Bermuda Saint

Speaking for myself, I need to step away from this site and all other transfer rumor sites. Time to enjoy the summer and let this transfer saga play out without my constant circling of the transfer carrion like a vulture. I think the easy ones are done. Players that were young hopefuls that our Scouting dept thought coukd develop to a higher level and no real competition fpr their sighnong to hold up the moves. Now we are in the thick of transfer season. The transfer process gets really tedious. Look at Toby, we must have been working on his signing for a year, he did very well here, he likes it here, resurrected his career here. He will get a very good contract and loving Fans. Yet we wait, and wait. Is he really holding out for Spurs!! I !@#$ing hope not. How about Jordy C, another player we have been rumored to be after. We can offer him a huge pay rise (thanks again to the football possessed Redslo who shows the paltry pay the get in EDV), a coach he likes and a chance to play in the PL. None of this is anyone's fault, players or our transfer committee. It is just the frustrating way the transfer window plays out. Any player that is talented and sought after will be a "Harry potter", a long drawn out story with lots of sequels. The higher up in talent, the longer we have to wait! I expect our transfers to drag out long into the night on transfer deadline day. Not because we are not doing our very best to bring them in, but because we are looking at players who are CL quality, who want to play CL football, and we cannot provide that (yet:D always the optimist). So the ones we want are hoping the big boys come in for them. We have to wait for them to make their moves and when those players see they are not going to a CL side they will look to us, and we to them, to say "come on down! you are the next contestant on the price is right!". So why look and hope every day to see who the next signing will be. Let the CL clubs do their business, then we can swoop in late to offer a top player a chance to play for a great club that is going places. If we were done before deadline day I would be disappointed because our ambition for a CL player was too low. Our SFC wont disappoint! they are always reaching beyond "little SFC" perceived status and reaching for high caliber players. Sometimes they don't work out, but I would never doubt our ambition! Patience is needed around this time of year. It is time to get lost in the BERMUDA TRIANGLE, get a tan, have a swim, watch the sheilas in bikinis and have a tall tropical drink to wash away the transfer stress. ps. I will be back tomorrow as I have already got a tan, had a swim, watched the sheilas in bikinis and had several tall tropical drinks:D

What a load of West spam site. Why would we sell the one striker who played the whole season for us and was integral to our best finish. He was putting us in the top 4 before Xmas, one of the leagues top scorers at that time, yet when interviewed he was very humble and insisting who needs to do better. I think this man is a huge asset in the locker room, seems like a true team player, motivator, someone who never rest on his past but strives to do better. Mark my words, team mates will speak highly of his dedication and drive to be the best.

This whole team had its ups and downs during the season!! With a few exceptions. Pelle, Tadic, Mane, davis,clyne, spydy......etc all had loss of form during the season. But all gave us hope that a brilliant player is in there. Are we too write off most of our team because they were not at their BEST every game. He will fill out the squad with pace, skill, good work rate, defence (yes I saw his first few games were clueless for his defense, but RK sorted that out and he improved dramatically). These things he will apply and do his best, what that end up being at the end of the season is up to him and injuries. What is guaranteed with Elia that I think RK understood was, he is EL experienced, has the right attitude, right coaching from youth, right age. A great squad player at a good price that has the ability ( all agree) to be a positive addition in many ways. As for the blocking our youth argument with Elia, I disagree, his experience will teach them, he is a very skilled tricky player, if in training he can teach English youth the art of dancing with the ball, close control, trick and flips, being comfort with ball at your feet and man on your back. They will need to learn from player who have been doing for far longer than they. If they are good enough they will get chances in this new Era. Elia, tadic, mane and our new signings all look to be the type technically gifted at dribbling, don't forget we are modeling our club after Barcelona and now have a baca alumni! ( yes I know we also add many good traits from other great clubs that Les has brain rained and added our own saints philosophy) . So I expect our youth will be the next spainenglish hot prospects with great dribbling and close ball control. March on Saints!

Wow, Georginio the new viagra!! Now this one makes a lot of sense, ticks a lot of the right boxes. RK has coached him before, can play multiple position, huge potential at a good age, 24, player of the year, capped international, wants to come to PL. If this kid isn't on our list I would be shocked!! If we are looking at better, then I would be ecstatic because this kid is really good.

