SaintJackoInHurworth

I like the rumour that Saints have rejected a bid for Sulemana that seems better than some on here think he is worth. Hopefully we will manage to get an even better deal! Yes, it is a risk, but hopefully Spors knows what he is doing. I think Sulemana's performances at the end of the season are enough to suggest that there is more waiting to be discovered with him. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. Personally, I have found Sulemana hugely disappointing, but those performances at the end of the season have begun to change my mind. I recognise that some of you do not think it possible that he could ever amount to anything more and that is fair enough with what we have seen throughout most of his time with Saints. At the same time, I also think it is quite hard to judge Sulemana's end product when he has had to deal with a complete lack of quality strikers to whom he could pass the ball! Even more so in a system that has been set up by managers who don't have a clue about fast, incisive attacking football! Of course, we can only judge Sulemana on the end product that he has delivered (which is nothing), but I do hope that Atalanta or others might see the positives and be prepared to stump up the cash to buy him!

Age is a significant factor in all of this. At 31 years old, Onuachu is no spring chicken and getting €8m for him is actually quite a coup - especially for a player who is so lacking in pace and skill. On the other hand, Sulemana is still young and while all the naysayers are slating him here, in the last few matches of the season he was one of the few bright lights in our side and there were glimpses of what he could become. While Jones brought him in out obsession with pace rather than any consideration for his tactical nouse or ability to cross, Simon Rusk did seem to unlock a little bit more than others have managed. With that in mind, I think the club have done the right thing to turn down a fee as small as €10m. Hopefully if he does go it will be for a fee significantly in excess of that and closer to his original purchase cost.

I think the challenge for Saints in many positions and especially striker is not just to sign players that will do well in the Championship. We already have plenty of those in many positions. In terms of goal scorers, all of the following are pretty good at this level: Stewart Armstrong Archer Brereton-Diaz The problem is that none of them have shown the ability to replicate that at Premier League level (though Stewart's injuries did not help him!) While providing more passes to strikers will help, maybe we also need to explore whether we can sign players who may be able to demonstrate great goal scoring ability at the highest level.

Like others I feel the analysis in this seems pretty insightful and it will be interesting to see if we are linked with any of the players mentioned. Johnstone, for example, sounds like a good possibility in goal. Having said that, however, I would be surprised if as many players as they are suggesting actually leave or are sold. In effect they are suggesting that all of the following will leave: GK: Ramsdale, Bazunu, Wright Defenders: KWP, Sugawara, THB, Bednarek, Stephens, ABK, Taylor, Larios, Lawrence Midfielders: Aribo, Fernandes, Brereton-Diaz, Lallana, Forwards: Sulemana, Dibling, Robinson, Onuachu, Ballard While I can see a lot of those being sold and others being loaned out, I would be surprised if all of those were to be out of the building by the end of the transfer window! In particular, I would be happily surprised if Stephens were to leave! But who knows?! If we did shift that many players and those ones in particular, I would guess we might bring in up to £150m for that lot (some bringing in significantly more than others!).

No!! The late 1970s kits all had black shorts. Blue shorts was from a much earlier time - 1950s or something like that. Personally I don't get the interest in having blue shorts with a home kit. I think it is better to have blue shorts with an away kit.

Southampton Squad June 2025 I am posting this as a kind of mark in the sand of where we are now! With all the returning players and before anyone is sold or released who hasn't already been sold/released, I think this in effect is our current senior squad: Goalkeepers: Ramsdale, Bazunu, McCarthy, Lumley, (Wright) Defenders: Walker-Peters, Sugawara, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood-Gordon, Bednarek, Stephens, Edwards, Quarshie, Kayi-Sanda, Bella-Kotchap, Taylor, Welington, Manning, Larios, (Nico Lawrence) Midfielders/wingers: Downes, Charles, Smallbone, Aribo, Fernandes, Fraser, Sulemana, Dibling, Edozie, Armstrong, Brereton-Diaz, Robinson, Lallana, Kuryu Matsuki Forwards: Stewart, Archer, Onuachu, (Ballard) I have not included Amo-Ameyaw as he has effectively already been sold. I have included the players on loan to Goztepe as all of their contracts expire this summer. (Edit Juan is returning to Goztepe, so I have removed him) I have also included Lawrence as he is too old for the academy but still has a year to go on his contract and has previously been talked about as a future prospect. I have also tentatively added Ballard to the squad as a player who may be considered for the first team and still has a year to run on his contract. I have included Wright as he still has a year on his contract but is too old for the U21s. It will be interesting to see how this changes over the coming weeks: Which players will be sold, released or loaned out? How much money will that bring in? Who else will be brought in? Will the Goztepe players stay there with renewed contracts or will we add them to our squad? Similarly, what will happen with Lawrence, Ballard, Edwards, Wright, Edwards, Armstrong, Brereton-Diaz, Charles and Edozie following their loans this season? Will we replace Walker-Peters? Will we renew Lumley's contract? Will Lallana retire? Will he be given a coaching role? What will happen to Simon Rusk? Will Larios find a new club or will he now finally be able to get sufficient fitness to be able to push on? (Edited - I incorrectly thought his contract expires this summer) What will we do about players that we don't want but who we can't sell? Will we have to put up with Onuachu, etc. for another season if Will Still doesn't want to include them in his plans? Presumably we will have to announce our retained player list soon. The rest of the Championship clubs had to announce these a couple of weeks ago!

