James Ward-Prowse

[Saint Garrett]

Superb news. Hopefully he will end his career here. Top player and ultimate oro

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, egg said:

Nah, something so simplistic would come out. I think it's nothing more than they made a bid, we said no, he said he wants to go, we said not now and we'll make it worth your while, he said that's cool. 

I’m not so sure. He only signed a new deal last summer. We’re well within our rights to fuck other clubs off. I think his agent knew what we’d offered Ings, other clubs were sniffing around with probably him as second or third choice And they’ve used it as leverage to get a new deal. Why wouldn’t you? He’s head and shoulders out most important player now, they know there would be uproar if he was sold and they’ve used that as a big bargain chip to do the deal. I don’t doubt there’s some sort of agreement that if we get offered xyz in the future then he’ll go but for now it’s a deal that suits everyone 

[HKsaint]

And it appears that his presence is also an important factor for the Chelsea youngsters  joining  this club, instead of another. 

[HarvSFC]

Same scenario played out for Smith-Rowe when Aston Villa tried lowballing Arsenal. 

Glad we’ve kept the player for a change. Yes, he could do more from open play, but he’s the best direct free-kick taker in world football. If he could do something in open play, he’d have left years ago.

Also, good to see a player not chasing the money at Villa (Ings) and staying somewhere he has an affiliation with. I’m sure, like with Schneiderlin, if the right club comes in with the right offer, then fair does. But, Aston Villa are not that. 

[Dark Munster]

9 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I haven’t been this excited since Frasier Forster signed a new deal…

Were you able to get your door fixed, Lord D?

[Matty's Caddy]

Fantastic news. 

[TWar]

Our best and most important player deserves a pay rise, no doubt, but I always find it weird when a four year contract becomes a five year. Doesn't seem like the club needs to give a new one with that much left of the deal and it doesn't feel it guarantees the players services that much more as if they are good enough they will be sold in the next two summers anyway for similar prices. 

Guess it stops the player agitating to leave, if that was a threat. 

Anyway, JWP is a top top player who belongs at a top side and this is a fantastic development regardless. 

[Chez]

6 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

Same scenario played out for Smith-Rowe when Aston Villa tried lowballing Arsenal. 

Does anyone believe that Smith Rowe wanted to leave Arsenal for Villa? He was already first choice at Arsenal, who are bigger than Villa. His agent used Villa to get Rowe a new monster contract.  It's football agency 101. Show there is interest from another club, who are willing to pay x in wages, then demand the same to stay at existing club. 

[Chez]

10 minutes ago, TWar said:

Our best and most important player deserves a pay rise, no doubt, but I always find it weird when a four year contract becomes a five year. Doesn't seem like the club needs to give a new one with that much left of the deal and it doesn't feel it guarantees the players services that much more as if they are good enough they will be sold in the next two summers anyway for similar prices. 

as Turkish said, once an agency knows the club's wage ceiling for its most important player, that's what you can demand for JWP (who with Ings leaving became our most important player). 

As you say though, it keeps him happy. Lets hope he can justify it over the next few years. He has been very consistent in the last two.

 

[egg]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

Does anyone believe that Smith Rowe wanted to leave Arsenal for Villa? He was already first choice at Arsenal, who are bigger than Villa. His agent used Villa to get Rowe a new monster contract.  It's football agency 101. Show there is interest from another club, who are willing to pay x in wages, then demand the same to stay at existing club. 

Possible, yes. Arsenal will probably sign Odegaard who'll be their number 1 at 10.  Saka and Pepe will be their main wingers. He'd have been the main man at Villa. The agency business, and getting multi million pound contracts, isn't as simple as you make out.

[Jimmy_D]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Possible, yes. Arsenal will probably sign Odegaard who'll be their number 1 at 10.  Saka and Pepe will be their main wingers. He'd have been the main man at Villa. The agency business, and getting multi million pound contracts, isn't as simple as you make out.

Probably, aye...

