Lee On Solent Saint

1980 League Cup 2nd Round. Won the first leg 4-0 at The Dell. Second leg didn't go so well!! As a seven year old attending a first game, I thought Saints were world beaters!!

My first hero as a young Saints fan. Hard to compare today's players against those of Moran's generation. Both excellent finishers and good pace, although possibly Ings all round game is better. If Moran hadn't got that back injury when we were challenging for the title, I genuinely believe we would have won in that year.

Kane injured this evening then. Does that mean an incoming bid for Ings?

That being the case, I really can't see United agreeing to loan him to us. Surely from the player and clubs point of view they are looking at getting minutes on the pitch. How much game time are we able to provide him? If we assume that Bertie is first choice at left back, how does he fit in? It's not like last season when Valery was piss poor and that KWP was an absolute upgrade pretty much straight away. I guess it all hinges on whether Bertie signs the contract offer. Possibly bringing in another left back puts pressure on him to sign, which is again dependent on what other offers he has received. Would assume that a few clubs in our own bracket would consider him a viable option for at least a couple of years.

Think it's a case of just too many injuries at once. We got away with a few results through sheer grit and determination, unfortunately today was just one game too many. Losing both full backs for the same match was a huge blow, although it probably brought to the fore that Vokins and Valery are not good enough. Walcott, hugely disappointing of late, the romantic in me wanted him to be a huge success, just not working out at the moment. Not sure where we go with Ings. I know he has had an injury and the Covid thing, but to me he just looks like he is going through the motions at the moment. His body language is all wrong and he isn't playing with that smile on his face he had earlier on in the season. I think he's off at the end of the season.

When did we first hear about this release clause? I'm guessing that around the time Ings got injured against Villa, this prompted him and probably more importantly his agent, to have a bit of a re-think about his future plans. I may be way off, but I can see a situation where by Ings and his team have sat down and come to the conclusion that the injury he suffered has spooked them, and that by asking for such a low release clause, if he continues to bang in the goals and stays injury free, the clutch of clubs lining up with 20m will be far more than if it was 40m. The flip side is of course he his form goes off a cliff or he suffers another long term injury, he has the contract he signed with us a pretty decent security

I know football is a short career for the players and they need to look after and do what's best for them, but feel massively let down by Ings and his stance. Granted we don't know the full facts and it might very well be that he will end up signing, however it just leaves a bit of a sour taste. I've said before that I believe Saints rescued Ings career, there didn't seem to be too many takers for him when we signed for us and it seemed he was more than happy to sign when we came in for him. I guess I was just expecting more for him being a local lad and that's why I feel a bit disappointed. Am not sure the Champions League thing is anything more than an excuse. Didn't PEH state that he wanted to sign for a CL club?

Given the situation with PEH during last summer, does Ings still get played in the meantime if he refuses to sign a new contract? Get that he has slightly longer on the contract, but does that same thinking apply?

This. I have noticed the same. Even when he gets interviewed it seems like a chore. I think he has started to believe in his own hype now. It's such a shame, would any other club taken a chance on him with his record? Especially for what we paid for him

You also need to take into account where Ings has come from. Even though he didn't set the world alight with the Scouse, he would have been in and around the squad, even with his injuries and when they started to get successful he would have got a taste for it. He may well decide that being with a team with more chance of winning something and getting the odd game here and there is a better prospect than staying with us and playing regularly. That may have been his thinking all along. He strikes me as being someone who despite his injury record is pretty confident in his own ability. If you look at it from that angle, you could say that his plan all along was to spend a season or two with us, getting back to optimum fitness and having regular game time, before making another big club move. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but it all just seems a bit pre-meditated to me.

I seem to remember something being alluded to when Long signed his extension, that Ings talked up Long in a really positive way and that he was a chuffed that he was given a new deal. Call me cynical but it's not out of the realms of possibility that Ings had a major say in Long being offered a deal, in an attempt to keep him sweet.

If you look at the situation realistically, who would he join? Liverpool, even though Klopp suggests he loves him, would be a strange signing to go back. City, don't think he is a big enough name for them. United, probably similar to City. Spurs, maybe if they don't win anything and Kane realises he never will at Spuds. Chelsea, they just love spunking money away on foreign players. Arsenal, not the force they once were, but a better option in terms of money. If he was to go my money would be on Leicester, Vardy isn't going to last forever and he is the type of player that would fit in with them. For what it's worth, I think he is going to leave. Furthermore, if he is haggling over a release clause, what kind of message does that send out to us as fans? Would his commitment be called into question? Will Ralph full him from the tam in the same way he dealt with PEH?