Dusic

MP got that just about right, hopefully he starts learning as they will obviously not be sacking him now (for a couple of games anyway). Good character from a goal down as well. 1. When Tadic plays well, the team plays well. Need to get the best out of him like today 2. Good to see Redmond back, albeit briefly. He gives an option none of our other attackers do. 3. We are utterly ****e at defending set plays and crosses and its because we just don't have a physically strong side. Stating the obvious but we need to avoid conceding them where possible. Oh, and start Lemina every week.

He put in a couple of absolutely fantastic crosses first half. Definite starter, but with Tadic on the other side I would put JWP middle and some pace out right, be that Redmond, Sims or possibly even Long.

He has made some bad decisions but is nowhere nearly Lowe and doesn't warrant death chants.

Absolutely paceless lineup though. Thats the problem. Redmond or Long might neither be excellent but I think one has to play otherwise there is zero threat in behind.

1. Carrillo has to start 2. Because of 1, Tadic has to start 3. Because of 1 and 2 there has to be a player with a vague amount of pace on the other side (return for Redmond perhaps?)

Pellegrino said in todays presser re the Promes fiasco: "Next time we have to plan better." Essentially saying we didnt give Spartak enough time to source a replacement. It got me thinking: 1.Have we had a good window since Lil Ross took over from Paul Mitchell? 2. Surely they learned something from last January's Fonte/Caceres fiasco? Pretty damning of the job the wee man is doing!

McCarthy Cedric---Stephens----Hoedt-----Bertrand ------------Lemina-------Hojbjerg------------ ----------------------JWP-------------------------- Redmond-----------------------------Tadic -----------------------Carrillo------------------

Strange to bring on Carrillo - who thrives on crosses - and take off Tadic who put a few good ones in first half. Also how does Shane Long still start every game despite being utterly ****e? We have lots of problems.

2/10 - pathetic. Sold our best player, hinted through favoured Journalists at various targets and got nowhere near any of them. Delusional leadership. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/12/28/southampton-keen-daniel-sturridge-ready-make-audacious-move/ "After selling Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool for £75 million on Wednesday, Southampton want to reinvest quickly and add quality to their squad, with the attacking positions and centre-back their two priorities. A list of targets are being considered or actively worked upon and, with manager Mauricio Pellegrino desperate to add pace, power and goals to his team, one of the most intriguing names is Liverpool’s Sturridge." End result: Sturridge went to a relegation rival and we didn'!t really address the other bits. If we get relegated, the club deserve it. Shambolic management in various forms over the last 2 years.

If ever a team, club and fanbase needed a boost it is now. Working on this deal for least 3 weeks so if it doesn't get done then its tin hat time for Reed as this would have been a very, very poor window. Over to you, Les...

Spartak have a game tomorrow apparently in Marbella so if he plays in that then there is zero chance. If we are to get him then there needs to be developments by tomorrow morning at the latest I would have thought. "We pushed until the end but the market is difficult."

Summary here: http://sportwitness.co.uk/southampton-need-pay-close-e35m-want-transfer-done-wednesday/ So his release clause is €30m but an additional €4.5m is to the player, so €34.5m before wages are taken into effect. We want to pay no more than €27m, nearly €8m short of what it will take. If this is true, then surely its obvious we won't be suddenly adding a whole €8m to what we are offering until now before the end of tomorrow? Unless it changes very quickly then even logistically it will be nigh on impossible to complete such a big deal within a day. Virtually all the other big deals that have been talked about for a while, Aubameyang, Laporte, Moura etc are at much more advanced stages than still being millions of Euros apart. Massively unlikely.

If those reports are true, and the stated €30m clause is also true then we are very close to that so would assume we will up our offer and get it done if there is a willingness from the player. To rake in the VVD cash and then lose out on Promes for the sake or 2 or 3m would be a shame.

Reedo must getting nervous. Without Promes (or similar) then its a very, very poor window, no question about that: - Sold best player for a world record fee for a defender and didn't replace him despite numerous examples of being poor from crosses -Suggesting the VVD money was up front (and would be reinvested), then saying it was in installments - Sizeable number of puff articles suggesting interest in Tosun, Walcott, Benteke, Shaw, Sessegnon, Sturridge, Mawson and suggesting we would be very active in the window - Only current signing is a squad player from another club who is a big risk for a big fee who quite possibly won't even be a nailed on starter - Sitting on a whole lot of wedge whilst we have struggled to score more than a goal a game for 18 months and are in the relegation zone. - A couple of other sides have added better players without a wedge of cash to spend Spartak seem to have signed what could be a replacement -Sofiane Hanni - so lets hope he gets the job done in the end but for huge a big deal as this a breakthrough would be needed very soon and MP didnt seem upbeat earlier. Tick tock, tick tock...

Did they ask MP about Promes in the press conference?

Resigned to the fact they don't see another CB as required. We are very susceptible to conceding from crosses but defending otherwise is decent enough. How do you see it all, Warren?

Key one is adding some attacking pace. If we don't do that then its a ****ing awful window - selling our best player and just replacing Austin. Carrillo looks a decent signing but is a slow player, which is fine as he is a targetman. However if paired with say JWP and Tadic then its too slow a front three to be effective unless we have 75% possession every game. Next few days are huge for Reed. We have told everyone who our target is, so go and get him.

Sounds like this is a long way off happening. Hard to see it being done as we won't pay 30m IMO. In the Echo Pellegrino adds that he isn't sure we would move on to another target if we don't get Promes. Whilst obviously not MP's decision that would be madness. We are such a one paced side, even more with Carrillo and JWP in the front three. To not get Walcott, Promes or an alternative and just end up with buying Carrillo and selling VVD would be a 2 or 3 out of 10 window IMO.

Unbeaten in four, one defeat in the last six so certainly improving to an extent. The next two games will define the season IMO. Brighton is an absolute must win, no question about that.

So...4 days left of the window. As it stands we have sold our best player and signed a replacement for Austin. Really need another good signing shortly to call it a successful window.

The original article quotes "the British press" as the source though and I havent seen that anywhere reliable over here i.e that he doesnt want to sign for us because of league position. Crux is will we pay 30m and the answer to that is surely, no. Hopefully our back is Dany N'Guessan who is surely an upgrade on Redmond or something.

As ever, its a question of money. We have money, they know we have money and probably rightly they won't sell for less than his release clause. If we want him that much then we will end up paying that or we will go for another target that you would hope has already been lined up. If Carrillo is our record sogning at £19m can anyone really see us suddenly going out and spending £30m just a few days afterwards? Unlikely IMO.

Tadic has been good lately IMO, easily our best ceeative player in terms of tangible output. Hooefully signing Carrillo will give him a target to work with like he did so well with Pelle. Likewise if we sign a decent wide player with pace then he should also be able to combine well with them. He will be key for us the rest of the season and is miles better than what our relegation rivals have as equivalents.

Personally not convinced we will be able to get Promes. From his perspective surely you would just wait until the summer and assess your options rather than making a big move to a side that could be relegated. He is represented by SEG who also have Hoedt on their books, so that may help slightly. This will be a saga over the next few days IMO but sounds like we have a backup, so it may well be that player that we end up with. If it were Gaitan then he doesn't give us the pace we need.

Most deals happen late on in the window. Shame everyone is aware of our interest but not many teams have the money to spend that we do, certainly in the bottom half. Hopefully we have a backup lined up incase it doesn't happen.