How do you solve a problem like Van Dijk

[5string]

MERSE SAYS: People will look at Southampton and say they've kept Virgil van Dijk, but I honestly don't think he will play. They have kept an unhappy player and after everything that has gone on there I'd be shocked if he gets back in the team and I think they will get rid of him in January when someone will pay silly money. They've bought him for little money, so why not go and make a massive profit? They were just determined not to let Liverpool have him

 

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15205/11014124/mersons-transfer-window-grades

 

He also said [regarding Barkley] that you can't live in Liverpool your whole life.

 

Ok, so I can agree with him on one thing

[SO16_Saint]

https://socceronsunday.com/article/van-dijk-signs-for-liverpool/

[JRM]

shame we haven't got a u23 game until 11th September, would make sense to select VVD for one of those.

 

I reckon we'll aim to play him at Palace rather than Watford anyway, will be easier to play away from home without the focus of the home crowd.

[egg]

https://socceronsunday.com/article/van-dijk-signs-for-liverpool/

 

Cheers, I knew he'd put pen to paper!

 

Perov Balls though ?

[Saint Billy]

https://socceronsunday.com/article/van-dijk-signs-for-liverpool/

 

Very funny, thanks for that

[Professor]

The club is doing OK, firstly by conducting its discussions with the player in private. This has denied the agent any ammunition with which to attack the club. The relationship with the player is entirely governed by the contract which is all that needs to be pointed out. Future events are completely unknown, making it impossible to commit to any future decision. In the next five years it might never be in the club's interests to allow early termination meaning that the player may be here until 2022. Van Dijk could continue saying he doesn't feel up to playing or pretending to play badly but if so, it's likely he'd have to achieve his incredible ambitions playing for the under-23s. The club has indicated it will wait for him to come to his senses and with time on it's side, it's difficult to see the club changing that stance. Reintegration into the squad must be the most probable outcome but giving the club, and the player, the problem of how to overcome hostility amongst the fans.

[tisspahars]

Surely the fans need to do their bit here - almost to a man they have said they don't want the board to cave in and definitely not to Liverpool and the board has held firm. If when he is integrated back in the crowd boos his every touch and makes his position untenable then what was it all for?

[ericofarabia]

Surely the fans need to do their bit here - almost to a man they have said they don't want the board to cave in and definitely not to Liverpool and the board has held firm. If when he is integrated back in the crowd boos his every touch and makes his position untenable then what was it all for?

 

This very much indeed, however first and foremost VVD needs to make a humble meaningful apology to the club, manager, team mates and fans for his behaviour and promise to give 100% from now on in,

and show total commitment to reintegrating whilst still here. Calling his agent an absolute Thunderkhunt would help too

[max_saints]

So lets say he decides he can't play for the whole season that would make it 18 odd months since he kicked a ball in an actual game. How many big clubs are going to be looking to sign a player who hasn't played a game for 18 months and we still don't have to sell him next summer either. At the end of the day VVD ultimately ends up harming his own career more by not playing than he does saints.

 

Don't let him move until we get a satisfactory season worth of committed performances from him if not he can leave on a free when he's 30+, probably West Ham would still want him

[angelman]

Frankly, I couldn't really care what he does or doesn't want. He has behaved like a total ****, and still does. Even if he wanted to force a move, you do what you are paid for until you get that move so should have been playing. Behaving like a **** hasn't endeared himself to me, and I like the way the club has acted, even if some consider it cutting our nose off to spite our face. If he doesn't play again for us, so be it. We showed we had some balls and weren't going to be shafted by Wasserman and Liverpool, both whose actions leave a fair bit to be desired. If he does come back, I will be exceedingly disappointed if he get's the captain's armband.

[red&white56]

Surely the fans need to do their bit here - almost to a man they have said they don't want the board to cave in and definitely not to Liverpool and the board has held firm. If when he is integrated back in the crowd boos his every touch and makes his position untenable then what was it all for?

 

You make a good point and I will not boo him.

[stevy777_x]

You make a good point and I will not boo him.

 

Agree, if we have decided to keep him, let's make the most out of it and not boo him.

Yes he has been unprofessional, but once players wear the shirt, we all want them to succeed as it means the team has the most chance to win the game, so let's get behind every single one of them (or if some can't do that, just stay quiet and not boo him)

[simo]

Agree, if we have decided to keep him, let's make the most out of it and not boo him.

