Championship season 2025/26

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

I keep seeing reports that say Southampton and Leicester will run away with the Championship this season. 

Am I the only one who thinks that with the current squad we'll be luck to finish top 10? We've sold a lot but where's the new signings? 

To get out of the Championship you need far more experience than saints have. Our midfield look lightweight, again. 

People seem to be moving Wrexham for some of their signings but £2m for Conor Coady seems like a reasonable bit of business to me. He's certainly a better option than Jack Stephens.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

On 28/07/2025 at 18:21, AlexLaw76 said:

 

I genuinely hope they prove me wrong but I don't see Archer or Stewart scoring more than 10 or 12 goals. 

 

[S-Clarke]

I think someone mentioned earlier that Ipswich lost two of their PL players, Delap and Cujeste.

Well on the later, looks like he's on his way back. He would be ridiculous for this level, especially with Hackney as well. They should  walk the league without breaking sweat. No one else will get close.

Ipswich trying to re-sign Cajuste

Latest from Sky Sports News' Dharmesh Sheth:

Ipswich are in talks with Napoli over re-signing midfielder Jens Cajuste. 

Discussions are ongoing around a loan and the conditions of an obligation to buy. 

Cajuste spent last season on loan at Ipswich and there is a willingness from all parties to get a deal done

Edited August 1 by S-Clarke

[Fabrice29]

20 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

I keep seeing reports that say Southampton and Leicester will run away with the Championship this season. 

Am I the only one who thinks that with the current squad we'll be luck to finish top 10? We've sold a lot but where's the new signings? 

To get out of the Championship you need far more experience than saints have. Our midfield look lightweight, again. 

People seem to be moving Wrexham for some of their signings but £2m for Conor Coady seems like a reasonable bit of business to me. He's certainly a better option than Jack Stephens.

What about midfield looks lighter than the midfield that got us into the playoffs last time?

We're going to play completely differently so may negate/require certain attributes but purely personnel wise, we're no weaker than before.

[S-Clarke]

Also, Wrexham have agreed a £2m with Leicester for Coady. That will be done. Good addition for Wrexham, but I didn't realise how much he was absolutely despised at Leicester. 

Wrexham have also agreed a £2m fee for Keiffer Moore - a good ST for this level.

Also looks like Wrexham will sign Broadhead from Ipswich for around £8m. Pretty mad really.

[hypochondriac]

4 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Also, Wrexham have agreed a £2m with Leicester for Coady. That will be done. Good addition for Wrexham, but I didn't realise how much he was absolutely despised at Leicester. 

Wrexham have also agreed a £2m fee for Keiffer Moore - a good ST for this level.

Also looks like Wrexham will sign Broadhead from Ipswich for around £8m. Pretty mad really.

Interesting to see how they get on. Lots of championship experience there. We seem to be going for gems from abroad in the belief that they represent better value. Ipswich spent last summer buying the best of the championship and on the face of it have a team stacked with championship all stars. We have some players remaining with decent championship records but a bit of a question mark over some of them given recent form. I wonder how these different approaches will work out? 

[hypochondriac]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think someone mentioned earlier that Ipswich lost two of their PL players, Delap and Cujeste.

Well on the later, looks like he's on his way back. He would be ridiculous for this level, especially with Hackney as well. They should  walk the league without breaking sweat. No one else will get close.

Ipswich trying to re-sign Cajuste

Latest from Sky Sports News' Dharmesh Sheth:

Ipswich are in talks with Napoli over re-signing midfielder Jens Cajuste. 

Discussions are ongoing around a loan and the conditions of an obligation to buy. 

Cajuste spent last season on loan at Ipswich and there is a willingness from all parties to get a deal done

I'd love ugochukwu back in this league. 

Edited August 1 by hypochondriac

[Matthew Le God]

Ed Sheeran gets number 17. What number should we give Craig David?

 

[ErwinK1961]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Ed Sheeran gets number 17. What number should we give Craig David?

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(days)

[skintsaint]

On 01/08/2025 at 13:51, hypochondriac said:

I'd love ugochukwu back in this league. 

Off to Burnley I think along with Broja.

[hypochondriac]

12 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

Off to Burnley I think along with Broja.

