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Best bit of business Southampton have ever done


Crazy Diamond

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That is, in the transfer market. I've not really thought about free transfers that come good for us, more money making sales.

 

Two immediately spring to my mind, but I'm sure the more experienced of Saints fans might remember something from yesteryear. My nominations would be first of all Kevin Davies to Blackburn. Bought for £750,000 and sold for £7.5m plus James Beattie. Ten goals in 82 appearances and in addition to that, no money went to Chesterfield as they didn't negotiate a sell on clause.

 

The other would be, God rest his soul, Dean Richards. A free transfer who turned into an £8.1 million signing for Spurs, probably the one most would nominate I would think.

 

I suppose I'd also at a stretch say £1 million for David McGoldrick, since he's one of the worst professional footballers I have ever seen in my life.

 

No doubt that some will nominate their worst, so let's clear that one up too, it's probably going to be renegotiating the Bale deal and getting Tommy Forecast...

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If you are only measuring it by cost sold less original cost of purchase then Richards, and Kevin Davies are clearly out on their own.

 

If we're looking at cost and the benefits they've brought to the club then thats a different matter altogether, and off the top of my head I'd nominate:

 

Ron Davies - £60,000 , survival and more in the oldDiv One

Alan Ball - £50,000 - promotion to Div One, and establishing ourselves there playing some great football

John McGrath/Jimmy Gabriel - can't even recall the fee - inspired signings who helped steady a leaky defence, and become the 'Alehouse' team.

 

Jimmy Case - £20,000 took over the Alan Ball role.

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Fuller for 90k.

 

Ah Ricky Fuller. Two memories of him, neither for his football.

 

The first seeing him sat on a fence, he randomly shouted "Mother f*ckerrrrr!". The second being stood in the Northam and a debate starting amongst those around me. Someone suddenly turned around and said "Shut up, it's obvious innit? He's Jamaican, he only plays well when the sun's out".

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Funnily enough the second sale of Davies was also very good for us. He was turning in awful performances on the occasions he was picked, seeming fat and lazy (but without MLT's regular moments of genius), but he was on enormous wages (about 20,000 a week which was loads back them) and a long contract. He was a drain on resources it looked like we'd never offload. It seemed incredible when Bolton actually bought him. Worked out very well for everyone.

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Probably 15million from a league 1 youngster last season. Never even kicked a ball in the 2nd tier and pulled arsene's panties down for the price of half the stadium we play in! I believe it's 12+3 to come but even so superb negotiation from NC. Kevin Davies also a massive money maker.

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Funnily enough the second sale of Davies was also very good for us. He was turning in awful performances on the occasions he was picked, seeming fat and lazy (but without MLT's regular moments of genius), but he was on enormous wages (about 20,000 a week which was loads back them) and a long contract. He was a drain on resources it looked like we'd never offload. It seemed incredible when Bolton actually bought him. Worked out very well for everyone.

 

They didn't buy him, he was released after his contract expired as far as I recall.

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Roughly in order, best at the top.

 

The Buys

Chaplow - £50k

Fuller - £90k

Pahars - £800k

Beattie - £1m

Lambert - £1m

Crouch - £2m

 

The Sells

Chamberlain - £15m

Richards - £8m

Davies - £7.5m

Beattie - £6m

Burley - Whatever Scotland paid for him :lol:

 

I'd still say that Kenwyne Jones should be in that list - £6M plus Stern John is an awful lot of money for a player we had signed for "a nominal fee" (I can't remember the precise amout)...

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If you are only measuring it by cost sold less original cost of purchase then Richards, and Kevin Davies are clearly out on their own.

If we're looking at cost and the benefits they've brought to the club then thats a different matter altogether, and off the top of my head I'd nominate:

Ron Davies - £60,000 , survival and more in the oldDiv One

Alan Ball - £50,000 - promotion to Div One, and establishing ourselves there playing some great football

John McGrath/Jimmy Gabriel - can't even recall the fee - inspired signings who helped steady a leaky defence, and become the 'Alehouse' team. Jimmy Case - £20,000 took over the Alan Ball role.

 

 

Agree with all those Badger and they were my era and so I recall them well.

of course, (as with a previous discussion about today's "actual value of money) Rory Delaps £4 million would be closer to £6 mill nowadays.

 

..the £60K we paid for Ron Davies in 1966 was a club record at that time, and so the Jimmy Gabriel fee ( £42,500 in August 67) was also a sizeable deal in those days.)

 

The idea of " writing off " players when they are past 30 - even in those days - was subject to error. Coming from Arsenal when he was 31 Alan Ball gave us great service until he was almost 36.... and then made a return again for a season two years later.

The others you mention (McGrath and Case), though different generations gave equally good service in their time - and we're well worth the investment (although the £30 K we paid for those two had less value in later years) - if you are purely comparing the financial aspect.

 

Both continued to play (at a lower level until they were almost 40) and were indeed very good players on their day.

