Stu Armstrong

[Dman]

Looked a nasty one, most likely an ACL. 
 

He was off at the end of the season, I wonder if we’ll offer him a new deal given his service (the right thing to do). Although I Wouldn’t be surprised if that was him and he calls it a day 

[LuckyNumber7]

In many ways the injury to Stu was worse than the result. He looked distraught, I'm gutted for him and also for us as he'll be a big miss in the playoffs.

[Lighthouse]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

Looked a nasty one, most likely an ACL. 
 

He was off at the end of the season, I wonder if we’ll offer him a new deal given his service (the right thing to do). Although I Wouldn’t be surprised if that was him and he calls it a day 

He's not some military veteran, his service has been very handsomely paid for throughout his many years here. I hope we give him full use of our facilities and physios to help recover but to be paying him some sort of wage to not play for us, when we really need to cut back on the wage bill anyway, would be madness.

[S-Clarke]

I've loved Stu's time with us, he's been a really good player during some pretty bleak moments. He's not a world beater by any means, but has always done a job for us. I think he got ill around Christmas of the 20/21 season and he's quite simply never ever been the same player. When he has his bursts forward he's great, has fantastic moments of quality, but just cannot handle any longer than an hour of pro football anymore - I'm sure he knows it.

I personally feel gutted for him as he will likely lose his final shot at an international tournament which doesn't seem fair. He's obviously out of contract too so he has some serious career decisions to make at this point. If he weighs it up (he cannot last longer than 60 mins anymore) and if he's got a serious 12 month+ ACL, he really needs to be considering retirement and focusing on what he wants to do after football - which I think is law, he's a pretty clever bloke by all accounts.

Edited 20 April, 2024 by S-Clarke

[JRM]

Cruel end to his career with us, and missing Euros with Scotland he'll be devastated 

[kitch]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I've loved Stu's time with us, he's been a really good player during some pretty bleak moments. He's not a world beater by any means, but has always done a job for us. I think he got ill around Christmas of the 20/21 season and he's quite simply never ever been the same player. When he has his bursts forward he's great, has fantastic moments of quality, but just cannot handle any longer than an hour of pro football anymore - I'm sure he knows it.

I personally feel gutted for him as he will likely lose his final shot at an international tournament which doesn't seem fair. He's obviously out of contract too so he has some serious career decisions to make at this point. If he weighs it up (he cannot last longer than 60 mins anymore) and if he's got a serious 12 month+ ACL, he really needs to be considering retirement and focusing on what he wants to do after football - which I think is law, he's a pretty clever bloke by all accounts.

It was COVID. Was never quite the same after he caught it.

[SaintNewForest]

I genuinely think that could be his career over. Not just his saints career, but his football career. Cruel way to end if it is. 

[benjii]

I met him once and he seemed like a nice guy.

[Saint Matty 76]

Probably my favourite player of this era, had plenty days where it looked like nobody could get anywhere close to him, including the first half against Preston the other day

Horrible he's missing the Euros as well, and any chance of landing a 2/3 year deal in Scotland which was probably the aim

[Galway saint]

More gutted about this than the result for some reason.

He’s been a good player ( not great but good) for us and I enjoyed watching him play. 

He showed his quality in the Preston game where he looked a class apart.

Made the goal look easy.

If he’s played his late game for us then best of luck to him - would have been nice for him to sign off in the play of final but wasn’t to be. 

 

[Colinjb]

His goal v Coventry in the Cup a few years ago was a class apart. If he is now done, that will be my memory of him.

Hope his can recover from this horrible injury, no player deserves to be 'retired' like that.

[trousers]

Russell just confirmed at the pre match press conference that it's not as bad as they feared.... Quad muscle rather than knee injury... Good chance he can be fit for the Euros. 

[Dman]

28 minutes ago, trousers said:

Russell just confirmed at the pre match press conference that it's not as bad as they feared.... Quad muscle rather than knee injury... Good chance he can be fit for the Euros. 