Martin Odegaard: Arsenal sign midfielder from Real Madrid for about £30m - BBC Sport

[TWar]

55 minutes ago, egg said:

Possible, yes. Arsenal will probably sign Odegaard who'll be their number 1 at 10.  Saka and Pepe will be their main wingers. He'd have been the main man at Villa. The agency business, and getting multi million pound contracts, isn't as simple as you make out.

They could play a similar system to Leicester who fit in both Maddison and Tielemanns. 

Kind of a 4141 kind of a 433 with advanced 8s. Something like:

----------Partey----------

----Odegaard-----ESR---

Pepe-------------------saka

----------new striker--------

Would depend if Partey can fill that Ndidi role, as that is the lynchpin of the side. I guess quite similar to what Arteta's mentor Pep plays with Rodri/Fernandinho sat deep and Gundogan/Silva/KdB/Grealish as two more advanced 8's.

Edited 20 August, 2021 by TWar

[macca155]

Statement from club and player. He's committed to the club and gets a pay rise to boot.

Of all our players he deserves it. It doesn't mean he won't be sold next year, but if he is it will be for a decent wedge.

More importantly the club will be in the driving seat.

So far a good transfer window, need a decent CH to finish it off. After that the question mark cloud hangs over Ralph.

[Saint86]

16 hours ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Live footage from Ducky’s house;

Contender for post of the summer, no doubt.

[VectisSaint]

13 hours ago, Simon3737 said:

I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that VVD bitterly regretted signing the extension with us. He got a pay rise for a few months after which he embarrassed himself going on strike etc. Clearly his ego was big enough to quickly recover though!! 

He could have gone to Liverp**l for £50m, all sorted quickly and we’d have had £25m less in the bank.

Financially, his extension was good for Saints (* if we hadn’t then wasted all the money) and made it harder for VVD to leave us.

JWP’s extension is undoubtedly good news. Worse case is we’ll get more cash if he’s sold. 

Didn't stop him leaving though. Contract extensions are meaningless, that's all I'm saying. Just means we might get more for him. If someone comes in for him in the future and offers big money then he would go. Hypothetical of course.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, VectisSaint said:

 Contract extensions are meaningless, that's all I'm saying. Just means we might get more for him.

First sentence conflicts with the second sentence.

[Lord Duckhunter]

13 hours ago, Sergei Gotsmanov said:

When a new signing walks into our dressing room Ward Prowse is somebody who lets them know why it is an honour and a privilege to put our shirt on. He understands the culture of our club. He is 'our level' plus and his contribution around the club makes him invaluable to us. 

 

Personally, I’d rather he stopped opponents playing through us and protected the back 4 a bit more. Perhaps one of the birds from the office could do the “welcome to the club shite” and he could get on with making us hard to beat. 
 

 

[suewhistle]

Duckie confirms why the jokes about him are being made..

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

 Perhaps one of the birds from the office 

The 1970s called, they want their misogynist views back.

[OldNick]

5 hours ago, macca155 said:

Statement from club and player. He's committed to the club and gets a pay rise to boot.

Of all our players he deserves it. It doesn't mean he won't be sold next year, but if he is it will be for a decent wedge.

More importantly the club will be in the driving seat.

So far a good transfer window, need a decent CH to finish it off. After that the question mark cloud hangs over Ralph.

I would expect a good agent in the light of the Kane saga have a buy out price. 

Edited 20 August, 2021 by OldNick

[rallyboy]

1 hour ago, suewhistle said:

Duckie confirms why the jokes about him are being made..

It's always good to hear the thoughts of Jason King.

And I miss On the Buses.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

5 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Personally, I’d rather he stopped opponents playing through us and protected the back 4 a bit more. Perhaps one of the birds from the office could do the “welcome to the club shite” and he could get on with making us hard to beat. 
 

 

I am a realist Lord D - if we have a striker who scores twenty goals a season he leaves for a bigger club. What we want is strikers who score  12-14 goals and we have a chance of keeping them. In strikers terms Prowsey is a 12-14 goals player and better still he came up through the youth system and is a club loyalist. Who are you going to bring in another Lemina? 

