I'm fully on board with a clearout at this point and won't freak out about anyone going bar KWP, Perraud, Livramento and Romeu. I don't think there is a player in the squad that is indispensible but I don't think we can replace those guys easily. I am even ok if JWP wants to go because the funds will go a long way. I wouldn't want him to but I also want more from him in open play. What I really don't want to see is a couple of new faces and another season of trying to get a new tune out of some old dogs. It hasn't worked and it wont work next time. Substantive change needed.
TO which we could add the CB positions are too unreliable and need some experience and the while the double pivot has bite it lacks vision and there is no depth or versatility in the squad for those positions.
The only position in the squad that doesn’t really need addressing is right back, and with Livramento out til next year you could make a case that right back does need addressing. The main thing is how many players we can get rid of and then start an FM type rebuild hopefully
The right noises are being made and it sounds like they aren’t blind to the issues. But improvement throughout the entire spine of the team and the number 10 positions will cost a fortune that we simply don’t have I hope we really leverage the loan market. It seemed daft to only have one last year. Use our two domestic and however many we can get international. No need to get precious about not owning the players. Having players who aren’t quite up to what we need tied to long contracts has crippled us for a long time
The Daily Echo are using me as a source now or something? https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/2...s-nathan-redmond-creative-southampton-player/
This would be good business. Don't need to spend much on full backs - just need cover for Tino while he recovers.
Would it though? As I understand he can only really play right back and would presumably want a 3-4 year deal on standard PL wages of circa 50k So when Tino is back it either means KWP is permanently a left back (not the best idea) or one of KWP or Tino will be sold in January or the summer. I guess if we are assuming Tino doesn’t lose a step when he comes back and are banking on selling him next summer Just a real risk of some clutter in the squad here. It is the right kind of idea though
We know he would want 3-4 years because he is 29 and we have common sense. Players sign shorter deals than that when they are into their 30s or have had such long spells injured that they have no chance getting anything else I am not denying he could do a job for that period of time. But that would require one the other right backs to move on. We aren’t going to be paying a hefty amount out to a third choice right back given our squad situation Circa 40k a week on a third choice right back puts us right back into Forster/Long territory in terms of the size of wage in relation to role in the squad
Tino will be out imho until at least Easter next year. The club will not want to rush him back and having a good premier league experienced back up to KWP like Fredericks, would be a good move. £2.5 million wage over a 3 year contract so a cost of around £8 million with signing on fees etc, is a cheap deal in premier league terms. We should be clearing minimum, £10 million a year in salaries of our books this summer.
Well we have 3 full backs, one who is only a right back, one who is only a left back and one who is better at right back So yeah I’d say we need another left back, unless they feel Small can cover there. KWP is going to be playing right back for basically all next season youd think with Livramentos injury
