ratio_decidendi

So Ben Smith from the BBC has just tweeted: Stalemate in Lallana's proposed move to #LFC. Player wants future sorted before WC. #SaintsFC want to wait. Interesting development.

Yes, I am quite sure Southampton will be having pre-season friendlies. Why wouldn't they?

I'm not sure I understand your second point, but I completely agree with you that the situation at the moment is uncertain and that it's unlikely we will be as strong in September than we were in May. However, this doesn't doom us to relegation at all. Rather, Southampton are in a very strong position to reinvest with a new manager that can promote his own vision and secure us European qualification (or so the board say) while also keeping the core of the team. This is a situation other teams such as QPR and Leicester don't find themselves in. They are obligated to spend just to stay afloat in the PL. Therefore, you could argue that both teams are making wholesale changes but Saints from a drastically stronger position. And that isn't even taking into account the whole host of other underachieving teams in the PL - West Brom and Swansea - who don't have the means to bolster significant parts of their squad. Is it likely that Hull might repeat their previous tenure in the PL? What I'm trying to say is that there are too many variables indicating a Saints survival next season. That may be in 17th place, but so what - survival in any position means that a bet on relegation is wasted. There's a reason why the odds for Saints relegation are as there are right now.

Absolutely this. I have no worries that the club will attempt to replace Lambert, but I've never seen Gallagher's games in the Premier League last season as nothing but the blooding of one our main strikers for next year. And will he deliver? If the club don't find an effective replacement for Rickie, then I bloody hope so.

You'd be throwing your money away to bet on Southampton going down next season. Are people assuming that we're just going to sell without making effective replacements? The scouting network at this club has surfaced gems in Lovren and (arguably) Wanyama, so I trust that they wouldn't' have any trouble next season. And as someone so rightly said above - the three teams being promoted are much much worse than Southampton, as are a handful of others currently in the PL.

Where will he end up? Wherever the board sees him contributing more towards the club in the way of value. The manager might also have a say, and I assume that when arriving from Europe you might be more prepared to forgive Osvaldo's appalling behaviour and invest some time into harnessing his insane ability. Would this approach pay dividends? I can't help but be pessimistic, though am more than happy to be proved wrong when all our decent strikers seem to be absent right now.

Like KingdomCome, I'll also be massively disappointed if Lambert was to go before the World Cup in spite of all the good business that might come out of it. Yes, it's an emotional response, but as a Southampton fan I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to field three of our biggest talents at the most illustrious international stage. It now seems unlikely that we'll even get one beyond the younger teams.

I agree with the OP on this one: if Lambert wants to go to Liverpool, then it might be in the board's interest to let him go. As a footballer, he has his age against him and I cannot see him performing in the future nearly half as well as he has done recently. I suppose it is possible to keep him on the bench, but when Liverpool are throwing bags of money at you then the board might want to take advantage. From a business perspective, if the value gained from selling him exceeds the value gained from keeping him then it's a no-brainer - let Lambert loose. Especially so if he is "intent" on departing to his dream club. Emotionally it is, I guess, a bit of a roller coaster for the fans. But running a football club is not about appeasing the supporters insofar as it doesn't detriment the club financially. A lot of fans are accusing the board of naivety and so on, but without little firm evidence to back up that charge. At the moment, as has so often been said on this forum, no players have been sold yet. In fact, the board have reasserted their strong position and promised European football and European talent. I suggest that we at least give them the benefit of the doubt for now. We should not let emotions run high and react badly to what are, at the moment, nothing but conjecture and gossip regurgitated by the press. I choose to believe only what has been officially released by the club via their own channels because ultimately they want exactly what we want - the best for Southampton. The papers, on the other hand, do not, and should be treated with scepticism. Trust the board and what they are doing. I think this post has gone on for a bit, but I just wanted to say a few things in response to many of the totally irrational posts on this board. It is, you could say, my sensible post for the sensible thread. EDIT: I've just seen someone compare what's happening to the club as rape, and I cannot help but be worried if this kind of thing is tolerated on SaintsWeb?

If we're going to do some close reading: ""We want the manager to make some decisions and be involved with who comes and goes" is not the same as "We want the manager to make some decisions [about] who comes and goes". Just sayin'.

So, Poyet has signed a new contract at Sunderland. That deserves a great sigh of relief, in my opinion.

Yes, the papers are saying that Shaw and Lallana are leaving, but that would have most likely happened no matter who was in charge. I guess it's natural to be suspicious of successors to people who have disappointed you in the past, though it's nothing but irrational to let that colour your perception when no hard evidence exists to suggest that Ralph Krueger has so far done anything wrong.

Sure, but it's important at this stage to give Krueger the benefit of the doubt. It hasn't yet been proven that the Board have done anything wrong and until that happens all we can do is take announcements like this at face value, meaning that his current statement is, to my eyes, very exciting indeed.

