farawaysaint Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 @blighty2014: @DejanLovren05 Many happy returns big man, may ALL your wishes come true! @DejanLovren05: @blighty2014 thank uu @aldic2: @DejanLovren05 sretan rođendan, nadam se da uživaš na zasluženom odmoru! Svidio mi se kćerkin dres s natpisom "Tata" YNWA! @DejanLovren05: @aldic2 haha hvala pozz I hate Scousers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_ed Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 @blighty2014: @DejanLovren05 Many happy returns big man, may ALL your wishes come true! @DejanLovren05: @blighty2014 thank uu @aldic2: @DejanLovren05 sretan rođendan, nadam se da uživaš na zasluženom odmoru! Svidio mi se kćerkin dres s natpisom "Tata" YNWA! @DejanLovren05: @aldic2 haha hvala pozz Ok so having done a translation it seems the Croatian one seems to have nothing untoward. But I wonder what 'ALL' his wishes are '' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Ok so having done a translation it seems the Croatian one seems to have nothing untoward. But I wonder what 'ALL' his wishes are '' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_ed Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Hahaha that might not be so far from the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexstar Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Take this information how you like, I don't really care. Heard from a source who works directly inside the club that an £18m fee with Liverpool is done for Lovren. Announcement being held off as we try to source a replacement. Morgan likely to leave after returning from the world cup (no destination mentioned). Osvaldo in Milan yesterday for talks. We've bid for 5 players, Pelle and Tadic basically done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexstar Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Also that Dejan isn't a very popular character within the squad, bit of a big personality. Same was said of him at Lyon allegedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Thanks for the info Nextar. All sounds plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Not knocking you Nexstar but thanks for stating the obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexstar Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Like I said, take it how you like. I don't follow the rumour mills every hour, but last I heard we had rejected a bid holding out for £25m. Yet apparently the deal is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 My theory, like so many others, is that Morgan to go to Arsenal for £15m and Dejan to Liverpool for £18m. Osvaldo out on loan for a small fee plus wages covered and possibly Ramirez back to Italy too. These will be the last outgoings for this window. All will be replaced - expect a shock signing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_Abroad Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 K.Billy kind of eluded to something else, no? Did I infer wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 My theory, like so many others, is that Morgan to go to Arsenal for £15m and Dejan to Liverpool for £18m. Osvaldo out on loan for a small fee plus wages covered and possibly Ramirez back to Italy too. These will be the last outgoings for this window. All will be replaced - expect a shock signing too. Isn't that a prediction rather than a theory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Meh, it's late, call it what you will! I predicted a Brazil loss last night and got that one wrong too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 From the daily star: Schneiderlin said: "I’ve seen how many players left the club. It’s a club choice and I have nothing to say about their choice. "I have spoken to the manager and he wants me to stay. We’ll see. They have a lot of money now so it’s up to the board to spend it well." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Chalet Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Lovren was good for us last season, but has his failings. I'll reserve my judgement on whether the price we get for him is good business until I see his replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 For the pedants: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/387491/Spurs-join-the-race-for-18m-Lovren-as-Schneiderlin-tells-Sothampton-spend-or-I-m-off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Lovren has his failings for sure but statistically we were better with him than without. We'll find a decent replacement I have no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Majestic Channon Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Lovren was good for us last season, but has his failings. I'll reserve my judgement on whether the price we get for him is good business until I see his replacement. What are his failings? Apart from yids away I can't recall him putting a foot wrong Sent from my C1905 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toon Saint Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Lovren was good for us last season, but has his failings. I'll reserve my judgement on whether the price we get for him is good business until I see his replacement. A £10m profit after one year is good business, but can't help but think we could drive up price somewhere between £20m and £25m. What are his failings? Apart from yids away I can't recall him putting a foot wrong Sent from my C1905 using Tapatalk Dives into tackles when not always necessary, but you are right, he is our best centre back for many a year and would be a massive loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Lovren was good for us last season, but has his failings. I'll reserve my judgement on whether the price we