YES RK!! keep after this player!! I am going to stick my unprofessional 40 years of watching and still playing football opinion on ELIA. I like him! He has had a roller coaster career and I didn't know to much about his playing history other than seeing him in the WC. But Judging on what I see with SFC I definitely want him at that price! He is one of the trickiest players on our team, great skill on the ball to beat the man. This is his main strength! I have watched many tricky players, the famous Ronaldo at MU and Mcmanaman of LFC. Both took time as young players to develop the skill of beating a man in close quarters consistently. It takes year to develop the skill of when and how to do it. Elia has this mature skill and can dance with the ball. His crossing was good. His age makes him a mature player that has experience at EL. He is hungry to play for RK. He started to link up well with Mane, they seem to be on the same wavelength. Now Mane and Vic will be hot transfer news next year, but Elia could be here to provide years of loyal service, small fee, reasonable wages all good things. Now I don't see all good in him, his speed was not what I thought it would be and he did seem to slow the play down at times because he will hold the ball and take on his man, this will slow a quick moving one touch passing game that we like to do at times. But these are minor things and now I am prepared to hear the backlash from fellow forum members, here is another one........GAZZA is good!!! strange how we see the same players so differently, got to love the difference of opinions, it is the spice of life, and lord knows England needs some spice.

Got to go!! love the player, but not this move! on last year of contract, will not sign a new improved offer. So if he doesn't get his move he will run down his contract. Been there, done that for Clyne. Insulting offers from one club not in CL (liverhampton), and no CL team officially coming in for him. His ego may be ahead of his perceived in demand status. Sell him (reluctantly) to get some money for the transfer, his wages off the books and good luck to ya pal. No hatred to him , just disappointment again that they can't see how good they have it where there are. March on SAINTS!!

tks for the info! I hope the Spanish J was not his undercover agent, what a positive report! Well if this is done I am very excited about it! I was wondering how we could get a Spanish maestro, but any ready made Spanish star is way out of price range. The promising young stars seemed the only way to go. But that is fraught with danger, there are quite a few clubs transfer committees with egg on their face after the next Silva failed to make it! due to being too light weight for our PL. Now our legendary black box/transfer committee have pinpointed the Spanish star that fits their high standards. A striker being groomed for the Spanish team shows huge potential, and a player who will be driven to keep that place in the national squad. The next RAUL!! now that would be something to see, a future Spanish star that we develop into a world class striker!, won't be here for long if he progresses as hoped but the $$$$$ we will get for him will break a record for SFC in the future.

THIS!! well done SFC board!!! best contract renewal for the season so far, I hope he has a bonus clause for every new airing of SFC on NA TV. His skill without the ball is deceptively good. He has the pace, stamina and agility to maneuver around most big wigs that think soccer (cringe) is a silly game. He has been one of our most valuable team players with one of the most important jobs!! to increase our fan base with as many knowledgeable fans as us on this forum (cringe). The SFC video of our club and academy did wonders in NA, people here are looking to embrace the worlds greatest game and we are attracting a lot of new fans. I would already guess we are most peoples second fav team. Redsolo-cup, our resident tortured soul who has been possessed by footy, has put a lot of brain power, time and secretary to good use. TO EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF GROWING OUR GLOBAL BRAND!!! it really is hugely important. MU can rebuild the most expensive team in the world, @#$% it up and then buy another. That kind of financial power is where we want to ultimately be along with the CL. We need this kind of well respected CEO to convince people we are for real! we have real ambitions and clear strategies to attempt the impossible of cracking the top 4. With SFC becoming the fastest growing global brand, Kreuger did his part admirably. The coach and team produced the goods (improved on last year) and Kreuger and the board used this success to grow our international appeal. March on Saints, March on, aye....

Thank you TS!! we will do our best to execute your dastardly plan. Plan, TS ????what you on about mate? TS - Tim Sherwood, he spoke to RK and said, I will paly a very high line all game, with big slow defenders, and you will play your best 3 strikers up front. But why? RK asked. TS said his Villa team are safe, so what better way to get at your old employer who did you wrong. Look at how upset he got when Mane scored his hat trick, flopped on his chair in despair, Coro St would be proud of his poor acting. TS gives us the chance to push Spurs to 7th place, and his Villa team now have Spurs European hopes in their hands. Tott with their outlay on new players over the past years, to miss out on Europe would be embarrassing, and heads will have to roll, Poch keep your head down, Tim is plotting to get ya!!

