UpweySaint

Thank you for the insight pal! Do you think Pelle is likely to bang the goals in over here? Apologies if it looks like we are disrespecting your league. Just look at the way the national team has played and you can see that the players must be up to standard! There has been a history of Dutch strikers being very hit and miss in the premier league mind and I would suggest that is where some of our doubts about imports from the Dutch league come from.

Accept your point but disagree. Though some of the comments, perhaps my own included, have been a tad harsh in the immediate aftermath I honestly believe this has been a d**k move by Adam. Putting aside all that wanting to leave despite all that had gone before; pledges, captaincy, support from the club etc. We proved with Shaw we would let players talk to other clubs IF our valuation was met. When we told Utd to match our valuation or sod off he didn't publicly grumble. Low and behold Utd realised if they wanted him they would have to come closer to our valuation ...they did, he left. No hard feelings. Liverpool were playing hard ball, can't blame them. Had AL had kept things quiet the board could have held out for a better fee, could have shook hands and Adam could have left us, despite a touch of bitterness about losing him, as a saints legend and wish our respect.

Anybody with a good eye for the academy lads and a bit of time want to make notes on who is in pre-season with the seniors? I know it is not entirely reflective as our squad will change in the coming weeks but will be nice to know who is around the first team.

As above. His deal has left a sour taste for sure, would have gone down as an absolute legend even if he had left us with a bit of dignity. Now he has forced a move and had eyes elsewhere while still captain last season. May feel differently after letting the dust settle in time but for now can't help but think what a tw*t!

If we only discussed things we, as fans, could genuinely expect to hold much influence over on this forum I imagine we would lose about 90% of the threads. The chap has not asked if we should all sit down and decide Reed's future but is, perhaps a little cynically, seeking to gage the opinions of other fans on somebody so crucial to the running of our club. If you really want to make things more relevant we could always pop the resulting chaos of this thread onto a few sides of A4 and post it to the board ... Either way back on topic .... Les Reed has been a part of a committee that has served us relatively well. You don't make the progress we have by making, generally, decent decisions. A couple of mistakes along the way for sure but, on the whole, our recruitment has been rather decent. I was massively sceptical of Reed when he came in, his track record had blemishes, but he has done ok so far and I am quietly optimistic we may see some decent transfer activity soon enough.

Was that an option? Quick, somebody get Dejan!

I normally slate alpine but, even if I think he is being a tad melodramatic, there is some uncertainty over next season and with a new manager and x amount of new players we may need time to find our feet once more. I don't anticipate a relegation scrap but certainly would not be shocked to see us in the bottom half at the turn of the year.

Doesn't come with proven prem goals but how many strikers could we realistically get who do? Honestly the championship is a decent standard and players, as a general rule, tend to find it easier adapting then say their continental counterparts. Ings has potential. Has shown he has an eye for goals. The fact he is a soton fan is a side-perk. If the scouting team do not honestly believe he could develop into a good premiership player I very much doubt we would bid.

I had a conversation about tactics with a fellow soton fan ... I speculated that, considering we play the "saints way" from academy up, drastic changes to our style of play seems unlikely. But I have been wrong so often lately in regards to saints it is only a theory! As for shopping list still too early to say but I like Redmond, Hughes, Rodriquez (swiss), Ings, Bony, Borini ... dream signings post wc would be Cuadrado, would love him across our front three, or Blind for lb but I admit both are unrealistic!

Meh. Some clubs do offer to refund tickets for disgruntled fans but I would be amazed if that happened here! Doubt we'll even get the £2 booking fee taken off the matchdays ... Honestly though I understand the frustration, gutting to see our teams core ripped apart but just think where we were not so long ago ... We still have quality internationals, money to spend, the best academy in the country and a promising manager with genuine pedigree. Next year might be more about consolidation and rebuilding , we may even find ourselves closer to the bottom and the top ... but worse things happen! Besides your ticket price might get you a view of the next bright young things off our conveyor belt (Targett, Sims, Rowe, McQueen ...) and that is a brilliant feeling well worth a couple of quid. I remember the anticipation in the crowd every time Theo would come off the bench in the early days and scare teams half to death ... you never know that may happen again!

This precisely. Sick of having fans of other clubs telling us what our players are worth. Value is subjective. Don't want to meet our value? Kindly sod off.

I had a conversation with a fellow saints fan the other day where we tried to decide which current premiership centre backs are better then our Dejan. Honeslty struggled to find too many. Kompany obviously ... Maybe Koscielny at Arsenal ... A case could be made for Terry ... Beyond that? Nobody at Utd, Vertonghen spends half his life at LB. So essentially Lovren is, at least, the fourth or fifth best CB in the league. He is not even in his prime yet. He has a long contract. We aren't exactly spoilt at CB. Essentially his value is bound to be sky-high!

Not sure we could say went backwards but maybe stood still a little in his development. Still plenty of time to kick on mind and I, like others, see him doing so at better pace when he can nail down a position. Worst case we make use of his versatility and he sees 15-20 apps a season for the next couple while developing before stepping up when we lose others.