get for him is good business until I see his replacement. Seriously????????????? He made two mistakes all season. The closest comparison you can make based on last season is Kompany. The best centre half I have seen for years in a Saints shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicestersaint Posted 5 July, 2014 Share Posted 5 July, 2014 Take this information how you like, I don't really care. Heard from a source who works directly inside the club that an £18m fee with Liverpool is done for Lovren. Announcement being held off as we try to source a replacement. Morgan likely to leave after returning from the world cup (no destination mentioned). Osvaldo in Milan yesterday for talks. We've bid for 5 players, Pelle and Tadic basically done. If this is true, what a bloody mess our club is in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rut Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 bye bye - can our next CB have a mohican or a skinhead. Lovren and Fonte look way too similar. 20 million? Sounds like a great price to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toe_punt Posted 6 July, 2014 Author Share Posted 6 July, 2014 How many games did you ACTUALLY see? I saw 37 of the 38 league games last season and he made a darn sight more than "two mistakes". Maybe you didn't see them in the Daily Echo report the next day? Seriously????????????? He made two mistakes all season. The closest comparison you can make based on last season is Kompany. The best centre half I have seen for years in a Saints shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallagroth Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 How many games did you ACTUALLY see? I saw 37 of the 38 league games last season and he made a darn sight more than "two mistakes". Maybe you didn't see them in the Daily Echo report the next day? Sweet, I've been waiting for this moment, someone who has actually watched saints, this makes you ITK by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrent Of Abuse Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Neither you nor I have any idea whether that statement is true or not as it was never actually put to the test at this level. The only player who was even remotely linked with a move away LAST summer, after an ultimately successful but relatively mediocre season, was Shaw, and that was based more on his potential than him tearing the league up like he did in the season just gone. Nobody else was in particularly great demand, Lallana had been largely poor, Lambert had scored goals but nobody was going to pay big bucks for what could have been Grant Holt MkII, etc. Also worth bearing in mind what happened with Oxlade-Chamberlain. Clearly, we were in a much weaker bargaining position having only just been promoted from the third division, but the fact is that he wanted to leave, got his representatives to kick up a big stink, and got his wish. Cortese was chairman throughout all of that, so let's not go rewriting history here. Wasn't trying to rewrite history, Steve. And I didn't want to give the impression that I thought Cortese being here would have made players decide to stay BUT he did have a way of making sure that things happened at a time scale that was convenient to us and for an amount of money which was right for us. I have no doubt that the club have managed to get the best deals they could for the three lads who have gone but the timing is absolutely abysmal. For one thing each player's replacement is not already here despite the players apparently pushing for the move for some time. For another, the three sales at pretty much the same time only serve to make us look weak and influence others who were not necessarily pushing for the move but who also don't want to be left at a club which has a dearth of top class talent. I can't imagine Cortese allowing that. If anything, his handling of Adkins' sacking shows that he was always ready to preempt issues by having the plan B ready before plan A walked out the door. You cite the AOC sale, which is fine because he did indeed get sold and (as with Shaw and Lallana) we got top money for him but also it was JUST ONE PLAYER. No other moves were sanctioned and it was obvious from the way that we didn't have to buy anyone else to fill his shoes that the club thought we didn't need anyone else. Can you honestly say that we do not need to replace Shaw and Lallana? Are we going to move Clyne to the left to cover Shaw and rely on Ramirez or Davis? We are much weaker for those players going in a way that we just weren't when AOC left. He was a loss yes but the club maintained a look of strength and we maintained our push for promotion. I don't think the current board have managed this situation at all well and we look very weak. I'm just glad that the rumours now have Schneiderlin 'warning us to use the money well'. I'm not sure of the veracity of the rumour but it certainly beats rumours saying he just wants to go. It suggests there is a way for us to stop the outflow of players. I'm all for Lovren spending plenty of time in the reserves (if he gets back) because time has come for the club to show the players that they are secondary to the club and that we are not afraid to build a new team without them if they do not play ball - which is another thing that Cortese did do well considering his treatment of Puncheon. If we sell Lovren to Liverpool it will be a ridiculous decision which will end up costing us. By all means sell him to a foreign club but not them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Wasn't trying to rewrite history, Steve. And I didn't want to give the impression that I thought Cortese being here would have made players decide to stay BUT he did have a way of