I can see why DJ and Elia were taken on loan....so we can easily get RID!!...not... they but are skillful players with good dribbling skills and tricks to get past a man. Have they all worked, no, but the potential is there, they are good footballers to my untrained eye. But will they show their true promise? really grow with confidence and grit to make the opponent fear them? I hope our coaches can bring this out in them like they have with Mane. If they come cheap then I think they are worth the gamble (10 mil for DJ is to much, I think Elia would pay us to come, he loves RK so much!).

MANE!! you talked the talk, now ya walked the walk. Great game by our attacking trio. g- S Mane 13 a -G Pelle g - S Mane 14 a -S Long g - S Mane 16 a - S Long g - S Long 26 a - G Pelle g - S Long 38 g - G Pelle 81 a- S Mane all three have been ruthlessly slagged off by some. Those who crapped all over these players should eat crap, stuff your month full of it , at least you will be silent for awhile. Those that learn to be patient, not judge to quickly, give constructive criticisms will revel in the glory that Trolls will be silent for awhile as they digest their own ****! But some learn, I see many a poster learn that writing off a player (nothing wrong with that, everyone has an opinion) with nasty, demeaning, character assassinations, learn that their words are not forgotten so easily. They learn and are not so quick to spout out negativity, they offer positive criticism or constructive criticism. But the ******S who learn nothing, I LOVE YA, your foot in the mouth moments are worth the chuckle, and it not too long before your infighting and inbreeding with the rest of your ilk, derail a topic to something completely irrelevant. Here is another one fella's, GAZZA! GAZZA! this kid has been **** on by so many that you can't even see the six foot five kid. There is a lot of crap that has to be swallowed if this kid comes good. It is pompous that we fans think we know more than the SFC, we can see in handful of game the future of players, no need for those scouts, coaches and manager to weigh in, they are irrelevant. Did no one stop to think we have a very good keeper coach, good coaches overall that can spot talent, they get paid to know what is a good footballer (not us fans). They have had this kid in the wings for 3 yrs. surely they no more than us, and yet they persist, so he must be talented. The next DeGea?? LOL, that would be something of a lesson in humility for some. So the loud mouth opinionated SFC fans, keep it up, be the haters. Without you the satisfaction of success is not as sweet!

Not he best option, but one very damn good one, if you can't see the qualities of Milner and what he could bring to a team, then we are on completely different football worlds. Of you read the last line, there are many very good players, if we shop in the 20 mill range some very exciting players become obtainable.

