Shea Charles

[saintant]

12 minutes ago, Football Special said:

 

He played well which will help push up his value.

[Baird of the land]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

He played well which will help push up his value.

I'm keeping everything crossed that we can keep hold of him.

 

[AlexLaw76]

20 minutes ago, saintant said:

He played well which will help push up his value.

Why do we want to push up his value, we should be looking to retain him, surely 

[Football Special]

19 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

I'm keeping everything crossed that we can keep hold of him.

 

Weve had a few Saints legends that played for Saints and Northern Ireland, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Alan Blayney, I'm sure there are others? 

[Pilchards]

Strange to see the Manchester football badge on the video.

Looks like his team are trying to put him forward for a transfer to them?

[saintant]

19 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Why do we want to push up his value, we should be looking to retain him, surely 

We don't push up his value he does that himself with performances on the pitch. Maybe you'd rather he plays poorly - strange.

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, saintant said:

We don't push up his value he does that himself with performances on the pitch. Maybe you'd rather he plays poorly - strange.

I’d rather what?

[RedWillie]

20 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Weve had a few Saints legends that played for Saints and Northern Ireland, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Alan Blayney, I'm sure there are others? 

Chris Nicholl, Colin Clarke

Edited June 9 by RedWillie

[Sheaf Saint]

32 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Weve had a few Saints legends that played for Saints and Northern Ireland, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Alan Blayney, I'm sure there are others? 

Steven Davis

[Miltonaggro]

31 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Weve had a few Saints legends that played for Saints and Northern Ireland, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Alan Blayney, I'm sure there are others? 

As well as Nicholl and Clarke mentioned above, other decent Saints players who have played for Northern Ireland include Maik Taylor, Chris Baird, and the superb Steven Davis.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Steven Davis

Of course! The main man, can have a word with Shea persuade him to stay 

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Miltonaggro said:

As well as Nicholl and Clarke mentioned above, other decent Saints players who have played for Northern Ireland include Maik Taylor, Chris Baird, and the superb Steven Davis.

I remember Chris Baird marking Rooney out of the game when Northern Ireland beat England 

[UpweySaint]

I’ve made a similar point before, likely on this thread, but Charles for NI reminds me a bit of Bale for Wales. Not in terms of current ability but whenever I watch Charles for NI he looks a level above the player we see in a Saints shirt. It reminds me of Bale looking super human for Wales no matter his club form or fitness.

I am not suggesting that Charles puts more in when he plays for NI but I find myself wondering what it is that makes the difference. It could be as simple as the difference between international football and club competition in terms of tactics, pace, fluidity and structure. It could also be a reflection of the leadership/talisman role he has in a very young NI team. He also seems to have more freedom on the pitch in the NI set up.

I sometimes wonder if we are getting the most out of him? I’m not saying we should adjust a winning system to do so but it’s an interesting thought.

i think the player he is for NI is a much a part of the reason bigger clubs are circling than his form with us. He’s been decent for us but I don’t look at him and see a player too good for the level - occasional worldie aside!

If we keep him, great. I’m convinced he has levels yet and could have a breakthrough season where he really establishes himself as a standout with us next season.
 

If not, we have reasonable strength in depth, I have some faith in Spors to identify a replacement, any fee will likely be sizeable to help with financial rules and squad building and it would also be genuinely interesting to see if he could cut it at a ‘big’ club. Utd have been linked a few times. It may be lazy journos but I expect Wilcox knows him pretty well and there is nothing to say he doesn’t fancy him to do a job at Utd.

[revolution saint]

3 hours ago, Football Special said:

Weve had a few Saints legends that played for Saints and Northern Ireland, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Alan Blayney, I'm sure there are others? 

"legend" is doing some heavy lifting there.

[trousers]

8 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

"legend" is doing some heavy lifting there.

Reminds me of a Gary Delaney quip...

 

[Football Special]

2 hours ago, revolution saint said:

"legend" is doing some heavy lifting there.

Will you allow Steven Davis to wear that badge? 

[revolution saint]

3 hours ago, Football Special said:

Will you allow Steven Davis to wear that badge? 

Actually, no, probably not. Good player though and did a decent job for us but wouldn’t have him down as a legend. All subjective of course and I’ve obviously got a different criteria of what constitutes legend than you do but if we hand it out too freely then it ceases to mean anything.

[St Chalet]

Steven Davis reminded me of the players we signed in 70's and 80's, a solid Pro who brought balance and experience to a young exciting line-up.

 

Was luckily enough to meet him at the Awards Dinner at the end of 'The Poch Season', top bloke.