[VectisSaint]

6 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

First sentence conflicts with the second sentence.

Only if you take my comment completely out of context, as you clearly have. Ironic really when you complain bitterly to others who wind you up that your quotes are taken out of context. The context was that it was being said that JWP has now committed to us until 2026. Maybe that's what the contract extension says, but we all know that is bollocks. It just means that we have given him a pay rise and will continue to pay him for 5 years. If an offer comes in and he wants to go the length of the contract is immaterial to whether he goes or not.  I don't think he will go, any more than I thought he would go before, no one came in with a serious offer, and none of the big clubs seemed seriously interested at all, Prowsey has done well to get a pay rise out of Saints on the back of that, good luck to him. If he has a stellar season this year and Liverpool or City come in for him next summer, you probably won't see him for dust, but at least Saints will get more for him.

So, just in case you find any holes in my comments above and they do not measure up to your exacting standards of argument, nit picking or pedantry, you can quite frankly stuff it where the sun doesn't shine mush. 

[macca155]

6 hours ago, OldNick said:

I would expect a good agent in the light of the Kane saga have a buy out price. 

He doesn't really need it. He knows the club will have to cash in some time. For the moment good news.

[SuperSAINT]

Ward-Prowse’s reward for staying at Saints

Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse has become the club’s highest-paid player of all time, writes Dan Sheldon.

The 26-year-old, who was subject to a £25 million bid from Aston Villa this summer, put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new five-year deal at St Mary’s.

His new contract has seen him reach £100,000 a week, which takes him above Theo Walcott and goalkeeper Fraser Forster as the top earner at the club.

It is also believed there is no release clause inserted into the new agreement, although there’s an understanding Southampton won’t stand in his way if one of the Premier League’s top sides make an acceptable offer.

The club’s captain has become an instrumental part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team and narrowly missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 England squad.

This summer was the first time he has been seriously linked with a move away from Southampton, a team he joined aged eight, but Southampton’s board weren’t prepared to entertain any offers.

[Chez]

21 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Ward-Prowse’s reward for staying at Saints

Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse has become the club’s highest-paid player of all time, writes Dan Sheldon.

The 26-year-old, who was subject to a £25 million bid from Aston Villa this summer, put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new five-year deal at St Mary’s.

His new contract has seen him reach £100,000 a week, which takes him above Theo Walcott and goalkeeper Fraser Forster as the top earner at the club.

It is also believed there is no release clause inserted into the new agreement, although there’s an understanding Southampton won’t stand in his way if one of the Premier League’s top sides make an acceptable offer.

The club’s captain has become an instrumental part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team and narrowly missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 England squad.

This summer was the first time he has been seriously linked with a move away from Southampton, a team he joined aged eight, but Southampton’s board weren’t prepared to entertain any offers.

so assuming he was on about £65k a week, the extra year we gained cost Saints over £7m in extra wages spread across the four years he had left.

When fans ask, where has all the money gone...the answer is wages. £26m of them over the next five years. 

[niceandfriendly]

On 20/08/2021 at 21:22, suewhistle said:

Duckie confirms why the jokes about him are being made..

To be fair the bit about asking the receptionists to do the welcome to the club was pretty funny, and accurate.

[niceandfriendly]

36 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

His new contract has seen him reach £100,000 a week,

Football is a joke, let's be honest. 😔 Hideous wages all round. (Not a JWP bash)

[SuperSAINT]

9 minutes ago, Chez said:

so assuming he was on about £65k a week, the extra year we gained cost Saints over £7m in extra wages spread across the four years he had left.

When fans ask, where has all the money gone...the answer is wages. £26m of them over the next five years. 

Indeed.  Clearing out more of #TheUnsellables has given us some wiggle-room, though.

[Uncle Albert]

43 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Ward-Prowse’s reward for staying at Saints

Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse has become the club’s highest-paid player of all time, writes Dan Sheldon.

The 26-year-old, who was subject to a £25 million bid from Aston Villa this summer, put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new five-year deal at St Mary’s.