 

However, MOST of the BEST, we've had cost ..NOTHING. Though they were spread out over a period of almost 40 years ...

Terry Paine, John Sydenham, Martin Chivers, Mick Channon, Nick Holmes, Steve Williams, Bobby Stokes, Steve Moran... and MLT all signed

for nothing....and managed almost 3,500 games between them !

 

sad to say, some of our biggest buys weren't so successful and are highly forgetable...except for the size of the fees we paid out.

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Walcott, Bridge??

 

I thought this was the best, not the most expensive?

 

Walcott was a class act in the Championship and has gone on to play for England several times. I'd have said £10m including all the add ons was a pretty reasonable price, as opposed to "great business" for Saints. On the other hand, £15m for a League 1 player is just insane money.

 

£7m for Bridge was a bit of a bargain for Chelsea I'd have said. Considering they then went on to pay £30m for Ashley Cole. I'd have said Bridge was as good as Cole when we sold him, but that's just my opinion.

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£7m for Bridge was a bit of a bargain for Chelsea I'd have said. Considering they then went on to pay £30m for Ashley Cole. I'd have said Bridge was as good as Cole when we sold him, but that's just my opinion.

 

Unless you value William Gallas at £25m they didn't pay £30m for Cole.

 

I agree Bridge was a bargain though, was very sad when he left.

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Roughly in order, best at the top.

 

The Buys

Chaplow - £50k

Fuller - £90k

Pahars - £800k

Beattie - £1m

Lambert - £1m

Crouch - £2m

 

The Sells

Chamberlain - £15m

Richards - £8m

Davies - £7.5m

Beattie - £6m

Burley - Whatever Scotland paid for him :lol:

 

+1 from me :D

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Getting £125,000 for Martin Chivers was a good bit of business (British record transfer fee at the time), we had Channon and Davies, and Chivers was never really the same again apart from a couple of seasons 71-73. Was even better that the money came form the Spuds. Very disappointed when it happened, but never really missed him in hindsight. On top of that we got Frank Saul as part of the deal (oh!).

 

More recently getting what we did for Kenwyne was not a bad piece of business especially as he didn't want to play for us.

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Mark Wright came from Oxford for next to nothing and went on to be England CH.

 

 

well - not quite ...In that deal we saw Trevor Hebberd, a good local product move the other way, and Oxford got an additional £80,000.

I seem to recall at the time, Wright was valued at £110K. It was a good deal when you consider he was capped for England 16 times whilst with Saints before moving to Derby for a then club record fee of £760,000 (5 years later).

 

***I think it was undervaluing Hebberd somewhat, who had been 5 years with the club from an apprentice and played 82 games + 31 subs. He was one of the squad but McMenemy considered that he wasn't " hungry enough " to be a permanent fixture.

Trevor later played 260 games for Oxford before moving onto Derby , a handful of games at Pompey, later Chesterfield and was still playing for Lincoln in 1995 (aged 37) ..before moving on to non-league Grantham. A pro. career spanning 19 years and over 500 games.

Edited by david in sweden
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Mickey Evans.

 

Yes of course, his remarkably short career helped us survive in Div.1 (1996-97).¨

 

Whilst we all recall Marian Pahars' part in the Great Escape of 1998-99, it was Micky Evans contribution at the end of 1996-97 that helped keep us up in Graham Souness' one season as Saints manager. Signed in March 97 (you could still sign then) he played only 8 games + 4 sub.apps - but scored 4 goals - (including two goals coming off the bench in a 3-1 win at Notts Forest), all of which earned us valuable points, and we managed to stay up by just one point.

 

Souness left in the summer(having already signed the young Kevin Davies (later Bolton) - but with Egil Ostenstad and David Hirst also on the books, new manager Dave Jones saw Micky as surplus to requirements, and we recouped the 750K fee when he moved to West Brom, but he eventually returned to his native Plymouth (where we bought him from in the first place), and ended his 500 game career as an Argyle legend.

 

Without Micky Evans' short, but extremely valuable career..Saints would have been relegated 9 years before they eventually went down (2005).

Edited by david in sweden
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Derek Reeves.....Purchased from Bournemouth Gas Works side.

 

Centre Forward and we woz cooking on gas thereafter:rolleyes He was great..

 

 

over 300 games and 173 goals in a 7 year period. 1955-1962 . His record later overtaken by strike partner George O'Brien.

 

Derek Reeves name still stands with the club record of 46 goals in 1959-60. (39 in the League and 4 goals in the FA Cup massacre of Div.1 side Man.City AWAY - January 1960). Quite remarkable in that he scored those 39 in 29 of the 46 League games.

 

His scoring consistancy was awesome.

 

He scored in 6 consecutive games TWICE that season,and had a purple patch of 11 in 5 games in Sept/Oct ..incl.2 hat-tricks., and scored 4 in a game v. Swindon.

Edited by david in sweden
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