Summer window

Second story is obviously regarding Clarke or Roberts.

My guess is either Roberts has also turned down a contract offer, Clarke has thrown in a transfer request (doubtful after Mowbray's comments), or Palace have entered the race for Clarke.

I'm resigned to losing Stewart and Clarke to be honest. We're obviously not offering Stewart enough to stay, which is fair enough, we can't break the wage structure, specially for a player who is currently injured with no guarantee he'll return to the same form. And with Clarke, he's far too good for the Championship, so wouldn't begrudge him a move to the Premier League as long as we get decent money for him.

Fail to replace them quickly though, and I think we'll struggle to improve on last season's position.

 

It was all inevitable and hopefully the money is good and pushes us forward

 

None of them coming from the club though. Been saying it all summer - there are so many "media people" with an online presence who have column inches to fill and baits to get clicked. People seem to jump on any negative story and treat it as Gospel.

Yesterday Keef Downie and a few others say Burnley have made another bid. People jump on it an assume his "head has been turned" despite evidence to the contrary. The Head Coach then states that Burnley haven't matched his valuation and appear to have moved on to other targets, he also confirms the player is happy where he is (confirmed earlier in the summer by his agent) yet everyone seems desperate to believe a couple of teasing tweets from a well known ****ehawk...

Yeah, he might leave. He might stay. I'm not bothered either way as long as we get some good coin for him (Clarke)

 

Suppose if nothing else it give us a chance to see this ‘model’ with some cash behind it

 

Not entirely convinced. I feel it's a year too early for Clarke - before joining us, he'd played 43 games in 4 seasons. He's played 69 games for us in 18 months and played the best football of his career. If he goes to the PL now, it will be as bit part player in a mid table side, or a regular starter in a relegation battle.

 

Lets just see what happens, heard so much this summer that players are leaving yet are still with us.

Players will leave this summer but lets just wait n see what happens

Im confident by the end of the window we will have a stronger squad than the 1 that finished the season

Folk saying that selling players is the model- its not!! Its just football, championship teams rely on transfer fees to improve the squad (providing the right recruitment), its just we have gone yrs without anyone wanting any of our players

 

Tbh im not even sure if Stewart can ever become the player he was again after missing the majority of last season with injury, this latest one is very serious and it could have been career ending.

A lad at work knows ex Boro player Bernie Slaven very well. Him and Mowbray are still very good mates from their Boro days, and Tony apparently told him Stewart will never fully get over this injury, and it will keep coming back to haunt him.

Such a shame it happened in a pointless Cup match, when the league was our priority.

 

On the Ross Stewart saga - he won't be fit until late Sept, which means Southampton are taking a massive, massive gamble on him, but if it gives us enough coin to sign a fit replacement who might have 10 goals by Xmas - which is how long it will likely take Stewart to get to full fitness, then it's a brilliant deal for us

 

Replacing Clarkes numbers is my concern (if he is the one to go)

 

Hemir will have 10 by christmas, I can feel it.

 

Clarke looks like a Crystal Palace type of signing aswell.

 

yeh for me it’s the ability he has to quickly get us up the pitch.

 

I can see it from both sides if this is the case. We are not prepared to match his wages due to the risk of a recurring injury, and in his defence he is 27 now and he knows this next contract will be the last big one he signs now until he retires, so he has to do whats right for himself financially.
He has spent most his career in Scotland so as a footballer he wont have made a huge amount of money so far to set himself up for life.

 

Agreed. But time for Roberts, Benette, Lihadji & Ba to step up - not to mention who we might then sign with the money

Would be a huge blow, but at least we have options

 

Probably just because it’s the first time in a long time losing any of our players will sting, hard to adjust

 

His energy is phenomenal as well.

It was always going to be hard to keep hold of him if we didn’t go up.

 

Why are people talking about a “second story” from fishpaste?

His cryptic attention-seeking tweet was about Stewart. He’s now released that story.

Why do people think there’s something else?

 

Because he said there is a second story to come.

 

hes said there’s a second one and that it’s about Roberts or Clarke. He’s writing it now

 

It would be such a shame to lose any of our best players to a team like Southampton, who we already know will be in the top 6.

I hope Luton renew their interst.