Departures

  • Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
  • Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!
Interesting he's not coming here until the 1st. His English is plenty good enough - I think they want to start him on a clean slate by getting all the crappy stuff out of the way before he begins, so the fans ire won't be turned on him.

Perhaps a pretty smart move in reality.

I don't believe he's at the nunnery at all. I think he's actually in Holland to speak to the agents of all the Feyenoord and other Dutch players we will be signing, having a shmoke and schmooze.

#positivekruegerspin
 
I'd like to think that there were sufficient players coming through from the reserves to supplement the squad that remains in order to maintain the mentality that defined the team last season. It's probably true that we hit a glass ceiling last year as it is so difficult to break in to the top six.

The problem is for Saints is that loose any more players and those that have remained will start questioning why they should not leave as well. Schneiderlin seems to have been with us so long and been such a consistent talent that most fans would be gutted to see him leave especially as he is now making his mark on the international scene. Lovren is clearly our best central defender and I don't see anyone else holding that position in partnership with Fonte. We need to reinforce this position and can ill-afford losing a central defender. It's luck that Rodriguez is injured as I am sure he would also have been fodder for the tabloids.

With the current departures, we are going to need two new central defenders, a new left back with possible cover (not sure how good Targett is or whether the rumours about him are justified) , a creative midfielder and a new forward who I feel would be supplemented by Sam Gallacher.) On top of this, most Saints fans would have suggested that a new goalkeeper was the priority prior to the sale of Lallana, Shaw and Lambert. This equates to a minimum of about 6 new players which must be the largest addition to the squad in the close season for a while. On top of this, there are players like Gazzaniga, Hooiveld, Yoshida and Osvaldo who I would have expected to have moved on.

It does look like a substantial re-building job will be needed unless the fringe players from the reserves can be brought on. Watching the football at the moment, we could do worse than acquiring from Chilean players.
 
I think we need to dig in now don't we? Time to tell Lovren and Schneiderlin, and anyone else who allegedly wants out, that they'll have to wait another year. Not that that's what I actually expect from the club, but **** it, why can't we just say no to these players?