making sure that things happened at a time scale that was convenient to us and for an amount of money which was right for us. I have no doubt that the club have managed to get the best deals they could for the three lads who have gone but the timing is absolutely abysmal. For one thing each player's replacement is not already here despite the players apparently pushing for the move for some time. For another, the three sales at pretty much the same time only serve to make us look weak and influence others who were not necessarily pushing for the move but who also don't want to be left at a club which has a dearth of top class talent. I can't imagine Cortese allowing that. If anything, his handling of Adkins' sacking shows that he was always ready to preempt issues by having the plan B ready before plan A walked out the door. You cite the AOC sale, which is fine because he did indeed get sold and (as with Shaw and Lallana) we got top money for him but also it was JUST ONE PLAYER. No other moves were sanctioned and it was obvious from the way that we didn't have to buy anyone else to fill his shoes that the club thought we didn't need anyone else. Can you honestly say that we do not need to replace Shaw and Lallana? Are we going to move Clyne to the left to cover Shaw and rely on Ramirez or Davis? We are much weaker for those players going in a way that we just weren't when AOC left. He was a loss yes but the club maintained a look of strength and we maintained our push for promotion. I don't think the current board have managed this situation at all well and we look very weak. I'm just glad that the rumours now have Schneiderlin 'warning us to use the money well'. I'm not sure of the veracity of the rumour but it certainly beats rumours saying he just wants to go. It suggests there is a way for us to stop the outflow of players. I'm all for Lovren spending plenty of time in the reserves (if he gets back) because time has come for the club to show the players that they are secondary to the club and that we are not afraid to build a new team without them if they do not play ball - which is another thing that Cortese did do well considering his treatment of Puncheon. If we sell Lovren to Liverpool it will be a ridiculous decision which will end up costing us. By all means sell him to a foreign club but not them. You keep saying "no other moves were sanctioned" like there were loads of potential transfers out to CL level clubs that King Canute Cortese forced back with his supreme non - sanctioning power. So, remind us, during Cortese's time, what were all these £20m offers from CL level clubs that were "not sanctioned"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrent Of Abuse Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 You keep saying "no other moves were sanctioned" like there were loads of potential transfers out to CL level clubs that King Canute Cortese forced back with his supreme non - sanctioning power. So, remind us, during Cortese's time, what were all these £20m offers from CL level clubs that were "not sanctioned"? Why do they have to be £20m offers, CB? Surely as we were a League One club at the time they would only have to be offers that would turn the head of a League one player? Bearing in mind you've been lambasting Saint Richmond (not without reason) on another thread for making up a problem scenario and then wallowing in despair about it, perhaps you could also answer people's points instead of blowing them up into overstated caricatures and then choosing to argue about that instead of the original point? I appreciate from reading your posts this is your usual style but it's kind of a pointless exercise don't you think? All I'm saying is that Cortese gave us a little steel in the boardroom. Was it an illusion? Partly. I think a lot of it was hot air but I think you need that in any business which is growing. You talk it up, persuade people to invest in the idea and keep things rolling and success breeds success. The key thing though is to keep investing. If you're not going to then you really have to manage the come-down from being so expansive and feeding off the investment. Sadly I think we became a bit rudderless just at the time we needed that leadership. Losing Cortese and his open cheque-book attitude to the club probably lost us Pochettino which lost us a lot of players and... so on. Personally I think Cortese did a much better job of handling the image of an ambitious club and he'd do a better job of handling those players concerned about the future of the club. We would probably lose people but we would not look such a hollowed out club as we do now. Of all the damage done to our club, what has had the most effect for me is the damage to our reputation. We're not seen as anything like the strong, ambitious club we were last year - not by the critics, not by the fans and crucially not by the players. For all his failings, Cortese managed that well. It's a shame we decided (maybe correctly) that we couldn't afford that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toon Saint Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 (edited) Why do they have to be £20m offers, CB? Surely as we were a League One club at the time they would only have to be offers that would turn the head of a League one player? Bearing in mind you've been lambasting Saint Richmond (not without reason) on another thread for making up a problem scenario and then wallowing in despair about it, perhaps you could also answer people's points instead of blowing them up into overstated caricatures and then choosing to argue about that instead of the original point? I appreciate from reading your posts this is your usual style but it's kind of a pointless exercise