Wes Tender

I agree totally with your opinion. Although some of his mates have departed for what they consider to be pastures greener, there are several others who I hope will be considered by him to be friends who are still here. It is just Lallana who has left from the midfield of which he was the kingpin. That midfield is arguably stronger with the additions of Tadic and Taider and he has an opportunity to impress further with his contribution to it. Champions League football is not available with Spurs and his mates have gone to Liverpool and United. His favourite manager is with Spurs, but for how long? What does he do if he signed for Spurs and then Pochettino was sacked after 6 months? Where does he see himself in a year or two? Spurs are unlikely to the extent of his ambition. In the unlikely event that Pochettino does a good job there, he would probably only use them as a stepping-stone to higher things, as he used us. Why shouldn't schneiderlin be pursuaded to enhance his prospects here with us for another season and then make the career jump to one of the major European clubs? If he had so much respect for Pochettino, I wonder why Koeman shouldn't be able to influence his decision with his considerable experience with some of the World's top clubs.

Better if lines one and two were swapped over

And I thought that the country was awash with Romanians. Surely there are some who speak good English?

Where do get that he was a corporate finance expert from? All that I have read on him is that he was an expert on company law and corporate governance. It wouldn't surpise me though that he fell victim for opening his big mouth and planting his foot firmly in it regarding his statement that the new board had inherited a difficult financial situation, even though he qualified that by saying that it did not necessitate us selling any players. Naturally the press didn't take any notice of that part of his statement, but he should have anticipated that.

This really is one of the most premature conclusions about a player's ability (or lack of it, apparently) that I can ever remember. Well done for forming your opinion before he has even kicked a ball in a PL match yet. The team isn't even complete yet either, so factors like the potential arrival of a player who will put through balls or knock-downs on a plate for him are ignored completely, as well as the consideration that there are several new players in the team, including him, who will need some time to understand how their team mates play.

CB Saint: So the message you'd send out to any other club and all of our players current and future, is that if you don't wish to honour your contract, just throw a strop and the club will let you go? And if the amounts received for other players was deemed to be extreme compared to their realistic values, you'd accept just £20 million for one of the best midfielders in Europe? He is far more difficult to replace than Lallana, Lovren, Lambert or Chambers, so anything less than an amount that would make the buying club wince is not enough. £30 million should be the lowest amount, bearing in mind that we don't need the money and would rather keep the player, as it is unlikely that we would be able to find a comparable replacement that easily. But even at an eye-watering fee, I'd still be worried that the message gets across that regardless of the Chairman stating categorically that a player isn't for sale, that we would be prepared to renege on that position and make ourselves look foolish and set the guidelines for every other player at this club and indeed elsewhere.

Wasn't the least season a rebuilding one? And the one before. It might possibly be understood by Poch that he has the breathing space of a season in which to rebuild, but I suspect that Levy and the fans will expect more from him, as they seem to believe that they are a bigger club than they actually are.

I don't see why that would be difficult for us to do, as I don't recall many saying that because of his behaviour he can go and do one. There has been quite a bit of sympathy that apart from Lambert, he was more deserving than others of a decent career move, given his excellent contribution since he arrived here and came on the journey back up through the divisions and last season back in the PL. There might be support for the club's position that he isn't for sale, but that reflects that we would prefer him to stay and give us at least until next January, if not another complete season. He was our player of the season and the players' player of the season, so I'm content that we would support him if he stayed and buckled down.

And if the club have any sense, they'll reject it out of hand.

I would be on the club's back if they caved in and accepted £20/£22 million for him. It would be a travesty and Krueger's head would be on the block if he let him go for such an amount having declared that he was not for sale at any price. If you think that he's worth about £30 million, like me, why would the club even consider accepting up to a third less? In my opinion, he's certainly worth more than Lallana was for a start. And we shouldn't sell him to Spurs whatever happens. I'm coming around to believing that he will realise that he is on a hiding to nothing until at least the January window and that he will buckle down and get on with it. Having decided that, it isn't in his interests to sulk and not give of his best, especially if he wants to play for France in the Euros.

Why? What's Morgan done now?

Wasn't prepared to make any predictions on the earlier thread before the season started and won't on this thread either.

He had Aldi time in the world to get it right

A good idea. Other possible solutions are discussed in detail in this article:- http://www.thehardtackle.com/2014/english-fa-the-issues-of-the-home-grown-rules-and-the-difficulty-of-central-planning/

I think that we should be greatly encouraged that we are mentioned in the same breath as Liverpool and Arsenal. But if we continue to produce England national standard players, then soon Arsenal and Liverpool will be comprised of more ex-Southampton players than the rest of their team. But presumably including us with them was to take a sideways swipe at them, rather than to praise us. A shame though that having raised this subject that he didn't have the gumption to take it further by making suggestions on how the situation could be resolved by the footballing authorities.