His new contract has seen him reach £100,000 a week, which takes him above Theo Walcott and goalkeeper Fraser Forster as the top earner at the club.

It is also believed there is no release clause inserted into the new agreement, although there’s an understanding Southampton won’t stand in his way if one of the Premier League’s top sides make an acceptable offer.

The club’s captain has become an instrumental part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team and narrowly missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 England squad.

This summer was the first time he has been seriously linked with a move away from Southampton, a team he joined aged eight, but Southampton’s board weren’t prepared to entertain any offers.

So that’s where Danny’s potential wages if he had signed have gone.

[TWar]

19 minutes ago, Chez said:

so assuming he was on about £65k a week, the extra year we gained cost Saints over £7m in extra wages spread across the four years he had left.

When fans ask, where has all the money gone...the answer is wages. £26m of them over the next five years. 

Somewhat misleading as we have trimmed our wage bill considerably with the loss of Gunn, Lemina, Bertrand, Ings, Vestergaard, and a bunch of youngsters. Our annual wage outgoing has almost certainly decreased this summer so it is not a good answer to "where has the transfer money gone"

[hypochondriac]

Hmm. Not sure if he's worth that cash but it's probably more about what he represents. 

[S-Clarke]

The most alarming thing in that article is the fact that he's now taken over Theo. Shouldn't he have been paid more than him already?

How much is f***ing Theo on??? The bloke isn't a footballer anymore.

Edited 23 August, 2021 by S-Clarke

[Wimborne_saint]

2 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

Ward-Prowse’s reward for staying at Saints

Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse has become the club’s highest-paid player of all time, writes Dan Sheldon.

The 26-year-old, who was subject to a £25 million bid from Aston Villa this summer, put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new five-year deal at St Mary’s.

His new contract has seen him reach £100,000 a week, which takes him above Theo Walcott and goalkeeper Fraser Forster as the top earner at the club.

It is also believed there is no release clause inserted into the new agreement, although there’s an understanding Southampton won’t stand in his way if one of the Premier League’s top sides make an acceptable offer.

The club’s captain has become an instrumental part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team and narrowly missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 England squad.

This summer was the first time he has been seriously linked with a move away from Southampton, a team he joined aged eight, but Southampton’s board weren’t prepared to entertain any offers.

Interestingly, the part in the article about not standing in his way if we received an acceptable offer has now been edited to this: 

"Although it is believed there is no release clause inserted into the new agreement, the deal all but rules out Ward-Prowse leaving in the future unless an elite club makes Southampton an irresistible offer."

[Paulwantsapint81]

Believe JWP will want to take a few premier league saints records in the next 2 seasons & the league record for most free kick goals

 

most appearances 59 more to overtake Jason Dodd

most wins 14 more to overtake Dodd

3rd highest scorer 13 to pass Ings & Pahars

———————————————————most free kicks in league 6? To overtake David Beckham

[farawaysaint]

“Why can’t we keep our best players???” Article about lad who has been with us his entire life getting a pay rise on 5 year contract…. “How can we pay so much???”

 

Before anyone asks yes I genuinely believe our captain deserves the money in this age of frankly stupid PL wages. My only hope is that there is a pay cut clause in the case of relegation or else we are a bit buggered should the worst happen. 

Edited 23 August, 2021 by farawaysaint

[Chez]

5 hours ago, TWar said:

Somewhat misleading as we have trimmed our wage bill considerably with the loss of Gunn, Lemina, Bertrand, Ings, Vestergaard, and a bunch of youngsters. Our annual wage outgoing has almost certainly decreased this summer so it is not a good answer to "where has the transfer money gone"

We made a huge loss on the previous financial year. I know it doesn't always paint a true picture, as player sales etc. can fall just outside the period, but the need for a £70m loan suggests we continue to spend more than we can afford, so a reduction in wages is perhaps a necessity?

We need to find about £6.3m to cover the £70m loan interest - assuming we intend to make some sort of repayment. 

