Bad Wolf

As mentioned, David Bentley and also Benoit Assou-Ekotto didn't enjoy the it or follow it in any way, just happened to be good at it. I think football fans struggle to separate their own emotional ties to the game and their club to a player's. It's just a job. Okay it might be a job they enjoy in some cases and in others might be a job they love. But it's still a career and the whole point of a career is to make money.

Football is a job. Its a short career as well. Maybe he's fallen out of love with playing like Bale. Maybe he never liked it anyway like David Bentley. Not every football eats and breaths the game, to some it is just a career path.

Tbf he hasn't been injured THAT much in recent years, has he? If it's true that he's turned us (and anyone else) down to sit on West Ham's bench and collect the money - Fair bloody play to him. They gave him a contract for a certain period of time don't blame him one little bit for wanting to see out his contract and the wage he's been promised. Their fans are a bit peeved about it but you can't whinge at footballer's for not honouring their contracts and then whinge because they do honour it but it doesn't suit the club.

As for Ox - For the money he'd probably want, no thanks. But if a sensible wage was agreed I could see him being an asset.

Walcott was brought back for nothing and did...Okay...Not great, not terrible. In the second half of the relegation season, he and Charley were the only ones who looked like they gave a sh1t. Much like when people say "He never lived up to potential" about him, what was everyone expecting him to do??

Been linked for a few weeks now hasn't he?

Bobby De Cordova-Reid off to Leicester from Fulham.

Nostalgia bias Reed was below average for us as a kid (apart from that one good game against Everton that one time) and he's gone on to be a slightly better but ultimately still average player. If he didn't have a prior connection with the club there's no way he'd even be being mentioned.

I think people make too much of whether a player wants to be at a club. I don't want him to sign a new contract because he isn't very good. But if we signed a player who scored 25 goals this season and kept us up and then admitted he's only here because he had no other offers, would anyone actually care? His goals don't mean less. Lots of people don't want to be at their jobs but do well anyway.

Didn't Cleverley start most games for United when they sold him? Just because he does start, doesn't mean they rate him. It just means they don't have anything better. Obviously he isn't coming to but I'd be surprised if he was still there when the window closes. I can see him at Newcastle.

Echo reporting that we're in for McTominay! Now that would be remarkable. Even if we went in for him and he turned us down, it'd show ambition.

This boy is a serious talent. We won't have him more than 2 years.

You overestimate the patience of our fanbase. We could win the first 12 games without letting in a goal and people will be clamouring for a change because as soon as a dodgy corner is conceded.

Thought THB basically got done straight after the playoffs final. I'm guessing it's being announced now because it's officially seen as "the next season" on the 1st July.

I was speaking to a Hull fan a couple of weeks ago - Seemed to think Delap was the bees knees. I wasn't impressed with that performance against us either or his stats from last season but this guy seemed to think he'd be an excellent signing for us.

Don't mind the idea of a pink kit as long as it's a proper bright pink and not a dusky dull pink like Plymouth had last year or the year before.

Oh that takes me back ♥️

Is this O'Reilly fellow actually any good? Can't say I'd heard of him before this link.

Some the comments on Facebook lol. Very short memories.

I would be very surprised if that WASN'T the case. I've just kinda assumed that's how it is. I just don't know if Aarons is the best replacement. Especially since his price will infalted by only being a year into his contract, being English and being still a relatively young age.

I think he probably CAN hold his own in the Prem but that's about it. Going from KWP which I think will be one of the 4-5 best full backs in the league next season regardless of where he plays to someone that can simply hold their own is a bit of a come down.

Has anyone followed Aarons closely? I admit I've only seen bits and pieces but he really hasn't impressed me all that much. At least not to the extent that the media have made out he should have.

I think it's just so that people can save eating humble pie with their "We have no chance of being promoted under this clown" comments most of last season. So that instead of saying "Yeah he's proven me totally wrong and I'll try and remember this in future when things aren't going brilliantly" they can go "Err...Erm...Well...Yeah but he...He nearly DIDN'T do it...So there...I was ALMOST not wrong".

No sorry. Lots of clubs go down and don't come back up. Contrary to popular belief, we didn't have anywhere near the best squad in the league. Why aren't Leeds fans calling for Farke's head despite not going up and probably having a better (if not as good as) squad than us? Russ' objective was the simpliest of any Saints manager ever IMO; Get us up and you've succeeded. Keep us down and you've failed. He's succeeded and that deserves to be recognised just like his failure would have done if we hadn't been promoted. This is just like every every single thing he said or did that didn't work was called out and he was branded a "clown" but when it did work, it was just "WELL HE FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT" or worse "IT JUST PAPERS OVER THE CRACKS". At the aboluslte worst, he's done a 7/10 job. The reason that we aren't waiting until December - Because if we came up, stormed the league and were somehow in the top 6 at this point (you do get newly promoted teams doing it from time to time though they tend to fall off in the latter half of the season), and a big club had come in for him, paid whatever Championship finance based release clause was there it'd be "WHY DID WE NOT GIVE HIM A NEW CONTRACT TO PROTECT US FROM THIS?! NO AMBITION FROM THE BOARD!!!" No idea why but Russ has been hated from day one for the simple crime of not being perfect and when (unlike other football managers most notably one Nathan Jones) he actually owns his mistakes and says during pressers stuff like "I should have brought him on earlier actually..." THAT'S wrong. People say football managers get paid too much, for the crap they have to deal with and the thousands of people that are ready to pounce on them and demand they "Do the right thing and resign" after making a few mistakes, they don't get paid enough.

Maybe he's enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond and whilst wanting to further his career, didn't want to go somewhere where there's a good chance he'd end up a squad player (ie Spurs or Arsenal or Man United)