Yeah that was before that announcement. Burnley are doomed. 

[skintsaint]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

Yeah that was before that announcement. Burnley are doomed. 

Ah didn't know they had announced, only went off this I received off my Chelsea supporting friend...
 

 

[sockeye]

Wednesday's transfer fee restriction has been extended to the 2026-27 window. They will be unable to conduct any transfers involving a fee until summer 2027..

[Football Special]

28 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Wednesday's transfer fee restriction has been extended to the 2026-27 window. They will be unable to conduct any transfers involving a fee until summer 2027..

Obviously could get some loans and free agents but as things stand they must be likely for a record low points tally? Tiny squad with players who aren't being paid , unless takeover happens soon 

Feel for their fans, stupidly high ticket prices as well 

[Matthew Le God]

8 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Obviously could get some loans and free agents but as things stand they must be likely for a record low points tally? Tiny squad with players who aren't being paid , unless takeover happens soon 

Feel for their fans, stupidly high ticket prices as well 

They'd struggle to get any good loan players, as they aren't allowed to pay loan fees.

[bpsaint]

I somehow completely missed the fact the Sheff United had hired Selles. How did he land himself that job? That’s his third managers role since leaving us 2 years ago, doesn’t exactly bode well for them does it.

Some other predictior I saw earlier also has us down finishing 1st, which as much as I’d love I really can’t see being close to correct. They had Wednesday finishing 12th which says it all really.

[Smirking_Saint]

24 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

I somehow completely missed the fact the Sheff United had hired Selles. How did he land himself that job? That’s his third managers role since leaving us 2 years ago, doesn’t exactly bode well for them does it.

Some other predictior I saw earlier also has us down finishing 1st, which as much as I’d love I really can’t see being close to correct. They had Wednesday finishing 12th which says it all really.

Because he’s a decent coach/manager

Did a good job at Hull tbh

Although.. Im surprised they ditched Wilder, that’ll bite them

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, bpsaint said:

I somehow completely missed the fact the Sheff United had hired Selles. How did he land himself that job? That’s his third managers role since leaving us 2 years ago, doesn’t exactly bode well for them does it.

Some other predictior I saw earlier also has us down finishing 1st, which as much as I’d love I really can’t see being close to correct. They had Wednesday finishing 12th which says it all really.

Loads of people have us finishing first or second which at this point is bizarre. Maybe at the end of the window depending on who we get but not at this point. 

[Andrew Watson]

Agree Hypo, will depend on what players we have at the end of the window, as to where we finish.

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Agree Hypo, will depend on what players we have at the end of the window, as to where we finish.

It's just a lazy thing to do. I'd say at this point Ipswich are nailed on for 1st with a settled manager and not too much upheaval. Birmingham may be up there but a lot of new faces to gel together along with Sheffield United and someone like Coventry or Norwich will be up around the playoffs. I expect Leicester will do a lot better than people expect and for me they will make the playoffs, even with a points deduction. We could challenge for promotion but it depends how we replace Fernandes and dibling and what we get to threaten out wide. 

[UpweySaint]

7 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Loads of people have us finishing first or second which at this point is bizarre. Maybe at the end of the window depending on who we get but not at this point. 

To be fair you could say the same about almost any club in the league. I do take the point but I guess a lot of people making predictions are either assuming we’ll recruit or think the squad we have comparative to league rivals is strong even if we end up losing Dibling and Fernandes. Still seems to be well thought of by others too which doesn’t hurt. It could also be the easy answer - three down most likely to go back up but Leicester may get a points deduction so it’s Ipswich and us.

Fwiw I think we’re short quality on a couple of key positions but I’m hopeful the club will get deals across the line by the end of the window. It’s guesswork but I think we’re likely to end up with a squad that should be challenging for automatic promotion.

 

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, UpweySaint said:

To be fair you could say the same about almost any club in the league. I do take the point but I guess a lot of people making predictions are either assuming we’ll recruit or think the squad we have comparative to league rivals is strong even if we end up losing Dibling and Fernandes. Still seems to be well thought of by others too which doesn’t hurt. It could also be the easy answer - three down most likely to go back up but Leicester may get a points deduction so it’s Ipswich and us.

