Armel Bella-Kotchap

[Suhari]

18 minutes ago, Dellyears said:

I'd rather the Club got £10m

Hmmmm. An interesting discussion.

If we signed him from elsewhere, for that fee, we'd likely be very excited and happy.

Right now ABK is a very 'Saintsy' signing: young, has some quality, couple of international caps, arguably lost his way a little, but likely to improve a fair bit. I reckon we'd be pretty happy to sign him.

So I say keep him, and reap the benefits. If he wants to, he'll be worth much more than £10M in a season.

[Saint_clark]

25 minutes ago, Dellyears said:

I'd rather the Club got £10m

And sign who with it?

[Dman]

9 hours ago, Suhari said:

Hmmmm. An interesting discussion.

If we signed him from elsewhere, for that fee, we'd likely be very excited and happy.

Right now ABK is a very 'Saintsy' signing: young, has some quality, couple of international caps, arguably lost his way a little, but likely to improve a fair bit. I reckon we'd be pretty happy to sign him.

So I say keep him, and reap the benefits. If he wants to, he'll be worth much more than £10M in a season.

He doesn't want to be here. If he wanted to be here, he'd be first choice. 

It'll be interesting to see if he doesn't go, how soon it'll be before he's in the side though. Gut says he'll move on loan to the contenent though. 

[austsaint]

4 minutes ago, Dman said:

He doesn't want to be here. If he wanted to be here, he'd be first choice. 

It'll be interesting to see if he doesn't go, how soon it'll be before he's in the side though. Gut says he'll move on loan to the contenent though. 

You are probably right.     It looked like the 30 minutes v Cardiff was shop window rather than the first steps to redemption.   My preference would be that  RM wipes the slate clean and gets the best out of a clearly talented young CB.  A successful redemption of ABK on RM's cv would look pretty good.

[sfc4prem]

2 minutes ago, austsaint said:

You are probably right.     It looked like the 30 minutes v Cardiff was shop window rather than the first steps to redemption.   My preference would be that  RM wipes the slate clean and gets the best out of a clearly talented young CB.  A successful redemption of ABK on RM's cv would look pretty good.

Agreed. He has a touch of class about him, and THB would thrive next to him I think.

[austsaint]

2 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

Agreed. He has a touch of class about him, and THB would thrive next to him I think.

Might all be stardust in 12 hours or so, but let's hope.

[Patches O Houlihan]

33 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

Agreed. He has a touch of class about him, and THB would thrive next to him I think.

Bednarek only has 10 months on his contract. Despite RM assuring us he’s not worried there is the chance that Benarek is off in Jan (or today?!) Having ABK up your sleeve give Saints better room to negotiate Jan’s contract and survive if he departs.

[Dellyears]

3 hours ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Bednarek only has 10 months on his contract. Despite RM assuring us he’s not worried there is the chance that Benarek is off in Jan (or today?!) Having ABK up your sleeve give Saints better room to negotiate Jan’s contract and survive if he departs.

That's all true and we know he has a touch of class but if he doesn't want to be here and thinks he can do better than Saints maybe its best to take the money. and anyway  if he stays we'll need extra medical staff.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Fuck him off. ASAP. 

[Kristian Loekkegaard]

2 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fuck him off. ASAP. 

I thought he looked decent , maybe a little rusty with his feet, the other day vs Cardiff. A few important clearances with his head. Physically strong.
If nobody bids for him, hell, he can stay til January and we'll see.

[bugenhagen]

He may not be particularly interested in playing for Saints, but maybe he had a wake up call and figured out that he needs to play for himself or the future of his own career. If that motivation is strong enough I would keep him. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

If he does end up staying, he has the ability to be our best central defender. 

[Badger]

12 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

If he does end up staying, he has the ability to be our best central defender. 

Best bar none, if he doesn't spend too long in the treatment room. Or does that only apply to forwards ?

[Chez]

5 hours ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Bednarek only has 10 months on his contract. Despite RM assuring us he’s not worried there is the chance that Benarek is off in Jan (or today?!) Having ABK up your sleeve give Saints better room to negotiate Jan’s contract and survive if he departs.

