Cartman

I said at least 3 years, we could sell him when he has 1 year left although given his age and the position he plays I think that is unlikely as he would lose to much value in the penultimate year of his contract, like Mané would have done. 2014 was the exception as we needed the money, we no longer sell because of that but because the contracts are expiring and they won't renew for a salary within our structure. We will no longer sell key players who have more than two years on their contract. VVD will be here at least another 4 years, Boufal 3, Forster 3 etc... Ralph effectively admitted as much. Until this summer we hadn't had a contract renewal with a key player for 3 years, don't you think that players would jump at the chance to increase their salaries if they could leave whenever they wanted? We hold them to their contracts so the only way to leave is to run it down. Having complete control over the timing of departures also makes it much easier to identify what and who we will need to sign. Too much is made of player power, just because they have a lot more since the Bosman ruling doesn't mean they can do whatever they want. "Contract don't mean anything anymore" is absolute bu!!sh!t. Contracts are everything. And the key aspect of our sales policy is there is a cutoff date during the summer window after which we will no longer sell key players regardless of the length of their contract and we pull the plug on any deals if they aren't completed by then, so there was no chance of Fonte ever being allowed to leave. This was already obvious as it was to much of a coincidence that we hadn't sold any big name players after the end of July (Chambers on July 29th being the latest) but Jeremy Wilson in the Telegraph recently confirmed it.

Someone gets it! This obsession with formation labels is irritating, it's as if players don't move and are confined to what their positions are supposed to be on paper. A diamond is exactly the same as a 433 with a false 9, the central player dropping off to escape the marking of the centre backs and the wide players making diagonal runs in the space between the centre back and the full back. The whole "we only play with one holding midfielder" is also nonsense, it's really 3 with one being much more defensive than either of the two in a 4231 and effectively acting as a third centre back in the attacking phase of play splitting the centre backs who are then responsible for covering the space left by the full backs playing very high up the pitch. Again, what happens in a 433 possession based team. All of this is much more similar to our game under Poch than what we played under Koeman and wouldn't be surprised if it had much to do with Les lukewarm opinion of Koeman, especially Koeman's preference for static forwards with wide men staying wide and slinging endless crosses towards a big lump up front. Expect to see much less of players like Pelle and Austin and more like Mané and Boufal, with greater emphasis on dribbling and through balls to unravel organized defenses. Over the last few seasons our dribbling stats in the final third have been among the worst in the league, it's little wonder we just end up passing the ball around without knowing what to do. We don't as press much as under Poch but then that is probably what Puel was referring to when he mentioned the number of games we have, his Nice team pressed a lot and were very aggressive. As much as I think very highly of him, Poch's teams are quite consistent when it comes to fading towards the end of the season.

Not quite. We keep them until they are down to the final 2 years of their contract so he will be here for at least 3 years.

Dutch journo saying there is nothing in it. Thank ****. Mediocre player. https://twitter.com/JongsmaJongsma/status/770721329670750208

Signed a new contract 10 days ago. Another to add to the list is Thomas Partey from Atlético. We were linked earlier in the summer and has been left out of the matchday squads so far despite playing very well in preseason. Bakayoko from Monaco is another we were linked with although I'm not sure if they would be willing to sell.

If we sign another forward we will have 7 for 3 starting places (Boufal, Tadic, Redmond, Long, Austin, Rodriguez) With Reed possibly going on loan we will have 5 players for 3 places (Romeu, Hojbjerg, Davis, Clasie, JWP) IMO our weakest link is now at DM, surely it makes more sense to sign one since we are lacking in quality and possibly quantity with Reed on loan?

Been looking for defensive midfielders for us. What is your opinion on Jorrit Hendrix? You have probably seen more of him than me.

Definately the Wanyama and Mané shaped holes. Think we need two new Manés really but after getting one player to sort out our lack of technical ability in the final third, a defensive midfield shield to effectively protect the defense is a bigger priority over a second attacker, since I don't think any of our midfielders are really capable of playing such a role to a high standard. Hojbjerg is better as a box to box and our best midfielder and Romeu is a bit mediocre, decent on the ball but slow to react and is often in the wrong place to cut out opponents' passing lines. So Boufal and either Ginter, Dendoncker or Camacho.

Diamond this, diamond that, there is not a single difference between a diamond and a 4-3-3. Not one. In fact we are playing the exact same way we did under Poch, the players' average position and heat maps prove this. The problem is lack of quality, we create chances, far more than Watford and Sunderland and not much less than Man Utd but can't hit a barn door and then get undone by individual mistakes at the back. We miss Mané basically, he was our entire attack.

A poor man's Austin going elsewhere is a shame? Why is everyone suggesting precisely the sort of big immobile lump like Dost and Haller that clearly won't fit the way want to play. And it's not just Puel, big lump strikers have never been part of the club's long term plans, it's now that we are building the type of attack that saints have always intended. We want something similar to what Liverpool had in 2013-14 with Suárez, Sturridge and Sterling (in style not the unobtainable quality of course). Someone like Yunus Malli that was speculated a few posts ago is more the sort of forward we are likely to sign.

Backup to Boufal or backup to the other signing? Because if he is backup to someone who is even better then... Saintsweb needs more smilies, I wanted a party smily.

I'm almost certain the player in question is Jonathan Viera of Las Palmas. Exact match to Guan's description. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Viera https://www.whoscored.com/Players/91304

What would we want Benteke for? There would just be endless moaning over how we don't play to his strengths, he would fail here for the same reason he failed at Liverpool. Palace's whole attacking strategy is to get the ball wide and cross, we won't do that so no point in getting a player that relies on that type of service.

