Wes Tender

Laughable that some Gooner reckons that the story was factually incorrect because in his opinion Shaw's family moved to Hersham, therefore he was too far away from Arsenal's training ground and wouldn't qualify for them as he was more than an hour away, that being the reason that he left Arsenal's academy. Their ground near St Albans is about 49 minutes drive away,

When Shaw and Lallana have gone (which is apparently imminent) and Pochettino has left too, and the ensuing chaos means that several other players will follow through the door marked exit, then it will be the time to be concerned. However, even then there is the prospect that we might appoint a manager better than Pochettino. We did so when Adkins took over from Pardew and again when Pochettino took over from Adkins, but for some reason, Pochettino is as good a manager as we can hope for. We might also bring in better replacements for any player who leaves, or there might be academy products on the way through that will be better than Shaw and Lallana. When the likes of Bale, Walcott and the Ox left, I suspect that many didn't realise that Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Chambers and Gallagher could step up and not look out of place in the first team. There are several others in the pipeline. Will we stop identifying players like Cork, Wanyama, Clyne, Davis, Schneiderlin, Fonte who we can bring in at reasonable cost all of a sudden? We have arguably the most successful academy in the country and a seriously good scouting operation. The time to start worrying is when we fail to replace any players who leave with equal or better players before the kick-off for the next season. The time to worry is not now when nobody has yet left.

Perhaps it went straight into the waste paper bin.

My post asked whether Spurs was a Global brand and I suggested that perhaps Everton had more credence in that department than Spurs. Whether we can overtake either in the next few years is entirely a different debate.

Is Spurs a global brand? I hadn't realised, as I don't see much evidence of it on my travels. I suspect that Everton has more of a following than them globally, although even then not in the same league as the others, but they don't get a mention for some reason.

Completely agree. It isn't just the media trying to read things into everything that our board, our manager, or our players say and spinning it the way that suits them. Our own fans don't like to be left behind when jumping to conclusions based on nothing in particular too.

I saw it too and it was an emphatic gesture. Everybody around me thought the same as me, that it meant he was staying. A shame that we couldn't get all three points against United. I'm really quite disgusted that we dropped four points against them as we have better players than them in many positions. We dominated them in the first half and needed another goal to wrap it up. It was obvious that United were getting frustrated, as they resorted to cheating and harassing the ref after we scored. Tactically we got it right the first half and Wanyama playing alongside Cork, Schneiderlin and Davis, makes us very hard to play through. Quite often United resorted to desperate punts forward or long range shots which were largely ineffective. The second half, Giggs made the changes that changed their fortunes and they began to claw their way back into the game. Their goal gave them a lift and galvanised them, but we stood firm, didn't falter and had some opportunities to hit them on the break. I'm certain that had Rodriguez been fit, he would have capitalised on the balls played behind them and punished them. Shaw was magnificent and improves with every match. On the other wing, Clyne also had a good game and was needed to counteract Evra's pace on the right flank. Januzaj could have proved a thorn in our left flank, but Shaw had him in his pocket most of the time. During the first half, Boruc was largely a spectator, but apart from his usual casual miskicking, was solid in claiming the high balls put into the area. He had no chance with Mata's free kick and it was clumsy defending that conceded it. Without it, we might well have kept the clean sheet and wrapped up the three points, as United didn't really produce much otherwise. It has been a great season and if we can keep the majority of the team and our manager away from the predatory top clubs who covet them so much, we could potentially progress a couple of places higher next season.

It is all matter of timing and luck. Reviewing that list, who could have imagined that Manchester United would have finished potentially only a couple of points above us, or that Liverpool would have finished as low the past couple of seasons. OK, they've been the surprise package this season based on how poor they were before it, but they rely heavily on Suarez and Sturridge and what happens if either are injured for long periods or sold? Spurs have been nowhere near as good without Bale and his replacements have been gash considering how much they spent on them. Everton have a good manager in Martinez, but rely on loan players who might not be there next year and their replacements might not be as good. Man Utd will probably improve under Van Gaal, but will require major surgery to replace several players and they might not gel any better than those Spurs misfits next season. On the other side of the coin, we will need to keep Pochettino and the majority of the current team, strengthen by adding 3/4 more quality players to stand a chance of advancing further next season. I don't think that 6th is impossible, in fact we might have achieved it this season had we not suffered key injuries to Boruc, Wanyama and Lovren.

