UpweySaint

If Edouard would see us as a good step to prove himself against better opposition to secure a ‘big’ move he could be worth a look to replace Ings, he’s not been at it this year but I would still be surprised if his next move isn’t to a side regularly in Europe and in a decent league. If there is a deal to be had then Ely must be worth a few quid to Celtic, he’s been one of their most consistent players this year. You would hope that might bring our outlay down while taking Ely off the wage bill (hopefully!). I’ve only seen glimpses of Kent but he has something about him. Rangers have been very open that they will need to sell players so a decent offer would likely be considered. From you’re write up he certainly sounds like he would be a good addition. Again though I circle back, in both cases it’s a shame we’re not managing to identify these players one step earlier - appreciate it’s not ever that simple but it’s the same broad argument about the Da Grosa takeover. We need to find a way to compete and find/create better value than our rivals who are better resourced in many ways.

I understand he can’t but I suppose my point is this essentially makes him a ‘poor’ owner. He can’t access any capital, we may as well have a fan ownership model in that case (though that comes with it’s own problems) imagine the saints web mob having to agree on actual decisions about the club! if we have nobody who can invest in the club or develop the club in some other way I really question what value they bring? I’m not naively optimistic and appreciate we’re a business but if we don’t have any hope for anything better than the current state of affairs it’s bloody depressing! 😕

We seem to have a really really low bar. He wouldn’t even have to spend to be considered remotely decent ... he could have loaned the club money at a small interest rate instead of saddling us with debts with staggering interest rates. He would have made money and it would have been healthier for the club. Apart from putting Semmens in charge and letting him get on with it what has he actually contributed? He has no interest in our club at all beyond trying to make a few quid but it rather looks like he might end up coming out even at best. Da Grosa might not be any better but I don’t think there is anything wrong with holding Gao to a reasonable standard just because ‘it could be worse’

Agreed there is still value but £10-15 mil is about our upper limit these days. Tavernier is a top quality player though I feel that KWP has been one of our stand out performers and I couldn’t see Tavernier coming here to be a back up. Edouard is a shout but I could see him leapfrog our level rather than have to go down the VVD / wanayama route.

Easier said than done but these are the sort of players we need to be getting our hands on earlier. Watkins was really highly regarded at Exeter. We were credited with an interest at the time. With impacts of Brexit these are the types of players I would hope we could take a chance on. Of course this presumes we have the financial scope to actually takes chances on players who might not be ‘first team ready’. Turnbull now at Celtic is another we were linked with, the going rate was less than £3mil ... took a while to get going but now one of the new bright spots for Celtic in a woeful season. He might not have enough to step up to the Prem but I would suggest he would have been worth the gamble. Now any move for him would need a figure in excess of £10mil ... I don’t think we have the flexibility for a lot of these ‘gambles’ but looking at the lack of any real options from the bench recently it’s a shame we couldn’t have one or two exciting prospects particularly with the academy having a relative dry spell.

Agreed. Not saying he played well, been nowhere near his best this season, but we played poorly as a team with little exception. The most frustrating thing for me is the Villa game. We deserved to win that one. If we had, even with the 9-0, people wouldn't be having quite the same sense of crisis and panic.

Lot's of things to pull apart today but when we were struggling to break Newcastle down I had a look at the bench and couldn't see anybody on there that I thought could spark something for us. Diallo or Armstrong might have been a nice option as somebody to play around the corner in those right spaces. It was also noticeable how much we miss KWP. Bertrand just isn't offering the threat he used to and with Stephens having to cover at RB we lacked any real threat from out wide. Redmond gets a lot of hate and some of it is frankly OTT but he looks to have lost the confidence to drive at the opposition. To say he's 'non league' standard is clearly b*llocks but we need much more from him if he wants to be a feature in the side. Minamino looked good, well taken goal, but tired as the second half went on. If Tella isn't going to get on at that point it's hard to see him ever having an impact on the first XI. Stephens positionally was poor. He's not a rb. He can cover but up against Saint Maximan he was bound to be taken apart. Bednarek is having a week from hell. McCarthy's place must be under threat. Ings is not looking sharp, we're talking such fine margins but things that would come off for him last season are just not quite happening. Can we have a few weeks off to regroup? Is there an international slot coming up soon?

Honestly that c*nt is part of the reason I stopped watching! I've seen us get tanked before but can't stand listening to him wanking off over Utd. Worse that Neville or Carragher by a mile.