Unless we play ABK this season, he will pushing hard for a move. I am not sure RM is keen on ABK. The fact we signed three young center backs this summer suggests he has well and truely moved on from him.

[Patches O Houlihan]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

Unless we play ABK this season, he will pushing hard for a move. I am not sure RM is keen on ABK. The fact we signed three young center backs this summer suggests he has well and truely moved on from him.

I agree. But if he remains unsold, you have the man management skills of Russell Martin available, and a valuable German International full back in the squad you'd be a fool of a Chief exec not to ask RM to talk him round.

[Hopper]

Just now, Patches O Houlihan said:

I agree. But if he remains unsold, you have the man management skills of Russell Martin available, and a valuable German International full back in the squad you'd be a fool of a Chief exec not to ask RM to talk him round.

Russ is also incredibly stubborn. I get the feeling that once you wrong him you might be dead to him 😂

[Patches O Houlihan]

4 minutes ago, Hopper said:

Russ is also incredibly stubborn. I get the feeling that once you wrong him you might be dead to him 😂

Also true - but Armel did get on the pitch at Cardiff, and Russ has spoken well of him

Edited August 30 by Patches O Houlihan

[Hopper]

1 minute ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Also true - but Armel did get on the pitch at Cardiff, and Russ has spoken well of him

I got the impression based on what he said that it was moreso about putting him back in the shop window. 

[Patches O Houlihan]

2 minutes ago, Hopper said:

I got the impression based on what he said that it was moreso about putting him back in the shop window. 

Quite possibly yes. But next week if he's still here and not going to Turkey maybe thoughts change?

[beatlesaint]

4 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Quite possibly yes. But next week if he's still here and not going to Turkey maybe thoughts change?

Well he’s better than Stephens, Edwards and Wood but I’m not sure it’s as easy as that as far as RM is concerned. 

[Patches O Houlihan]

ABK does seem quite likely to fail the classic 'Don't work with dickheads' rule. 

[Chez]

6 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

I agree. But if he remains unsold, you have the man management skills of Russell Martin available, and a valuable German International full back in the squad you'd be a fool of a Chief exec not to ask RM to talk him round.

I think the time for man management skills was last summer. I suspect Russ would like to clean house.

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

ABK does seem quite likely to fail the classic 'Don't work with dickheads' rule. 

Seems to enjoy being in the team here...

 

[egg]

18 minutes ago, Hopper said:

I got the impression based on what he said that it was moreso about putting him back in the shop window. 

What did he say? I know Hypo alluded to it after the game, but I can't see any comments anywhere. 

[samcrocker]

If ABK isn't going then we should look to use his quality in the squad.

This should be where the multi-club model comes in and move one of the younger lads out to Turkey or France for 6 months so that they get some competitive football...

Then reassess in January, either ABK or Bednarek will go I  assume...

[macca155]

ABK when fit (and bothered) is a class above all of our other centre halves. He seems to have more composure and surety of a pass than the others. That sort of timing and natural skill is a rare commodity. If he is here then he has to be used end of story. Problem is that he may not stay fit for very long and then RM has to bring a player back in, who is pretty peed off.

Tough one

[Bobsmith]

10 minutes ago, macca155 said:

ABK when fit (and bothered) is a class above all of our other centre halves. He seems to have more composure and surety of a pass than the others. That sort of timing and natural skill is a rare commodity. If he is here then he has to be used end of story. Problem is that he may not stay fit for very long and then RM has to bring a player back in, who is pretty peed off.

Tough one

100% agree. If we can't sell and get a good fee, we should keep and send Wood out on loan. He's clearly nowhere near first team quality 

[Patches O Houlihan]

21 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Seems to enjoy being in the team here...

 

Body language towards him from the other players isn't that positive though.

[Hopper]

1 hour ago, egg said:

What did he say? I know Hypo alluded to it after the game, but I can't see any comments anywhere. 

"I thought he did great when he came on tonight but I think, hopefully, it's shown the world that he is fine and he's been training, he's fit and he can play.