[Chez]

1 hour ago, farawaysaint said:

“Why can’t we keep our best players???” Article about lad who has been with us his entire life getting a pay rise on 5 year contract…. “How can we pay so much???”

 

Before anyone asks yes I genuinely believe our captain deserves the money in this age of frankly stupid PL wages. My only hope is that there is a pay cut clause in the case of relegation or else we are a bit buggered should the worst happen. 

Absolutely. Even a 50% cut would mean we are paying him £50k a week for four more years. In the Championship, one or two of those can all but bankrupt you assuming you can't sell the player. 

[Verbal Kint]

Ridiculous contract and pay rise to give to a player who already had 4 years left on his previous deal. 

With the new approach referees are taking to letting more tackles go, and therefore fewer free kicks being given, I struggle to see him replicating his scoring from last season. Take away his free kicks and there is nothing special there and he certainly isn't worth 100k a week

[Mosin]

1 hour ago, Verbal Kint said:

Ridiculous contract and pay rise to give to a player who already had 4 years left on his previous deal. 

With the new approach referees are taking to letting more tackles go, and therefore fewer free kicks being given, I struggle to see him replicating his scoring from last season. Take away his free kicks and there is nothing special there and he certainly isn't worth 100k a week

So you think we should put him back to being paid less than Elyounoussi? Theo Walcot? Stephens? Long? Redmond? Djenepo, McCarthy? lol...... A guy who was the main reason for so many goals for us last season and contributed hugely defensively? 

[St Louis]

Nice little video/interview here from JWP.
We are lucky to have him....

 

[thesaint sfc]

On 23/08/2021 at 15:11, Verbal Kint said:

Ridiculous contract and pay rise to give to a player who already had 4 years left on his previous deal. 

With the new approach referees are taking to letting more tackles go, and therefore fewer free kicks being given, I struggle to see him replicating his scoring from last season. Take away his free kicks and there is nothing special there and he certainly isn't worth 100k a week

thats enough saintsweeb for me today.

[Totton Saint]

On 23/08/2021 at 16:34, Mosin said:

So you think we should put him back to being paid less than Elyounoussi? Theo Walcot? Stephens? Long? Redmond? Djenepo, McCarthy? lol...... A guy who was the main reason for so many goals for us last season and contributed hugely defensively? 

How on earth can the board  justify the captain being paid less than these players WHY PAY WALCOTT SO MUCH WHEN HE wold probably without a club if we had not taken him on. It is a wonder he did not do a VanDyke

[HnycS]

Report: Liverpool actually considered signing £50m England international midfielder this summer

[skintsaint]

1 hour ago, HnycS said:

Report: Liverpool actually considered signing £50m England international midfielder this summer

Have they actually seen him play? JWP loves a good sideways/backwards pass 😅

 

 

[TWar]

7 hours ago, skintsaint said:

Have they actually seen him play? JWP loves a good sideways/backwards pass 😅

 

 

He lead our team last season for both progressive passes and chance creation from (aside from the strikers) and was pretty highly ranked in the league too. I think confirmation bias may be at play a bit here, given every player will pass sidewards and backwards quite often but people look out for them from prowsey 

[Mosin]

7 hours ago, skintsaint said:

Have they actually seen him play? JWP loves a good sideways/backwards pass 😅

 

 

For the position he plays, he is one of the most creative dms in the league... Name one dm who got more assists last season?....  Was 14th in the league last season in all positions.. As a DM,, let that settle and think of a reply... 

[skintsaint]

9 minutes ago, TWar said:

He lead our team last season for both progressive passes and chance creation from (aside from the strikers) and was pretty highly ranked in the league too. I think confirmation bias may be at play a bit here, given every player will pass sidewards and backwards quite often but people look out for them from prowsey 

Fair enough I stand corrected on that. I never really associate him with being creative at all.

[skintsaint]

7 minutes ago, Mosin said:

As a DM,, let that settle and think of a reply.

Settle down tiger 😅

[ozzmeister]

I firmly see him as an ideal replacement for Hendo when he finally retires (not that I want to see this happen).