To be fair I was underwhelmed when we signed Bertrand and KWP but both have proved to be astute signings (okay maybe a little early for KWP but v positive early signs). We may struggle to find somebody who will provide the consistency Bertrand has over his time with us but I'd have faith in our current set up to identify a decent replacement. Since Ralph and the shuffling of the deck higher up our transfer business has become more hit then miss. We do seem to be sniffing around Williams and Vokins has looked okay (albeit a bit raw) in his cameos.

Probably can't grumble about a point, when they scored I did fear they would kick on and find another ... Diallo's little turn to get away from his man was decent, shame the final ball wasn't quite there as it would have felt wonderful to pinch all 3 points!

Stoke's first choice Davies has been ruled out for 4-8 weeks with a knee injury according to the BBC. A few weeks for Angus to hopefully settle in to their side and rebuild his confidence.

Very little time to make an impact but looked lively and his defensive shaped looked reasonable. The real positive is seeing him getting minutes to start settling in to the side. Considering how hamstrung we are early signs point to a decent transfer window for us.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/23/ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-shock-bid-to-invest-in-wrexham-football Not strictly saints but interesting takeover news elsewhere ... Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney make shock bid for Wrexham AFC

For what it's worth I had an Athletic subscription bought for me as a birthday present and I quite like it. Preferred Carl to Dan but he engages with fans and tries to get their questions answered in pressers so it's good in that sense. The pricepoint is minimal and the quality holds up .... Re: takeovers I think we'd all prefer somebody who has money they wish to put into the club but currently I would suggest no money but a reasonable plan to progress the club is an improvement on what we currently have. Have to say I'm in the pro RB Southampton camp. A focus on youth, clever scouting, reasonable levels of financial support are worth the RB initials at the front of our name and scorn from other fans.

Fair points well made. I do understand a lot of the pessimism but you do wonder how some on here get out of bed in the mornings! If we're still struggling for points seven or eight games in I'll panic/resign myself to this being our year (we can't say it's not been coming with the drift post Koeman/Poch/Nige). Ralph being able to get one or two new faces in would hopefully lift the mood for all concerned. We all now we're short, particularly in CM.

Agree Ralph's got this wrong but blame all around. Our bench is such a sad reflection of where we currently are. This is largely the same squad that have been struggling for 3+ seasons.

He dithered and got stuck in two minds. If we are going to persist with such a high line any keeper we use will need to be playing as a 'sweeper keeper'.

1. Fair point but I expect most of us said/felt the same about Ings. I can admit I thought the Ings deal was a poor one when it first happened. 2. You are right it would be quite unlikely but not impossible. The Chelsea midfield is stacked so crazier things have happened. If he only stays for a year but does well while we develop the likes of Jankewitz into a first team player without relying on him prematurely then it's a win-win. 3. I would suggest he's quite versatile and if Ralph feels he has attributes that could work in his system it could work. Ralph shifted Armstrong's position/role and he's come on leaps and bounds. 4. Yhep, you're right his injury record is a real minus. If he didn't have it we wouldn't even be able to consider signing him. A 24 year old England international at a top four club on £120,000 a week. No chance. I can see why others would not agree but I would be excited if this came to fruition!

Tell that to Mike Ashley. English and still a c*nt. The Glazers at Utd, American but not exactly beloved. Is it possible to dislike people who buy football clubs with borrowed finance and invest/contribute nothing of any significant value? Financial or otherwise? If the owner isn't going to contribute meaningfully you would at least hope it would be somebody who shares the fans affinity with the club. How many times has our owner even made the trip to watch a game? How much effort has he made to engage with the fanbase? Frankly I don't care about their nationality/ethnicity/gender/sexuality or even their favourite flavour of m&ms (the answer is crispy by the way). Could we have a worse only? Probably, just look at SISU for the alternative reality saints. Could we quite easily have it better? Absolutely! Playing the 'racism' card is poor here. The forum probably has it's share of narrow minded helmets much as anywhere but I think you're wide of the mark here.

I tried posting last night and hit a few error messages, refreshed this morning and alas ...

Looks a really interesting take on it though FF is something of a crowded market. Best of luck to him!

Looks a really interesting take on it though FF is something of a crowded market. Best of luck to him!

True, any respectable side would have alternatives and move on if the deal was so unfavourable.

Very true but also begs the question of why we didn't sign Carrillo on loan with an option. I can't think of many examples of us doing this (Danso, Ings and Alderweireld spring to mind) but it's becoming more common in the past few seasons.

Possible but I'd see them more likely to move for Rico Henry at Brentford. After a few injury hit seasons he's really cracked on and looked promising, 100% will be a prem player sooner or later ..