The transfer circus is rolling in, and the speculations of ins and outs give every fan joy and fear. Many rumors abound, but the one hint that RK stated rings true, the biggest crack of truth from the normally veiled club, we need QUALITY AND EXPERIENCE (we need our own QE like the USA). Now that seems like an obvious statement that every coach makes. But for SFC and RK I think it carries more meaning to our transfer targets. We were pushing for a top 4 with a very good 11. To get experience to challenge at that level, we will need to buy the type of players that is rarely mentioned in the same sentence as SFC. I think RK knows what a world class player is, a game changer. We are close to having a great team, a few more quality additions will be the next step forward. So how do we achieve this with our best players departing and subs not making the grade. Without the financial clout of the big boys, buying our way to the top is not the way. We built from the ground up, developing young future stars and polished a few outcast till they shined. But to me, we have probably rode that model far enough. We cannot develop young stars in the PL like we did in the lower leagues. We will not give JWP, Reed, Gallager etc. the time to develop, not the coaches, WE the fans. Unless these kids hit the ground running and be a wonder kid, we won't have the patience we gave to spydy, lalla, fonte, etc as they played in the lower leagues. JWP is a perfect example, he seem to me to be tipped for big things, he has been in the England squad u17/19/20/21. He is not the finished article and has to now learn/develop/make mistakes in the hardest league in the world with fickle fans with short memories. How many skips, tricks did we watch lalla or bale cock up before they matured into consistent skill. If we persist in grooming to many of our academy youths into the first 11 we will not have the quality to maintain a top 7. Very difficult for the academy, our success mean a higher skill entry level for them. But if the rails fall off , they are our safety net to rebuild. Back to RK master plan........so we have moved the bar higher and I feel RK has a real taste for a run at the CL, laughable for many, but maybe not too far fetched. If we were to keep all our players this season, and add 2 quality and experienced (QE) players to that 11 we would be stronger again, theoretically. But the Fans reality is Spydy, Clyne, Toby and possibly Wya is on their way out! optimistic fans, like myself, are hoping we can sell high and buy low gems that everyone missed. Hey its worked so far!! But that may be on hold for now, as the weeks roll on, things are becoming a little clearer. Maybe we can push for the CL!!! Has the Power of RK surpassed all expectations?? could he really convince Clyne, Toby and maybe even spydy to stay! the first two look likely and wih Jrod on board this is starting to take shape. Why, because RK got serious! he has paddle with a team constantly reinventing itself and re-learning team ethos. He sees our puzzle is just missing a few pieces to do what should be the impossible, for SFC to go to CL!! He has a three year contract and probably bigger fish to fry. If he honors it and then moves to a mega club, I think he would like a good go at pushing this team to the CL places, not spend 3 years replacing and re-coaching new players in a grind to stay relevant. What would you say to the board? let our best players go to sit on a bench? buy more mediocre players in the hope they will come good?......No! offer who is here some real wages, buy two QE players, give belief back to the players that they can reach the CL with SFC, I am sure they will take pride in the David versus goliath triumph. Time to add real QE , instead of 4 mediocre players for 40 mill, give me 2 x20 mill , must be internationals. A few fill ins/hopefuls for a few mill and we should have a very good 11 with a thin bench of good players and youth. SO, we are no better off than this year! you nag....but we are! a bit, and that bit might be enough! We will not at this point in our history, be able to have a great 11 with just as good backup 11, we will have to rely on a small, quality, very good 11-14 squad with good and youth players and rely on. LUCK will be needed, there is no dilution that we will not need luck to reach the CL with such a small squad but it can be done. We will need luck so that our squad can remain healthy or key injuries are adequately filled. RK knows we have a good squad, I think he is pressing for the stars to stay with offering good money (60-80k?) and big promises, like a couple QE players. I hope this is the direction, it is plausible, and I could see us even stronger than last year. MARCH ON, SAINTS, MARCH ON! Was just reading our transfer targets, not many reaching that QE level. Although lots are sensible purchases, few reach that level that brings instant QE. A lot of players out there that I think would come to RK and SFC, we are looking for a QE ACM, one that will shoot, work hard, skill and QE, how about James Milner, if he is not wanted by the CL clubs he could be the implausible star we could need. Wants the AM role and constantly impresses me with his attitude and footballing no matter how unfashionable he is..........oops just went to look up what club he used to play for as a teen (villa) and see Liverfool are in for him.......oh well, many more out there, who could they be...........

QUOTE=Bermuda Saint;2032983]Too funny, i spend time trying to put positive, constructive ideas forward and the main point being bantered is my stupid liverhampton name for the scousers that were lucky to have won that game. Back to my point!! I am guessing that JWP is the new academy prodigy in which we will build a team around. My opinion in whether he will live up to this exulted position is still out! he is technically good, but still has many areas to improve, at 19, he has the next few years to grow into an outstanding CM. But if the development squad is right, well done!! it was a long term vision they had for JWP and his quality at youth level justified them putting him in the PL first team to continue his development. I think JWP will be the one that we will not sell. I am guessing the club have that much hope for this kid to be our flag bearer. He will be the Mr. Saint that we will build a team around with his fellow academy mates and top notch foreign talent (Tadic, Wayama if we can keep them for 2 or more years etc). Do you think JWP will become the next MLT? Will our club grow enough in the next few years to allow us to increase our wage structure to keep players? Is this an old dream that has been repeated over and over (bale,ox,lalla,LS,CC.........nightmare)? With the penalty given to JWP, they continue to push him to grow and establish himself as a key member in our team. Will he be the eventual captain of SFC? Will he be the next MLT? I think his penalty was once again SFC trying to make this young man a super star. Some of the fans may not see it, but the coaching staff have consistently pushed this kid, let's support their vision and get behind JWP. He maybe the CM that we build a team around and not let leave, ie pay him enough to stay! It will be interesting if he us our captain in a few years, if that happens, then those coaches that had picked him out as a kid are truly world class!.

