I think Fonte really bought into the Saints though, and felt that was the best way to get into the Premier League. In League One and even to some extent in Championship we were the big club. He wanted to play well here and to stay here and advance with the club. Banega is coming here because his club is broke and he doesn't like it there and none of the big clubs will take a chance on him, not because he likes Saints.
Yep. If I was to pick a player who so visibly and verbally bought into Saints ambitions I would say that player was Jose Fonte.
I'd say Schneiderlin has been more vocal about it, and has done rather better than Fonte to keep up with the club's progress! Point taken though.
Yes, Morgan is a good shout, but Jose actually dropped a division from then highish flying Cystal Palace in the Championship, stating that he wanted to play in the Premier League and that Saints were going in that direction. That was some statement of faith.
But Morgan turned down Arsenal when they were in the Prem yet signed for Saints when they were in the Championship
No. Lovren and Banega are like that, but I don't think Wanyama hated Celtic nor was Celtic broke. Clyne wasn't in that position, or Jay Rodriguez. Ramirez wasn't at the most stable club, but I don't think he hated it there. For those guys, they simply wanted to advance their careers and get that huge paycheck that would set them and their families up for life. If those players had gone to a bigger club, they wouldn't be any closer to CL football than they are at Saints. They'd be putting their time in at the reserves and trying to fight for a first team position. If Saints don't progress with the player, then they'll leave. But if Saints do progress with them, they may stay. Banega could easily be playing in CL at a huge club right now if he could get his act together. If he comes to Saints and puts in a half season of the kind of football he's capable of, he could well be off in January (at a huge profit to us, of course) to a powerhouse somewhere. We can't move as quickly as he potentially can. Lovren's career has stalled out as well, but he is less proven, so his timetable could be similar to ours. But what Lovren and Banega need most is a change of scenery, not first team experience or finding the right club where they can get noticed. They are at Saints because they messed up at their old clubs. I don't think that's the case for our other signings.
I disagree with this. There are teams in the Champions League who can afford players like Ramirez and Wanyama, and who would play them too. Porto, Benfica, CSKA Moscow, Zenit, Marseille, Shakhtar, Galatasaray and Schalke are realistic examples I reckon, and of course Celtic actually had one of them until a couple of weeks ago.
Point taken, I assumed you were arguing that we should only sign players who dream of coming to Southampton rather than only joining us because nobody better had come in. In Banega news though, he's not in the squad at all for their friendly tonight. I don't know if he's injured and it could just mean nothing, but yeah.
Turns out he is playing anyway, got subbed on at the start of the second half despite not being named in the team.