I couldn't help but be disappointed when looking at the initial statement Krueger made. But, after everything he's said today, I'm starting to feel a bit more optimistic. Does that mean Ralph has ceased to come across as ever so slightly out of touch? I don't think so, but the prospect of a top quality manager aiming for Europe is extremely exciting.

I've also noticed that we lost a lot of points from winning positions, and I'm trying to work out why we have done so. The only explanation I can really come up with consists of this: - Lack of quality on the bench - without the chance to field strong players later on in the game, it's more likely that Southampton would start dropping points and be unable to retain winning positions. - Physical ability of first team players - the impression I get is that Pochettino seemed to work the players quite hard in training. Could this have impacted match day fitness? - General youth of players - Southampton have a young squad and that can lead to naivety in defending. Pochettino was a good defence coach, but no one can cover over individual errors. Out of all these, I suspect the first point is the most relevant. This means that he won't have the same problem at Spurs considering their depth of squad. It also means that it's not exactly his fault - I'm sure Poch would have brought in squad players stronger than Guly and co. if he could.

Well, coming from Simon Peach, I suppose it's cheerio Mauricio! We hardly knew ye...

Those are some interesting statistics - I hadn't realised just how well the team performed with him in the squad. We're extremely fortunate to have such an exciting prospect for the future who, as long as he can stay fit, should hopefully prove to be a major star next season. I would still like to see a comparison with Jack Cork because my gut feeling is that, with all things considered, the two had relatively similar seasons. May be wrong on that, of course, and it doesn't change the fact that Victor is more of an asset to the club.

For a second I thought the title was suggesting that St Mary's was going to be changed to the Bruce Arena! I was wondering what Steve Bruce had to do with Southampton ...

Okay, that's a fair point on Wanyama (who has had 23 appearances this season). It cannot be said that he hardly featured. Yet, I suppose we'll have to disagree on his impact on the pitch because overall I really don't see much of a difference between him and Jack Cork. But who is the better investment? Probably Victor.

As much as I would want Mancini, I can't see the guy's managerial career going Inter, Man City, Galatasaray, Southampton. And don't even mention wages

I suppose the key thing to remember here is that although a player might have a good spell in a tournament, that doesn't necessarily reflect the impact he would have in the Premier League or in the Southampton squad. Take Mayuka, for example. I don't see it as coincidence that we purchased him off the back of his and Zambia's success in the 2012 African Cup of Nations. His age and position helped, sure, but would we have taken notice if it wasn't for that tournament? Unfortunately, his time at Saints has so far been negligible. But, if I was to 'scout' out any players at the World Cup, it would be those in the left-back, striker and right wing position.

As any club who's had a big influx of new players can testify, it's sometimes best to try and limit transfers in order to establish stability in the squad. This certainly worked to Saints benefit last season: we introduced Osvaldo, Wanyama and Lovren into the squad. Two of those barely featured during the season, meaning that the rest of the squad was secure in the knowledge of their individual roles, and had the space to develop. So, how many would I sell? Just two players: Osvaldo: Clearly a talented player but he lacks the focus and attitude generally adopted by Southampton players. Compare his work ethic to Rickie Lambert's, for example. And it's not as if people aren't interested in Dani. That doesn't mean that he'd go for the same amount we paid for him but he'd add more value to the club in his absence than on the playing field. Shaw: Like Johnny Depp, Luke is talented. He doesn't, however, possess the same temperament. He's a class player and it's no surprise that so many big clubs are in for him because, as well as his skill, he would be an incredible financial asset at the age of 18. From the club's perspective, is our left back going to affect our league position that much? Critics of Danny Fox would say so, but overall I don't think it's one of the most vital positions in the squad. I would have no problem in seeing these two go, and then Southampton investing the £40m (or whatever) in several players of the same quality as Lovren - upcoming players who are eager to impress for low prices. It's never that easy, but it's better than holding onto one player with his heart set on Stamford Bridge or the Theatre of Dreams, and another who thinks he's some kind of pirate.

Two pleasant distractions, you mean.

This article definitely hasn't been printed because the Mirror has a problem filling its pages. Rather, it isn't making enough money to be able to exist without the use of 'advertorials' such as this. That is, an article that is paid for by a third party (William Hill in this case). Although it might seem on the face of it that these kind of articles are killing the print press, do you think the Mirror would use them to their own overall detriment?

I agree with most people here that, for sure, it's a pretty rubbish article. But some people's reactions to it are even worse than the writing. As the editor tweeted to you, the bottom line is that you have a choice to buy or not to buy the Mirror. By posting a picture of the article or even visiting their website, you are advocating this kind of journalism. And that principle rings true for all papers online. If you're fed up of the consistently poor gossip mill, then use your power as a consumer and reject them.

Agreed. Assuming that the club is looking to consolidate this season, Milner could never be seen as an asset. It would be more beneficial for the club to nurture and promote the talents of a youth player like Lloyd Isgrove.