Yes he has been unprofessional, but once players wear the shirt, we all want them to succeed as it means the team has the most chance to win the game, so let's get behind every single one of them (or if some can't do that, just stay quiet and not boo him)

I'll be booing the **** until he puts in a performance worthy of his name being sung , Do you really expect fans to just forget the disrespect he's shown towards us and the club ?

[altoniansaints]

Fans should not "boo" him however we should not sing his name like we used to either! IF and its a Big IF we can integrate him back into the first team then it will be good for the team.

 

If he then plays poorly to force a move then drop him down to the U23 and surely we could sue him for any loss in his value? (think i read somewhere this morning that Chelsea had threatened to sue Costa)

[stevy777_x]

I'll be booing the **** until he puts in a performance worthy of his name being sung , Do you really expect fans to just forget the disrespect he's shown towards us and the club ?

 

I'm just saying it would be counter productive from a 'Southampton' perspective ie: the club and the fans.

Plus i'm more of the mentality that if someone does something bad to you, i'm not going to do the same thing to him as I am above that, that's more my culture and the way I was raised.

He didn't get his move so has to deal with it and play for us, so let's make sure he performs to his best so that we can all benefit from it.

 

Booing him is not going to help him nor the club.

[trousers]

I'll be booing the ****

 

[Appy]

People will boo the first game he's back, he'll put in a decent performance and no one will care anymore, it's what happens.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Any one who boos one of their own players is an idiot

equally if anyone sings his name they are the same

[beatlesaint]

Any one who boos one of their own players is an idiot

equally if anyone sings his name they are the same

 

Therefore anyone who does anything other than sit there totally detached from the whole thing is an idiot then ?

umm

[Saint Albert]

Whatever happens, VVD made this happen (with the assistance of his agency and Liverpool) so he needs to put on his big boy trousers and face up to it like a man. I don't have any sympathy for him.

 

I personally hope there's no booing, purely because it is not in the best interests of the club. Greeting him with silence or a tepid, frosty round of applause would be OK for me.

[way down south]

I think mahrez is an example to all prats who wanna leave and act like children while they're at it. Wanting and asking to leave is one thing but disrespecting the club and its fans by refusing to play and refusing to give your all to a club and fans who gave you their all is a whole other thing.

 

I mean its all reasonable to say a footballers career is short as its less than a decade that you're at your peak, but spending 1 more season here while being paid a fortune and all the while raising your stock and probably increasing your chances of moving to an even bigger club than the dippers? How in the f*#k is that too much to ask.

I just hope that he's not as stupid as his actions suggest and realises that him staying here playing out of his skin and helping us get into europe and still moving to a real madrid or some such before his 27th birthday is actually a brilliant thing for him.

[Dalek2003]

You should always put the club first. It would look very bad to boo one of your own players and will not help in any reconcile the issue.

 

If the boo boys had given Glenn Hoddle a chance in 2004 we probably would have continued our 26 year unbroken run in the top league.

[simo]

You should always put the club first. It would look very bad to boo one of your own players and will not help in any reconcile the issue.

 

If the boo boys had given Glenn Hoddle a chance in 2004 we probably would have continued our 26 year unbroken run in the top league.

 

Ok Eileen !

[suewhistle]

My disabled friends would probably disagree with you..

[suewhistle]

We could always do an oblique chant, which expresses the fans' feelings but doesn't get nasty to the player. How about:

 

"We hate your ****ing agent"..

[DuncanRG]

I think mahrez is an example to all prats who wanna leave and act like children while they're at it. Wanting and asking to leave is one thing but disrespecting the club and its fans by refusing to play and refusing to give your all to a club and fans who gave you their all is a whole other thing.

 

To be fair, Mahrez is a poor example to those guys because he didn't get his move and may well have done if he'd been a prat.

[Pilchards]

Ok Eileen !

 

Ha ha Simo, probably is.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Mahrez has been pretty average since wanting away

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CB Fry]

Whatever happens we're fine until January - we've signed a front line centre back, Yoshi is as good a third-banana CB as a team like us can get in the Prem, and young Jack has a half season behind him in the top flight and is coping very well. Plus we have Bednerak and Gardos if we are suddenly hit by an injury crisis.