Great news for him - I really hope the club give him the send off he deserves on Saturday. Solid player for us and a top bloke. 

He was outstanding for a year or 2 under Ralph. 

[Turkish]

Good news. Been a brilliant signing for us for £7m. Always seemed like a really good guy too. Looks like he'll be leaving so hopefully he get a nice send off.

[Mattio]

Maybe he'll be back in time to make a super sub appearance in the play off final and score one last worldy

[Ex Lion Tamer]

On 20/04/2024 at 22:35, Galway saint said:

He’s been a good player ( not great but good) for us and I enjoyed watching him play.

 

That might be true over his whole time with us but there was at least one season when he was our best player. I remember looking at his age and thinking "I hope we have a plan to replace him". We didn't, his form fell off after Covid and that was one of the reasons we went down

[S-Clarke]

Great news, he did not deserve an end like that. I hope we give him all the help he needs to get to the Euro's, then if he has a good Euro's he'll have a pick of clubs in the summer now he's not going to be injured.

I can see him back at Celtic, could be a great move for him.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

29 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Great news, he did not deserve an end like that. I hope we give him all the help he needs to get to the Euro's, then if he has a good Euro's he'll have a pick of clubs in the summer now he's not going to be injured.

I can see him back at Celtic, could be a great move for him.

Is it not completely out of the question that we might offer something if we don't go up?

[S-Clarke]

15 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Is it not completely out of the question that we might offer something if we don't go up?

Depends what his aspirations are I guess, but in my opinion if any of our out of contract guys were sticking around (Che/Stu/McCarthy) then they'd have signed by now.

[tdmickey3]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Depends what his aspirations are I guess, but in my opinion if any of our out of contract guys were sticking around (Che/Stu/McCarthy) then they'd have signed by now.

Might have been waiting to see if we were/are promoted so they could potentially get a premier league contract and not a championship one

[Galway saint]

that’s really good news 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

2 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

Depends what his aspirations are I guess, but in my opinion if any of our out of contract guys were sticking around (Che/Stu/McCarthy) then they'd have signed by now.

Of the three mentioned, to be honest he is the only one I can see sticking around. 

[Dr Who?]

My favourite player and will be a huge miss. Blew a little more hot and cold this season, but love his serging runs. Perhaps he will sign, but I doubt it as him and Che have let their contracts run out, I can only presume to see if they can get a better offer. All the best to him, and I hope he gets to play in the euros. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

[VectisSaint]

6 hours ago, Dr Who? said:

My favourite player and will be a huge miss. Blew a little more hot and cold this season, but love his serging runs. Perhaps he will sign, but I doubt it as him and Che have let their contracts run out, I can only presume to see if they can get a better offer. All the best to him, and I hope he gets to play in the euros. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

Thought Stu had let his run down because he was retiring from football to pursue a legal career, may have been just a rumour of course. 

[Barsiem]

Apparently has offers from Fulham & Fiorentina, amongst others.  May also stay with us.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24360298.armstrong-reportedly-future-talks-fiorentina-fulham/

Someone on here was insistent he was retiring to go into law though I remember.  See what happens but would be great if he stays

[Lighthouse]

32 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

Apparently has offers from Fulham & Fiorentina, amongst others.  May also stay with us.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24360298.armstrong-reportedly-future-talks-fiorentina-fulham/

Someone on here was insistent he was retiring to go into law though I remember.  See what happens but would be great if he stays

Disagree, he looked spent last time out in the PL and hasn’t been the same player since he got Covid in early 2021.

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, Lighthouse said:

Disagree, he looked spent last time out in the PL and hasn’t been the same player since he got Covid in early 2021.

last time you said this about a saints player, they ended up playing for Barcelona...

[LeBizzier69]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

last time you said this about a saints player, they ended up playing for Barcelona...

I think that says more about the pace of the PL compared to La Liga.

[Lighthouse]

1 minute ago, LeBizzier69 said:

I think that says more about the pace of the PL compared to La Liga.