[austsaint]

7 hours ago, UpweySaint said:

I’ve made a similar point before, likely on this thread, but Charles for NI reminds me a bit of Bale for Wales. Not in terms of current ability but whenever I watch Charles for NI he looks a level above the player we see in a Saints shirt. It reminds me of Bale looking super human for Wales no matter his club form or fitness.

I am not suggesting that Charles puts more in when he plays for NI but I find myself wondering what it is that makes the difference. It could be as simple as the difference between international football and club competition in terms of tactics, pace, fluidity and structure. It could also be a reflection of the leadership/talisman role he has in a very young NI team. He also seems to have more freedom on the pitch in the NI set up.

I sometimes wonder if we are getting the most out of him? I’m not saying we should adjust a winning system to do so but it’s an interesting thought.

i think the player he is for NI is a much a part of the reason bigger clubs are circling than his form with us. He’s been decent for us but I don’t look at him and see a player too good for the level - occasional worldie aside!

If we keep him, great. I’m convinced he has levels yet and could have a breakthrough season where he really establishes himself as a standout with us next season.
 

If not, we have reasonable strength in depth, I have some faith in Spors to identify a replacement, any fee will likely be sizeable to help with financial rules and squad building and it would also be genuinely interesting to see if he could cut it at a ‘big’ club. Utd have been linked a few times. It may be lazy journos but I expect Wilcox knows him pretty well and there is nothing to say he doesn’t fancy him to do a job at Utd.

I see Charles as best played in a three man midfield more advanced from central/defensive midfield duties, or in the Azaz attacking midfield role.   With Saints he's been less impressive when asked to dig in and play a defensive midfield  game.   He has the pace and athleticism to thrive as a 10 and play higher up the pitch.   The improvement in his game since he joined SW in late 2024 is clear though he's not yet the finished product.   Also seems to thrive in a faster more open game, compared to some of the physical, congested Championship matches; the three FA Cup matches against Prem opponents this season showed as much.   

Don't understand the claims that he's over-hyped - the best is yet to come for him.   Whether it's with Southampton or a Premier League Club is the intriguing unknown.

[sledger]

hes running his contract down,he will go for a decent fee.

[die Mannyschaft]

If Man City get hit with all 115 charges will Charles have to hand his Premier League winners medal back?

[AlexLaw76]

32 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

If Man City get hit with all 115 charges will Charles have to hand his Premier League winners medal back?

does he even have one?

[Danbert]

Seems a decent player and all that and looks like he's off. If he's really that good that he's worth the rumored 30 million quid how come we didn't play him more?

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, Danbert said:

Seems a decent player and all that and looks like he's off. If he's really that good that he's worth the rumored 30 million quid how come we didn't play him more?

A couple of reasons, I guess...?

Firstly, we had 3 decent central midfielders in the squad (or, "mediocre championship players" according to a few... ) so it made sense to rotate them

Secondly, given his young age, perhaps there was an element of not wanting to burn him out, so to speak

[Badger]

56 minutes ago, Danbert said:

Seems a decent player and all that and looks like he's off. If he's really that good that he's worth the rumored 30 million quid how come we didn't play him more?

And don’t forget he was injured at Blackburn and out for quite a while. Also adding to why he was rotated frequently on his return. 

[disconnect]

25 minutes ago, Badger said:

And don’t forget he was injured at Blackburn and out for quite a while. Also adding to why he was rotated frequently on his return. 

Plus he plays international football, which our other central midfielders don't so doesn't get a "rest" then. 

[VectisSaint]

4 hours ago, Danbert said:

Seems a decent player and all that and looks like he's off. If he's really that good that he's worth the rumored 30 million quid how come we didn't play him more?

Played 31 of 46 EFL matches, started 27, from bench 4. Hamstring injury kept him out of the squad for 15. It's a complete myth that he was not a starter last season.  Previous season started 42 for Wednesday. 

[CSA96]

Sky Germany reporting that Saints are in advanced talks with Fulham to conclude the transfer of Shea Charles for approximately £26m

[hypochondriac]

A really good but not yet great player who we will be able to cope without. I wish him well and he seems like a decent bloke who always tried his hardest with us.

[Football Special]

6 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

A really good but not yet great player who we will be able to cope without. I wish him well and he seems like a decent bloke who always tried his hardest with us.

I think we'll miss him 

Contributed some key goals at key moments last season 

[Toussaint]

2 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I think we'll miss him 

Contributed some key goals at key moments last season 

I think he’s our most “likely to succeed” in the big time. But he could aim higher than Fulham though, who may be in for a tough season. 

