RALPH, ARE YOU UP TO THIS?

An interesting post on the Basingstoke Gazette website.....

'Boruc - free
Shaw - free
Fonte - £1.2m
Lovren - £8m
Chambers - free
Schniderlin - £2m
Cork - £750k
Lallana - free
Davis - £2m
Gallagher - free
Lambert - £1m

Every single team above us and most below us have at least one player who cost more than our current starting 11. The fact we are lying eighth is testimony to the best academy on the planet at this moment and some shred decisions by Cortese starting with getting Markus to buy the club.

We were driven by a vision - the players, fans and everyone associated with the club bought into that vision. Ralph is now tasked with delivering this once in a lifetime opportunity. Never again are we likely to have such a bunch of talented youngsters emerge all at once. They have come out one by one and effectively stated they will stay if MoPo is retained and the squad improved. MoPo is making it clear he will stay - provided there is ambition here to match his and the players.

We now face one of the most challenging summers ever faced by a Southampton chairman. He will be bombarded by attempts to prize away our key assets, including using the media to unsettle them. Against that backdrop he has to spend and spend big due to the quality we need to sign. He needs to be able to sell the vision to players who previously would not have considered signing for Southampton. That is the only way the vision will be realised.

Ralph are you up to this?'


I don't think you would normally include Gallagher as one of the starting eleven in recent games.......but if you replace him with Ward-Prowse the effect is the same.

But has excluded Ramirez, £10-12m, Osvaldo £14m, Wanyama £12m, Rodrigues £7m, Mayuka £4.5m, Yoshida £3m.

Pretty much all outlay with hardly any Income from sales of players to balance the books the last decent sale being Oxo but that was a couple of years ago now.

I do not think we need to spend huge amounts when compared to potential Income and think a £30m outlay against projected £60m income is not out of the question though that only gets you 3 or 4 players these days.

What is not clear is what role Les Reed has these days, I am not a big fan of his but he is the continuity at the club and has the football experience of what to expect in terms of approaches from other clubs, etc that Ralph lacks. Challenging times and may not be a spectacular summer but I will settle for modest investment if we retain the majority of our young talent and are able to offload Ramirez and Osvaldo

Doesn't help this dragging on as would have expected to be resolved by mid week one way or the other but arguably Saints will not want to issue an ultimatum as might push MP into decision. If he stays then everything in terms of who goes who stays can kick into action, if he goes then will take a few weeks no doubt to sort out new manager + background team which will hurt signings etc. as such saints have little option but to try and persuade MP to stay though personally his lack of commitment will see him drop in his status with the fans as will now be seen as looking at just playing us along for a better offer but if one doesn't come then will stick with us

I wonder if the Express know what they are talking about.....

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476362/EXCLUSIVE-Break-the-bank-Southampton-s-6m-to-keep-Pochettino?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-football-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Football+Feed%29

This needs to be resolved sooner rather than later. The more it drags on the worse things get. With the earnings from the Premier League, TV appearance money, etc., etc., which came to best part of £80 million, Saints aren't that hard up by football club standards. Hopefully the board will get MP's situation, and that of the players the 'big clubs' want to prise away, sorted as soon as possible. Hopefully, if we have to lose one, Shaw will be sold to Man U for as much as Saints can fleece them for and that money will be reinvested in the playing staff. There's no point flogging your best players and then not reinvesting it in the team. Look at what happened 10 years ago, we lost our better players, they weren't replaced (at least not with adequate replacements), the manager (Strachan) walked and we were eventually relegated the following season (both Bollock Chops and the Duck Killer were equally culpable) I just hope this isn't going to be a case of history repeating itself.
If the board bugger this up I can see fan unrest and a venomous atmosphere developing because all the good work of the past five years will be undone.

SaintMike wrote:I wonder if the Express know what they are talking about.....

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476362/EXCLUSIVE-Break-the-bank-Southampton-s-6m-to-keep-Pochettino?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-football-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Football+Feed%29

I have suddenly gone off the Express......

