Spurs ITKs have said the reason that Remy was declined way back, was not solely due to the medical condition itself, but the medical insurance costs to the club if he went <standard> (which of course he would - the moment he signed on the dotted line) .
He's got a heart defect, which nearly scuppered his move to Marseille in 2010 and he's had problems with his knees and groin, too.
Torres back to his best....... [video=youtube;XVtLxQXFEjI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVtLxQXFEjI#t=17[/video]
Lovren has completed his move to Liverpool for a reported £20m. Will the last person to leave St Mary's please turn off the lights. Schneiderlin's probably next, so who's left? Rodriguez is injured and is still being touted for a move, so... Clyne, maybe? Who needs a right-back?
Never seen anything like it... Pochettino, lovren, shaw, lampbert, lalana, Chambers, Schneiderlin (going) a manager and 5 first team players going all in one transfer window...do they not know how to say **** off?
Saints finished 8th, they had an ok season but I'm so surprised that so many of their players have gone to big sides. Shaw is the only one imo who definitely belongs at the top level, the others I'm not sure of tbh. Same as Poch, his appt is a big risk and he could easily get exposed next season.
Didn't seem to affect him last season too much. He misses a few games through injury but for that price it's a no brainer imo.
Southampton have always been a good little club that have attempted to punch above their weight but they got ahead of themselves. Their fans suggested they weren't that far behind us but they have nowhere near the stature and history so to have one decent season is not any reason for them to start dreaming of making a leap forward. Koeman could lead them to relegation but in future they should learn to not accelerate any thoughts about catching clubs like us until they are capable enough to sustain a challenge each year but unless a billionaire takes over then the best they can hope for is to be as big as West Ham United. Lallana, JRod, Lambert, Lovren are names that you would have placed in the average column a couple of years back and am glad we avoided as we have spent millions on these players, from Bentley to Bent to Dembele. But one quality saints have, which we should follow is the youth system as it's better to focus on youth players then sign average players who are elevated after a good season, as if we focus on youth players then we will have a batch of quality players coming through and as Sherwood said '' you don't always have to look outside the club ''.
£20m for Lovren? I'll admit to not seeing that much of him but that's a lot of money for a guy who's spent one season in the Prem in a team who weren't the best defensively. Do you think they would like Verwrong'un for £30m? (One good season in the Premiership in a team who weren't that good defensively..... who is know looking a tad pony).
It shows how important it is to have a top chairman if you're not in the top 4. Levy would never have let any of this happen, Liverpool, United, Arsenal and us would all be bogged down in accusations of tapping up whilst the squad was being locked in his basement only let out on match days until 2nd September.
"Southampton have always been a good little club that have attempted to punch above their weight but they got ahead of themselves. Their fans suggested they weren't that far behind us but they have nowhere near the stature and history so to have one decent season is not any reason for them to start dreaming of making a leap forward." Somewhere there is an article dedicated to a club and their deluded supporters whose arrogance about what clubs can and cannot aspire to or do, brings ridicule ...
Perhaps Saints are looking to pay off what remains on their stadium debt? Sure, it's a massive gamble and they might drop down a division, but their board might have reasoned to themselves that they're probably never going to get another opportunity in their entire history when they can sell so many of their players for such silly money to mugs like LFC, and they might as well take the opportunity to rid themselves of a mill-stone of a debt. What with their magnificent Academy, and being freed up paying for their stadium, they'll be in a fantastic position in 4 to 5 seasons from now, when LFC has gone bust for a second time. It is possible.
Dont see that happening to be honest. I don't think Liverpool will finish in the top 4 again, I have a feeling United will oust them. Though I honestly have no preference either way. What I am pretty confident about is that John Henry wont drive Liverpool in to the ground and bankrupt them. He has a reputation for running sports clubs meticulously as businesses. He has had to shell out initially to get the club in the CL (Plus Dalgleish wasted a lot of money on crap), and they have made a killing on Suarez so will be spending a lot this summer in order to stay in the top 4. But after this summer I think we will see them slow down in terms of spending, especially since, being in the CL, they will come under scrutiny by UEFA to meet FFP regulations.
The thing that seems just as remarkable as the number of Southampton sales is the inflated prices. It reminds me of nothing so much as Liverpool's ill-fated buy young, buy British fad when FMG first came in, resulting in such wonders as 35 million for Andy Carroll. While Saints risk the drop, not to mention alienating their fans, they may think the money is too good to turn down. If they spend it wisely, it could help them work their way up the food chain in the long run. So now watch us shell out big money for Schneiderlin, since we clearly are in desperate need of more deep lying midfielders.
The prices paid for players in transfers between PL clubs always seem be inflated - drastically so. With Soton players, it's been ridiculous. Liverpool have bought three players from Soton for approaching £55M. All have done reasonably well for a season (or two at most). A couple of years ago two of those players were in League 1. Utd have paid top dollar for a 19 year old on the basis of his potential. Arsenal have done much the same. All these transfers are gambles. When you consider how many star names in the PL over the past few years were bought for a fraction of the cost of these players, you have to question the judgement of the clubs. Most of the Soton players sold are English. None are regular England internationals. They might all be good players in Soton colours but I bet there are many who outperformed them in the WC who could be picked up for a fraction of the cost. It might mean more foreign imports to the PL, but if I had £55M to spend I 'd fancy getting better value for money than Lambert, Lallana and Lovren. All 25 or older, no pedigree, no top level club experience or honours, no outstanding talent - B list at best.