I share the opinion of some others that firstly I would hate being sponsored by some loan shark outfit or betting company. Secondly, although Veho aren't well known at the moment, I applaud the fact that we have gone with a local company and one which is run by Saints fans. They are obviously ambitious people who seek to market their brand around the World and they do have bases in the Far East too and this is a very effective way for them to go about it. It is typical on here though that without knowledge of how much the deal is for, there are the usual suspects who condemn it out of hand. In the grand scheme of things, the sponsorship deal that we could command would only bring in a comparatively small sum for the size of club we are currently. As we grow more and more successful, we can command higher income from this side of things.

Uncle Les has more football experience than many and it is that which helped Cortese, who like the new board also lacked experience of the football industry when he came here. But then again, football is a business like many others and the same principles apply and Katharina has surrounded herself with people with good business brains and adept in financial and legal matters. Additionally, although Ice Hockey isn't football and the Canadian scene is different to the English one, nevertheless there must be similar principles involved with the buying and selling of players in both cases and therefore Ralph Krueger brings his experience from that too. And if the likes of us can work it out that a player will increase his value following a good showing in the World Cup, I doubt that that fact has escaped our board. If there is any intention to sell at all, it will undoubtedly also be after maximising the price too by playing one suitor against the others, and there isn't a shortage of those with big money behind them. And if the price goes too high for them, then good. As others have said, Lallana would be difficult to replace for the sort of money that Liverpool are quoting. Arguably, even Gareth Bale at 100 million Euros hasn't effectively been replaced in his value to Spurs by those several players that they brought in with the money they got for him.

You overlook the laws of supply and demand. Buying a player is the same as buying a house or a second hand car, or something at auction. Whereas the marketplace gives some idea of a product's worth, ultimately anything is worth only what somebody is prepared to pay for it. The seller only sells if they want to or have to and deem the price acceptable. In the case of Lambert, the fee was a record for that division, I understand. Jay Rod was deemed to be a decent enough price for a player in the Championship with potential rather than proven ability at the top level. Clubs like Liverpool believe that because of the pull of their name as a glory club, they can offer less up front in the hope that the player will still want to go there. That is the arrogance. In the case of Lallana, his value will be inflated by other bidders and whether he goes depends on whether he wants to go, whether we want to sell him, whether we deem the price to be at a level that is acceptable to us. All this frenzy in the media is just journos sounding out the response from the club on behalf of their contacts at various clubs and it is certainly a form of tapping up. Despite Southampton making statements at board level that our star players are not for sale and no official approaches have been made for them, that doesn't prevent the gutter press from speculating on behalf of the plastic fans of the glory teams, who lap up this rubbish.

Their backgrounds are a little different and that provides the possibility that he might remain with us. RVP wasn't at Arsenal from a tender age and therefore did not have the cameraderie of his fellow academy mates growing up at the club with him. RVP had become one of the hottest in-form strikers in the Premier League, whereas Lallana faces more competition as a midfielder. RVP isn't a native Englishman, so has no particular afffinity or family roots in a specific area of the country, whereas Lallana has family and roots in the South. If Lallana wishes to leave, then there is not much we can do about it, except screw the buying club for mega-bucks. If he wants to stay, we can simply tell any bidders to go and get lost. I hope that is what happens, as it will send a clear message that we don't have to sell our best players to balance the books as we used to have to.

Encouraging noises coming from Krueger, but I'll wait and see what happens in the close season regarding sale and purchases of players before reaching any concrete conclusions. Sometimes people in his position can say too much, as in the comments about the finances and the press pick up on it and draw probably the entirely wrong conclusion, that we are now forced to sell players against our wishes as a result. Tie down Pochettino to a new long contract, keep the star players (with the possible exception of Shaw if he wishes to leave for mega-bucks), strengthen the squad with some real quality and then I'll give due credit that will be deserved.

I seem to have touched a nerve. Whilst we're enduring your self-righteous outrage about bigotry in a vain effort to ingratiate yourself nausiatingly with your heroes, let's hear your views on other forms of bigotry. Where do you stand for example on calling posters "mongs" and this a "mongboard"? Is it something you agree with? I don't recall reading any condemnation of that by you, so I would welcome your views. How about you suggesting that the original instigator of that expression be tagged in a similar way?