don't you think? All I'm saying is that Cortese gave us a little steel in the boardroom. Was it an illusion? Partly. I think a lot of it was hot air but I think you need that in any business which is growing. You talk it up, persuade people to invest in the idea and keep things rolling and success breeds success. The key thing though is to keep investing. If you're not going to then you really have to manage the come-down from being so expansive and feeding off the investment. Sadly I think we became a bit rudderless just at the time we needed that leadership. Losing Cortese and his open cheque-book attitude to the club probably lost us Pochettino which lost us a lot of players and... so on. Personally I think Cortese did a much better job of handling the image of an ambitious club and he'd do a better job of handling those players concerned about the future of the club. We would probably lose people but we would not look such a hollowed out club as we do now. Of all the damage done to our club, what has had the most effect for me is the damage to our reputation. We're not seen as anything like the strong, ambitious club we were last year - not by the critics, not by the fans and crucially not by the players. For all his failings, Cortese managed that well. It's a shame we decided (maybe correctly) that we couldn't afford that. Spot on. Still holding out hope that the new board will learn from their mistakes and restore some confidence, but in terms of Cortese's contribution to the 'perception' of the club then you've nailed it. Easy to deride ambitions of European football as the folly of a power-mad despot, but the players bought into it, many fans bought into it, and the football media were just beginning to. While this might not be deemed 'realistic' by some or even a large part of the reason that so many players are now jumping ship, the reality was that we had some very good players at the club believing that they could achieve such things with Southampton. Maybe we would never have quite had the financial clout to get there and maybe KL would never have backed us - I'm of the view that we were only 3-4 quality players away - but to dismiss Cortese as a deluded fantasist duping players into signing for us and constantly spouting hot air, does massively underplay his contribution to the perception of the club and the material benefits that that brought us. Edited 6 July, 2014 by Toon Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faz Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Wasn't trying to rewrite history, Steve. And I didn't want to give the impression that I thought Cortese being here would have made players decide to stay BUT he did have a way of making sure that things happened at a time scale that was convenient to us and for an amount of money which was right for us. I have no doubt that the club have managed to get the best deals they could for the three lads who have gone but the timing is absolutely abysmal. For one thing each player's replacement is not already here despite the players apparently pushing for the move for some time. For another, the three sales at pretty much the same time only serve to make us look weak and influence others who were not necessarily pushing for the move but who also don't want to be left at a club which has a dearth of top class talent. I can't imagine Cortese allowing that. If anything, his handling of Adkins' sacking shows that he was always ready to preempt issues by having the plan B ready before plan A walked out the door. You cite the AOC sale, which is fine because he did indeed get sold and (as with Shaw and Lallana) we got top money for him but also it was JUST ONE PLAYER. No other moves were sanctioned and it was obvious from the way that we didn't have to buy anyone else to fill his shoes that the club thought we didn't need anyone else. Can you honestly say that we do not need to replace Shaw and Lallana? Are we going to move Clyne to the left to cover Shaw and rely on Ramirez or Davis? We are much weaker for those players going in a way that we just weren't when AOC left. He was a loss yes but the club maintained a look of strength and we maintained our push for promotion. I don't think the current board have managed this situation at all well and we look very weak. I'm just glad that the rumours now have Schneiderlin 'warning us to use the money well'. I'm not sure of the veracity of the rumour but it certainly beats rumours saying he just wants to go. It suggests there is a way for us to stop the outflow of players. I'm all for Lovren spending plenty of time in the reserves (if he gets back) because time has come for the club to show the players that they are secondary to the club and that we are not afraid to build a new team without them if they do not play ball - which is another thing that Cortese did do well considering his treatment of Puncheon. If we sell Lovren to Liverpool it will be a ridiculous decision which will end up costing us. By all means sell him to a foreign club but not them. What Cortese did was tie the player to long term contracts on money which they would not have gotten anywhere else other than the PL. There may well have been interest, but not from a top 4 PL team. Whether his resolve would have been strong enough once the big boys came calling (as Arsenal did for AOX) is an unknown. Plus, of course, the cash burn was unsustainable, and the investment required in wages and fees to make the step beyond 8th-6th is, was, and will be beyond us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 (edited) Why do they have to be £20m offers, CB? Surely as we were a League One club at the time they would only have to be offers that would turn the head of a League one player? Bearing