a1ex2001

he could, would be a pretty ****ish thing to do and you have o hope he has more respect for the club than that but it is a risk in modern football. Even if he does walk away for free he has been incredible value for money and a decent servant of the club during his time here.

Sums it up for me to, it's incredible to think that he is still so young yet seems to have been in the team for years now and I think we as a fanbase of a much higher expectation for his performance levels than we would for other players of a similar age! Not too keen on the article it's a bit heavy on the stats for my liking but that seems to be the current obsession in the world of football so I guess it's inevitable!

So bad he's an Italian international and has played for some of the biggest clubs in Italy? Pull the other one he is clearly a quality footballer sadly his head is a mess, one day he will realise he has blown the dream but it appears not yet. If he ever comes back we need a song about him being the white Ballotelli like Sheffield Wednesday used to sing about Gerald Sibon (Ironic: 'Kanu is the white Sibon' as Sibon was so oftn compared to Kanu)

we need cover in that position and an option if Clyne decides to cash in this summer and move on. Nothing worse than selling a player with no replacement in the squad as suddenly every right back in the world will be double the price!

Love the link between drinking and football, is being a saints fan really that unbearable that you can't manage it unless your half cut? do you find singing songs and cheering too embarrassing unless your beered up? If alcohol is a pre-requisite of enjoying something then the chances are it really isn't that good in the first place that's why people get beered up to go clubbing etc because sober it's dull as dishwater!

Who says they will accept those terms? Both are entitled to the remainder of their contracts should they want them, I can see Ramirez walking away as he is young and will pick up a club in Italy pretty easily but Osvaldo has burnt just about every bridge in football I fully expect him to see out his contract unless we get lucky and someone offers him the same cash elsewhere!

Transfer list for both of them, if nobody is willing to take them then loan them out to at least get the wages off the books and some loan fee's in the bank. Both were gambles we all knew that when they came in if they had worked out we would have had two fantastic players for comparatively little money sadly it's not worked out Ramirez isn't up to the premier league and Osvaldo is a total basket case.

Will be playing for River in Argentina within 12 months which I think is what he wants, such a waste of what is obviously a real talent.

This Elia has made a great start and looks focussed and committed but this has apparently happened before in his career. I really hope he keeps it up and we sign him as for the level of ability he is a bit of a bargain not many world cup finalists in their prime years available for the fee we have agreed. Remember Sagonowski if you want a reminder of how these things can go bad awesome on loan terrible when we signed him!

At the age of 7 I asked my parents for a saints shirt for Christmas (this was 1986 only highlight was an FA Cup semi) nobody knows why but I was insistent despite living in a small town in South Wales. The rest is as they say history!

read what he's said though, Kelvin could have gone and been West Hams reserve on I assume much more money than we were paying but unlike so many footballers he chose first team football in a lower division on less money. That's as good as a signing for me.

Imagine how you would feel scoring for saints, that's how it feels for Rickie when he scores for Liverpool!

Papa Waigo for the name alone! The big Tunisian lump definitely worth a shout too! Lambert is the best but lacks the comedy factor!

Like the batty comparisons he might have fallen slightly short at international level but at club level he was quality if reed turns out to be if that standard I'll be very happy!

That covers the loan fee then, fingers crossed he keeps it up!

If that is true it's utter madness and I'm glad we haven't gone near it, deals like that put clubs to the wall. I wander if they have anyone already at the club with a clause in their contract to match their wages to the highest earner?

People keep suggesting this, he has aid he wants to leave Man Utd for first team football so why would he come here to play second fiddle to Forster? The situation is a concern as we probably have the worst back up goal keeper situation that we have had in a long while (if we ignore the Kevin Miller period, although he played well!) I'd like to see us have a decent understudy on the bench but it will be hard to find anyone as they will know that displacing a signing as expensive as Forster will be very difficult!

Blimey that was difficult watching we were horrible in that game, That Newcastle side had some serious style about it! Le God the difference as he was so often that goal looked effortless but I reckon most players would have stuck it in the crowed of scuffed it to the keeper fantastic chip from Van Gobbel to tee him up.

Jury was very much still out on Osvaldo he'd only been here five minutes when he lamped Fonte, the main criticism I heard was he didn't try hard enough and that was because he clearly didn't want to be here! Not saying he would have worked out if he'd wanted to be here and had more time but holding him up as an example of a failed transfer based on culture/system is pretty poor. Delgado played 11 times for us scoring once and that was really one for the dubious goals panel, he played for Ecuador (not Columbia) and had a really good scoring record for them, helped by them playing al their home games at crazy altitude. When he went to the world cup he was clearly playing injured did ok and scored but hardly set the place on fire, 90% of his club career was spent in Ecuador which is hardly he highest standard and the only other place he was successful was a 2 year spell in Mexico with Necaxa who are head and shoulders abov most of the clubs in the country so it's no wonder he banged in plenty. He was a crock when we signed him, never recovered to play at a decent level again and in reality simply wasn't good enough. We don't forget the disasters we have a round up every 5 minutes of the greatest transfer blunders who can forget the media raming SAF's worst signings down our throat Djemba Djemba, Jordi Cruff etc etc the ones we forget are those that just come over do a decent if unspectacular job and then retire or move on.

Osvaldo's transfer failed because 'not familair with the " more vigourous side" of the Prem.....and in turn are used to the concept of " diving " - instead of riding a tough tackle' and not the fact that he punched the now team captain on the training ground? Osvaldo clearly had all the qualities to succeed in the prem but we took a gamble on his personality which didn't come off if he wasn't flawed upstairs he would be a player vastly out of our league. In you opening post you also say Delgado didn't play because he didn't fit Strachans system when it's obvious the real reason he didn't play is because he was crocked his knew was shot which was the only reason he came so cheap and then ultimately he wasn't good enough for the standard we required. You say home grown is the way forward and 'not many' big money moves come off while ignoring the fact that while it is the disasters that stick in your mind ther are easily as many big money deals that are massive successes, for me your just twisting evidence to fit your preconceived idea.

Think mings would make a decent holding midfield player given the chance, big strong and looks comfortable on the ball.

Who a premier league team offered 3 million for in the summer the lad clearly has ability but inevitably some will slip through the net it's happened in the past and will happen again every youngster is a gamble and sometimes you back the wrong horse.

Not fookin tadic too?

Season changing day lost our two lynch pins, such a shame. Might need to dip into the market if we want to keep the dream alive, I'm not sure Reed and Cork are what we need.

FA Cup every single time, it goes in the cabinet and on the honour roll. 4th place is just 3rd looser and if it didn't come with a massive stack of cash and a shot at 'champions' league football nobody would care. You can't put a check and a play off ticket in the trophy cabinet and in 20 years time nobody will care that we once played a champions league game.