Fwiw I think we’re short quality on a couple of key positions but I’m hopeful the club will get deals across the line by the end of the window. It’s guesswork but I think we’re likely to end up with a squad that should be challenging for automatic promotion.

 

We have zero creativity. We have goalscorers but no one to set the goals up. We have functional players but no magic or flair. We are going to struggle to score goals as it stands. This will likely change by the end of the window but as it stands I don't think anyone can seriously have us in the automatic promotion places. 

[UpweySaint]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We have zero creativity. We have goalscorers but no one to set the goals up. We have functional players but no magic or flair. We are going to struggle to score goals as it stands. This will likely change by the end of the window but as it stands I don't think anyone can seriously have us in the automatic promotion places. 

I get what you’re saying but a prediction is not solely based on the squad ‘as is’ but on assumptions about what business were likely to do.
 

Assuming Edozie, Dibling, Aribo and Fernandes all go we need at least one (preferably two) wingers, an AM and a centre mid - I would hope we have a reasonable budget to get quality additions. 
 

I think momentum could be an issue for us whatever happens so I think we may struggle to set a good pace which will hinder us. We could end up in second but my gut feeling is we’ll be close but may fall just short and end up with another play off place.

Genuine interest, where do you see us finishing? Welcome to make a ‘as is’ prediction and one for ‘if we do decent transfer business’ if you like.

[Matthew Le God]

21 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We have zero creativity. We have goalscorers but no one to set the goals up. 

"Zero" "No one"

Adam Armstrong had 13 assists in our promotion season.

Edited Wednesday at 22:54 by Matthew Le God

[gurru991]

On 01/08/2025 at 06:22, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

I keep seeing reports that say Southampton and Leicester will run away with the Championship this season. 

Am I the only one who thinks that with the current squad we'll be luck to finish top 10? We've sold a lot but where's the new signings? 

To get out of the Championship you need far more experience than saints have. Our midfield look lightweight, again. 

People seem to be moving Wrexham for some of their signings but £2m for Conor Coady seems like a reasonable bit of business to me. He's certainly a better option than Jack Stephens.

Conor Coady just isn’t that good !!!   He talks a good game but that’s about it 

[hypochondriac]

20 minutes ago, gurru991 said:

Conor Coady just isn’t that good !!!   He talks a good game but that’s about it 

In the prem maybe but championship he should be alright. 

[hypochondriac]

41 minutes ago, UpweySaint said:

I get what you’re saying but a prediction is not solely based on the squad ‘as is’ but on assumptions about what business were likely to do.
 

Assuming Edozie, Dibling, Aribo and Fernandes all go we need at least one (preferably two) wingers, an AM and a centre mid - I would hope we have a reasonable budget to get quality additions. 
 

I think momentum could be an issue for us whatever happens so I think we may struggle to set a good pace which will hinder us. We could end up in second but my gut feeling is we’ll be close but may fall just short and end up with another play off place.

Genuine interest, where do you see us finishing? Welcome to make a ‘as is’ prediction and one for ‘if we do decent transfer business’ if you like.

I think we will make the playoffs as it stands. With quality additions we coukd be uo challenging for automatic with Sheffield United, probably Birmingham and Ipswich. 

[Dusic]

5 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

I think we will make the playoffs as it stands. With quality additions we coukd be uo challenging for automatic with Sheffield United, probably Birmingham and Ipswich. 

Leicester still the team to beat IMO, even with a deduction, even more so if Fatawa and Mavididi stay.

Suprised so many seem to have disregarded them.

[hypochondriac]

26 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Leicester still the team to beat IMO, even with a deduction, even more so if Fatawa and Mavididi stay.

Suprised so many seem to have disregarded them.

I think they will make the playoffs. Almost impossible to win it with a points deduction. 

[AlexLaw76]

17 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I think they will make the playoffs. Almost impossible to win it with a points deduction. 

The points deduction that never arrives?

[Fabrice29]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

I think they will make the playoffs. Almost impossible to win it with a points deduction. 

Teams that have won the league recently have done so by 10, 7 and 21 points to third place though. They are the best of the 3 teams that came down as evidenced by last season and the seasons before. I’d still be expecting top two if I was them. 

