CONFIRMED - Mane joins Liverpool for £34m + £2m addons

[Batman]

Got to admit I forgot their Europa run, but they've gone backwards consistently in the premier league

 

penalty shoot-out from winning the cup they absolutely dumped us out of

[doddisalegend]

what the hell?

 

Liverpool fans have a very different outlook to us. If the roles were reversed we would have creamed ourselves for two cup finals and 8th but when you Liverpool fan it's just another season with no silverware.

[david in sweden]

The second coming of Ali Dia.

 

My God what a dreadful performance tonight, his finishing is Southern Conference level at best. Can't pass, can't shoot, no positional sense at all. Fed up seeing him on his @rse after shanking yet another shot. The worst player on the pitch yet again today.

 

The worst $10M we've spent since Ramirez (who's not a bad player but not worth the money), and Osvaldo (who's not a bad player, just a head case).

 

 

interestingly ......with a thread this long, I took a look back at the OP to see what that said ....and guess what......another false prophet.

 

almost as outrageous as that poster who wanted to sell Shane Long in January to get some cash in for strengthening the team.

[doddisalegend]

You mean like they have sold Vardy? If Mane was there he would currently have a. Very decent wage rise sat in front of him to encourage him to stay.

 

He has. He'd be the highest paid player in the clubs history. He simply doesn't want to stay and wants to play for an elite level club, ideally MUFC. His agent expects a salary of an elite level player.

 

Worth quoting If VFTT is ITK we offered Mane a very good contract and he chose to leave anyway ....not sure what else the club could do

[Pilchards]

I understand it's a great model plan to buy someone and sell them on for treble the price, yes great business indeed.

This is the bit that annoys me.

 

Saints say not for sell unless it's 40m.

Liverpool offer 30m and we refuse it.

They return with 32m and then it becomes a done deal.

Liverpool's no 1 target was Mane and they would of paid 40m for him.

We were soft in the end and we will continue to sell to Liverpool once they show interest in any of our players.

VVD and Bertrand will end up there for season 2017,18 if Liverpool want them.

[Pilchards]

Worth quoting If VFTT is ITK we offered Mane a very good contract and he chose to leave anyway ....not sure what else the club could do

 

I bet Reed wished he tried harder to keep Mopo as he is so looking for a model of him now.

Some players and staff are worth fighting for even if it's above your usual wage structure.

I hope we don't regret selling Mane as he puts bum on seats and breaks down the opposition.

[david in sweden]

I understand it's a great model plan to buy someone and sell them on for treble the price, yes great business indeed.

This is the bit that annoys me.

 

Saints say not for sell unless it's 40m.

Liverpool offer 30m and we refuse it.

They return with 32m and then it becomes a done deal.

Liverpool's no 1 target was Mane and they would of paid 40m for him.

We were soft in the end and we will continue to sell to Liverpool once they show interest in any of our players.

VVD and Bertrand will end up there for season 2017,18 if Liverpool want them.

 

the actual amount may not be published, but there maybe future "add-on's" that kick in periodically ......and maybe a sell-on clause(?)

[david in sweden]

I bet Reed wished he tried harder to keep Mopo as he is so looking for a model of him now.

Some players and staff are worth fighting for even if it's above your usual wage structure.

I hope we don't regret selling Mane as he puts bum on seats and breaks down the opposition.

 

If Saints have got it right (?)......Nathan Redmond may go some way to redressing the balance.

[Pilchards]

the actual amount may not be published, but there maybe future "add-on's" that kick in periodically ......and maybe a sell-on clause(?)

 

Cant remember the last sell-on clause we have done other than flogging off the Bale one for a crap keeper.

[david in sweden]

Cant remember the last sell-on clause we have done other than flogging off the Bale one for a crap keeper.

 

maybe ......none of the defectors have gone further in their careers, and no-one has been sold on yet.......

 

(I'm not counting Lambert's later move onto WBA.....that was already a win-win situation from day 1.)

[doddisalegend]

I bet Reed wished he tried harder to keep Mopo as he is so looking for a model of him now.

