DuncanRG

Don't believe this at all. If he were undermining the manager or training badly, he wouldn't be getting picked, and if he'd written to the board complaining about the midfield he'd have been (rightly) disciplined. This is incredibly naive if you're talking about footballers generally. Even if you're limiting the point to Fonte I wouldn't rule out money as a big factor. But that doesn't mean he deserves our abuse, of course. I'd suggest that if you have to dig out a goal from two years ago to prove your point, your point's not very good. How many mistakes in his 250 appearances? Not many. Not sure where you've got your 'real facts' from either, do share!

Eh? I don't follow you. A six week layoff is for injury, whereas rest during a season is normal recovery. You can't not follow the argument that rest is good for a player, if that's what you're suggesting. Rest is essential to good exercise, full stop. My point really was this: Chelsea's players are match-fit and they play every weekend. Some of our guys, like Fonte, also play every weekend or the equivalent. What's the difference between them in turns of fitness? I don't accept that Chelsea would be fitter if they played more games, because that's when these issues of rest and fatigue come in. It works both ways too - if we didn't rotate there would be lads sat on the bench with no chance to get match sharpness. But these are areas I and others can't really speculate on, because we don't have a fraction of the knowledge football clubs have when it comes to fitness and sports science. That's why I trust our guys. I'm sure you're right, but who? Everton made four changes for our game and we made five, which discounts Fonte for Van Dijk as he was suspended but includes Redmond, who was suspended for West Brom. There might be some use to looking at football in 1946, but perspective it ain't. I'd love to watch that Barsley team play in today's Premier League!

It was both for most of the way, then Reed and Krueger since Cortese left. But I'm sure you know that!

You're right about motivation and team cohesion but in terms of being match-fit, playing once a week is playing once a week, whether or not there's a midweek game you've missed.

It's possible to love Southampton and leave. I'm Saints through and through but would move to a top club if the right moment came along. We all admire the Le Tissiers and Gerrards of this world but we can't demand every player sacrifice their career for the good of a club. Van Dijk will be captain, but what concerns me is the lack of options if/when he goes. Davis would be okay and Bertrand might have it in him, but your captain and vice-captain can't be the only players in the team with leadership qualities. That said, others might have those characteristics behind the scenes.

The common denominator is interest from big clubs. And we haven't had strops on the scale of Berahino, Balotelli or Grabban. Any examples of things Reed has said which turn out to be wrong, rather than just paint a positive picture, as you might expect? There may be some but I can't think of any. There were some comments about Koeman seeing out his contract, but we all know the man himself said the same then went back on his word. We have no idea what Fonte wanted from Saints - in fact he might just have wanted to leave, full stop. I won't rush to judge him or the club.

He was on the bench for a couple of games. Even if that doesn't affect your eligibility (anyone?) they'd have left him off and put someone else on the bench who they could use. And that's ignoring the preposterous idea that we'd drop our captain to please another club! It would be useful if we stopped talking about loyalty - unless you're Steven Gerrard or Francesco Totti it doesn't really enter the equation. He deserves respect for dropping down a league and that's that, really.

That's the one mark on what is otherwise an excellent record in forward planning. Romeu in before Wanyama left, Austin in before Pelle left. Van Dijk getting experience as captain before Fonte leaves, even.

Er, really? They'll want to get the story to the press in front of team Fonte/Mendes so they can help shape it, disclosing the extra year offered etc. Perfectly sensible and absolutely a precursor to a January sale. No way around that for me. If we weren't planning to sell we'd have told the press that he'd handed in a request and we'd rejected it.

Right you are. I suppose there is either something else in the terms he didn't like or he really is determined to go. I suppose you don't fire your agent and bring in Jorge Mendes unless you want to run with the big boys. There's a lot more to come out about all this, but if his attitude has lacked then it hasn't shown much on the pitch. He's been off his best this season but still very good. One thing we can safely guess is that he was unhappy at being dropped from the European games. That's not enough to want to leave but the fallout could have soured relations with the club.

Where are you seeing that? Not in the Solent write up. On another note, there are two problems this poses us in the transfer market. One is a new centre half, obviously, but we also need a line of succession for the captaincy. Van Dijk will take it when Fonte goes but he won't be around forever. Who else could realistically lead the team besides Davis, who may not be playing as much himself as time goes on?

There will be a lot of posts like this, so let's nip the narrative at the bud, shall we? Jose Fonte has been an absolute giant for us, one of our best players and a symbol of our progression. To step down from the Championship to League One and end up as a Euro 2016 winner and one of the best defenders in the Premier League, all at this club and in the space of seven years, is remarkable. For the good of the team it looks like now is the time for him to go, but he deserves our respect and a great sendoff. Now, how about that replacement?

Yes. A real fool.

Bit of a worrying thought, no options from the bench. Also, Fonte's just liked a Sport Bible photo on Instagram saying Sunderland turned down West Ham's bid for Defoe.

What happens if Boufal gets injured at the AFCON?

Okay, thanks for that. It's complete bull.

God, if this is you as a Saints supporter today I can't imagine how you felt during the Lowe years!

The deluge of idiots who think he's 'Championship at best' (where did that phrase come from?) don't remember the Championship. He had a great start and has a lot of class but, like the rest of the team, is off the boil now. That's it, really.

Why is that a bigger issue?

Are you seriously suggesting we base our managerial recruitment on a single game of football? There are umpteen reasons Pardew would be a bad appointment, but our game against Palace isn't one of them.

You'll note the players we didn't sell at the earliest opportunity - that is, almost all of them.

Unlike all the discussion of players' fitness by qualified physios on here! It's clear for all to see that we lacked mental strength in these games. That's highly unusual for us, so I'm thinking of possible explanations.

I'd imagine that when you're getting debriefed from one game and psyched for the next within the space of a day or two, it's difficult to be in the exact right mindset, particularly when you've lost the last one.

I'll always be inclined to trust the scientists and physios on issues of science and physiology. You're ignoring the psychological side of it as well.

A lazy, stupid comparison based on nationality.