[S-Clarke]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

I think they will make the playoffs. Almost impossible to win it with a points deduction. 

It's not going to happen, they're going to escape it again. No idea why, but again it just puts PSR into context really. Next time we go up, just fricking spend and if we breach shit who cares. It's not hurt Forest in the slightest.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

Yes, hoping Leicester are going to get a 31 point deduction isn't going to happen. I'm guessing a 5point, 10point at worse rap will be all they'll get.

But would you really want a Notts Forest type owner in charge of Southampton? Forgetting his off pitch reputation, the way Gibbs-White has signed up to stay at Forest has a resemblance to the way Gerrard never left Liverpool. 

[Fabrice29]

21 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

It's not going to happen, they're going to escape it again. No idea why, but again it just puts PSR into context really. Next time we go up, just fricking spend and if we breach shit who cares. It's not hurt Forest in the slightest.

Didn’t they survive by 1 point the season they got a deduction? Given any further breaches would likely mean higher points deductions and therefore you needing to be more successful, I’d say there is real potential it would hurt. 

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Didn’t they survive by 1 point the season they got a deduction? Given any further breaches would likely mean higher points deductions and therefore you needing to be more successful, I’d say there is real potential it would hurt. 

It's all a gamble isn't it really. Forest spent stacks in the first season they came up, which is what pushed them over the edge - but it enabled them to be competitive. Sure, they survived by one point but they were in the conversation until the end.

These days teams are relegated before Spring, so it's eroded any form of competition in the bottom half. If a team comes up and gambles a bit, says 'to fuck with PSR', they'd make the likes of Brentford and co very nervous I'd say.

I just don't really rate PSR when clubs get around it by selling parts of the club back to themselves, there are loopholes everywhere that the very 'rich' and clever owners just scoot around all the time as they can afford the best lawyers.

The Man City situation is a case in point.

Edited Thursday at 08:14 by S-Clarke

[Matthew Le God]

14 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

But would you really want a Notts Forest type owner in charge of Southampton? Forgetting his off pitch reputation, the way Gibbs-White has signed up to stay at Forest has a resemblance to the way Gerrard never left Liverpool. 

He did leave Liverpool 

[SuperSAINT]

 

[trousers]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

He did leave Liverpool 

House! 

[S-Clarke]

Just now, SuperSAINT said:

 

Things starting to hot up now, the three relegated sides have been somewhat stable squad wise up to this point.

We've got Dibling and Fernandes being circled. Ipswich now have Davis, Hutchinson circled. Leicester have Mads, Ndidi and such being circled. I think they've agreed a fee with someone for Nididi actually.

It'll be interesting to see how all 3 look in September as we'll all look fairly different IMO. I'd say Ipswich are operating from a position of strength as they already had a solid team, whereas we need to rotate quite a bit of ours out.

[Fabrice29]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

It's all a gamble isn't it really. Forest spent stacks in the first season they came up, which is what pushed them over the edge - but it enabled them to be competitive. Sure, they survived by one point but they were in the conversation until the end.

These days teams are relegated before Spring, so it's eroded any form of competition in the bottom half. If a team comes up and gambles a bit, says 'to fuck with PSR', they'd make the likes of Brentford and co very nervous I'd say.

I just don't really rate PSR when clubs get around it by selling parts of the club back to themselves, there are loopholes everywhere that the very 'rich' and clever owners just scoot around all the time as they can afford the best lawyers.

The Man City situation is a case in point.

There is loads of issues with it but deliberately deciding to break the rules opens yourself up to a world of even more potential problems. Creative ways to maximise your edge sure, but a ‘fuck it let’s spend and take the punishment’ attitude is daft especially considering the punishment could change at any moment. 

Also, I’d put good money on Forest struggling this season and not being the poster boys for success everyone thinks they are for much longer but that’s a whole different debate.

[Saint NL]

 

Let's try and improve things a bit this season, eh?

[S-Clarke]

1 hour ago, Saint NL said:

 

Let's try and improve things a bit this season, eh?

It feels like we're due a good period again (consistently over a few seasons), but then I guess Stoke/Boro/Blackburn would all say the same thing and they've been in the rots for a decade or more.