Some players and staff are worth fighting for even if it's above your usual wage structure.

I hope we don't regret selling Mane as he puts bum on seats and breaks down the opposition.

 

 

We ( according to VFTT) offered Mane a contract to make him the highest paid player in club history what more do you want?

[doddisalegend]

Man u just about to sign the Bundesliga player of the season (18 goals and 25 assists) for 26 million Dortmund paid 23 million for him

 

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/10326082/henrikh-mkhitaryan-to-manchester-united-transfer-at-advanced-stage

 

Puts Mane's fee in some context

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Let's hope we do a better job at replacing Wanyama and Mane than we did last summer when it came to replacing Schneiderlin and Clyne.

 

When good players leave many are quick to highlight that player's shortcomings and I see there are quite a few on here pointing out Mane was inconsistent. While not denying he had an off period during last season I thought there were times when he was virtually unplayable and those sort of players do not grow on trees. He is a bargain at £32m and replacing him will be very tricky (please tell me Redmond is not regarded as his replacement). You simply cannot to sell the likes of Mane Wanyama Clyne etc etc and expect a black box to find like for like replacements. Sooner or later that policy can only lead to regression.

 

But how do you hold onto these want away players - silly wages seems to be the answer and one this club won't countenance having been caught out once before. For what its worth I think we will struggle in the bottom half next season and I will be happy to just stay up, now and maybe have a small run in the Europa Cup. You can accuse me of having a low expectations or being over negative and hopefully I am being too pessimistic, but that is what happens when over 2 years you lose as many managers and a host of top players. Football today is a predatory, dog eat dog business and older fans such as myself can surely be excused yearning for the days when we were able to hold onto Europe's finest centre-forward season after season.

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

[corky morris]

What is it that people don't get? We have chosen a path of sustainable growth. We have the stability of a billionaire owner, but the club must pay its own way. We can afford to buy £30m players, but we can buy for £10m and sell for £30m, and re-invest the proceeds in further development. The squad continues to develop, the club continues to grow, both on and off the pitch. Our profile now, globally, is higher than it's ever been, but we can't yet compete with the likes of Liverpool.

 

Some may not like it, but patience and sustainable growth are our watchwords. Not as exciting as some would like, but it means we should never suffer the ignominy of plummeting to L1 (or God forbid, L2) again.

 

The sale of Mané follows the path and strategy previously set out. It should be no surprise, particularly where it is apparent that the player doesn't see his future here.

 

#WeMeltOn

 

Exactly.

Its the reason some of these players sign in the first place. Our pitch probably goes -"do well for us for 2 or 3 seasons & then you can double your wages & play CL football for a top 4 club". FFS, we cant even fill our average size stadium every week, let alone compete with salaries at £100k+ pw for squad players.

Mane can be excellent, but he can also be pretty average too. £32m is an outstanding deal & I reckon we believe Redmond can do a similar job for a third of the price.

[alpine_saint]

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

 

This is where I think we are at.

 

I think overall KL and Les have done a brilliant job at rejuvenating the fortunes of this club, and I will be forever grateful. But I fear their approach is rapidly nearing the end of the line. We've lost 2 key players, and still dont have a Scooby about who our manager will be - again. Lightning doesnt strike twice in the same place, and this shouldnt be happening at a club achieving its highest PL finish and entering the group stage of the Europa League, especially to clubs who finished below us and have no Europe this season.

 

Its clear the rest of the PL see us as some cheeky upstart interlopers and a soft touch at the negotiating table.

 

I think the club needs a new owner and a new approach. Otherwise we might as well give up / go back to seeing football as a drunken afternoon in the stand with yer mates.

[angelman]

FF, with managers, you aren't totally right. Most teams have them come and go with just as much frequency and seem to do OK.

 

As for pessimistic, there is part of me that wants relegation as then I can give up on football completely.

 

We March On (supposedly). I've got the Monday morning blues. .

[Baird of the land]

That's a frustrating sale. Was hoping personally we'd keep him the extra year and sell for 11/12M next year.