"Honestly, I'm still so annoyed and angry at that lazy journalism over in Germany and I thought it was lacking context. Nonsensical, actually.

"I'm really furious about it because Armel's fine - so we'll see. He's shown everyone he's fit and he played to a really good level when he came on the pitch.

"We'll see where he ends up as he has got a lot of interest, I'm sure. We'll see." 

- Daily Echo

[egg]

1 hour ago, Hopper said:

"I thought he did great when he came on tonight but I think, hopefully, it's shown the world that he is fine and he's been training, he's fit and he can play.

"Honestly, I'm still so annoyed and angry at that lazy journalism over in Germany and I thought it was lacking context. Nonsensical, actually.

"I'm really furious about it because Armel's fine - so we'll see. He's shown everyone he's fit and he played to a really good level when he came on the pitch.

"We'll see where he ends up as he has got a lot of interest, I'm sure. We'll see." 

- Daily Echo

Thanks. Not much doubt about that! 

[Hopper]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Thanks. Not much doubt about that! 

Yeah it took me aback just how definitively he was talking. You kind of expect him to say 'He's had a set back but if he applies himself like he did tonight he's got a home here if he doesn't move on' But no.. Full boar, off you pop! 😂 

[Patches O Houlihan]

15 minutes ago, Hopper said:

Yeah it took me aback just how definitively he was talking. You kind of expect him to say 'He's had a set back but if he applies himself like he did tonight he's got a home here if he doesn't move on' But no.. Full boar, off you pop! 😂 

SSN 18:39

Cornet undergoing Southampton medical

Latest from Sky Sports News reporters Dharmesh Sheth and Mark McAdam:

Southampton have agreed a deal with West Ham to sign Maxwel Cornet on a season-long loan. 

The versatile left-sided player is undergoing a medical with Saints.

However, Southampton are conscious of their squad size so require players to leave before Friday's 11pm deadline.

Edited August 30 by Patches O Houlihan

[Eric The Red]

However as the hours tick by and windows start to shut around Europe there aren't any teams rumoured to be in for him. I'm sure anyone interested would want him to go through a thorough medical

[SNSUN]

34 minutes ago, Eric The Red said:

However as the hours tick by and windows start to shut around Europe there aren't any teams rumoured to be in for him. I'm sure anyone interested would want him to go through a thorough medical

A few windows remain open, Turkey and Saudi are a couple, so still time for outs to them. Tall Paul to Turkey in particular could still happen.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/statistik/transferfenster

[Eric The Red]

1 hour ago, SNSUN said:

A few windows remain open, Turkey and Saudi are a couple, so still time for outs to them. Tall Paul to Turkey in particular could still happen.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/statistik/transferfenster

Good point but I was specifically thinking about ABK. Only just over an hour left for most the countries I would think he might go

[Harry_SFC]

9 hours ago, Eric The Red said:

Good point but I was specifically thinking about ABK. Only just over an hour left for most the countries I would think he might go

Netherlands open until Monday.

[Suhari]

14 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Netherlands open until Monday.

That's annoying. Hoped it was nailed on for him to still be here. Guess we'll find out.

[CanadaSaint]

Today demonstrates (yet again) that the question shouldn't be whether Martin reintegrates ABK into the squad but how he's going to fix the attitude issue and do it.

I'd rather have a strong, skilled, ball playing defender with an attitude issue than a mentally slow, ball-watching, shit-passing player with a great attitude. But maybe that's just me.

 A follow-up question I have is "Who is in Martin's ear telling him that ABK is bad news?"

Check out the early pages of this thread and it's universal recognition that we have a gem on our hands and won't be able to keep him.

[Sheaf Saint]

ABK alongside Bednarek woukd mean we don't have to play the 3 at the back that isnt working, and can drop both THB, who doesn't seem quite up the the challenge of the PL so far, and Stephens who has shown time and time again that he definitely isn't.

Time for Russ to really show how good a man manager he is and find a way to get a tune out of a player who should be our first choice CB. 

[sfc4prem]

Just imagine having the talent that this bloke does and being hung out to dry. It must rankle.

