saint-crinny

Would like to sign him but just feel he'll go to QPR - big wages, worked with Redknapp before and knows he rates him, will play alongside Ferdinand who he can learn from.

To suggest that Shaw went missing defensively "on a number of occasions" last season is frankly absurd. Anyone who watched him regularly last season would know that the defensive side of his game is better than his attacking prowess at this stage of his career. Most games followed quite a similar pattern where the right sided player would try and take Luke on early in the game, lose the ball, and then not bother again. There would be an attempt to clip a long ball into our LB area and Shaw would win the header and then much of the opposition's attacks after that were down our right or through the middle. Shaw's defensive qualities are great - strong, physical, never really dives in, good in the air - and he was only ever exposed on a few occasions. Whereas attacking-wise, although he makes fantastic bursting runs forward and goes past people easily, he must work on his final ball, which was often lacking, but i've no doubt will improve as well. As mentioned, now he's gone, people suddenly "always had some doubts about him" - total rubbish in my opinion. This thread is about Targett though - he looks very capable, but let's not pile the pressure on him by making him first choice (which i'm sure isnt the plan from the club) and constantly comparing him to Shaw, who was a real one-off for someone his age.

The Gaston abuse has got to be one of the most irritating things on this forum, which is saying something. He is clearly a very talented young player who had a decent enough debut season (during which he played most games and was equally if not more effective than Lallana, who has since been sold for double the value we paid for Gaston) and had a very dis-jointed season last time round through injuries and a manager that didn't fancy him No doubt this season is his last chance to show what he can do and i'm hoping that RK recognises the talent he has and finds a way to get the best out of him. At his best he is the most talented creative player in the squad - i'd argue that his performance against Villa in the first Prem season was the best individual display from a Saints player in the entire two years we've been back in this league. It sounds ludicrous to say it but i do genuinely believe that there are people on here who be annoyed if he does have a good season as they won't be able to abuse him every week.

Gallagher puts in a good shift and i also acknowledge that making your way as a striker in the Prem is as tough as it comes, but for me, he isn't in the class of a Shaw, Chambers, JWP and from the glimpses we have seen, Reed either. Would love for him to step up, but i think he needs to show a rapid development in the next season or two or he will be moved on.

Never a massive fan of journalists (speaking as an ex-journo myself) speaking "for the fans". If you're writing an opinion piece, rather than a news story, then make it clear that is what it is, your personal take, and don't assume you are the mouthpiece of the supporters as you'll invariably find out that you aren't. There are some valid points in there for sure, not least about Reed and Ralph making some pretty schoolboy PR errors that have left us all despairing, but a quick look on here shows that as is nearly always the case, there are plenty of supporters on both sides of the fence. Just broad-brushing us all as "disgruntled" is wide of the mark. Oh, and get someone to check your work for basic grammar etc before you upload.

If anything, i'm pleased to hear he is training today - shows that unlike a selection of our muppet players, he is prepared to act professionally even though he has a move to us lined up. (which i am assuming he does given the amount of media coverage it has got).

Love it that some on here are pointing at Lovren as some sort of truth warrior who would commit his future to Saints for life if only that ambition was still there. Wake up - he's seen people leave for big money new deals, he thinks he warrants one, lack of ambition is a nice excuse to use to leave us a year after we took a chance on him when his stock was dropping after a couple of poor seasons, rather than saying i want to earn loads more money - i think i'd respect him more if he just came out and said it. He's not been back to the club yet, but he already knows there is a lack of ambition - has he even spoken with Koeman? If he has, I can't imagine Koeman gave him the heads up that we were going to be bravely battling against relegation this year - he's clearly a top manager and an ambitious one at that, so i'm pretty sure he can sell a club's vision to a player, if they actually want to hear it. Lovren is a moron - gave it the Mr Southampton last year every week on Twitter, now it doesnt suit him anymore so he's disgracefully slagging off the club in the media to try and force our hand. Annoying as i'd love us to turn down Liverpool whatever the bid and force him to move abroad or stay, but unfortunately i think the money will talk. All we'll have is the hope that we wipe the smile of all the scouse faces on day one.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned him yet so apologies if i missed it earlier in the thread, but Jose Holebas for Greece has looked great in every game and as we're minus a left back, would be a cracking signing. Strong quick, and a great delivery as well, which is probably the one area that Luke really lacked