I can sort of see the logic with it being african nations year and it being abundantly clear that he wouldn't sign a new contract.

Still replacing someone who can be a devastating game changer is going to be extremely hard. Black Box has some major work cut out for it. As someone else said i severely hope Redmond isn't considered the like for like replacement.

[jawillwill]

This is where I think we are at.

 

I think overall KL and Les have done a brilliant job at rejuvenating the fortunes of this club, and I will be forever grateful. But I fear their approach is rapidly nearing the end of the line. We've lost 2 key players, and still dont have a Scooby about who our manager will be - again. Lightning doesnt strike twice in the same place, and this shouldnt be happening at a club achieving its highest PL finish and entering the group stage of the Europa League, especially to clubs who finished below us and have no Europe this season.

 

Its clear the rest of the PL see us as some cheeky upstart interlopers and a soft touch at the negotiating table.

 

I think the club needs a new owner and a new approach. Otherwise we might as well give up / go back to seeing football as a drunken afternoon in the stand with yer mates.

 

Just to be clear, over the last few years you've been relatively happy?

[alpine_saint]

Just to be clear, over the last few years you've been relatively happy?

 

Who can argue with the results ?

 

I think the way the club behaves and communicates over the summer whilst expecting the fans to renew season tickets is f**king abysmal, however.

[corky morris]

When good players leave many are quick to highlight that player's shortcomings and I see there are quite a few on here pointing out Mane was inconsistent. While not denying he had an off period during last season I thought there were times when he was virtually unplayable and those sort of players do not grow on trees. He is a bargain at £32m and replacing him will be very tricky (please tell me Redmond is not regarded as his replacement). You simply cannot to sell the likes of Mane Wanyama Clyne etc etc and expect a black box to find like for like replacements. Sooner or later that policy can only lead to regression.

 

But how do you hold onto these want away players - silly wages seems to be the answer and one this club won't countenance having been caught out once before. For what its worth I think we will struggle in the bottom half next season and I will be happy to just stay up, now and maybe have a small run in the Europa Cup. You can accuse me of having a low expectations or being over negative and hopefully I am being too pessimistic, but that is what happens when over 2 years you lose as many managers and a host of top players. Football today is a predatory, dog eat dog business and older fans such as myself can surely be excused yearning for the days when we were able to hold onto Europe's finest centre-forward season after season.

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

 

I don't think you will find many that disagree with too much of that (personally think we will be mid table 8th-12th), but it is exactly what we are. I don't want us bunging £150k pw on a player. We have already copped a couple of bullets in Ramirez & Osvaldo. I believe the model includes that & its a reason we haven't gone back to Italy for South American players.

 

And the most important part. If we go down, we go down with a more sustainable model than many other teams. The alternative, is to pay massive wages & with a capacity of 33000 & the revenue we have we simply cant sustain.

[CB Fry]

This is where I think we are at.

 

I think overall KL and Les have done a brilliant job at rejuvenating the fortunes of this club, and I will be forever grateful. But I fear their approach is rapidly nearing the end of the line. We've lost 2 key players, and still dont have a Scooby about who our manager will be - again. Lightning doesnt strike twice in the same place, and this shouldnt be happening at a club achieving its highest PL finish and entering the group stage of the Europa League, especially to clubs who finished below us and have no Europe this season.

 

Its clear the rest of the PL see us as some cheeky upstart interlopers and a soft touch at the negotiating table.

 

I think the club needs a new owner and a new approach. Otherwise we might as well give up / go back to seeing football as a drunken afternoon in the stand with yer mates.

You know what I like? Twirl Bites. They're like a normal Twirl but smaller and in little pieces. Plus they come in big-ish bags where you can buy three or four at a time.

[jawillwill]

Who can argue with the results ?

.

 

You, usually.

[Pengi]

Let's hope we do a better job at replacing Wanyama and Mane than we did last summer when it came to replacing Schneiderlin and Clyne.

 

Regarding Clyne, we have a Portuguese international player already at the club. Ok he had a mixed first season and with a year of Prem experience under his belt, he can be as good as Clyne. Hopefully the new manager will help his development too.