Love the HCDAJFU thread, it's like Xmas, what did the black box wrap in the new transfer present box? Can we even guess, I am sure it and coaches have some goodies up their sleeves. I am still optimistic that we can continue improving even though we sell of our prize assists each season to the big teams. I take pride that even though we have fallen to more realistic table position, that we are still in every game, looking the better team, but just not scoring, we are so close to a CL team. So some players out and a bunch coming in over the summer. With the focus on Europe comp. What do we buy, promising youngsters, good experience players that are not making first team, experienced first team players? Probably a mix of all three since we may have quite e few to add. RK has made one hint fir next year if we do qualify for Europe, he said "we will need experienced players", so here is the snippet that may be a clue as to what they get in the summer, EXPERIENCE!. A few experienced players used to playing in European comp. Seems to be the level we are aiming for, along with some academy youth to step up and be the cheap option, to help balance the cost ore experience will cost you. I have no clue who they will buy, but am optimistic because we have a good track record of improving each year with our new recruits, and there are lots of good players out in the world, we have the monies and footballing stature to get some really good footballers! We have managed to put a team together that can compete against the bigger spenders, can we continue to buy 10-15 mil players and still compete, yes. But to sustain that we need to be very lucky, all the best scouting in the world will just not do if we can't offer more or equal to the teams around us. You can put together a good team on a small budget that can compete, saints, swans, and even CP can turn over bigger clubs like MC. But to consistently do it will take mega bucks, the players who are better than good cost lots, and many a club has spent a fortune to get to the top and fail, spurs, liv etc. Even Everton, who dropped almost 30 mill on lukaku is not seeing the rewards for so much monies invested. I hope we can find and produce good players that turn out to be great players, and we can continue to challenge the top 6. Bring on the EXPERIENCE players!!!!

Clynes loss will be a hard one, he was one player I had always had confidence in when played, if the attack came down the right, Clyde will deal with it! It's his pace! Yes he has everything else, but his confidence to get tight, use himself strength to win battles, and know he cannot be outpaced by any player he defends is priceless, I have seen many wingers now not even bother going for a ball if Clynes has a couple steps on them, his speed, strength and tenacity now proceeds him in opponents minds. Priceless!! But alas, a price will be reached for him, and that person has some speedy shoes to fill. So that us where I would like to start, if they do not have world class speed with strength then move on. Micha Richards fits this from what I remember before he became a bench warmer, but if you go beyond that he was as mentioned before , he is not the most gifted technically, and was a poor crossers, but these can be improved or worked around, he was pretty good at attacking wing play. I like others, janmmat,Jenkins, etc, good technical attacking fb but lack lightning pace. Now I am not saying pace is everything, but a good player with awesome speed will become great! I hope or black now thinks the same and pulls another gem to be polished fir all the world to admire. Clyne is now polished and shining for all the world to see his brilliance. The elite will buy their new bling to place amongst their hoard of jewels.

These final two paragraph just prove how we look at things differently, I read how you summarize the events and still see a club with ambition, not one selling-out. I had no grand illusion that the club should reveal all its laid out plans, must tell us what is going on every move. I waited to see what they did, not what everyone was speculating about. We had a new coach with excellent playing record and mixed management career We had a few of those and each turned out to be what we needed at the time, NA (who?), Poch (excellent playing record and mixed management career) and then Koeman (coach with excellent playing record and mixed management career) sound familiar. If Poch could show us that a coach with the right philosophies that would compliment the "Southampton way", then Koeman could do the same and "I would trust the Board to get it right". " but don't paint a fake picture of the past" that was the main problem, people were listening and reacting to the fake reports, creating their own fake doomsday scenarios. Some tried not to paint a fake picture, Some listened to the clubs reassuring statements, some analyzed their new acquisitions and came up with the notion that we are still ambitious and still have a dream of reaching CL. Did I have doubts, of course, but they seemed to be doing the right things, what more could I ask for (a step by step monolog on what the board is thinking - NOT!). Anyways, Lets all get behind our team, dream even bigger than the players can, support players through tough times, give praise and patience (Fonte, Mane, long, Gardos all written off as not good enough by many). Our Board has some big decisions to make, CL football could be a reality, players wanting bigger wages or bigger clubs, staying within the confines of the FFP, all new territory for SFC, they will need our support! March on Saints, March on!!