 

So if VVD refuses to lift a finger we just can act like he's injured and cope perfectly well.

 

Of course a fit and performing Virgil can take the team up a notch but if we don't have him it's a storm we can weather.

[OttawaSaint]

You should always put the club first. It would look very bad to boo one of your own players and will not help in any reconcile the issue.

 

If the boo boys had given Glenn Hoddle a chance in 2004 we probably would have continued our 26 year unbroken run in the top league.

 

Then we'd probably never had the Liebherr era. Well done those boo boys for their foresight!

[Gingeletiss]

The thing about booing, is that it will affect the whole team, and not just VVD, so it is counter productive imho.

[angelman]

Never booed any player in a Saints shirt, and not likely to start now regardless of how much of a tool he has been.

[cellone]

How do you get VvD sorted out?

 

Boo, don't boo but don't sing, look elsewhere when he has the ball. ffs

[BARCELONASAINT]

I don't care how many good performances the snake puts in between now and the eventual move he gets...I will never cheer his name. I will also never boo him because if I am unfortunate enough to see the slime ball wearing our kit again I couldn't bring myself to boo someone wearing the Saints shirt.

I cannot put into words how much I despise everything about VVD and the way he has treated the club and fans that allow him the elite lifestyle he has.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Therefore anyone who does anything other than sit there totally detached from the whole thing is an idiot then ?

umm

 

I meant VVD...sorry for the lack of clarificaton

[darren2]

Certainly wouldn't think bad of someone who does boo him. He's been a tool and should know it. However, I'll not clap him when he comes on, and not sing his name anymore. If someone does boo him on his first tough then fine, but let it go after that.

[benjii]

Walk out every time he gets on the ball.

[Shroppie]

If he is going to play, would be best if his first game is away from St Mary's.

 

I won't boo him. I will quietly assess whether he's giving 100%

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Nordic Saint]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

[CWD]

Never booed any player in a Saints shirt, and not likely to start now regardless of how much of a tool he has been.

 

This. We as fans should rise above it and be the bigger man.

 

A reminder of a quote from Schniederlin:

 

“But I sensed from the hierarchy at Southampton that they were not going to let me leave. They would prefer to leave me lying in the gutter for six months, if necessary. So I started training, I tried enjoying my football again and I was made to play against Liverpool on the opening day. At Anfield all the Southampton fans applauded me and chanted my name. That warmed my heart. I knew then that I would spend the season here".

[OldNick]

It would be a case of cutting off our noses to spite our faces to boo him. As long as he comes back and shows desire then we should back him. At the end of the day the better he does the better the gets a return and in principle can invest more once he leaves

[ALWAYS_SFC]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

 

Oh dear......

[farawaysaint]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

 

Well there was the explicit transfer request that was not exactly complimentary...

[tajjuk]

Mahrez has been pretty average since wanting away

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No he hasn't at all, already has 2 assists in 3 games and has a 7.45 rating on whoscored. Which is considerably higher than any of our players.

[tajjuk]

Double post

[doddisalegend]

I won't boo any player wearing the shirt if they are on the pitch playing for us they get my support. Booing is just counter productive during a game.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

I wonder when we'll find out if the re-integration process has begun? I think I read he was expected at training today but I wonder if that will be a continuation of his solo training or he's accepted he'll be here until January at least and he's back with the remaining first team (who aren't away on international duty). Surely he'll need at least a couple of u23 games before he can be considered for first team action, having not played since January, if his mindset is to get his head down and get on with it.

[Depressed of Shirley]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

 

Back on with the I hate Les Reed stuff again. Let it go

[sadoldgit]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

 

What did the club leak? His rather unpleasant utterings when he demanded a transfer? The fact that he refused to play for the team paying him a fortune. Not negative? Really? Why would you not be ****ed off with van Dijk for his actions and be happy with Reed for keeping a quality CB for another season or two? You seem to have your priorities mixed.

[Micky]

I've never particularly liked van Dijk but has he actrally said or done anything negative? All of this seems to have come about from the club washing its dirty linen in public again through a series of well placed leaks. The same has happened with so many players and managers before always with the effect that some of our fans are left hating our players and viewing Les Reed as their hero.

 

Get a life mate, honestly.