[Smirking_Saint]

When good players leave many are quick to highlight that player's shortcomings and I see there are quite a few on here pointing out Mane was inconsistent. While not denying he had an off period during last season I thought there were times when he was virtually unplayable and those sort of players do not grow on trees. He is a bargain at £32m and replacing him will be very tricky (please tell me Redmond is not regarded as his replacement). You simply cannot to sell the likes of Mane Wanyama Clyne etc etc and expect a black box to find like for like replacements. Sooner or later that policy can only lead to regression.

 

But how do you hold onto these want away players - silly wages seems to be the answer and one this club won't countenance having been caught out once before. For what its worth I think we will struggle in the bottom half next season and I will be happy to just stay up, now and maybe have a small run in the Europa Cup. You can accuse me of having a low expectations or being over negative and hopefully I am being too pessimistic, but that is what happens when over 2 years you lose as many managers and a host of top players. Football today is a predatory, dog eat dog business and older fans such as myself can surely be excused yearning for the days when we were able to hold onto Europe's finest centre-forward season after season.

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

 

Spot on

[saintadjg]

Please not Scousehampton. What is the Merseyside obsession with the south coast. I would rather let his contract expire than sell him to them(unless it was a truly obscene fee which it clearly isn’t)

[Gemmel]

Hi, forum newbie here. Ive been following saints for 25 years now and i can quite honestly say the following:

 

This is the best period of success we have had in my time as a fan.

 

Reed and leihberr are the only constants during the last 5 years

 

We all knew deep down mane and vic and maybe even pelle would be off this summer.

 

We have always replaced well, every move is carried out with careful consideration for the best of the club. Would you all rather we throw money around on a team of osvaldos??

 

Welcome.

 

Completely agree with everything you say, however frustrating it might me.

[FloridaMarlin]

When good players leave many are quick to highlight that player's shortcomings and I see there are quite a few on here pointing out Mane was inconsistent. While not denying he had an off period during last season I thought there were times when he was virtually unplayable and those sort of players do not grow on trees. He is a bargain at £32m and replacing him will be very tricky (please tell me Redmond is not regarded as his replacement). You simply cannot to sell the likes of Mane Wanyama Clyne etc etc and expect a black box to find like for like replacements. Sooner or later that policy can only lead to regression.

 

But how do you hold onto these want away players - silly wages seems to be the answer and one this club won't countenance having been caught out once before. For what its worth I think we will struggle in the bottom half next season and I will be happy to just stay up, now and maybe have a small run in the Europa Cup. You can accuse me of having a low expectations or being over negative and hopefully I am being too pessimistic, but that is what happens when over 2 years you lose as many managers and a host of top players. Football today is a predatory, dog eat dog business and older fans such as myself can surely be excused yearning for the days when we were able to hold onto Europe's finest centre-forward season after season.

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

 

There was no freedom of movement at the end of a contract in those days. A club was able to hold on to a player's registration

 

Clubs like Saints held the whip hand even over the likes of Manchester United and Matt Busby back then if they did not want to sell a player now.

 

It's a different ball game now when you know a player can leave when his contract is up.

[Professor]

Not sorry to see Mané go for a fee of that size. Of course he has made some tremendous contributions to the team, such as the record hat-trick and some of his important goals but there was his lengthy goal drought last season and he wasn't always a certain starter for the team. Sometimes he gave the impression that he had no enthusiasm for the club, which may have affected his performance. Being a gifted player is one thing but good players also need to have a motivation that at times, Mané appeared to lack.

 

The club's record in spending transfer income, is that players are recruited who are as good or better than those who have gone so this may well be a forward step. Not every transfer in is successful but the majority have been. A keen and eager Mané would have continued to be an asset to the side but with the apathy he sometimes shown, he had become replaceable.

[Avenue_Saint]

No one loses players like we do. No one. Pathetic.

[hypochondriac]

I think the statement that mane is replaceable will come back to bite some people on the bum. He's one of the best attacking players we have ever had and will be sorely missed.