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476533/EXCLUSIVE-The-Saints-go-marching-out

It was good to read you again Nostromo. Welcome back mate, hope you stick around.

About time for the board to take the initiative, if MP wont sign the new contract which sounds like a good financial deal from him then they need to identify a new manager and be ready to appoint, think MP has behaved quite badly here stringing club along, while season was on could understand the view " no distractions but that no loner applies and rumours hurting the club.

Can state players on long term contracts NOT leaving, sort out new contracts for Boruc Davis S and Cork a s a statement to MP that life goes on with or without him

Exactly. And none of the likes of MacKay or Sherwood thanks.

more and more likely MP will go and while would like De Boer suspect he will stay at Ajax so would hope we go for Moyes. Did well at Everton over several seasons, inherited squad of old and useless at Manure so that doesn't put me off and while his style is not as free flowing as our recent play he was not a Fat Sam advocate of hoof ball.

certainly don't want Sherwood, a younger version of Saggy Chops and Mackay is far to negative. Mind you Barca's manager available!

SaintMike wrote:

SaintMike wrote:I wonder if the Express know what they are talking about.....

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476362/EXCLUSIVE-Break-the-bank-Southampton-s-6m-to-keep-Pochettino?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-football-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Football+Feed%29

I have suddenly gone off the Express......

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476533/EXCLUSIVE-The-Saints-go-marching-out

And now they say.....

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/476760/Saints-out-How-Arsenal-Liverpool-Man-Utd-AND-Spurs-could-raid-St-Mary-s-top-talent



3 articles in the Express in little more than 48 hours and each one is credited to a different reporter....... Tony Banks first.....then Colin Mafham.....and most recently James Dickenson. I wonder which of the three is the most reliable, Tony Banks I hope.

I have sent a tweet to Tony Banks, will let you know if I get a reply.

One piece of good news....

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11221670._/?

Hope Kruger enjoyed the Ice Hockey in Germany over the weekend, guess no pressing matters as CE of a premier league struggling to keep its best players and manager

My tweet to Tony Banks..

Loved your online article about Saintsfc but C Mafham & J Dickenson have now written scary stories, can yours be right please?


Reply from Tony Banks..

Hope so!

This is all a Skate fan's wet dream, isn't it?! It's a horror show already and is likely to get worse if what the media scum say is true.   

I don't think "Freddie" Krueger knows what he's doing, he doesn't inspire me with confidence and, frankly, I'd far rather have "Nasty" Nic back.

SaintMike wrote:http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/southampton/news/report-garcia-eyes-southampton-job_155828.html

No thanks. He can sod off with the likes of MacKay and Sherwood.

If the media is right, things are looking really bad for us.......but maybe it's premature to say much till the players (and/or manager) start actually jumping ship.


If, heaven forbid, we should lose Lallana, might this guy be worth a chance for us??

http://www.squawka.com/news/xherdan-shaqiri-vs-adam-lallana-why-liverpool-must-turn-to-the-alternative/112354?

On paper looks a decent player and arguably we need a creative player to replace Rameriz so sell Gaston and sign this guy and keep Adam!

Really fed up now with Kruger and not a word out of him no idea what he is being paid to do but doesn't seem to be doing very much and have never been a fan of Reed and told he was behind Dodds sacking, clash with Hunter who was never a pro and would rather have Doddsy and get rid of Hunter.

Twitter is buzzing about a tweet by Lallana's 'best friend' saying he is convinced that Lallana will be staying with Saints!

The summer is always silly season as far as football goes but this year has gone beyond silly, as far as Saints are concerned. If players and/or manager are going to leave they should leave right now and give the club time to rebuild and have a decent pre-season.

have to agree has never been a period like this with the rumours and can only think club's inability to say anything or do anything has made us open season for everyone, easy pickings as do not appear to hit back. Delay in sorting contracts and the manager will have a knock on impact on pre season which can then impact start of season. last season we made a good start which meant we were safe early. Can see us having a bad fixture list with all top teams first, not starting well then the pressure will be on. Don't think the board have any idea of the urgency to get these things sorted.