Cestrian Saint

Lovren is going, so is Morgan. Caulker's not coming. Time to look elsewhere and quickly...

Spot on. I'm just realistic about what a club like Southampton can achieve. I expected us to finish in the lower half of the table last season so we exceeded my expectation. I fully expect us to finish in the bottom half this time. Had we kept the players that took us to an 8th place finish & strengthened in a couple of areas then my expectations would be higher. However, because of all the changes and the rebuilding we're effectively starting a fresh. We're in the same boat as the newly promoted teams and the teams who just avoided the drop, all of whom have to rebuild to survive in the premiership. To lose the manager and a big chunk of the first team and expect us to put in a better finish than last season is simply unrealistic.

Exactly!

This footage reminds me of when we went to Sweden in '04 when we won 8-1 against Aesbro with Sturrock in charge and it could've been 20-1. I can remember watching that game and saying to a couple of SWF members that we'd get relegated that season. We didn't look well enough prepared given that the season was only a month away and I think it's the same story now. I have a horrible feeling that history is about to repeat itself.

That is absolutely spot on, much to the annoyance of the sales & marketing team. You can't blame them for being upset. They did a load of very good work and then had the rug pulled from underneath them by somebody who was clearly on some kind of ego trip.

This is bizarre. The club are able to offer a 5 year deal to a player that the manager's not yet worked with yet Koeman has just given an interview where he said it was far too early to be offering new contracts to Fonte and Cork.

When exactly was I exposed as a skate? My source is not mid 50's. He's late 20's & worked as a youth team coach at Liverpool. He then went to Fulham as a scout, again working with Elias. They're currently working in the States to set up coaching schools at US clubs. He is the son of former Liverpool owner, Rick Parry. Do you honestly believe that this could be made up? Once again we're reminded that this forum is full of people who know **** all themselves so feel the need to belittle others who do actually have contacts in the game. Why listen to somebody who has some information when you can accuse them of being a skate and a liar? If you're so ****ing clever where's your input? The only liars around here are the ones who've manufactured stories about me being exposed as a skate. C*** I might be, skate I ain't.

It's stupid comments like this that make me wonder why I bother. Last week I named my sources who told me that LS had agreed to join Utd before he left for Brazil. Both had spoken to him in person. What more do you want? My source worked with Sammy Lee at Liverpool and has recently moved to the US where he's setting up coaching schools for MLS clubs. After leaving Liverpool he went to Fulham and worked with Malcolm Elias. Malcolm had spoken to LS after he'd had talks with Chelsea & Man Ure. I do hope this makes things clear for you.

The deals for Shaw & Lallana were agreed before the World Cup. I'm told a deal has also been agreed for the sale of Morgan too. The board are a bunch of liars. They did the deals whilst we were managerless and lied to the fans. I've got a good source for this stuff. A lot of what I've been told will make Saints fans sick. It's certainly made me pretty angry. My source (a scout) told me of 2 Dutch players he expects to join Saints. I can't remember the names, sorry. Neither were players I'd heard of. When I asked what he thought of them he just said that he'd seem one of them and he'd make an average championship player. He went on to ask if I remembered JVD? He then laughed and said you can expect more signings like that than household names. I've a horrible feeling that our transfer kitty is about to be spunked up the wall by a man who won't be in charge at the end of the season.

Thanks. Apparently I'm not ITK and full of ****. I've become so tired of all the abuse that I decided to name my sources on this occasion although not everybody I speak to is comfortable with being named so sometimes silence is the only option. Why can't people understand that???

Agreed. He ain't going anywhere as a player. This move will only slow his development as he'll spend most of next season on the bench.

This deal was agreed before he went to the WC. He spoke to Chelsea first, then Utd and opted for Utd. I did mention this in a previous thread but was told that I was full of ****. Seeing as people seem to be obsessed with naming sources I'll reveal mine. A friend of mine worked with Huw Jennings at Fulham and Malcolm Elias at Fulham and Liverpool. Both had spoken to LS and told my friend that Shaw had agreed to join Utd upon his return from WC duty. The board saying that no players would leave before the appointment of a new manager was only true because of timing. They'd accepted the offer for Shaw prior to Koeman being appointed but obviously couldn't admit it as the fans would've gone mental about players being sold whilst the club was managerless. Koeman knew LS wasn't going to be an option when he took the job.

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. It really ****es me off to see people calling him a liar. Keep up the good work MLT.

The last thing we need is another shirt with a great big relegation arrow on the front. :-/

I can't believe that not one of you got my subtle hint as to who was going to be our next manager.

I can't believe that not one of you got my subtle hint as to who was going to be our next manager. ;-)

Rooney's had too many opportunities. It's time for a change. 4-4-2 with Sturridge & Lambert up front & a midfield of Barkley, Gerrard, Wilshire & Sterling. Same back 4 I guess, although I'd like to see Johnson dropped.

2-1 to England. Barkley and Lambert to come on with 20 mins to go and change the game. The Italians won't be able to deal with a fresh set of legs after 70 mins. Barkley will run them ragged. As for Lallana, the jury's out for me. He's looked nothing more than average in an England shirt.

Who knows. Only time will tell. On paper he certainly looks like an upgrade but after hearing the opinion of 8 or 9 Dutch supporters last night, I really don't know. I was very surprised to hear them say they felt that he'd struggle in England. I won't be disappointed if he's confirmed as our new manager provided he brings some stability and develops some of the youth team with a view to us keeping them rather than selling them off after one successful season.

Shut up you tit. It's not my opinion, it's the opinion of a group of Dutch fans who I happen to be watching the game with. I just thought it would be interesting to hear the view of some people who watch Dutch football every week. Tell me, had you met some Dutch fans would you have not asked their opinion?

Currently watching the Mexico game with 8 or 9 Dutch supporters. I asked them for their opinion of Koeman and not one of them had a good word to say about him. They all feel he's suited to the Dutch game but would be out of his depth in the Premiership & a terrible signing for Saints.

If you read the original post I think you will find that it refers to a wider period and events such as Redknapp, Woodward etc. At no point does it say 'for the last few seasons'.

What do you expect? It's not just our players, it's every player in the modern game. They're all greedy ****s being represented by greedy ****s. Is it really any wonder that the game is in such a mess when clubs have to shell out more than their turnover in players wages.

You were right. Pretty happy that Chester will live to fight another day in the Conference. Having seen Chester City kicked out of the league 5 years ago I can sympathise with Hereford though. On a positive note Chester FC are a superb example of what can be achieved. 3 Promotions in their first 3 seasons put them back where they were when the original club folded.

He would be my choice.