[Chez]

No one loses players like we do. No one. Pathetic.

No one our size has found players like we have done in recent times. No one. Outstanding.

 

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[scotty]

Regarding Clyne, we have a Portuguese international player already at the club. Ok he had a mixed first season and with a year of Prem experience under his belt, he can be as good as Clyne. Hopefully the new manager will help his development too.

 

I'd agree with that. He was excellent against Croatia, and improving quickly at Saints now he's getting used to the prem.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Don't have an issue with losing Mane.

 

Don't have an issue with losing Mane to Liverpool.

 

Do have an issue with losing Mane to Liverpool for £30m.

 

We don't need the money so that should drive the fee higher. We are a Premier League club selling to another Premier League club so that should drive the fee higher. The only thing that would impact the fee is two years left on his deal but if he were to depreciate by £15m a season and we 'only' sold him for £15m next summer I'd happily take that hit. We've just sold one of our best players for relatively cheap and I don't understand why. Hopefully more details emerge.

 

At least it is happening quickly and then once he is gone we get the new Manager in and a few signings and we can have a quiet August.

[JxgrSaint]

Man u just about to sign the Bundesliga player of the season (18 goals and 25 assists) for 26 million Dortmund paid 23 million for him

 

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/10326082/henrikh-mkhitaryan-to-manchester-united-transfer-at-advanced-stage

 

Puts Mane's fee in some context

 

Year left on his contract though...

[UpweySaint]

Plan, growth, reality of football etc etc ... sure in time I can rationally make peace with this deal but sometimes it is tricky being a saints fan. Loved watching Mane play too, as others have said lad had real x factor about him that so few do.

 

Yes we are punching above our weight and can't complain but losing a core of a side every season is bloody depressing.

 

Off on holiday for a week - hopefully by the time I come back we will have Puel in and the black box magic will have whirred into motion once more.

[Saint Fan CaM]

I did actually think he might stay, but of course when it comes to Liverpool (Sammy's secret spiritual home) Les will bend over and let the squad get pillaged. £32m is a reasonable price for him to be honest - even though he could show signs of brilliance, he was frustratingly inconsistent. Perhaps Les knows Mane will add to the ex-Saints players that have managed to drag Liverpool backwards - he knows the business better than any of us.

 

I am trying to keep calm and wait for the new manager and quality replacements to arrive. If Redmond is supposed to do the same job as Mane though, I fear for next season.

[Daft Kerplunk]

There was no freedom of movement at the end of a contract in those days. A club was able to hold on to a player's registration

 

Clubs like Saints held the whip hand even over the likes of Manchester United and Matt Busby back then if they did not want to sell a player now.

 

It's a different ball game now when you know a player can leave when his contract is up.

 

Clubs also had much closer income levels relative to now, we used to get a share of gate receipts when we played at Old Trafford etc. and that's a key difference. Success from the mid to late 80s when the big money started pouring into the game or having a billionaire injecting seriously big money into a club changed the landscape completely.

[Roo1976]

Sooner or later that policy can only lead to regression.

 

But how do you hold onto these want away players

 

I am not having a go at the Board, it's difficult, may impossible for them, but if you keep playing Russian roulette one day you will cop a bullet.

I completely agree mate .We have been extremly fortunate of late over the last 2 seasons,VVD and Forster will be next seasons departures that is if we manage to keep a good show up this season,after all yet another new manager might not be so lucky with how things pan out for what ever reason .Like i posted a while back our last 7-8 fixtures fell just at the right moment for us and most of the games apart from the Everton one were all very much ours. We need sustainable teams and that includes a good strong managerial one.

[View From The Top]

No one loses players like we do. No one. Pathetic.

 

We are losing the 2 players we all knew we would be losing. If it's coming as a shock to you you are even dumber than I suspected.

 

We'd given VW over a year to sign a contract, he'd said no, I am a CL player and want to play at a PL club.

 

We'd offered Mane the best contract ever drafted by the club and he said no as he wants to play at at "Elite" level club.