That's true - but it's also due to Ballard missing almost two seasons of football with injuries. Of course, that time out with those injuries could also have an ongoing impact that may never be overcome. However, his finish to the season suggests he may yet still rediscover his previous form and hopefully he will finally be given his chance in a few matches under Will Still. Personally, I think it is such a shame that Ballard was never given the chances that Dibling and Robinson have been given, especially bearing in mind our attacking struggles of the past few years, but maybe there are valid reasons for that. While Ballard has seen success in the U21s alongside players who know him and are therefore keen to pass to him to score, the demands of first team football are obviously much higher. Similarly, while a midfielder/winger has a degree of flexibility to come deep and/or find space out wide, the positioning demands for a striker are very different. (* Sorry to take so long to reply - been busy and haven't visited this forum for ages!!!)

Lowe initially overspent on the stadium then became incredibly tight with player recruitment. The impact of that was that we were relegated. That in turn left us without the Premier League money and up the creek without a paddle. He had no clue about how to invest and spend wisely; he had no plan, no heart, no commitment. Just failed dogma. Just like his political views and those of the people with whom he has been associated, arguments and fallouts aside. Defending Lowe is to defend the indefensible.

Would you say that is Dibling's ceiling too? Bearing in mind Ballard was for a short time ahead of Dibling only a couple of years ago, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Ballard will begin to rediscover his best form and if and when he does I personally hope it will be to fire Saints towards promotion next season. He has had a tough time with injuries but hopefully he will soon be back to full fitness and can become the player that it seemed he was going to be just two years ago.

To focus on the topic of this thread: Juric is not good enough and should not be here next season. He is also not going to bring about any improvement of performances and morale this season. He is liable to undermine the confidence and affinity with Saints of any players worth keeping. He is liable to confuse the tactical nous of the players in our squad. Taking all of that together there is nothing to be gained in keeping him until the end of the season and everything to lose in doing so! Much better to get rid and internally install a caretaker manager who has a good relationship with the players. In relation to other issues that people have raised about the failures of both Juric and SR: The failure to bring in a Premier League striker is unforgiveable. We would have been better to keep and develop Ballard as our striker than rely on Archer, Onuachu and Sick-note-Stewart. There are players with future potential, but undermining their potential with poor managers and demoralising tactics and defeats is not the way to develop those players. There are not enough players who are of Premier League quality now. I would suggest the following might just about scrape into this definition when they are playing at their best with good tactics: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bella-Kotchap, Welington, Fernandes, Dibling - most of those will be gone in the summer. Some of the other players can be coached towards PL standard with the right appointment this summer. I am hopeful that Rohl may be that man. However, we still need to bring in other players ready for the Premier League.

Are you sure that is right? THB has always played at RCB and Bednarek as central CB; Juric said a few weeks ago that ABK cannot play at LCB. That having been said I think a few weeks ago THB was played at LCB, so I think he can play in that position. Personally, though, I would prefer that we left Bednarek on the bench and played this defence: KWP....THB....ABK....Wood....Welington Alternatively, as suggested above we could play 4 at the back (KWP, ABK, THB and Welington) with Downes and Ugochukwu as a pair of CDMs to protect central midfield. It would still leave us vulnerable out wide though unless we play KWP as defensive full backs and Sugawara and Manning as wingers who drop back to become roving wing backs and allow us to create two lines of four in defence - something like this: KWP............ABK............THB........Welington Sugawara..Downes..Ugochukwu..Manning ................Dibling..............Sulemana............ Personally I am not a fan of Manning and think we must play Fernandes though so perhaps it would be better like this: KWP............ABK............THB........Welington Dibling....Downes...Ugochukwu...Sulemana .........................Fernandes............................ .............................Archer...............................

