I have absolutely nothing against Palace, or De Boer for that matter. I don't rate him particularly highly and when he was linked with us I was a bit concerned. Although, as you say, if we did hire him I would be behind him 100% and wish him all the best.
The fact he thinks we have a strong squad and don't really need many first team improvements is worrying. We were **** compared to the season before last, and the club should be making moves to improve our first team.
We definitely need a few players in. An attacking midfielder/winger, midfielder and a center back. That's if everybody else stays.
I totally agree, there is considerable room for improvement. However whether that was due to poor utilisation by Puel or just poor signings remains to be seen. I'm just saying it will be nice to add to the squad for once rather than filling the gaps.
Likely to lose Bertrand, not keen on McQueen/Targett taking over that role. Austin can't be relied upon and needs upgrading/replacing. Yoshida isn't consistent enough to be our 2nd choice CB, though I love him. We need a proper DM to go alongside Romeu, none of our other midfielders work in that role. Still need a goalscoring midfielder, and have done for the last 4 seasons. Apart from that, yeah things looks alright.
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/06/2...uthampton-midfielder-jordy-clasie-on-loan-wi/ Rumour of Lazio wanting Clasie on loan with a view to buy. Rather depends on whether he falls into our 'wanted on voyage' group or the group that Les feels we can do without. Not sure about the loan idea though. As Les said, he won't be buying to make it interesting....apart from a few tweaks. One of our troubles last season was injuries....with everyone back, the team is strong enough to give MP2 something to work with.
You don't think we'll get injuries again this season? We need to improve the squad with quality so we're not completely handicapped by injuries/suspensions.
Clasie is more than capable to fill a role if needed, just depends on whether he wants to be a squad player.
I don't think Les said there will be no sales/purchases, but sales won't involve our main players and purchases will be if it suits us rather than just to keep fans happy. He didn't actually say the last bit, but I can read between the lines . Our squad is strong, especially with VVD back and Gabby starting a full season. Puel had some bad luck, but also didn't suit us. Hopefully, Mauricio will get the best out of this team.
Clasie is a good player, but we already have Davis who I think is better and more versatile than him, and JWP who's more effective and also 'our man'. And I just don't think we really need three very similar players. And then there's Hojbjerg too.
Executive director Les Reed told Sky Sports News HQ: "None of those [in demand] players are for sale. I can't make it any plainer than that and that's the way we mean to go forward. We built this squad over some time and think we have a strong squad. We will fine-tune it but, other than that, we are looking forward to a very competitive season next year and we plan to go forward on that basis. There may be players that go on the basis it is the right thing for them and the club at that given time, but we don't expect that to be wholesale and this is simply doing sound business in the transfer window. We track players over years and when the new manager comes in like Mauricio, we take him through that process. He'd done his homework on our squad and we don't believe we need to turn over players every year just to freshen things up. We've got a strong squad now and it would be about adding players bringing more value and power. It's not broken so there is no need to bring in players just because of fashion or to get people excited in the transfer market." Finally. This so needed to be said. SKY are a big news outlet in football and hopefully that will get through to the right people that we ain't selling, so stop with those rumours. Of course, even if it does make an impression it won't last forever. But it is one statement which affirms that Saints aren't a free for all anymore. Just like a shop, people can come in, look around, have a chat with the owners, but we have absolutely no obligation to sell.
Very reassuring but the player power still concerns me that individuals will force a move or strike/deliberately play below par (i.e. Ryan B after Xmas last season)
Hasn't Les Reed said that exact same line the last 3/4 summers? "We don't need to sell, only if it is right for the club"
I'm still not convinced Bertie has ever really wanted to leave. When asked, everything he has said in print is that he doesn't want to go or has never had any thoughts of leaving, and he can easily have lost form by carrying a minor injury all 2nd half of last season. It has happened before.
I like the "and even Barcelona." I'm amazed there weren't a dozen exclamation marks after that - Barcelona being interested in a Southampton player! Surely not, they're not one of the PL "big" clubs!!
He usually says that we don't need to sell (as did Kreuger recently)....now he is saying that we won't be selling. That's pretty firm....especially when you consider the fact we challenged Liverpool for tapping up VVD.