[Chez]

Birmingham have signed striker Marvin Ducksch from Werder Bremen for less than £2m.

He scored 1 in 3 for them over last there seasons in the German top flight, and 20 goals in 29 games the season before in the german second division. Roughly 150 goals in 360 games during his career. He's 31, so at the other end of the career spectrum from Downs, but will be interesting to see how the two compare this season.

[bpsaint]

14 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Because he’s a decent coach/manager

Did a good job at Hull tbh

Although.. Im surprised they ditched Wilder, that’ll bite them

Were in a relegation battle and he got sacked, wouldn’t call that a good job for a team that has bigger aspirations.

[bpsaint]

3 hours ago, Saint NL said:

 

Let's try and improve things a bit this season, eh?

The numbers we pull in when you consider this data is mind blowing. Our fans deserve so much better.

[HarvSFC]

Regarding PSR loopholes, first port of call when we start to get close to the limits is to sell our women's team to ourselves, like Chelsea, Aston Villa and Everton have all done.

We also have two other clubs to move money through. Nottingham Forest, the owner Marinakis is very close to John Textor. There's a few dodgy deals between them. Textor owns both Botafogo and Lyon. You'll see this summer that Botafogo signed Danilo from Forest for £21m this summer. A player who made 8 Premier League appearances last season. While Lyon signed Matt Turner for £6m. One of the worst Premier League goalkeepers you're likely to see. It would be like someone coming in with £6m for Bazunu or McCarthy, which doesn't happen. Last summer Forest also sold Orel Mangala (bad) for £20m and Moussa Niakhate (who?) for £27m to Lyon. When Forest get close to the line, their friend Textor helps them out. Forest repay it by spending £20m on Botafogo players, but that gets spread over their contracts, rather than an outgoing which is immediate on the accounts. We should start to look to sell players like Lis to Goztepe for £10m or so.

It does feel for a long time now that we strictly abide by the rules, while others find loopholes to gain success both off and on the pitch and leave us behind. Only one way to break the status quo now.

[saintant]

10 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

Regarding PSR loopholes, first port of call when we start to get close to the limits is to sell our women's team to ourselves, like Chelsea, Aston Villa and Everton have all done.

We also have two other clubs to move money through. Nottingham Forest, the owner Marinakis is very close to John Textor. There's a few dodgy deals between them. Textor owns both Botafogo and Lyon. You'll see this summer that Botafogo signed Danilo from Forest for £21m this summer. A player who made 8 Premier League appearances last season. While Lyon signed Matt Turner for £6m. One of the worst Premier League goalkeepers you're likely to see. It would be like someone coming in with £6m for Bazunu or McCarthy, which doesn't happen. Last summer Forest also sold Orel Mangala (bad) for £20m and Moussa Niakhate (who?) for £27m to Lyon. When Forest get close to the line, their friend Textor helps them out. Forest repay it by spending £20m on Botafogo players, but that gets spread over their contracts, rather than an outgoing which is immediate on the accounts. We should start to look to sell players like Lis to Goztepe for £10m or so.

It does feel for a long time now that we strictly abide by the rules, while others find loopholes to gain success both off and on the pitch and leave us behind. Only one way to break the status quo now.

Deal would probably fall through because we'd ask for too much money.

[Saint86]

26 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

Were in a relegation battle and he got sacked, wouldn’t call that a good job for a team that has bigger aspirations.

He came in and improved them (kept them up by all accounts), and they had frankly horrendous injuries to deal with.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

5 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

He did leave Liverpool 

Yeah, yeah...and we can remember that on off Chelsea move too.

Changing the subject, think we're incredibly light in midfield. Think we're banking on Downes playing a full season and Shea Charles coming good. But what else have we got? Fernandes (for how much longer?), some kid from the academy and Aribo and Smallbone. Yikes.

[Matthew Le God]

3 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Changing the subject, think we're incredibly light in midfield. Think we're banking on Downes playing a full season and Shea Charles coming good. But what else have we got? Fernandes (for how much longer?), some kid from the academy and Aribo and Smallbone. Yikes.

Yikes? That is strong for the Championship