Most of the comments currently are in favour of the club making an example of him by keeping him, stopping his wages if he won't play and seeing who blinks first. Also, if the fans are listened too, the majority opinion seems to be that if Schneiderlin is sold then Krueger's position is untenable after he drew the line in the sand and stated categorically that he was not for sale. Using the fans' opinions as an excuse to let him go won't wash. If the club had an alternative position that Schneiderlin could only be sold for a minimum £30 million and that was only to a club outside England, then I for one would accept that. But I would much prefer the club to make an example through him, taking a stand against players who think that they can go on strike and throw a strop to get out of contractual agreements that they were willing parties to signing.

Agree totally. Cork and Davis are the workaholics in our team, the unsung heroes.

Historical perspective is never irrelevant; that is how people learn things, through experience. And it wasn't an apology. Yes teams can and in fact do swap players in and out. Yes, players who even though they have a feeling for the club, having worked through the ranks, having extensive experience in the same working environment can be bombed out and somene else dropped in. Especially if they are no longer considered good enough to play at the current level, or indeed the level that the club aspires to be. Players brought in are hoped to improve that team, but only when they have played for a reasonable time can a judgement be reached on whether they have done so. Some of those so called loyal players leave for better things, so why wouldn't a club sell them too if they are not deemed good enough? It's the other side of the coin, you know. The relevance of the experience of a player who has been with us five years? It isn't a hard and fast rule that a player who has been at a club for five years will be better than one who just joins the club. Only in your mind. And for future reference just to illustrate the quality of your thought processes :- Not weird regarding Kelvin at all. He was a good first choice keeper when we were in the third division and making our way back up. But he wasn't good enough as first choice when we bought Boruc, but still decent enough cover. Now we have Forster, he is again further down the pecking order, but still worth having around for his character and example to the youngsters as a model professional. But if we lost Kelvin to injury, then yes, no problem signing an experienced replacement. So according to you, I'm short of the ability to understand things clearly, whereas according to another poster, you appear to be mentally ill. Who's right? You about me, or him about you?

That's really easy. A) because it is now recent history. Although I don'r see the relevance of him having been with us 5 years against somebody else who had a similar experience elsewhere with a top team. Lallana's team mates changed quite significantly during that time as we moved up the divisions. So you lose your bet. But B) is also true and I'm pretty sure that will be shown when Hagiology Publishing come to put his record here into historical perspective. Apropos of your comments on another thread, I'm certain that the intelligentsia would be capable of spelling that word.

Nowhere near as easy as it would be to predict what you will say. That would be to twist anything said by anybody who doesn't agree with you in an effort to ridicule them. What you fail to realise, is that it is you who looks ridiculous for it. Regarding the questions I asked about Lallana, you have not answered them at all. You dithered and obfuscated your way around them. A simple yes or no will suffice. And well done again for talking on behalf of everybody

Well, excuse me for thinking that Lallana's contribution to our history would be measured against other Saints players' records to give it some perspective. Silly me. I asked you a couple of questions. Do you think that Lallana is irreplaceable with another player as good or better for less money. Did you think that Lallana was worth the £25 million Liverpool paid for him? Or are you going to hide behind the excuse that in your opinion it is just too anodyne for you to bother with, but you are quite happy nevertheless to stick your oar into my opinions on it. And I admire the sheer arrogance of you inferring that the whole world is at one with you. I'm afraid that it isn't me against the world, it's just you and a few others.

Tomorrow is the deadline for Morgan to make up his mind on whether he is going to continue with his infantile strop and face the potential consequences of damage to his career, or whether he will buckle down and get on with it as our player. If he does that, then he can always negotiate his departure either in the January window, or next summer, when depending on his attitude and quality of play, he will probably be worth more and have more choice of clubs wishing to sign him.

Promising home debuts for the new boys. Pelle lagging a bit behind the others, but that will improve IMO when we get an additional striker for them to play off each other, or when Rodriguez returns, or the existing players learn to anticipate each other's through balls.

History gives perspective, which is what the footnote referred to. Players like those on the forum banner have passed the test of time and will be remembered as club greats. I don't think that one can make out a case that Lallana can be included in that banner, but if you think you can, then go ahead. Do you think that he is irreplaceable with another player as good or better, for less money? Was he worth £25 million? Was that just right, too much, or should we have held out for more? Come on, let's have your thoughts on this, instead of you trying to pick holes in my opinion, let's have yours.

If we replace him with a player as good or better, why will he be a big loss? I really do struggle to understand this point you are making. The Messi mention was used as an illustrative example. Although it is an extreme example, as we aren't going to sign him, the point is that if Lallana was replaced by Messi, would you miss Lallana? Well, would you? If not, then it follows logically that provided that the Lallana replacements are as good or better than him, then he will not be a big loss. Especially as we got £25 million for him to re-invest in the team.