mrfahaji

Didn't expect to see FBT as a manufacturer, I have some random FBT kitwear from about 20 years ago...!

Can't see how "even if the club sells players" can be right. So we have £30m if we keep everyone, or we have £30m to spend if we sell Bertrand, Cedric, Gabbiadini, Lemina & Tadic? The essence of the story might be true, but can't see that the details are.

On first glance I thought it said 'SHORT' behind Shaqiri. Say what you see Kit doesn't look great, unless you are a Bournemouth fan.

That is disappointing news...

As a (presumably) fellow 1984er, I'm surprised by this. Red & white stripes feels like our idendity, regardless of who else has them. I grew up watching Saints play in red and white stripes. I liked the sash kit and I loved last season's (in fact I own both the Sash and the Air Florida kit), so wouldn't be averse to them, but to me I will always see red & white stripes with black shorts (yes I know, navy, but that was before I was born) as our colours!

Exactly this.

Wanted them to lose anyway, but this just means there's no consolation prize if they win...

Yeah, at least wait until the weekend.

Yep, absolutely loved the kit last season. The fact we stayed up means it hasn't been soiled in the way it might otherwise have been.

I’m not sure what point you’re arguing with me...?

As much as an all-red kit is unpalatable, an all-white kit would be even more bizarre.

Don't like it. Loved our kit last season. Hated our red kits on our PL return. So it's no surprise this one makes me angry if it's genuine. Turn the dark red stripes white and the white pinstripes dark red and you've got a decent kit though.

Should they be though? Overall I agree that the 'club' - although who exactly? Wilson & Reed? - should have 'control' over transfers, I don't think they should be left to their own devices in the same way that a manager shouldn't be. We have signings like Nathan Redmond and Guido Carrillo, at opposite extremes of the scale - one signing purely decided by the club, the other solely (surely?!) decided by the manager. Wouldn't it be a much better process if the manager identified a weakness or void in the squad - perhaps "a dominant CB", "a right back" or "a pacey winger" - and the club works on finding a suitable shortlist of players that meet this criterion, in addition to other important attributes. Then they review and discuss the options with the manager, before jointly deciding on the best option? It really doesn't seem like a difficult concept, and one that I'd like to believe the 'Southampton way' incorporates, but there seems to be too many signings that clearly haven't gone through such a process, which leaves me somewhat sceptical about whether there really is one at all.

When do the players report back for pre-season? 4 June? If so then that would be my date (or maybe a couple of days before...) for confirming the appointment of Hughes. I'm not sure how much having the manager in place will affect transfers being done this early, but certainly every day on the training ground counts, so doesn't make sense to delay it any further if Hughes is the best candidate.

Does Arteta have any managerial experience at all? Have I missed something? If anyone wants him it must be on a hunch, and I don't think we're in a position to take a chance like that.

Either that or attract interest from other clubs and cause him to force a move... sorry for the negativity but that's what happened to future-club-legend Jose Fonte! Agree about the upgrade/budget though. Players who score goals, followed by those that can create them, are the most precious commodities in football.

If we take our recent history as an indicator, we will probably sell Austin and say that "we already have his replacement" in Carrillo. Edit Just seen alpine's post, and we're making the same point/joke. Should I be worried?!

Playing slow possession football encourages the opposition to deploy a high pressing tactic, and Tadic struggles in those conditions. He's best against teams who allow him more time and space on the ball. E.g. he's consistently played well against Arsenal, and he also had some good spells against Bournemouth in the 0-0 under Puel if I recall. I think that's probably part of the reason he struggled in Puel & Pellegrino sides. He is always looking for that killer pass, but to make it you require players to make forward runs, something we rarely did. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he will still have poor patches, but hopefully not as many or for as long next season! We also miss him a lot when he doesn't play because he is the only real 'creator' we have in the side.

But doesn't that give an insight into his character? High opinion of himself, stubborn but ultimately lacking any real leadership skills.

Why would he join Arsenal when he could come here and work with the best midfield in the country?

Sisto looks handy, but bear in mind that these clips presumably show his BEST stuff. Picks ball up, faces up to defender... cuts inside, passes it off. Sound familiar?! And it's not one clip, he does it virtually every time, and he barely goes past anyone. I just don't think that's what we need, but of course it probably IS what Reed and the other footballing gurus think we do.

Ok that one did actually make me laugh. But it’s a one off!

I don't mind some of your posts in the way that others clearly do - I thought your 'house' analogy on the Les Reed thread wasn't bad, for example! But this Ekon stuff is insufferable and weird. Please stop it.

Voted 'Go'. But that doesn't mean I want an overhaul of our structure, just the people operating within it. Reed strikes me as someone who thinks he's really smart, but isn't.

Ah sorry, I thought you were implying they were all unrealistic targets (i.e. too good for us)! I certainly prefer Promes' style of play to Sisto's though, from what I've seen at least, even if he doesn't have the necessary quality. At least he goes past people and has a bit more pace/directness. Sisto just looks like a slightly better Redmond.