The problem is how do you replace Rickie. he is a top drawer striker who slipped through the net for various reasons. Get him fit and in a good team and he shone. Where are we going to get a replacement?
Some posters on here need to go to the docs and get some antidepressants. It's not like next season starts next week is it? We have time to replace players, that's just see what happens before freaking the **** out.
Rebuilding period ahead, then. Just seen this flash up, on the topic of how Saints and clubs in a similar position may approach it... http://ciancarroll.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/moneyball-the-art-of-winning-at-an-unfair-advantage/
Lambert will never be "fit" his back is too ****ed up. He has been amazing for us, but he deserves to end his career where he wants. Only last season some people were saying he looked slow etc. But as soon as he is sold freak out. I will always remember what Lambert has done for us, but he has decided to move on and so must we.
New manager, new players, new challenges and new heroes. Que sera, sera... Sorry, was that a bit too non-hysteric? I think I'm just becoming numb to it all.
Good article. This is the key phrase though: The 64 billion dollar question is: are our management even going to try and compete, or are they just a paper tiger?
Lambert to sustain an injury at the world cup, puts him out for next season and he retires early. Les Reed hailed as tactical genius as Bony goes onto score 20+ goals as we finish 7th above spurs. We can all dream.
Yes, this. A month ago, if you had polled everyone on this site about what we needed to do this summer almost everyone would have said "add an attacker." And not just for depth, one that is going to start. That attacker would have likely pushed Lambert to the bench and almost everyone would have been fine with that since most felt he is no longer able to play a full seasons/full games at his old level anyway. Now all of a sudden everyone is moaning about "How will replace Lambert's 13 goals/10 assists for 4m?" That wasn't the plan most people wanted. The plan was to replace Lambert for someone BETTER than Lambert for 10 or 15m. So what Saints would be doing under that scenario is replacing a veteran guy off the bench in Lambert to clear space for a young guy off the bench in Gallagher. And getting a decent chunk of cash. And allowing a player to make their dream move, after all he's done for them. No one would have a problem with that. Did it occur to anyone that refusing to move Lambert might be worse than allowing him to go? The club will be trying to convince Lallana or Shaw that they can get the job done, and just stay a year or two and see if it works out. If they realize that they are never going to be allowed to leave even in the most sympathetic/justifiable conditions imaginable like Lambert's, what's their incentive to gamble on Saints?
Other than their manager going to Liverpool, how come Swansea can stay so staunch in the face of swoops from big clubs? Williams, Michu, Bony - all kept, with the Board telling everyone to get lost. Is it because Huw Jenkins is his own man, like Cortese was?
Ok, how about this; A wall of noise in the Maracana stadium greets Rickie Lambert as he steps up to the spot. Liverpool's latest signing never missed a penalty at his previous club. A national hold's it's breathe. Lambert takes a short run up, and scoops it 10 feet wide and over the bar. A nation mourns, though the sound of wry chuckling can perhaps be heard on the South Coast.
I'm almost past caring now. If they want to go, then go. I'll still got to SMS whenever I can next season, whatever team we put out.
