DuncanRG

I saw both. It was the joy they got from the crowd that sold them to my friends who I brought along. They are going to be huge very soon, though having the Park set broadcast would have helped a lot. Unofferable was really special. Bumped into them round the Other stage as well, nice guys but not very talkative. I think they were just a little puzzled to be showered with praise from a UK fan. My other highlights music-wise were Portishead (miles ahead of the rest), Foals, Of Monsters and Men and Fatboy Slim. Honourable mention for Nas on Sonic as well, very nicely done.

Good call! Wonderful band and live they were even better than I was expecting. Perfect weekend - my first time and I want to go back already. Never seen anything like that place in my life

As much as the lows make the highs that much sweeter for fans of smaller clubs like ours, I'm not sure anything can emulate the feeling of winning trophies and I don't think it gets old for fans of the clubs that win them regularly.

Puts our complaints about agents fees and the soulless English game into perspective, doesn't it? Dear me. If Cagliari are involved I hope we manage to buy Nainggolan and Astori for 50p and a box of fruit winders

Hard to know what's really going on, but if all this agent stuff has some truth to it then I'm glad we're talking about Wanyama instead of, say, a top centre forward. Great as Wanyama is, and as much as he'd improve our team, he's not essential and we can afford to miss out. No reason to cave if those are the demands.

Probably. Best to sit back and not get too invested.

I don't know what you mean - that English clubs don't buy foreign players? Cause that's quite clearly not true. The Premier League has a higher proportion of foreign-native players than most.

Huh?

No, but some speculation that it may be Friday.

I know. They might know a little more about football than us, as well. Maybe.

Yup - that's my take on it as well. Someone over there has suggested the likes of Barca, Bayern and Madrid haven't made offers because he plays in Scotland. The best clubs in the world are using SWF logic! Messi wouldn't want to come here, and I reckon he'd probably do okay up top with Rickie. What a stupid thing to say. This guy probably has ambition beyond 'taking Saints forward', and rightly so.

That Ramirez quote is a little more than the usual 'great to be here', but nothing huge. I'm still on the Celtic forums and can't decide whether I prefer their delusions or yours. Strolling into the first XI of any team in Europe vs the Kenyan Ray Wilkins...

Read that sentence again. Anyway, enough talk about youtube videos. You guys are wrong about Wanyama - he is a good player and could well be an absolutely fantastic one. Mark my words.

He's worth a lot more than that.

I'm not sure you could be further from the truth. Do you prefer us to 'mess about with it' as it were and keep possession? This is your man. Fair point - nobody should take this as their only evidence that he's any good but the opposition is at least a fair deal better than what De Ridder was against.

He's incredibly strong for a 21 year-old. Can win and hold possession against the greatest possession team of all time. He's a holding midfielder; they dictate tempo and play possession. They play the ball backwards or sideways when they need to for those purposes, and this is what, for example, Cork and Schneiderlin do. He played a perfectly good forward ball in the clip I mentioned. He ran a long way and won the ball. A lot of players would have given up on it, and many of those who didn't wouldn't have got there. Do you actually believe that when a player is not on or around the ball, at any point in a football match, he must be 'chasing shadows'? Imagine you're taking the mick.

Are you joking? Watch 0:52 again. Walks through three Barcelona midfielders (!) like they're not there, head up, sees a team-mate, plays the pass, makes a run. When his team-mate can't pick him out he busts a gut to make the challenge and wins it. He effectively takes the ball from the edge of Celtic's third to just outside the penalty box without losing possession. That is great stuff, and would rank up with Cork and Schneiderlin's best moments from last season against inferior opposition. Barcelona win the ball back against everyone, and a 21 year-old's holding them off by himself.

Are you suggesting there is some kind of fairweather transfer fee involved? A poseur payout?

Nicola is willing to pay £12 million, we know this already. Do you have any reason to doubt his ability other than the fact he plays in the SPL? He's 21 years old and held his own twice against arguably the best midfield of all time. Not all great players are born into elite footballing nations.

Look at it this way though - there are Celtic fans over there convinced that he could, and I quote, "stroll into the first XI of any side in Europe". If we readjust that, considering players will look better than they are in the SPL, I reckon he'd probably be a good fit for Southampton. If they were saying that he could do a job in the Premier League, I might be worried - not least because they don't rate the Premier League very highly!

Dear me. Good on Mr Blackmore

I'd be very surprised if we sold Fonte and Hooiveld. That would mean our four centre backs (or five if we brought Astori in) would have a total of 32 Premier League games behind them - all Yoshida. He would be virtually the only one who's had a kick of senior competitive football in England - Stephens has had a couple of games in League One and a sub appearance in the cup. It would mean a total upheaval of our defence and that's a dangerous thing to do, even if you have a preseason with them all together. Partnerships, experience and understanding are very important and Fonte and Hooiveld are a big part of ours at the moment, even if they won't be first choice next season.

I suspect we've got our man now in Lovren. Shame though, I really grew to like Astori.

That's what I thought as well, but there is a gap. And Huw Stephens more or less confirmed Daft Punk were playing on Radio 1 this week!

I'm 20, from Winchester. Wasn't particularly interested in football as a very young kid but started going to St Marys in 01/02. Now a student in Sheffield, and a bigger fan than ever. Regretting not being a Saints fan while we were still at The Dell.