in mind you've been lambasting Saint Richmond (not without reason) on another thread for making up a problem scenario and then wallowing in despair about it, perhaps you could also answer people's points instead of blowing them up into overstated caricatures and then choosing to argue about that instead of the original point? I appreciate from reading your posts this is your usual style but it's kind of a pointless exercise don't you think? All I'm saying is that Cortese gave us a little steel in the boardroom. Was it an illusion? Partly. I think a lot of it was hot air but I think you need that in any business which is growing. You talk it up, persuade people to invest in the idea and keep things rolling and success breeds success. The key thing though is to keep investing. If you're not going to then you really have to manage the come-down from being so expansive and feeding off the investment. Sadly I think we became a bit rudderless just at the time we needed that leadership. Losing Cortese and his open cheque-book attitude to the club probably lost us Pochettino which lost us a lot of players and... so on. Personally I think Cortese did a much better job of handling the image of an ambitious club and he'd do a better job of handling those players concerned about the future of the club. We would probably lose people but we would not look such a hollowed out club as we do now. Of all the damage done to our club, what has had the most effect for me is the damage to our reputation. We're not seen as anything like the strong, ambitious club we were last year - not by the critics, not by the fans and crucially not by the players. For all his failings, Cortese managed that well. It's a shame we decided (maybe correctly) that we couldn't afford that. When we were in L1 we were signing players from the league above. And players for million pound plus. We were the richest club in that division and probably the one above. We were the attractive proposition for players at that level - we were the Man United. So, it's you making up scenarios, just like Richmond - what were all these offers that Cortese refused to sanction. So scrap the 20 mil threshold - just any examples you like. Any at all. Hit me. Edited 6 July, 2014 by CB Fry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Lovren is utter utter class and I think we can all admit saying he was too good a player for us last season. The way he can take the ball out of the defence is quality, remember him doing like a boss v Man U away. Would be gutting to lose him but he could play for a big big european club or even Liverpool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelman Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Sorry, but I have no idea what you mean when you say he is too good for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrent Of Abuse Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 What Cortese did was tie the player to long term contracts on money which they would not have gotten anywhere else other than the PL. There may well have been interest, but not from a top 4 PL team. Whether his resolve would have been strong enough once the big boys came calling (as Arsenal did for AOX) is an unknown. Plus, of course, the cash burn was unsustainable, and the investment required in wages and fees to make the step beyond 8th-6th is, was, and will be beyond us. For me, it was always a case of us going one step backwards (as we did when we lost the Ox) but aim to go two steps forward as a result. The prevailing attitude (whether intended or not) seems now to accept that we go five steps backwards and hope that 60m can buy us 6 steps forward. It won't do. Despite being a ****, Cortese did seem to be able to manage the overall image of the club so that we managed to take losing players here and there. I think that, with Cortese here we would have coped better with the erm... adjustments... to our image and even considering a loss of faith amongst the players he would have managed the timing of their sales and the purchase of their replacements better. Has there been a time since he and Markus arrived that we have seen such a clear out of players without replacements being signed? Surely those talking down Cortese's efforts to hold on to players can name some occasions when we have lost players and lacked sufficient cover? After all, it's apparently all about the money rather than ambition so as a team riding a wave of success up from League One, we must have been repeatedly pillaged for players? No? Lallana didn't leave after Sunderland came knocking when we were in League One? Shaw didn't leave at the end of his first season in the Premier League? Surely if it's all about money, they'd already be long gone? Agree with you in part about the "cash burn" argument. But I still think that the ambition of the last five year project has actually injected more money into the club than we could ever have acquired by being cautious. It's just a shame to see us cashing that value in (at least a big chunk of it) right now. Money in the bank is fine but it doesn't win games. Hopefully, with good additions to the squad and a bit of luck we can rebuild the team and achieve a decent league position - although I fear mid-table would be a good achievement for a club that's doing so much rebuilding. I'm hoping for entertaining football, good signings, safety from relegation and the seeds of something good growing for the future - rather like I hoped for when we were first promoted. It's a tough and unforgiving league and clubs who have to rebuild on the scale that we do often struggle. Here's hoping we keep Schneiderlin, arm wrestle Lovren into staying long enough to see what we're building (ok, I doubt this