The appointment of Koeman was all I needed to feel reassured we were still ambitious and did not have owners that were trying to "asset strip" or had a lack of ambition. I listened to Reed and Kreuger and did something unusual, I believed what they said, they gave the overall impression that things were being handled and that we should have faith in what they were appointed to do. The evidence we can all see sitting in 3rd. This was a perfectly logical interpretation of events in early August - I disagree, we had a new world class coach, two of best players in the EDV, a new director who was well regarded in the sports management world, Reed showing us more and more of his attributes he brought and is bringing to SFC, and a sh*t load of money for each want away player. The logical interpretation to me was SFC was building a team to continue it progress up the league. But I have never taken my rosy glasses off and ALWAYS thought we were capable of making CL places (what a dreamer), but dream i will..........CL places are up for grabs! Someone stated how poor this season teams were, they stated only the top 2 are any good. I see it differently again, I see it as there are no pushover teams in the PL, the global glut of players and money that BPL teams can spend ensures we are constantly bringing in better players. The big teams can't buy every good player, there are plenty that will be found and used to strengthen the overall quality of the league. LIV, TOT, EVE, MANU, ARS still have big name players and spent huge amounts but that doesn't guarantee success anymore. SFC, WHU, SWC and NC are showing the strength of the league not its weakness.

really interesting link, would be good if it is true! he looks like a freak! in a good way , huge for his age, athletic and skillful. All the building blocks for a big CM. yes it is a gamble, but who better than our SFC at spotting young talented kids, if they feel this kid has more than just size to his game then I will hope he is better than Zaltan (always the optimist). It would make sense for SFC to use their academy fame to attract some of the world best youth players to add to their English youth stables. We can't let Chelsea snap up every youth phenom to keep in reserve just in case they need them. Another around the same age is Hachim Mastour, great skill, but these type of players with no special physical attributes can fail when it gets into the physical side of the prem. But he does fit my criteria, he is an outstanding player for his age group, seems to have that little bit of magic. If he tick the rest of the boxes, ie. hard working, good footballing brain and character then he too could be added to the youth squad. As our ambitions and stature continue to rise, I would hope that the UK and the worlds most promising youth choose us as their academy to get great coaching and chances to prove themselves for SFC. As the world best players continue to go for ridiculous amounts of money that only the biggest clubs in the world can afford, this gamble on the youth of the world maybe the only way for the smaller clubs to have a 30+ million player (before he goes to the big clubs once he proves he is the real thing).

Clasie must be top of our list, we know RK rates him highly and Clasie has said himself how much he enjoyed working for RK, Pelle would welcome a former team-mate knowing that they have already a good understanding of each others games. We were very strong in midfield at the start of the season (one of the reasons we didn't buy Clasie along with Pelle in the summer) but recent injuries may cause the board to use this as an opportunity to bring in this talented, young, affordable midfielder. Admittedly, midfield is not our most pressing position to strengthen, many would say we need another striker. We have Long (who i think would do a good job as the central striker, he is tough, yet delicate (best "touch him and he will get you a foul" player out there), excellent jump, and proved he can hold the ball up in a central role in his previous clubs. Not a dancer with the ball, but an honest, intelligent and hard working player. Jrod - injured, unknown recovery, Myuka (given a chance the last few games, not impressed the fans, maybe he shows attacking flare in training, so much hyped promise, will RK persist in using him? Gallager - still raw and off the radar at the moment. We really do need another top striker if we are serious about challenging for that top 4. Think there are three ways you can go... 1) young, talented, full of potential, still a bit raw. (we have one, Gallager (19), Ings (22),Guidetti (22), Saido Berahino (21),Antoine Griezmann (23), Alvaro Morata (22), Divock Origi (19) 2) Older, twilight of their career, but still can produce the goods when needed -Ricky lambert (32), Miroslav Klose (36),David Villa (33), Antonio Di Natale (37),USA winter loans - Robbie Keane (34), Defoe (32) or even Henry (37). 3) Prime time! big players, wanted by all (but only a few are chosen) -Jackson Martínez (28), Andre Pierre Gignac (29), Christian Benteke (24), Hulk (27), Álvaro Negredo (29), Carlos Vela (25), Tevez (30) These are just a sample of what is out there, here is were our BLACK BOX and crew will find the right player, style, temperament and price. If i were to chose one from each catagory: 1)Antoine Griezmann - striker/left winger, young player already showing tonnes of quality and an eye for goal/assist. 2) Miroslav Klose - a legend that still showed he can produce at the last WC. Would be an inspirational super sub or a game changer. 3)Andre Pierre Gignac - in the best form of his career, playing even better under the Bielsa style (we are similar to this philosophy), would be real competition for Pelle, not just back up, He is not the biggest star out there but one that could be in our price range. Each transfer gets more difficult as we try to improve in what we got, like it has been said before, buying a bunch of squad players that can do the job is not going to push us on, we love our best players, but we need to aim for the players to be better than them! One or two more quality signings, each transfer window will keep us moving in the right direction. Personally I would like them to try to get a proven player, a game changer to help us stay in the fight for top 4. A gamble on talented youth has been our usual way, but this time we should opt for a big player even if its a loan or short term contract to add instant quality and experience. Top 4 would be immense, lets give it a good go this year! we can return to the sensible building approach in the summer. March on, Saints March on!!

