DuncanRG

None of that would necessarily make the story false.

So little is known about Gao's involvement that people project things onto him, good or bad. We don't really know how involved he's been in setting the direction beyond the financials.

How anyone can compare Gao to Mike Ashley is beyond me. For one thing. Newcastle actually got relegated.

The other relevant bit "The club is yet to report financial results for the 2018-19 season but sources involved in finding a purchaser for Southampton expect these to be considerably less healthy than the £28.6 million profit declared last March. The club would have made a significant loss in 2017-18 had it not been for Virgil van Dijk’s record £75 million sale to Liverpool, while the ratio of wage to turnover rose to 74 per cent." Onto the ownership roulette once again. Let's hope we don't get a lunatic.

Yep.

The referee got the big decisions right, but the crowd's misplaced sense of injustice didn't half help the atmosphere. Good to see the team getting the support right through a tough game. Got to feel for Djenepo, though. Poor guy.

Probably, but everyone's taking longer at the sink as well

I mean, I'd take one at Saints. Absolutely mad that anyone thinks Liverpool's first title in 30 years will be anything other than huge to them, and quite right.

Agreed - but I'm an ST holder with a good seven or eight aways and never got anything. Ho-hum.

Never got an email saying they were on sale, which is annoying if they are sold out already.

First time I can remember being confident about a West Ham game.

We've got an outside chance if 8th gets you in. Doubt we'll manage 7th.

Long's new contract does change the equation a bit. If we're expecting another season from Long as a starter then £15-20m for a bench player must be very appealing for a club that only buys once it's sold.

I really hope that next season the boilerplate pundit line on Saints has moved on from 'he's done a brilliant job since the 9-0'. Maybe if something eye-catching happens over the summer or at the start of next season.

Yes. If we didn't play well we would be bad.

I've only recently realised what an arse Kasper Schmeichel is.

Looks like he's off to Sampdoria for the rest of his Saints contract. Gutted we won't get to say goodbye to one of the big characters of the 2010s for Saints.

Things change. He clearly fancied Adams, started him for weeks until a change was clearly needed and still values him. If he didn't value Adams he'd be off to Leeds on loan. Djenepo has done well when he's played but had a few injuries and recently suffered from the formation change and the form of Armstrong. Danso's the only one I'd question.

Not signing a second full-back in January is the last straw?

Can't believe the optimism on here! We're good away and can compete with top teams, but they've dropped points once all season. They just win games. I'm expecting a decent performance but we'll still lose, kind of like the home fixture.

Wouldn't be surprised if they sell a couple in the summer, and Lo Celso's more forward-thinking than Hojbjerg.

Yeah, exactly this. Since we're pretty much safe I'd much rather spend that money in the summer.

If KWP plays well and the Cedric money puts us in a better position to strengthen properly in the summer then it's been a good window. It's quite the gamble though.

Bit of a shame we won't get to say goodbye. He's hardly a cult hero but he's served the club well for a long time.

Here's David Ornstein on that £5m Cedric figure: "The total package is worth around £5m to Southampton. That will comprise a loan fee, complete salary coverage and possibly other savings such as a loyalty bonus that would have been owed (I don't know this for certain with Soares but it is not uncommon). Southampton get a good deal for a player who is out of contract in the summer and Arsenal get a six-month loan that is not costing them much more or less than many others comparable deals and they can review the situation in the summer."