will happen) and keep Boruc until a better, younger guy is found. If we tinker with the spine of the team any more than we have, then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Lovren is utter utter class and I think we can all admit saying he was too good a player for us last season. The way he can take the ball out of the defence is quality, remember him doing like a boss v Man U away. Would be gutting to lose him but he could play for a big big european club or even Liverpool. Bang on. Including the dig at Liverpool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faz Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 For me, it was always a case of us going one step backwards (as we did when we lost the Ox) but aim to go two steps forward as a result. The prevailing attitude (whether intended or not) seems now to accept that we go five steps backwards and hope that 60m can buy us 6 steps forward. It won't do. Despite being a ****, Cortese did seem to be able to manage the overall image of the club so that we managed to take losing players here and there. I think that, with Cortese here we would have coped better with the erm... adjustments... to our image and even considering a loss of faith amongst the players he would have managed the timing of their sales and the purchase of their replacements better. You may think that, but it is a moot point. We will never know the answer to the question of what would happen once KL said there is a limit to the amount of cash she was willing to allow Cortese spend with no controls had he stayed. Has there been a time since he and Markus arrived that we have seen such a clear out of players without replacements being signed? Surely those talking down Cortese's efforts to hold on to players can name some occasions when we have lost players and lacked sufficient cover? After all, it's apparently all about the money rather than ambition so as a team riding a wave of success up from League One, we must have been repeatedly pillaged for players? No? Lallana didn't leave after Sunderland came knocking when we were in League One? Shaw didn't leave at the end of his first season in the Premier League? Surely if it's all about money, they'd already be long gone? Don't really understand your point. And there is a hell of a difference between being on a very good contract (L1 or not) with Saints and facing a bid from Sunderland, and being offered an opportunity to go to Liverpool. Agree with you in part about the "cash burn" argument. But I still think that the ambition of the last five year project has actually injected more money into the club than we could ever have acquired by being cautious. It's just a shame to see us cashing that value in (at least a big chunk of it) right now. Money in the bank is fine but it doesn't win games. We have added value, for sure, but that does not equate to cash to run the business. Asset rich, cash poor is a recipe from the Portsmouth school of finance. Hopefully, with good additions to the squad and a bit of luck we can rebuild the team and achieve a decent league position - although I fear mid-table would be a good achievement for a club that's doing so much rebuilding. I'm hoping for entertaining football, good signings, safety from relegation and the seeds of something good growing for the future - rather like I hoped for when we were first promoted. It's a tough and unforgiving league and clubs who have to rebuild on the scale that we do often struggle. Here's hoping we keep Schneiderlin, arm wrestle Lovren into staying long enough to see what we're building (ok, I doubt this will happen) and keep Boruc until a better, younger guy is found. If we tinker with the spine of the team any more than we have, then.... Agree - mostly :-)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Sorry, but I have no idea what you mean when you say he is too good for us. i.e not a usual southampton centre back, he could drop into the back line in any top club in the world and not look out of place in my opinion, how many other CB's could we say that about in the recent history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintchris23 Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 i.e not a usual southampton centre back, he could drop into the back line in any top club in the world and not look out of place in my opinion, how many other CB's could we say that about in the recent history. Someone clearly thinks we're a top European side.... Oh dear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farawaysaint Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 ESPN quotes some rather disgusting words from Dejan.... Not sure where this interview came from? http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/1935201/southampton-defender-dejan-lovren-wants-liverpool-move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelman Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 i.e not a usual southampton centre back, he could drop into the back line in any top club in the world and not look out of place in my opinion, how many other CB's could we say that about in the recent history. Yes, but that doesn't explain why he is too good for us. Are you saying that we should only have the likes of Hooiveld? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel=God-Poyet=Sod Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 I think this was who he had the interview with in croatia: http://www.jutarnji.hr/lovren-za-sn--glavom-sam-vec-u-liverpoolu--southampton-nije-bio-korektan-prema-meni-/1204064/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingdomCome Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 (edited) ESPN quotes some rather disgusting words from Dejan.... Not sure where this interview came from? http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/1935201/southampton-defender-dejan-lovren-wants-liverpool-move A bit blunt to say the least. Obviously believes the propaganda he's been fed about Liverpool fanbase as well. Edited 6 July, 2014 by KingdomCome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 ESPN quotes some rather disgusting words from Dejan.... Not sure where this interview came from? http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/1935201/southampton-defender-dejan-lovren-wants-liverpool-move Wow. Thats some pretty damming stuff right there from Dejan. There's a lot of quoting for that just to be made up. He's given us a real and depressing insight into whats been going on. For one, i think he's a bit of an idiot. He came he because he was "sold" this ambition by NC? He was at Lyon before. Surely if CL is that important then he would have stayed there? Or maybe it was because he was offered a load of money and had had a bit of a crap time at Lyon that he left them? Or is he that stupid that he thought that Southampton (who i bet he had never heard of before we approached him) would be a better and more ambitious club than Lyon? Whatever his reasoning, if he wants to go then let him go. Thats my view with all of them who want out. Go. As long as we get a good price they can go. I only want players who actually want to play for us here at the start of the season. I don't want idiot players here who are upset because we're not playing CL like they were promised. There's clearly stuff that the club needs to sort as well - like getting some strong leadership in place. Im sure Dejan is twisting and exaggerating things to orchestrate his move, but there is clearly some sort of problem within the management. I'll be glad when the football kicks off and things settle down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Yes, but that doesn't explain why he is too good for us. Are you saying that we should only have the likes of Hooiveld? I was alluding to decent ball playing CB's being a scarce resource in world football and we normally can't compete for world class CB's as they are always hunted for by those clubs, we were lucky in a sense that he had so many problems at Lyon he was off the radar a bit (i'd never heard of him when he signed) but I think NC and Les both said at the time we were lucky to get him. We afforded him the potential to demonstrate his talent but I think he should stay for at least another year as its a bit rude to **** off after 1yr from a club than took you from the reserves to premier league recognition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 ESPN quotes some rather disgusting words from Dejan.... Not sure where this interview came from? http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/1935201/southampton-defender-dejan-lovren-wants-liverpool-move Still think that if he is determined to go we should refuse selling him to Liverpool or MP. Shame Barcelona aren't pursuing their reported interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Sell him to partizan belgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saints foreva Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 Can we let him rot please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary3009 Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 "Look, I'd gladly stay in Southampton if the club had any ambitions, if they kept the key players," he said. "[if that had happened] not even the Liverpool bid would have dissuaded me." Wouldn't mind the clubs opinion on this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 So do players just sign up for a project now, and not the club? Complete lack of commitment really. He will go for around £20m, that's for sure. Cant' see him going to Spurs, he's a left sided CB - they have Jan Vertonghan who can play there. And they're signing Ben Davies who will be their first choice left back. One thing I do agree with though and something that has been missed - there's no obvious leader at the club any more. You've got Ralf, Les, Gareth all basically doing similar jobs in slightly different environments. We really needed to secure an experienced football man to sit on the board who would be the main man. Not entirely sure why they didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckenham Saint Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 For one, i think he's a bit of an idiot. He came he because he was "sold" this ambition by NC? He was at Lyon before. Surely if CL is that important then he would have stayed there? This! Haha Got to question a mans integrity when he leaves guaranteed champions league football for the promise of champions league football at a club that have never had it. As above, there seems way too many quotes for this too have been made up, but I can't see someone being stupid enough to come out and say this while still with us? What if the deal doesn't go through or Liverpool find a new target and he has to spend the next year playing for a team he has openly said he doesn't want to play for? Idiot. Don't care if he goes, as long as he doesn't go to Liverpool. Their fans that I know are already acting smug enough they've got two of our players, without getting one more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Patrón Posted 6 July, 2014 Share Posted 6 July, 2014 "Look, I'd gladly stay in Southampton if the club had any ambitions, if they kept the key players," he said. "[if that had happened] not even the Liverpool bid would have dissuaded me." Not one to say I told you so but are all of our players just liars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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