Great Game!, great test for our players and coach. We were outplayed by a very good team with some very, very good players. Yaya and Lampards finishing were just clinical! Man City new they were in for a game, the pace in the first half was very high, City passed very well in the first 20 min, we closed down and harried them pretty good, but it was taking a lot of effort to get the ball back. When we did, they pressed us pretty good, we were poor in the final third (Tadic), and didn't have our usual width due to Clyne and Bertrand sitting deeper to combat City's pace and skill. This is a key change to our style of play , we rely so heavily on our wing-backs to supplement our attacks, without them joining the attacks we looked toothless. At the end of first half I thought we had done ok, not our best, but got away with a pen, weathered the early storm and shown a few attacking plays that threatened City. Second half and Schneiderlin injury meant a strange shuffle from RK, not a bad move, I can see his point, TA is strong and using him to win the midfield battles against units like Yaya and Jovetic seemed like a sensible move, maybe Reed was a little too light weight for such a strong city mid. My disappointment was to see Tadic back on, maybe he can have a better 2nd half (not!). Yaya's thump uncontested was prob due to RK putting TA in holding mid, TA and everyone one else were so frantic about getting the ball outta the danger area that they left one of the world best players all alone. Oh well, now lets see if we can get some fire in our belly and show some determination to take this game back. They tried, city gave us a bit of room and we began to play the ball around but usually failed with the final pass. The sending off of Mangala was unfortunate for us, he was one of our best players , kept fouling us, giving unnecessary corners etc. This change would mean we could attack with more freedom, bring our wing-backs into the game! We walked right into the spiders trap!! you see, city are a great counter-attacking team, they have one of the best forwards in the world, he now had the freedom to attack us, and he did!! We were playing cautiously for a reason, we keep our defense and holding mids back because of him, he would take 3 defenders to get the ball from him the others were trying to pick up the players he might pass too, That was taking 5 players to contain one or two city attackers (they are that good). So when we pressed for an equalizer, we gave Aguero the gift he wanted, one on three, he will eat that up all day ! Lampard only needed one chance, and after that we were done. Third goal was another defensive error, why fonte kept both aguero and clichy onside?, all he had to do was step up!! offside trap is the defenders greatest weapon! Wanyama looked immense in the first half, strong, composed, he held the middle like a gladiator. Late In the second half he got tired, like the rest of the players and his poor passing and slow movement crept back into his game. Mane was threatening with his pace and trickery, but is still prone to mistakes, but hopefully he will get more consistent. Tadic, he was shockingly bad, his first touch, his ball retention, his set piece delivery. I rest this loss at his feet and RK (the buck always stops with the manager), others did not do as well as they could, but when your key play-maker is so poor it destroys so many attacking moves. RK decision to stick with him all game was a curious decision (let him play through it? I have no one on the bench to replace him?). Foster, huge man, strong hands , good positional sense, but his speed in getting to low balls is disturbing, I would not say he has cat like reflex. His hesitation to come out against Aguero because he is slow almost cost us another goal (he did make a great save). He is still young and can improve but can they coach reflex, speed?

I read them, I believe in them, they are the foundation we are built upon. BUT, I believe we have an intelligent Board that are capable of realizing that when the situation requires a departure from the norm to achieve our ultimate goals , they will act with dynamism, bravery and intelligence to make our Saints a success.