Shaw gone, Lallana almost certainly gone - if Morgan and Lovren follow, i'll be happy if we stay up this season

Not sure why people think we will sign Shaqiri? Don't get me wrong, i'd be delighted if we did, but he is out of our league, let's be clear about that. If we kept all of last year's squad and had kept Cortese, i still don't think we would have been able to sign him. Even less so now

Interesting debate on Rooney - the constant drilling down into everything he does from the media has left him on a hiding to nothing in my opinion. It's an obsession from the media and to be honest, Roy did him no favours by playing him wide in the first game, where he was clearly not comfortable. He did quite well last night, simple tap in for the goal but a great run round the back to make it, plus he was unfortunate not to get another. For me, he's a great player but not a world class player. He's certainly not a wide forward and I dont think he's a great 10 either - today's modern 10 has everything running through him, taking the ball and moving it quickly, and Rooney doesn't affect the game in that way. At the end of the day, he's got 40 England goals and i'd prefer to see him in the number 9 role. He's a very good striker - he has shown that for both United and England, when he has played in that role (27 goals for United in one season in that role i think). He will score regularly for England if he plays there. He is still one of our best players and will be so in the next qualifiers as well. Sterling is raw and makes the wrong decisions at times, but he will be a decent player and needs time to develop - pace is so crucial and he has it in abundance.

Chastening the way that we haven't progressed in four years. If we play Germany tomorrow, there is no doubt that it would be another 4-1 thrashing, minimum. We still can't receive the ball in a tight situation and we still concede from straight forward punts up the pitch. Annoying the way Roy threatened to do things differently with the likes of Lallana and Barkley, and then bottled it when it came to the crunch. For me, after the World Cup, it's time for Gerrard to call it a day - ho doesn't impact games anymore. Welbeck and Johnson need to be dropped. Lallana needs to start ahead of Welbeck, Barkley into the centre in place of Gerrard. Clyne into the squad and probably first choice at RB, Shaw should be brought in ahead of Baines as LB as for me, as much as i like the way he wants to play, he doesn't have the legs to do it at international level. The holding midfield role is a tough call - don't think that is particularly Henderson's role, but i'm not going to go mad and suggest Cork should walk in there. We have a relatively straightforward Euro qualifier group - it's time to make the right decisions and build a team up that plays international football.

Would be pretty happy with Pelle as a replacement for Lambert if Ron can pull that deal out of the bag

A pretty dark week to be a Saints fan - top manager and cult hero departing. Up until this point, had reserved judgement on the new board, but Poch leaving made it clear they couldn't match his ambitions and hinted at the player departures to come. And now we've bent over for Liverpool as they decided they wanted Lambert before the England squad go to Miami or they would move on - you might think that we would be in charge of that situation but in fact, we take £4m for a player about to go to the World Cup and a fan's hero at that. Seems pretty clear that Lallana and Shaw will quite quickly follow and that quite probably wont be the last of it either - the new board are now looking every inch what they - an ice hockey coach, an accountant and a failed manager. Stop doing bloody interviews explaining how we "are in full control of all transfers" (then taking bugger all money for Lambert) and that Europe is the target for next season, when at this rate we'll be lucky to put a team out. Still, at least "Europe's top managers are knocking at the door of the Saints right now" (RK, yesterday).....i'm now fully prepared to see Chris Hughton in the dug-out next season. Oh, and on the day you agree a pathetic fee for a cult figure, probably not the most tactful thing to be smashing out tweets and website reminders to fans about how today is the last day to renew your season ticket. Given that only Lambert has been confirmed as departing so far, can't decide whether i'm being over the top critical of them, but in the last few weeks, nothing that has happened has given me confidence that they are interested in anything other than selling off the top talent and RK is the smiling goon getting paid a fortune to come out, cheese it up and pretend we are in control. Cheers to Rickie though - a genuine club legend and a Roy of the Rovers style end to his career, going to the World Cup and moving to the club that released him at 15. Five years of brilliant times - i love that guy

Thorne looked superb today. Also, if we lose Shaw, the left back for Derby, Forsyth, has looked excellent whenever i've seen them this season

Also interesting to think about if there are any players we'd want from relegated teams in particular - i know they have been relegated for a reason, but still worth a thought. For me, Caulker would be a great addition for us alongside Lovren. He is a real talent, can play the ball at the back, scores goals, big physical presence. He's made mistakes this year but who wouldn't in a defence/struggling team like Cardiff's. Would be delighted if we signed him - was amazed he joined Cardiff in the first place.