Where he is almost always a sub, brought on with 20 minutes left of games Barca are winning 90% of the time. He’s the Iberian Johnny Evans.

[AlexLaw76]

26 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Where he is almost always a sub, brought on with 20 minutes left of games Barca are winning 90% of the time. He’s the Iberian Johnny Evans.

yep, still a level above us....now and then. Especially when you feature 37 times over this season.

Either way, Armstrong would clearly have something to offer a newly promoted team in the premier league

[West end Saints]

Depends whether his better performance this season was due Martin or the lower league.

He was not good enough in the premier league for probably the last two seasons, and one of the reasons we got relegated.

 

[FarehamSaintJames]

He’d be a good squad player to keep around, and there is no doubting that we were more creative with him in the side than out of it.

But age will catch up, injuries will have an impact. I hope he signs a new contract on reduced terms but they’ll no doubt be an expectation that game time will be significantly reduced.

I think Russell Martin will play a huge part in Stu’s decision, whichever way he decides.

The fact that no released/retained lists have been leaked yet implies that maybe things are being worked on in the background.

[wadesmith]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

Where he is almost always a sub, brought on with 20 minutes left of games Barca are winning 90% of the time. He’s the Iberian Johnny Evans.

Where did it all go wrong for Romeu?

[Dr Who?]

Would love to keep Stu. Great squad player with bags of experience at premier league level. He would also have a lot more to offer in a coaching role when he retires. You need to look at the bigger picture with these player and not be narrow minded and think only of playing, but more what they can bring to behind the scenes. 

He also still has a few surging runs from midfield in him, even at Premier League level. 

[Oldandtired]

1 hour ago, West end Saints said:

and one of the reasons we got relegated.

 

On the pitch at any given moment last season there were 11 reasons we got relegated.....

[davefizzy14]

Really hope Stuart stays and signs a new contract extension 😊 class player.

[sfc4prem]

Reckon we need an upgrade on Stu

[Lighthouse]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

yep, still a level above us....now and then. Especially when you feature 37 times over this season.

Either way, Armstrong would clearly have something to offer a newly promoted team in the premier league

Nothing you can say will change what I saw from him on the pitch in his last season here. He was a spent force in the PL, he moved to Barcelona to make 20 mins sub appearances in the sunshine.

As for Stu, I’m adding him to the list of players everyone seems to have forgotten was substandard when we got relegated, with 20-odd points, a year ago.

[S-Clarke]

27 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Nothing you can say will change what I saw from him on the pitch in his last season here. He was a spent force in the PL, he moved to Barcelona to make 20 mins sub appearances in the sunshine.

As for Stu, I’m adding him to the list of players everyone seems to have forgotten was substandard when we got relegated, with 20-odd points, a year ago.

He moved to Girona after us, featured heavily for them and done very well as they continued to build. Then Barca came for him in the following summer, obviously just as a squad player, but it was a nice round off to his career.

He would have added a lot to us in the season we were relegated, a rotational role with Lavia (and he'd have played as Lavia was quite injury prone)

[JRM]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

Nothing you can say will change what I saw from him on the pitch in his last season here. He was a spent force in the PL, he moved to Barcelona to make 20 mins sub appearances in the sunshine.

As for Stu, I’m adding him to the list of players everyone seems to have forgotten was substandard when we got relegated, with 20-odd points, a year ago.

He moved to Girona and was excellent,  earning a move to Barcelona, be in denial as much as you want we could have done with Romeu last two seasons. 

[The Kraken]

5 minutes ago, JRM said:

He moved to Girona and was excellent,  earning a move to Barcelona, be in denial as much as you want we could have done with Romeu last two seasons. 

Exactly this. He started more than 30 league for games Girona who finished tenth in their first season promoted.  Theres a reason Barca went in for him. And it wasn’t because of some idiotic notion that his legs were gone and he was a super sub.

[AlexLaw76]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

Nothing you can say will change what I saw from him on the pitch in his last season here. He was a spent force in the PL, he moved to Barcelona to make 20 mins sub appearances in the sunshine.