 

It'll happen again, get used to it as we aren't a CL/Elite level club and we won't pay CL/Elite salary and nor should we.

[Avenue_Saint]

We are losing the 2 players we all knew we would be losing. If it's coming as a shock to you you are even dumber than I suspected.

 

We'd given VW over a year to sign a contract, he'd said no, I am a CL player and want to play at a PL club.

 

We'd offered Mane the best contract ever drafted by the club and he said no as he wants to play at at "Elite" level club.

 

It'll happen again, get used to it as we aren't a CL/Elite level club and we won't pay CL/Elite salary and nor should we.

 

Dumber than you expected? You are the biggest ***** going on here. Keyboard warrior, needing a thorough seeing to in *real life.

 

****ing bell end.

[Crab Lungs]

It's gutting but what can we do? Literally the only thing we can do is trust that he'll be replaced with similar quality. There's no guarantee in that of course, but there are hundreds of thousands of professional footballers in the world so there's plenty of opportunity to find someone decent.

 

Pretty used to where we are in the food chain now..

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Edit: actually not going to call out names on the forum.

Edited 27 June, 2016 by Unbelievable Jeff

[View From The Top]

Dumber than you expected? You are the biggest ***** going on here. Keyboard warrior, needing a thorough seeing to in *real life.

 

****ing bell end.

 

Bless you treacle you little pudding. So sweet for someone so, so stupid.

[SO16_Saint]

Southampton FC are a feeder club? Yes, yes we are. But so are Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City - hell, even Bayern Munich are a feeder club. Pretty much 99.9% of the clubs in the world are feeder clubs... up to probably the only 2 that arent; Real Madrid and Barcelona.

 

I find it baffling that people dont understand that - either that, or they have a massively over inflated view of the club and have grandiose delusions.

 

I prefer to think of it like this:

 

If we have a player (and manager) for 2/3/4 seasons and they move on to their next club (a club in the bracket above us) - it can only mean that those 2/3/4 prevailing seasons have been a success, and we too have progressed up our own "bracket".

 

We should be embracing and celebrating the fact.

 

As Oscar Wilde said: "imitation is the greatest form of flattery"

[Saint_Ash]

Dumber than you expected? You are the biggest ***** going on here. Keyboard warrior, needing a thorough seeing to in *real life.

 

****ing bell end.

 

[ErwinK1961]

As disappointing as it is to lose Mane, I'd made my peace with the fact he was going towards the end of the season - hopefully the club can pull another gem out of the bag.

 

What does get my goat is how bad/naive we still are at PR - don't release to the press that we won't entertain a bid less than £40m, then sell him for £32m before the window's even open!

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Let's hope we do a better job at replacing Wanyama and Mane than we did last summer when it came to replacing Schneiderlin and Clyne.

 

Yet we improved our leagur position from previous year and had record PL points total....terrible

[ALWAYS_SFC]

No one loses players like we do. No one. Pathetic.

 

No Forum wets beds like we do..

[OldNick]

What is it that people don't get? We have chosen a path of sustainable growth. We have the stability of a billionaire owner, but the club must pay its own way. We can afford to buy £30m players, but we can buy for £10m and sell for £30m, and re-invest the proceeds in further development. The squad continues to develop, the club continues to grow, both on and off the pitch. Our profile now, globally, is higher than it's ever been, but we can't yet compete with the likes of Liverpool.

 

Some may not like it, but patience and sustainable growth are our watchwords. Not as exciting as some would like, but it means we should never suffer the ignominy of plummeting to L1 (or God forbid, L2) again.

 

The sale of Mané follows the path and strategy previously set out. It should be no surprise, particularly where it is apparent that the player doesn't see his future here.

 

#WeMeltOn

the only sustainable growth is Katrinas bank balance. We are a cash cow and whilst we are delighted to finish 7th and think that is some kind of achievement it will carry on. At least the club dont have to employ a cleaner for the trophy room.

[doddisalegend]

Year left on his contract though...

 

 

True so its good money from that point of view but his goals and assists stats are way above Mane's and he was Bundesliga player of the season so he looks a bargain compared to Mane.