It makes you wonder why this always happens. Obviously in Ballard's case he has had issues with injuries that have impacted his fitness and potentially his confidence, but it does seem that far too many players that we have expected to make the grade have fallen short. Is it a problem with what Saints do? Selecting the wrong clubs for loans - clubs that are not going to give our players the opportunities they need - selected more for their outlook than opportunities? Not giving our players the right fitness regimes to ready them for competitive football? Not establishing good diets for our players? Putting short-term loan payments before selecting what is best for the players? Selecting clubs that are likely to struggle in their division, so that they end up changing their managers? Not establishing rigorous contracts with loan clubs to ensure that players are given opportunities to play? Assuming that it is always best to send a player on loan rather than keeping them at Saints and using them in cup competitions? Failure to select them in cup competitions while at Saints and getting eliminated early from these? Failure to train players with potential to a high enough standard to ready them for competitive football? Or is it just bad luck or just a case of Saints not getting enough players of a high enough standard?

For those that are saying that Dibling was way ahead of Ballard, I would actually disagree somewhat - the truth is actually slightly more mixed! There was certainly a time a few years ago that Dibling was ahead of Ballard and that was when he was poached by Chelsea. However, that obviously didn't work out and while Dibling was gone, Ballard and Jimmy-Jay Morgan alongside him came to the fore. Then, of course, JJM went to Chelsea and Dibling returned to Saints. On his return to Saints, though, Dibling was initially a shadow of his former self and he was regularly being outshone by Ballard who was scoring shedloads of goals. I was at a match against Middlesbrough at their training ground in January 2023, for example, and such was Dibling's demise at that time that he was only a substitute, while Ballard was proving a major threat in front of goal supported by Sam Amo-Ameyaw and he bagged a couple of goals. Dibling, by contrast, only came on for the last 20 minutes and did nothing much of note. I remember being rather disappointed in what I saw of him! He seemed lazy, disinterested and low on confidence. In the last couple of seasons though things have switched around. Dibling has not been loaned out and has regained his confidence and form, while Ballard has had two injury ravaged seasons that have affected his fitness and confidence. The key points to note in all this are these: Loaning players to other clubs does not always help players (though it can do) Injuries can also have a major impact on player's progress - as is the case with Ballard Fitness and confidence also plays a major part Ballard is a quality player and given his chance (and if he get up to full match fitness) I hope he will again show the promise he has previously shown.

So, just as an update to my previous post about our January transfer business, with about a week to go, things now look as follows: IN Albert Grønbæk - AM, signed on loan from Rennes for remainder of this season Welington - Previously with Sao Paolo, permanent signing Joachim Kayi Sanda - signed from Valenciennes Lewis Payne - returned from loan at Cheltenham Dom Ballard - returned from loan at Blackpool Cameron Bragg - returned from loan at Crawley Town Rumours/News: Andre Garcia from Reading - bid of £2m made Ollie Tanner from Cardiff linked with Saints and several other clubs OUT Cornet - loan cancelled & sold by West Ham to Genoa Brereton-Diaz loaned to Sheff Utd Ronnie Edwards - loaned to QPR Rumours: Bazunu - rumoured that he is to go on loan somewhere for the rest of the season to build up fitness as he recovers from his injury Onuachu - interest from Turkey has been mentioned, but nothing concrete. Dibling - wanted by other PL clubs and by RB Leipzig but hopefully won't go anywhere until at least the summer Walker-Peters - a few rumours linking him with a move away but not many; may well leave for a free in the summer. Ramsdale - a few vague rumours linking him with a move away SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT Charles - returned from loan at Sheff Wed, then loaned back to them for improved loan fee.

So, our main transfer business is looking like: OUTS Edwards - loaned to QPR *Done Deal* Cornet - loan cancelled & sold by West Ham to Genoa *Done Deal* BBD - Rumoured that he is off to Sheffield Utd Onuachu - rumoured interest from Turkey Dibling - wanted by other PL clubs but won't go anywhere until at least the summer Walker-Peters - rumours linking him with a move away (E.g. Everton for £5m) but could leave for a free in the summer. Ramsdale - rumours linking him with potential move away - probably in the summer. INS Welington - Purchase completed from Sao Paolo Sanda - signed from Valenciennes Charles - return from loan at Sheff Wed There are also a number of U21 players back from loan and some others going out on loan, including: Ballard - return from loan Payne - return from loan Bragg - return from loan Bazunu, Welington, Sanda and Charles may all be considered for a first team squad number. Sanda is U21, but Charles is 21 so don't know if he counts as u21. Assuming he is u21 then all four can currently be added to the first team squad, following the transfers of Edwards and Cornet... or did Edwards count as U21?