[Sunglasses Ron]

Really decent player who produced a lot of big moments for us.

A real shame to lose him and a definite 'what if' from the whole Spygate saga.

[hypochondriac]

31 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I think we'll miss him 

Contributed some key goals at key moments last season 

Didn't say we wouldn't miss him.

[Baird of the land]

Massive loss imo. Hoping we invest properly in a replacement as our current CM options don't cut it in offering the box to box threat Shea does.

[sadoldgit]

Disappointed to see him go. We need players like him to stay if we are going to progress. Still, it is a good move for him and Fulham.

[Lighthouse]

A decent player for us but bearing in mind we're going to need at least one big sale this summer, I'd prefer it was him. With Downes, Jander and Bragg we have three other decent options so this wont leave us with a gaping hole in the team. We can still fight for the autos with a fairly cheap/loan replacement.

[sadoldgit]

That is assuming Jander stays though.

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Football Special said:

I think we'll miss him 

Contributed some key goals at key moments last season 

They seemed important at the time.

[sfc4prem]

He could produce that little moment of class at the end of games, something that I'm not sure too many others in our squad have the potential of doing.

He'll be hard to replace like for like.

[saintant]

3 hours ago, Toussaint said:

I think he’s our most “likely to succeed” in the big time. But he could aim higher than Fulham though, who may be in for a tough season. 

Nah, Jander is the real prospect. Much better player.

Edited 44 minutes ago by saintant

[Baird of the land]

8 minutes ago, saintant said:

Nah, Jander is the real prospect. Much better player.

Jander seems massively overhyped to me for a midfielder who offers so little going forward.

[Matthew Le God]

5 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Jander seems massively overhyped to me for a midfielder who offers so little going forward.

His role is to break up play and give it to the creative players, not score goals or assist them himself. When he does it is a bonus, but not his main job at all.

Edited 29 minutes ago by Matthew Le God

[Fabrice29]

3 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Jander seems massively overhyped to me for a midfielder who offers so little going forward.

Think he was ‘unlucky’ not score a couple last season in fairness. Missed some good chances. Dont think we were worlds away from him scoring a couple and Charles having some speculative efforts flying over the bar. But his best asset going forward is his ability to win the ball back in high places. Starting attacks high up the pitch. 

[Teamsaint1]

Leaves the door open for JWP ?

 

Sorry to see Jay Rob go on loan, but I'm sure the club know best.

Well pretty sure.....

I wonder what the loan fee would be. Ought to be quite significant ?

 

In fact JWP could cover both JR and SC come to think of it, and the Robbo fee might cover a good chunk of JWPs wages.

[austsaint]

8 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Jander seems massively overhyped to me for a midfielder who offers so little going forward.

I hope Jander stays another season (at least) with Saints.  If he does, I'm confident you'll be revising your opinion - he's the genuine article and I expect Klopp will be calling him up for Germany sooner than later.

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, austsaint said:

I hope Jander stays another season (at least) with Saints.  If he does, I'm confident you'll be revising your opinion - he's the genuine article and I expect Klopp will be calling him up for Germany sooner than later.

Agreed. He's a very good player, does all the stuff people dont notice, winning the ball back, pressing etc the classic saying he's over rated because he doesnt score enough is laughable. Just look at Azaz goal v Man City for an example of his work, wins the ball on the half way line, drives forward 20 yards then gives it to Scienza, 5 seconds later it's on the back of the net, that goal doesn't happen without Jander.

[Baird of the land]

12 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

His role is to break up play and give it to the creative players, not score goals or assist them himself. When he does it is a bonus, but not his main job at all.

Then he should be playing the Downes role. In this league in a lot of the games we need a midfielder with the ability to get assists/goals.

[hypochondriac]

22 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Jander seems massively overhyped to me for a midfielder who offers so little going forward.

Yeah and rodri has a shit scoring record 

[CSA96]

Jander is better in possession and contributes a lot to attacks in the way he wins the ball in dangerous areas and then drives forward into space before laying it off to the attacking players. Just because it doesn't show up on a stat sheet in goals and assists doesn't mean he doesn't play a part in creating those opportunities too

Edited 7 minutes ago by CSA96

[Scummer]

6 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Then he should be playing the Downes role. In this league in a lot of the games we need a midfielder with the ability to get assists/goals.

We mainly play 4-2-3-1, so we've already got 4 players attacking. Anything we get from the 2 holding midfielders is a nice bonus. Jander did get a couple of goals last season, and as others have said he contributed a lot by winning the ball and triggering attacks. His tackling ability is fantastic.