[hypochondriac]

Just now, sfc4prem said:

Just imagine having the talent that this bloke does and being hung out to dry. It must rankle.

Unless there's some actual tangible reason why he is being frozen out (like he threatened a team mate or something like that) then it's actually negligent not to make an attempt to sort things and utilise the best resources you have. 

[Sheaf Saint]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Unless there's some actual tangible reason why he is being frozen out (like he threatened a team mate or something like that) then it's actually negligent not to make an attempt to sort things and utilise the best resources you have. 

If that was the case then he wouldn't have played the second half on Wednesday. At least you would hope not.

What actual evidence do we have that there is an attitude problem with him? 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, Sheaf Saint said:

If that was the case then he wouldn't have played the second half on Wednesday. At least you would hope not.

What actual evidence do we have that there is an attitude problem with him? 

There isn't really any other reason for him not to be in the squad if it wasn't something like that. 

[The Kraken]

3 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

What actual evidence do we have that there is an attitude problem with him? 

I’ve got a video of him flicking a bogey at Sam Edozie.

[Sheaf Saint]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

There isn't really any other reason for him not to be in the squad if it wasn't something like that. 

It could be that we are still trying to sort out a move for him to a league where the window is still open. But if that doesn't come off then we need to find a way to utilise him. If he wants away, he isn't going to get many decent offers if he's not playing, so it would be in everyone's interests.

[Gloucester Saint]

2 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

If that was the case then he wouldn't have played the second half on Wednesday. At least you would hope not.

What actual evidence do we have that there is an attitude problem with him? 

An interesting parallel from our last top flight return is Jason Puncheon. Didn’t have the best reputation behaviourally and a lot of people on here didn’t want him re-integrated with the squad which had won double promotions whilst he was out on loan including in the PL for Blackpool. Brave from Nigel, who was big on behaviour, but it worked as he scored vital goals at QPR, Sunderland and home to City, and worked his socks off. Got his reward with a dream move to Palace near where he grew up for a decent fee and left on good terms with fans and club. 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

An interesting parallel from our last top flight return is Jason Puncheon. Didn’t have the best reputation behaviourally and a lot of people on here didn’t want him re-integrated with the squad which had won double promotions whilst he was out on loan including in the PL for Blackpool. Brave from Nigel, who was big on behaviour, but it worked as he scored vital goals at QPR, Sunderland and home to City, and worked his socks off. Got his reward with a dream move to Palace near where he grew up for a decent fee and left on good terms with fans and club. 

Maybe ABK needs to take a shit on the pitch to get everyone back onside. 

[CanadaSaint]

On 24/06/2022 at 05:15, Turkish said:

Turns up late for training and lapses in concentration 🤔

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/southampton-transfer-armel-bella-kotchap-27315959?fbclid=IwAR1PKxNFaCb6hzkVmzDsa7dyM-PrBl7XO6H58xu1cS09hms_z-RSA7m36Gs

 

4 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

If that was the case then he wouldn't have played the second half on Wednesday. At least you would hope not.

What actual evidence do we have that there is an attitude problem with him? 

The only thing I can see is Turk's post, from more than two years ago, suggesting that it came from that bastion of well-researched, well-informed journalism - the Daily Star. All the comment about his play is super-positive.

Those are fixable issues (p.s. to Russell - fines and bollockings work wonders). That's why I think someone is in Martin's ear.

[ErwinK1961]

Some good revisionism on here. 

He was given the opportunity to knuckle down and play last season, but he wanted nothing to do with it and got out at the first available chance. 

He’s not seen as someone who wants to get involved and be part of the team, which was also evident last time we were in the Prem. 

An inflated sense of his abilities and worth unfortunately, which wasn’t matched by the level of interest shown in him and essentially why he is still here (atm).

[S-Clarke]

Is this another case of a player becoming a world beater, once he's out of the team?

He started well for us in the PL, but he switched off so much and was Hoedt-esque in some of the games he played for us. It's not like we're sat on the greatest defender in the world and not playing him. There's a reason he has absolutley zero market.