I do have this feeling that the club are reining back on its ambitions - as succinctly put on here the other day showing quotes of the earlier stated ambition from being a side competing to Champions League side to now that of being 'best of the rest' outside the top six (or words to that affect). The Summer signings never looked like being 1 for 1 replacements. Beefy - I would suggest this is most probably going to be Davies (not too many senior players are left - we have sold most of them! )
I also read with interest CBKs comments on the old thread that Onionman resurrected. He did a lot of defending, almost happy clapper like..:. *aplogies for use of the offensive term
Yeah, Saints have enjoyed the success of that particular bit of PR spin. So if the club is so far forward thinking, who was the replacement/back up for the notoriously injury prone Austin & Rodriguez?
That old 'chestnut'. As we have communicated (disagreed before); given that we had only Pelle (carrying an injury), Long and Jay coming back from injury; we needed a another striker in any case irrespective whether Pelle was leaving or not - so cannot agree with your statement - no matter what the club might have said later on.
We signed Austin in the knowledge that Pelle would leave in the summer. I consider that to be a replacement. That's factual in the same way as your repeated Virgil is going in the summer "fact", i.e. my opinion. Vin
We signed Austin because QPR were almost giving him away and other clubs were scared off by his injury record. Saints did well getting him and I glad they did, but I don't for a minute believe is was part of some sort of wider "plan". If Saints are that good at planning, why are they only now trying to get in a Centre-back if it was clear that Fonte wanted out since August? Saints are just as reactive as any other club.
Yeah, not gonna trawl back looking for evidence of your previous doom laden prophesies, which you claim don't exist anyway. Aplogolies, I must have imagined your relentless pessimism going back donkeys.
Arsenal - I am firmly in the "we needed another striker" camp, but I'm also someone who does try to see the other side in situations and this got me thinking. I will have a little look as I'm thinking off the top my head that most have similar to us when combining strikers with attacking wide players.
Be nice if Jose made some kind of nice statement about his time here, rather than that slightly odd one about how West Ham are ace.
It's easy to say we want to be Champions' League when we are in League 1, Championship or newly promoted...looks a bit tougher when you get close to it, so not surprised the word from the club has changed. The last couple of years was our best chance of that when we were playing well and some bigger clubs were wobbling....Leicester took advantage, whereas we didn't. It doesn't matter what words the club uses....the ambition of any football club is to do the best they can....if that is get in the top 4, so be it. The club has not lost ambition....it is just that they are not going about it in the way fans (people who don't have to find the money) want. As long as the present board/personnel/owner stay in place, this is how we will proceed. Personally, I hope they do stay in place, because I'm not a hell or bust type of person.
I expected him to make that statement, because you would, wouldn't you? However, I hope he will post us a nice goodbye message....though words butter no parsnips, they are still nice to read.
Very well said...for me, what made Fonte great at saints was not his football ability, but all the intangibles. It's been mentioned many times about his recent centre back partners being far superior players, but as a leader Fonte got the better out of himself and everyone around him. You only have to check out his body to see how well he looks after himself and I believe he has been a positive influence on all his team mates and encapsulates that fighting spirit required to be a winner. So when you take that attitude away and you have a player who just clocks in and out of work and does the bare minimum and doesn't go to work with a smile on his face. Then you lose everything that made him great I could have worded this better, but in short he had to go.
Has he been allowed to do by the Saints Politburo? Rickie was allowed his letter; Morgan had a nice piece on the website. Others, notably Lallana, didn't even get a "thanks for their contribution". Does tend to stoke the "we hate" feelings towards ex-players. I'll judge it like this. Fonte was a good player for us from the outset. Many of us doubted he'd make the step up to Premier League, and he proved us wrong. He's saved us many a goal, and chipped in with a few of his own the other end. He is the last of the "climbers" to go, and that's sad, but it had to happen. I'll remember him with affection, be saddened to see him turn up as a West Ham player but accept that phase is going to be short-lived. I don't wish him well at WHU, but do hope that he enjoys his couple of years of mega money and a long and healthy retirement. What he has lost in terms of affection from the St Mary's faithful is immeasurable, and I hope he doesn't regret that loss. But once he does hang up his boots, surely his place in the gallery of Saints legends is assured. If not, we're a bloody weird bunch!
Perhaps a month wasn't enough to find the right person. Regarding planning, my view is that anyone running into the last two years of their contract* is going to go either at two years or the next summer with a year left; we've shown very clearly that we're keen to extend contracts early, so anyone who doesn't extend is probably on their way. I'm sure the club have noticed that (though plenty of people on here think the club is run by idiots who haven't noticed). So, I full expected Pelle to go in the summer. I'm sure the club did. So, I equally suspect that Austin was signed in preparation for that fact. *This is why I expect Oriol to go and (I only noticed his short contract this week) probably Maya. Vin
I really want Romeu to stay, but I suspect that our difficult season has put paid to him signing a new one.
100% agree. I don't have it to hand, but the picture that somes it all up for me is the one of Kat with Nigel, Ronald & Mauricio at Kelvins testimonial. If football business was conducted at the same emotional level that supporters believe it is or should be then that picture would have looked more like an episode of Jerry Springer.
