Palace actively seeking a CB. This is soon to be the only option open to him. Will they meet our evaluation, probably not. Will Jose swallow his pride.....probably not. Who will blink first.
Others closer to the club than me may know more, but weren't there rumours of some sort of antipathy between Jose and Virgil? As Virgil's star is so high at the moment it might explain why Jose wants away, if there is anything in the rumours.
I liked Hansen. He was so blunt and he was responsible for my favourite bit of punditry. Lineker et al were discussing a Saints victory (can't remember against who) a few seasons ago and they were about to discuss the first goal we scored and as the replay commenced , he said, "I will go first on this, this is the worst goal I have ever seen. Southampton wouldn't have found it easier if they were playing nobody"
West Ham have come out and said they won't let Payet go....we've left this open....if it suits us, Fonte can go. By that they mean we can manage without him (perhaps have signed another CB) and the money is right. By taking that stance, Saints have left all options open and won't end up with egg on their face.
For all the talk of what Saints owe Fonte, what about what Fonte owes Southampton? Took him from League One to a Euro Championship. The debt works both ways. The club have offered new deals, Fonte has lied to the fans and rejected the offers. Disappointing, and bitterly. To say I would be glad to see him go would be too far, but I wouldn't shed a tear over it. I've lost a lot of respect for him since the summer.
That shows that no matter what we think of them or how much they rally with us when it is sunny, the moment they aren't happy, the fans get forgotten. Every time.
If Jose had ended up at A big club, like United or a big European club or even back in Portugal, I could have understood all of this. However it now looks like he'll end up at a Palace, a West Ham or an Everton. He is in danger of ending his career winning nothing, as an ageing player, nothing to show for a decent career at an average club. He could have finished as a lifetime legend and hero at one club. Silly boy.
He did win the European championship in fairness so I imagine whatever happens he will look back at a brilliant career. Although if he hadn't caused a fuss he perhaps could have captained saints to cup glory at Wembley. What a way to end a brilliant era for him that could've been.
This is true. Players have come back from worse such as Schneiderlin's twitter episode. Trouble is I'd say Yoshida has been better this season so perhaps should start ahead of Fonte anyway.
Saturday 14 January Burnley v Southampton Referee: Paul Tierney Assistants: A Garratt, M Wilkes Fourth official: M Oliver
On the instagram/social media thing, it seems pretty clear to me that most of the player posts and tweets (certainly in response to matches) are orchestrated by the clubs. I wouldn't pay them any attention at all.
