We seem to be getting collective knickers into one hell of a twist. If we were to look at the individual completed transfers in isolation would it look like: Rickie - start with the easy ones! - was a no-brainer. A number of posters were saying his time was up last season (I didn't agree, btw). We loved the guy and felt we could share his joy when he got his dream transfer. Adam. Yes, a prat in the way he's handled things (and this was the key) but would any of us have denied him the big pay day and the chance to play CL had he been the only departee? Luke. Said nothing wrong. Chance to play regularly for Man Utd and being paid shedloads of money. Could well tempt a boy. Again, on its own and we might have simply said "ah well, it was good to see him play, and now good luck". Of the ones joining the exit queue, Morgan has been a great servant to the club; he has conducted himself honestly and with dignity. Again, on its own and we'd be saying good luck and thanks. But of course, these are not single transfers - there is lemming-like rush. I have never seen the like in a club that has not just been relegated. Posters want to blame the board. What we do know is ... sack all! Now I want all the want-aways gone. I'm past caring where we end up next season. I just want to get back to my club being represented by players who seem to want to be here. If RK can bring in a few of these and we aren't the EPL's whipping boys next year we might be able to recover. But how much would I like to know what has been going on in the past few weeks.
With some time to reflect, I expect more will come round. We could never have stood in RL's way, and Shaw, well 12 months ago were it not for the influence of NC, he could have left us to scrabble around for a development fee, & that would have been so harsh. Can't believe how bad its ended with AL, but I do think its of his own making. Others, well, they may well go, but we still have our club.....& if it isn't going well, we can all have a moan on here!
Ad I have said I wouldn't denie any of the 3 a move to a bigger club. But the way Lallana has conducted himself through the media etc means he will always be known as twatbeard.
The way I'm staying positive is, to succeed you have to get rid of the deadwood. We lost some class but loyalty will always be what the fans will remember
It is because of the number of players leaving. If one left, you'd understand it, but with so many leaving it is like we have all been deceiving ourselves about what a happy team they were. We felt special and thought they did as well. It is easy to then think there is something terribly wrong, but I don't think there was. The team did well and got very ambitious, then Nicola left and Mauricio hovered. Even that wouldn't have mattered, except we had talented players that could command big money and get moves to top clubs. They wouldn't be rushing off to Stoke or Villa. It was just a perfect storm. There are good times ahead though.
What about when Newcastle lost Carroll, Nolan and Barton over January/the Summer and ended up coming fifth? If you get rid of those who don't want to be there, then it increases the team spirit, albeit a loss of quality players. We lost Chamberlain in League One through injury and started to play our best football.
Good luck to them all, but when it comes down to it they are no longer a Saint so it just doesn't matter!
If that's a must, then I hope to god we get the B'mouth fee back from them cheap chav's. Come on Maurice, start a bidding war, you know it makes sense.
How can one club pinch three of our best players. Wouldn't be so bad of they were scattered a bit, but the central core of our team joining one PL rival? It's bullshit. I was going to say football is bullshit but then I remebered James Rodriguez' goal vs Uruguay.
That's a good post Lambo. Your last sentence is the one though; we all want to know what has been going on behind the scenes. I do sometimes think that we forget that these players are very young men and sometimes get held up too high. Rickie aside, as he is 32/33 and to be fair experienced the tougher end if the football world, the others are young, immature men earning crazy money. I am not excusing anything but even Lallana is only 26. That's nothing really (not wishing to be patronising to any people on here around that age or younger) and Loven is only 23. Jeez, I knew everything at that age and I think I probably let people know that too. Crikey, at 22 I had just started in the industry I work in now, had a decent job, a Golf GTI as a company car and was paid for playing football on too of that and outside of my job. I bet to a lot of people I was a dickhead. So I would like to know what triggered all this, but my gut feel says that when NC left and the players realised MP would go to, there was a slightly immature reaction to it from the players and the first slight difference with Reed or the new board (bonus maybe) and they kicked off. Reed/board probably just ignored that or let it alone for a while and before they knew it, a little mutiny had started. Heels were dug in and we are where we are. I remember in my playing days, at non-league level when our manager left after he fell out with the chairman, I immediately fell out with the new boss and within two weeks I was demanding my contract was torn up and I left to follow my old boss. I felt hard done by after a comment from the new guy, who no doubt saw me as in the other camp and before you knew it I was at a new club. Two months later the season finished and half my old team came too. Now we weren't in the public eye like these guys and it was just non-league football but I can see how things escalate from something fairly innocuous. Anyway, I'd like to know what the trigger was, but I suspect it was something small that has just gone crazy. Good Luck Rickie I'll remember Shaw as the nice but dim lad we brought through our system The bearded nobody - well, sorry but I'm going to display the same petulance and immaturity I think he has and i cant forgive him yet or wish him well. He's gone! Lovren - shocking after one season - who is he? Morgan - please, please stay. I have a hope that he is the sensible one and might just stay another year. Please.
Koeman is on to a winner...joined a good EPL with top Academy and facilities...given money to create a team in his own image. He will be given a little time...whereas we would expect MP to do the same or even better this season, most will accept a safe season with a new manager. If he was concerned about failing, he would be lacking confidence in himself.
A very honest self appraisal, FLT, and from your description a highly accurate one! You make a good point about the age of the players. None of us can truly know the surreal nature of the world they inhabit. The very fact that Adam Lallana clearly set out to get himself to Liverpool without giving the new management a chance to discuss the future development of the team is indicative of some pretty immature behaviour on his part. But you're right. It has to be seen within the context of rich young men behaving badly. Morgan will always be an exception as he seems to consider things more before he acts/speaks. It's that French non-conformist streak in him, maybe. As I've said, if he does go I'll simply doff my cap and thank him for some great memories. But I also hope that the management will move heaven and earth to keep him.