Koziello is the one we should be getting from Nice. Like Wilshere but without the injuries.

From F365: Southampton’s attacking fluidity In fact, it may be inaccurate to call Redmond a winger now. Claude Puel tried Redmond in a central attacking role in pre-season, and again asked his attackers to interchange positions against Watford. The Frenchman nominally picked a diamond midfield, but Southampton’s average positions told a different story. Both full-backs were indeed asked to play high with Oriol Romeu sitting in front of the defence, but the three attacking players (Redmond, Shane Long and Dusan Tadic) all had an average position almost on top of each other in central areas. Their touch maps (left to right as in the list above) show the same picture. This is a strategy that still needs work, for Long in particular was unable to impact upon the game as often as he would like, but does offer a solution to Southampton’s lack of focal point up front in the absence of Graziano Pelle. With work, it could be both effective and enjoyable to watch.

Making the club a profit, regardless of whether we want to or not. We (and everyone else) aren't allowed to spend much of the new TV money because owners voted to bring in the following rules to ensure a profit (not us, we were one of the few to vote against). Short Term Cost Control E.18. If in any of Contract Years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, the sum of a Club’s Player Services Costs and Image Contract Payments exceeds £67m, £74m or £81m, respectively, the relevant Club must elect to either: (a) be assessed by the Board on the ‘Prior Year Basis’ (in which case, Rule E.19 applies); or (b) be assessed by the Board on the ‘2012/13 Base Year Basis’ (in which case, Rule E.20 applies). E.19. Where the Club has elected to be assessed on the ‘Prior Year Basis’, the Club must satisfy the Board of any of the following: E.19.1. that the sum of the Club’s Player Services Costs and Image Contract Payments has not increased by more than £7m when compared to the previous Contract Year; or E.19.2. that the excess increase, over and above the £7m referred to at Rule E.19.1, arises as a result of contractual commitments entered into on or before 31 January 2013, and/or has been funded only by Club Own Revenue Uplift as compared to the previous Contract Year and/or Averaged Three Year Player Trading Profit; or E.19.3. that the excess increase, over and above the figures set out in Rule E.18, as applicable, has been funded only by Club Own Revenue Uplift and/or Averaged Three Year Player Trading Profit. E.20. Where the Club has elected to be assessed on the ‘2012/13 Base Year Basis’, the Club must satisfy the Board of any of the following: E.20.1. that the sum of the Club’s Player Services Costs and Image Contract Payments has not increased by more than £19m (in Contract Year 2016/17), £26m (in Contract Year 2017/18) or £33m (in Contract Year 2018/19), as applicable, when compared with Contract Year 2012/13; or E.20.2. that the excess increase, over and above the figures referred to at Rule E.20.1, arises as a result of contractual commitments entered into on or before 31 January 2013, and/or has been funded only by Club Own Revenue Uplift as compared with the like figures in Contract Year 2012/13 and/or Averaged Three Year Player Trading Profit. Guidance Pursuant to Rules E.18 to E.20, the Board may require further information from the Club including (but not limited to): a) confirmation that Club Own Revenue Uplift has been calculated on a like-for-like basis; and b) satisfactory evidence that revenue included within the calculation of Club Own Revenue Uplift has not been artificially inflated. In addition, the Board may adjust a Club Own Revenue Uplift by assessing any revenue within it from Related Party Transactions to Fair Market Value. As set out in the definition of Club Own Revenue Uplift (Rule A.1.30), the Board must give the Club the opportunity to make submissions before it does so. E.21. On or before 1 March in each Season, each Club shall submit Form 3 to the Board. Guidance The first reporting via Form 3 under the revised Short Term Cost Control Rules, as adopted for Seasons 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, will take place in March 2018 in respect of Contract Year 2016/17. Clubs’ attention is drawn to Rule T.15 with regard to the failure to submit Form 3. E.22. When requested by the League, the information set out in Form 3 shall be reported upon by the Club’s auditors and/or its board of directors, in accordance with procedures specified by the League from time to time.

Benteke would fail here for the same reason we has failed at Liverpool. What would be the point of signing a player for a team that won't play to his strengths?

It's sky being idiots and not knowing the difference between a striker, which Puel said we don't want, and a forward which we seemingly do.

Let's see... Pellè like career showing early promise and playing for the under-21s of a major country before disappearing to a secondary league and then having a very good last 18 months which caught our attention, left winger though probably not a touchline hugging one... Jonathan Viera of Las Palmas!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Viera https://www.whoscored.com/Players/91304 http://www.transfermarkt.com/jonathan-viera/profil/spieler/153238

In response to your post about the player being a left sided attacker, a few posters have been mentioning left footed players who don't really play on the left. Did you mean than he is literally a left sided player but not left footed, left footed but usually plays elsewhere or both left sided and left footed?

Rafa Silva maybe? Is the player we are signing on this list Guan? http://www.transfermarkt.com/detailsuche/spielerdetail/suche/4248384

Cheers. What nationality is he?

Yes. When have we sold key players this late in the transfer window? We sell players early for a reason. At this point we have always told other clubs to do one. And Pellè was very far from being a key player, even more so under Puel.

Not quite because you are forgetting about Nice, Zorya & Konyaspor who have a lower coefficient than us and have already qualified to the Group Stage, so there are 8 confirmed teams below us not 5. There will be 17 ties in the Europa playoff featuring clubs with higher coefficients than us as well as 3 Champions League playoffs featuring clubs with lower coefficients. Of these 20 ties we need 4 to go our way in order to get into Pot 3 and 16 to get into Pot 2.

Even more so if that cup is the Europa.