Saint Albert

In fairness, he appears to have stopped posting his “Italian player” rumour on the Not606 transfer thread after someone asked...“Hope you’re not saying this because of the biggest not in the know on SW has said “an Italian player would be nice””

Stephens has played at RB as well.

A poster on the Not606 forum is saying something similar.

Sam Wallace on the the Telegraph’s transfer page... “Southampton have stuck to their insistence that Charlie Austin only be permitted to move on a permanent deal this window which has meant the striker has been too expensive at this stage of the season for a number of clubs who wanted him on loan. The 29-year-old was told by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl that he could leave in January having started just two games since the Austrian took over at the club. Wolverhampton Wanderers had enquired about the player and there was strong interest from Stoke City until they opted for the cheaper option of Sam Vokes. It was Austin’s preference to stay in the Premier League. Crystal Palace and Cardiff City also looked at the striker who has a contract at Saints until the summer of 2020. Southampton would not entertain a loan deal and Austin will now stay and attempt to force his way into Hasenhuttl’s side. His decision to stay at Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 2015, despite their relegation, was rewarded with the move to Southampton the following January. The likelihood is that there will be a strong market for him in the summer.”

Moi’s made the team for the Guardian’s summer signings “Flops XI”... “To class the £16m signing of a 24-year-old who had only ever played in Norway and Switzerland as a gamble is putting it lightly. Mohamed Elyounoussi had Champions League experience with Basel and plenty of international caps with Norway but it is not particularly surprising that he has struggled to step up. The winger has shown flashes of his ability but no end product in a Saints jersey, without a single goal or assist to his name in 12 league appearances, and he has played just 93 minutes in the league under new manager Ralph Hasenhüttl.” https://amp.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2019/jan/29/transfer-window-summer-signings-flopped-season

Gerrard appeared to shoot down the rumour that Saints are interested in Tavernier when questioned about it after their win against Livingston... “They’re not looking. We made a call about it this morning and they’re not.” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/3802295/rangers-james-tavernier-8m-southampton-steven-gerrard/

On Twitter, Simon Peach has been saying that Cedric has been wanting to leave for some time and is running down his contract. It puts the club in a more difficult situation, particularly as Cedric probably falls into the not as good as he thinks he is category. I’ll wait for the details of the deal before grabbing a pitchfork and storming Ross Wilson’s office, but you’d hope the club could secure an obligation to purchase rather than an option. It seems to leave us short at the RB position and without cover at LB considering both Bertrand and Targett are dealing with injuries, if the deal does not free up the budget to bring in a replacement.

The Mirror has linked Saints and Wolves to the LB Rogerio... “Wolves vs Saints for defender Wolves and Southampton are ready to fight it out for Brazilian defender Rogerio. Wolves are prepared to offer £12million for Rogerio, who is on loan at Serie A side Sassuolo from Juventus. Southampton are also keen on the left-back, who has been capped by Brazil at Under-17 and Under-20 level. Rogerio, 21, has yet to play a senior game for Juventus and also spent last season on loan at Sassuolo. The South American is enjoying a fine campaign and has made 20 appearances for Sassuolo in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. Newcastle were also monitoring his situation before signing Jordan Lukaku on loan from Lazio.” https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/transfer-news-live-liverpool-manchester-13900072 @ 16:59

Yes! V. Funny - I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one getting worked up by the ref.

Perhaps you posted after the Everton game last Saturday? I had to take a walk afterwards, I was so irritated by the ref. Anyway, my impression of this situation from an entirely non-expert, layperson, I’ve-always-been-afraid-of-flying perspective, was that it seemed odd to put Sala in a dinky little one-engined plane. From reading this thread, it looks like folks with more expertise might be thinking the same thing.

Awful news re Cardiff’s Sala. I feel desperately sorry for his family.

I wish Hoedt and his logo all the best in Spain assuming this goes through, mainly because I want us to sell him in the summer rather than go through a series of loans until his contract runs out.

It’s worth pointing out that since the second half of PL season started against City on Dec 30, we have got 7 points from 4 games against City, Chelsea, Leicester and Everton. We got 0 points from the corresponding fixtures during the first half of the season.

The referee was mind-blowingly poor today. How he found 4 minutes to add to the 4 minutes injury time is beyond me. Playing on while Long was down bleeding from his head. He’s not good enough for L1.

Another win. Get in there. Well played everyone, particularly JWP, Bednarek, Romeu and Redmond. What a difference a decent manager makes. What an awful performance by the referee. He drove me around the bend. Adding 4 minutes injury time to 4 minutes injury time felt like a mathematical impossibility at the time. Playing on while Long was down and bleeding from the head. Letting them get away with far too many shoves in the back. Hopefully he gets reviewed and demoted, he was a ****ing disgrace.

It’s also been described as an abdominal injury. I assumed it was some kind of abdominal strain rather than a stomach problem. Hasenhüttl keeps on referring to it as a stomach issue in his pressers but I’ve been putting that down to English being his second language.

I remember saying similar things when Setanta (remember them?) secured the rights way back when. I can’t see any result other than PL losing viewers again. I don’t subscribe to SportsWorld now (not worth the money in my book) but I’ll subscribe to DAZN next season. Might get to watch some other football like the Championship, and the odd cricket match. Hopefully the service has ironed out the technical bugs that caused its acquisition of NFL Sunday Ticket to cause an outcry among Canadian NFL fans. The DAZN sucks Twitter feed is still going...

“SunSport has been told Leipzig will not stand in his way if he wants to leave and a club matches the £38million valuation on his head.”

Romeu was immense today. I’m so happy to see him playing this well for Hasenhüttl. Great energy levels. Reminds me of how he played under Puel. The team did very well defensively in the second half. Hasenhüttl has toughened them up and got them well-organized. Vestergaard looks so much better, and Bednarek is turning into an excellent central defender. The defending is much better now under Hasenhüttl. And kudos to the much-maligned Long for being responsible for both Saints goals. I also liked JWP’s performance - I saw a good bit of pressing and aggression from him, but I think it was JWP who inadvertently blocked the Saints clearance leading up to Valery’s sending off. Leicester were exceptionally poor in the first half. They looked like a team of strangers at times. Reading some of the comments from Leicester supporters when their line-up was announced, they were annoyed that Puel went with three defensive midfielders. Now if Chelsea could please pull their finger out and finish off Newcastle, that would be great.

If inot sure if Long’s shot was going in...the keeper’s touch may have deflected it into the net.

Long you ****ing goal scoring beauty!!!!!

Well. That is a blow.

Replays show that Leicester effort was nowhere near the line...seemed closer in real time.

JWP scores the penalty!

Asia Cup.