Not sure why people brought this up again on Saturday specifically - he'd already scored an absolute worldy, we were 3-0 up and it was game over. Taking off your prize assets when a game is won is a pretty common thing.

Given that we are likely to have over 50 points come the end of the season, i would say that from where we were last season, this has been pretty successful. Personally, if we add another 10+ points on again next season, i think that will have been an even more impressive feat, given the quality of the team above us, which most on here seem to ignore when they reflect on where Saints "should" be at. So for me, i'm happy with where have got to this season - there has been some disappointments for sure (FA Cup) - but let's take a reality check. We have a team of exciting young English talent and if we can keep it together for next season, we will naturally improve as they are going to go from strength to strength. We play great football a lot of the time and have got a team that we all really enjoy, personally more than any other in my 25-ish years of watching. Sometimes they will make errors, as they did yesterday, but they will learn from that and i trust, continue to improve. We have a good young manager who has improved some of these players no end, not least our captain who is now one of the most exciting players in the division. This is a really big summer in my opinion, we either progress by securing our key young players and invest in some further improvements, or we sell when the bids come in and inevitably start going backwards. We have enjoyed a fantastic rise in fortunes in the past 5 years and that has made us all hungry for more progress. But overall, I think we all need to be a little more patient, back the manager and the young rising stars, and if we maintain the current rate of improvement, that patience and backing is going to bring its rewards.

An Adkins return should be a complete non-starter i'm hoping. Love the guy and he did a top job for us, but it is clear to see, and many of the players have spoken of it, that Poch has taken on a level. If Adkins was brought back in, the players would essentially have to accept going backwards, which, given the interest that a lot of other clubs will clearly have in them over the summer, would almost inevitably lead to some key players leaving

We struggled to strike the balance between defence and attack in the last few games really. Didn't really create anything decent against Arsenal and Chelsea and sides like those two will get goals against you eventually (or we just hand them to them like against Arsenal and loads of our other conceded goals) - today we just bombed forward like maniacs at times, but without cohesion and ended up tossing a lot of balls into the box. So agreed we could have done with that intelligent user of the ball in there today, echo the sentiments on Gaston, so frustrating that he isn't that player for us (in MP's mind at least).

Would have liked him to explain the decision to bring in Maya for Fonte (apologies if I missed it) - big call considering Boruc was already missing, breaking a key aspect of the defensive stability we have had this season, when another major player was already out. Backfired as well - all over the place at time at the back today.

A real shame when he moves on in my opinion as he has shown in glimpses that he is an excellent technical player (eg. great tekkers for his League Cup this season) and can really make an impact in games - Aston Villa and Newcastle home games spring to mind from last year. unfortunately, he just hasn't done it enough to date and with MP's style now clearly imprinted on the team, he doesn't seem to fit the bill either, unless he showed a real change in attitude towards the work he does when we haven't got the ball. Disappointing as he was such a marquee signing for us that I couldn't really believe we had pulled off at the time - probably shouldn't underestimate that impact in terms of paving the way for the likes of Lovren, Wanyama and Osvaldo this year. If he goes, we definitely need to replace him - in contrast to MP's recent chat about not getting involved in the January transfer window

Posted the same on the MOTD thread - they were full of praise for us and in particular for MP and the pressing game and change in attitude he has instilled in the team. Really big praise for Lovren who they called a top-class defender and Morgan as you say - GNev saying he was surprised that a top side hadn't come in and bought MS although he believed that we wouldn't sell him. Also, amusing to see them comparing to the car crash at the Stadium of Light - Sunderland were three points ahead of us when MP took charge. We also have the second best defensive record in any of the top 5 leagues in Europe, just behind Roma who have only conceded one. Great to hear, from two pundits who actually know what they are on about and understand modern football.

Neville - "I was surprised that a top club didn't come in and buy Schneiderlin in the summer, although I don't think Southampton would sell him"

Can't start a new thread but thought it is worth flagging that Neville and Carragher are raving about us from a defensive point of view on the Monday Night Football. Neville "Southampton are the best coached defensive outfit in the league." "lovren is a top class defender, they have unearthed a real top player there"