Oh boy, do we need that. I mean, young Luke Shaw is reputed to be on £102,000 or is it £120,000 per week [?], and he's barely out of nappies. I would argue that he has not progressed one iota as a footballer and in fact has gone slightly backwards, imo. However, there is no doubt he's richer, earning 3 times what was being put before him, under a revised contract, in his final season at Southampton. Of course he isn't going to turn that down, but where's the competition going ultimately..? Down the Swannee, that's where. So while the overwhelming money is great for owners and stadia and academies, the biggest get bigger faster than the smaller get bigger, and that needs to be addressed, because ultimately sport is about fair competition, and football is getting incredibly lopsided. I'm saying this as much for the Grimsby Towns and the Bristol City's [and Rovers] as much as for any team in the PL or CL too.
Try supporting a women's team. I predict whichever WPL club doesn't win the play-offs this season will have almost all of their best players picked off by WSL clubs in the summer and end up next season fighting relegation. The play-off will literally determine the future of both clubs.
I see Sterling is now holding Liverpool to ransom over his new contract. So it's not just the smaller clubs who get screwed over by their employees.
Arsenal are interested in Slattery. Apparently Wenger has an eye for finding and developing new young talent. What a load of bollocks. They need to get those hedges around Staplewood thickened and get them to grow a lot higher. That will then **** up his talent spotting ability.
Just todays media campaign to sell all of the Saints squad....TODAYS SPECIAL OFFER...buy three young Saints for inflated fees and expect to get a 16yo free!
You have said this so much better than I could - I started to type a similar content but couldn't express it very well and thought I'd get ripped to shreds so I bottled out. Well said.. As for 'being more like American sports' well I never really said that, I said that they have tried - not altogether successfully - to level the playing field that is all. To be honest I'm not a traditionalist, I believe that is what has held back the game and made it what is it - despite what people think - stagnant. American team names traditional have a connection to the area so they are far from 'stupid'. Edmonton Oilers - the big ol' oil industry is based there and so on...After all what the feck does Rovers, Wanderers and Rangers have to do with any of the clubs that have these names? Most of them just copied more successful clubs at the time - of course Bristol Rovers could still be called 'Black Arabs' I suppose
By the way I find this an interesting and stimulating conversation. This is why I come back to this forum only - it's the most civil and sensible Southampton FC forum I've found and long may it continue.
Our nickname does reflect our history as we were associated with St Mary's church, but what else could we be if not the Saints. Southampton Titanic might be asking for trouble. Southampton Foresters because of the New Forest. Any ideas?
Southampton Hogs? Or as I once saw in terribly spelt team name, 'Hawgs'. I guess if we were like North America we would have a connection to the docks and the sea - so Southampton Clippers, erm...Southampton Dreadnoughts...that'll do