Respect for being big enough to admit you are wrong, we all can be ... I had us getting out of the group stage! Surprised though your opinion improved of Wellbeck in the last two games, has been rather on the periphery and has certainly played much better in an England shirt. I think as an out and out wide-man he is wasted and a little lost but, the way we interlink (assuming we will play a similar style next season), he could flourish with us (perhaps!). Could we get him? Maybe. If Van Gaal does not rate him and some of the 'bigger' clubs don't fancy him that leaves the likes of us, newcastle, everton and teams abroad. We have a good manager, a track record of progressing players, play 'good' football and he would get plenty of game time.

I would suggest, though it is Koeman and the committees decision, Fonte and other squad members would have to be involved in any decision to bring him back into the fold. Though of course this could suggest a little too much 'player power' I believe that the best barometer of whether fences can be mended is the squad itself. If Osvaldo was to make genuine apologies and got his head down it is not impossible to have him back in the squad ... and, seeing as we are not looking likely to see much of a fee for him, that may not be such a bad thing. He is far from a bad player but getting the best out of him is a real task for Koeman - or any other manager should he leave.

Would you want to do Katie Price ...? Back on topic it is unlikely but the bookies have narrowed the odds in response to betting markets and betting markets usually respond to gossip. No smoke without fire and all that Have to admit I would be shocked if he came - a 'big name' and maybe not what I would have seen us going for, not exactly know for the academy side of things, but would be the kind of manager to hopefully attract, and keep, good players.

Nah Forte is off to spurs to get them back for forecast! All sounds a bit silly to me but if we end up having a firesale we may as well try and get every last penny ...

Don't worry Liverpool will have to trade us first pick in the draft! We can have the pick of the college soccer system! Fan - f'in - tastic!

Have to say I would be devastated to lose Lambert - honestly thought he would see out his premiership career with us and still think he has plenty to offer! Either way bleacher report has speculated the bid for Lambert may be tied to the Lallana sell-on fee ... "It’s possible—and this is purely speculation—that Liverpool could be sweetening the pot for Southampton regarding Lallana by not only acquiring Lambert, but also paying above market value for him." I have posted a link for the full article below. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2079908-theres-more-to-liverpools-lambert-move-than-an-honest-interest-in-the-striker

Wow I hope you don't take that attitude in your on working life ... The club employs him. The club pays his wage. Cortese was the head of the company ... now he's not ... does not change a thing as far as the players should be concerned. I respect he has opinions and may seek pastures new but I see no reason why such views and desires cannot be expressed privately with the board. Not only is that the best way to do things it gives them both a chance to put their views across and, in the case of the board, seek to alleviate his concerns.

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2014/05/28/wanyama-decries-mauricio-exit/ Obviously I cannot guarantee the piece to be factual but, if the BBC are prepared to run with it, I would be surprised if it was complete tosh ... Either way I fancy our media dept could do with telling players what happens in the club stays in the club, Wanayama is well within reason to have concerns but, imo, it is not his place to be publicising them especially when they are critical of the board who, support them or not, pay the chaps wages.

The BBC has quoted Wanayama giving capital sport an interview ... Victor Wanyama believes Southampton's owners should have tried harder to keep manager Mauricio Pochettino, with the midfielder conceding his departure to Tottenham is a "big blow". "I learnt a lot from him, he taught me more and that's why I have grown as a player and there is a big difference compared to when I was at Celtic," Wanyama, who was signed for £12.5m by the Argentine, was reported to have said on Capital Sports. "He played a big role in my career development. "I wanted him to remain because he had the passion for the club and I think the owners should not have let him go because the team can do better next season." Two points for me; 1) How does Wanayama know how much the board tried to keep hold of MP? Nobody knows what they did, if anything, to try and keep him. May have offered him the world and he still bolted for all we, or Wanayama, know. 2) The amount of interviews our players seem to be giving worries me. The content is rarely positive and we should have a tighter grip on this surely?!?

Just because they have said they expect him to stay publicly does not mean they are naive enough to have not considered a 'plan b' should he leave which, speculation aside, is always a possibility in football these days. They may, or may not, have to next man waiting to walk in the door but I would be surprised if they did not have a list of candidates and/or credentials needed for any potential new man.

Random name to throw in but Paco Jemez ... can honestly say I hadn't considered him until seeing his name in the long list of bookie odds. Plays attacking possession based football, Has had a decent season with Rayo in la Liga, Within our reach of realistic targets (has hinted he wants out), Managed to get Rayo, with the leagues smallest budget, half way up the table (with our side he may do all right) Admittedly rather left-field but thought I would throw the name in.

People complain the board aren't "football people" then complain when we are linked with a football person ... can't really win eh! Honestly no point taking it to death as it is just a rumour but I am open minded to Arena advising the board - has good knowledge of the sport and may offer interesting perspective on a wide variety of topics.