I will take what ever is left. tks

Great reply , we agree to disagree.....but do we....so many people have read the title and not the content or context is is referring to. Once again I don't mean we will financially ruin SFC with overspending on a player. I do understand the "Southampton way" with our academy and targeting young potential stars at affordable prices with lots of room for a profit if sold on. Our training and playing style infused from academy youth to senior players. Our mantra of being financially sound and steadily improving the squad, infrastructural and personnel. None of this will change! But our board have also shown to be brave and dynamic, changing with the situation. They don't seem the type to be afraid of the challenge to get to the CL spots. My prediction...They will cease on this season good start and buy/loan a proven quality player, RK and Reed will aim very high for their Jan transfer target. If they don't buy/loan a proven world class player (I won't wet the bed), then I hope, like most they will continue to add squad depth with targeted analysis of promising young players. In other words, business as usual. "Also, I don't think we need to improve our quality to compete. I think we need to improve our depth. Good young players who will be happy to fill in as needed while they develop can do this job better, and less expensively than big name signings. And they are less likely to be disruptive influences on the team. " Most of this I do disagree with. We do need to improve quality (always looking to improve) to compete against the top 4, unless u are still stuck in the notion we should not aim too high this year, steady as she goes, then you are right , we can get young players and use our academy to steadily improve over the years as some mature and hope the others don't leave (Tadic, Clyne, Spydy etc). I have and it seem like SFC has moved its target from better than eight to wanting to stay in top 4. We are already bucking the trend with the team of non-superstars playing as well as the big boys. But this is not the norm, not saying we can't do it, I feel we can compete with any team in the PL with our first choice 11. But to rely on youth still learning their trade is asking a lot. To much if you ask my me. TO STAY TOP 4 we will need to do what most CL teams do, buy proven quality! 1 or 2 more proven quality players could be the push we need to stay top 4 (I have to keep saying this, I am not advocating buying like the MC, MU etc, we won't and we can't, I am proud of the way we have built a team from the ground up, down to earth good players, playing as a TEAM). So, to stay in top 4 (lost many of you there because you refuse to let yourself believe we could be that good), in my opinion we need to by a proven player or two that will bring instant experience, quality and composure to handle the pressure that will inevitable come if we stay around the top 4. We already have enough quality youth and bench warmers that can come on and do a good job. I see buying more youth as a block to what we have. I think, because of the special circumstances we are in (2nd place) that it warrants a slight change to our short term plans and buy what we need now (players who are used to playing at the highest level) to truly give us a realistic shot at maintaining top 4. If we fail we go back to our steady improvement, but at least we would have given it a good go. We were on track this time last year, being short on quality in the squad depth hurt us. We will not make the same mistake this year.

Reeds' comments in the Guardians recent article give me hope we are going to push for the CL this year: "Southampton do not want to block the path to the first team for the academy players but signing proven, experienced talent is also part of the ethos." proven experience is needed in January to improve our squad for a CL challenge. "It was doing the same thing we do with players: due diligence, research, make sure you are going to make the right decision, not make a mistake." With this ethos, and past purchases, i have faith they will identify players who can make an impact for the second half of the season. "My gut feeling is that we will maintain a position at the top end of the Premier League" my gut, my head, my heart, my arse, my big toe all have that same feeling. Southampton are aware that they will struggle to compete financially with the elite clubs and know that they have to comply with Financial Fair Play rules. Their budget is not limitless. Yet that is why they are being creative and looking for new ways to smash the glass ceiling. They are aspirational. Southampton want to be in the Champions League and they think they have worked out how to get there." That Reed is a smart cookie, having fun trying to keep up with his masterful plans.....will it be a super signing or more potential youth or we have enough thanks see you in the summer? "it’s about aspiration. There’s no point investing all this with an aspiration to survive. You’ve got to have an aspiration to be successful. We don’t know when it will be. But we are putting everything in place to make sure. If there’s a fair wind and we achieve it quickly, we’ll take that. If it takes a bit longer, at least we know we have all the right things in the right place." We are not doing all this to be middle of the pack, to produce top youth academy players for others to poach. We are aiming for the top, we now have the foundations in place to keep us in the PL, we can now get a little more creative in trying to break that into those CL places. A proven, top player would be extremely creative for us “The aspiration is to be there at the top and compete with the best. " read that a few times if you still feel 8th place will be ok, not for SFC, they have stated over and over again, we are going for the CL. This is the new SFC, the "Southampton Way" will see us to the promise land. March on Saints, March on!!