shaw - as good as gone, would take close to 30m anyway Lallana - will want CL football but I would be gutted if he chose to leave us. Our best player and we would really struggle to bring in someone of the same quality Morgan - will also want CL football, spoke regularly about his excellent relationship with Cortese. Think he's more likely to go than Adam but would still be a huge loss Lovren - Cant see it happening unless we get a massive bid and have someone lined up We are where several teams have previously been, hovering around the 7th/8th/9th. We could go the way of Everton, spend wisely, retain our core squad and progress steadily. We could also go the way of West Brom, who failed to replace their key players from last season (albeit mainly a loan player in Lukaku) and rapidly slide down the table. Should Adam, Morgan and Shaw go which personally I think they will, we have to remember a few things. We now have an excellent reputation for playing high quality football, coupled with a fantastic youth set up. The new training ground will also be a big pull factor, so assuming that Katrina is prepared to spend, it may be easier to attract good players to the club than ever before. Make or break summer for me.

Easy to underestimate moving on Osvaldo. With his growing track record of winding pretty much everyone involved with his club up, Saints may end up having to keep him on.

Lallana is now 25, by no means old but also not the "exciting prospect" or "young talent" that certain commentators label him. He is a fantastic player and must surely be assessing our realistic chances of playing CL football at Saints within the next few years. I don't know him personally or what motivates him, but if I was in his shoes, if an offer of first team football came in from a CL team it would be very hard to turn it down. That said, the teams that will be playing Champions League this year will be Liverpool, Chelsea, City, and then Everton or Arsenal. Would he struggle to hold down a regular within the those sides? He would probably be a squad/fringe player with all of those teams bar Everton (who probably wouldn't shell out the cash for him in the first place), given their squad depths and the quality that they have available. Given that he is settled in Southampton, captain of the team and has just broken into the England squad, the only reason I can see for him to move on would be to play CL football or to challenge the title. Most top teams are now looking to sign players for their first team and then relegating current teamers to the bench. The teams that could afford him would be unlikely to bother spending that much on someone who may just act as high quality back up player, hence why I reckon he will most likely stay.

I wasn't there but a good friend was. Apparently all that was said was that Chambers is the preference over Clyne. Above was just explaining why thats significant