As for Stu, I’m adding him to the list of players everyone seems to have forgotten was substandard when we got relegated, with 20-odd points, a year ago.

So was Adam Armstrong. Guess he has little business in our side these days

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

Nothing you can say will change what I saw from him on the pitch in his last season here. He was a spent force in the PL, he moved to Barcelona to make 20 mins sub appearances in the sunshine.

That's what happens when you come back from injury. He wasn't a spent force at all, just not back to full fitness. He also didn't move to Barcelona. he went to Girona first, and Barca went in for him on the basis of what he was doing there. Complete madness to believe he was washed up 2 years ago. Mind you if he had stayed would we have seen Flynn Downes?

[trousers]

Our relegation last season was as much to do with the management situation as it was the quality of the  players, per se, as highlighted by McCarthy in his 'issues in the dressing room' post match interview last week.

In true Trousers sitting-on-the-fence tradition, Stu is a difficult one to decide upon.... On his day, he makes the team tick, on other days he can be a waste of a shirt. 

I'm probably leaning towards the "keep him as a decent squad player" camp but wouldn't be too fussed if he left at this juncture in his career.

Edited 2 June, 2024 by trousers

[Colinjb]

High wages, finished the season injured and question marks over whether he can make a meaningful contribution going forward.

On the other hand he may be one of the 'leaders' that Dragan Solak described that we need. 

I would rather we had him with us rather then against us. But, to join a European finalist like Fiorentina would be a great move for him.

[Ed Rooney]

32 years old, no idea how he will come back from the injury but tbh very hit and miss pre injury in the championship. Have been a big fan of Stu, but now time to move on. 
 

 

[Lighthouse]

1 hour ago, The Kraken said:

Exactly this. He started more than 30 league for games Girona who finished tenth in their first season promoted.  Theres a reason Barca went in for him. And it wasn’t because of some idiotic notion that his legs were gone and he was a super sub.

He wanted to go back to Spain and ended up at the newly promoted playoff winners, in a league which is much warmer and less intense than the PL. He did well enough there to get a move to Barca where he mostly plays as a second half sub, good for him. He left us and did well abroad, much like Tadic, Fonte and Juanmi. 30 games for Girona doesn't prove anything in the context of his Saints career. Elyounoussi scored 14 goals from midfield last season, were we wrong to let him go?

None of which is relevant to Stu who looked well past his best in the PL last time and struggles to play 90 minutes a league below. We're going to need to be a bit ruthless this summer.

[ErwinK1961]

This is one of the ‘head over heart’ decisions that I am hoping the club are ruthless on this summer.

He’s been a good servant, but he’s blown hot and cold for a number of years now, he’s getting on and is currently injured. It’s a position I was hoping we could upgrade this summer if we’re serious at making a stab of staying up.

Filling Staplewood with a load of ‘he’s good to have around’ players will mean we end up with a bloated, bang average squad that will come straight back down.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

I'd imagine we'd offer him a short contract, on reduced terms. The first age based, the second as it's a SR goal. If we offer one at all. Stu can weigh that up with other offers.

He's another player who got better for us during the season. Not back to his pre covid best, but still our best option in that position.

It's a starter position to be filled.

[Dusic]

3 hours ago, trousers said:

Our relegation last season was as much to do with the management situation as it was the quality of the  players, per se, as highlighted by McCarthy in his 'issues in the dressing room' post match interview last week.

In true Trousers sitting-on-the-fence tradition, Stu is a difficult one to decide upon.... On his day, he makes the team tick, on other days he can a waste of a shirt. 

I'm probably leaning towards the "keep him as a decent squad player" camp but wouldn't be too fussed if he left at this juncture in his career.

Totally agree, imagine we would only be offering a one year deal so fair enough if he csn get better elsewhere.

Haa been a good signing and committed player over 6 years withba standout spell under Ralph but the PL takes no prisoners and we need to be ruthless.