Here's your archetypal big club fan, possibly Man United, (but you never know where they come from), spouting the usual rubbish that the press ecourages them to. He immediately contradicts himself by saying that Lallana won't improve further, but will become more consistent, which I would have thought was an improvement. Apparently this cretin believes that when a player reaches the grand old age of 25, they cannot get any better. Typically, he also undervalues a player who has performed consistently well as to be chosen to represent England at the World Cup. His estimate is not good business for us, as he couldn't be replaced by anybody as good for anywhere near that sum.

As I said, Hypo and the likes of you miss the point each and every time. The forum exists on the monies paid as subscriptions and if sufficient number of disillusioned posters withdrew their contributions, then the forum probably becomes unviable financially. Get it? Typical Fryism, missing the point, then acting all superior without the remotest justification.

I'm threatening to leave am I? As usual and in common with a lot of your mates, you lack basic comprehension skills. I said that if the forum failed to control those few posters who are ruining it for everybody else, I would cancel my subscription. I'll spell it out for you. That means three a posts a day limit, which is pretty well all I do anyway. I can see how similar action might affect you though, as somebody with as many posts as you obviously doesn't have much of a life outside this forum. I realise that you are a bum-chum of the the people who ought to have action taken against them, so your post comes as no surprise. Frank also posts infrequently, but makes more sense in two or three posts than you do in 50.

I'm looking forward to the new Saints Cheerleaders along these lines:- http://www.davelaus.com/edmonton-oilers-octane-cheerleaders-calendar-shoot/

I'd be so gutted to be a Swansea fan suffering defeat within 45 seconds of full time. It's just something that so typically happened to us over the years and it's a refreshing change to get all three points under those circumstances. The game has to be destined for the last one to be shown on MOTD, boring as it was. But at least the win was justified by our domination and is excusable because of injuries to two of our more creative players. Clyne and Shaw haven't done their recent reputations any harm and a midfield comprising Cork, Schneiderlin, Davis and Wanyama was always going to be a hard one for any opposition to crack. A clean sheet with Boruc virtually a spectator all afternoon, a record points tally in our Premiership history, the number of years since we last beat them in Swansea and all considered, just cause for celebration tonight. With Man Utd losing to Sunderland too, there has to be few better times to be playing them on the last day of the season. Revenge for them sending us down in the equivalent match a few years back will be very sweet if we can pull it off. Shame that we don't have the firepower up front to really hammer them.

With luck, you're one of the handful who will be going if the will of the majority has any bearing on matters. As for me, I'll wait until my current subscription expires, thank you.

Well said.

I think I'll join the subscription cancellers too. I'm really quite disgusted that the response by the Mods is to just try and sweep the concerns of so many posters under the carpet. As you rightly say, the significant figure is not the number of those saying they will cancel on this thread, but the vastly greater number of those over the past year or two who have expressed the opinion that they no longer bother coming on here any more because they believe that a handful of posters have ruined the forum. Those posters have all come out on this thread in an attempt to justify their position and to hurl their usual puerile playground abuse at those who dare to criticise them, but ultimately Steve Grant as owner of the site needs to have a long hard look at whether his inaction over this small disruptive handful will slowly but surely strangle the forum and drain the profitability out of it. It's his call. The simplest solution if he doesn't have the guts to ban them, is at least to limit the number of posts they make per day. But I won't hold my breath that he will do anything if his response so far is anything to go by. Perhaps some of those posters are his mates.

I'm with you on this. Some believe that players are like supermarket workers who will move jobs for an extra pound an hour, or that players somehow need the bright lights of the big city and can't be content with the more sedate style of life around here. A big factor with many of our academy players is that they have grown up together, many since the age of eight. I cannot think of another Saints team since I've been a regular where the team spirit is so good. That has to count for something.

Agreed that it certainly seems to be her and a big smile on her face, enjoying the moment along with everybody else. Great to see her also invloved in the Staff footy match and her enjoyment of that was also obvious. I have read various articles penned by bloggers recently that claim that not only will we be forced to sell our star players to balance the books, but that Katharina Liebherr has no interest in football. Footage like this begs to differ on that opinion. I think that she is getting the bug and enjoying the ride with us, even more so now that she is surrounded by her trusted lieutenants.

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