Presumably he was thought to be worth £15m for similar reasons that Luis Suarez is valued by Liverpool at something way above £40m. I doubt there are more than a handful of Liverpool fans who currently doubt Suarez' value to their club in spite of all the problems he's caused. Saints fans would equally quickly forgive Dani if he were to return to the side and go on magnificent scoring streak. I certainly would.
I'm not sure what explanation is needed really. It seems a pretty simple situation to me. Southampton needed a striker. Osvaldo, a talented striker, was unsettled at Roma for a variety of reasons, mostly off the field, and as a result was available for a lower price than his talent would usually command. Poch had worked with him before, knew how talented he was and had obviously been able to keep him in line once so felt he could do the same again. Believing Osvaldo's talent was worth the risk his temperament presents and that Poch would be able to keep him happy and settled, we signed him. In terms of his football he played reasonably well but hasn't quite settled. The problem with his temper, however, has been bubbling away for some time and has manifested itself in increasingly unacceptable ways - Poch had to drag him away at the end of one game, he lashed out at Newcastle's goalkeeping coach and has now violently attacked a team mate. As a result the rest of the players aren't happy for him to be around the club so he's going to be moved on. If he's sold Poch may expand a little on what we've already heard but I don't think we'll hear much more than we already have.
The answers may be obvious but Pochettino still needs to give them. £15m is a lot of money to gamble like this and it looks like we will probably lose a good proportion of it. You don't get a free ride when you gamble that much money and lose (not to mention the impact on team spirit, etc).
Haven't paid 15m yet. 12m plus add ons, so if he doesn't play for us again we don't have to pay the rest.
Ok, noted. Makes no difference to my point though. It's still a lot of money that we will lose a good amount of.
No, he really doesn't have to do anything of the sort. In a results driven business Pochettino will be judged purely by what happens on the field. The success of the team is the one thing he has to answer for publicly.
I just think you are being a little unrealistic. The time to question the spend was when we spent it. Ok, I'll leave it there
You're entitled to that opinion, but I'm afraid I disagree with all of it. Clearly results on the field are the main criteria for judging him but by no means the only one. I would suggest the time to evaluate an experiment is when it has concluded, not when you begin it!
If we can sell him right now for £8m then it's not that bad, but it's still bad. We spent £4m (plus considerable wages) for 3 league goals and a whole lot of disruption (and the opportunity cost of not signing someone else). You're all free to disagree with me, but as I say, I find it astonishing that anyone would allow something like this to pass without any kind of scrutiny at all.
Internally I agree. I'm sure questions will be asked within the club and Poch may not be able to influence this sort of transfer so much in the future. I don't really see why he has to explain anything publicly though.
No of course I expected a response. But you still go on, all I was on about was the fee and the amount we could re-coup. I get your stance on Pochettino needing to say something etc, you have said it enough times.
Ok. Well I'm sorry but I don't think my being slightly off on the price makes any material difference.
Ok, you have sucked me back in ..... I think it may be PTF that you seem to be taking a very indignant and dogmatic stance, almost to the point where it sounds like you are demanding a statement with full details on the evaluation of a player that our coach thought worth the gamble. A gamble that if unsuccessful is going to end with a cost to the club; if successful will be seen as a coup. That decision was made and happened 6 months ago. I am sure this will be considered the next time we think about a gamble on a similar personality. You are a fan of the club, as I am, not a member of the management team. No-one is saying that this should pass without any scrutiny, just that you and I are not necessarily entitled to hear that scrutiny. I am astonished that you seem to think that this was done on a whim (I don't really believe that, but it's similar to how your statement comes across)
All I want is for journalists to ask Pochettino about Osvaldo in a press conference and for him to give frank answers to their questions. I don't want a blow-by-blow account of the incident itself or the decision making process behind the transfer, and I haven't said that. But the fans of the club have a right to hear from the manager about this. If I seem indignant it is because apparently this simple wish is anathema to a lot of you and I can't really understand that.
Sell him to QPR where he can enjoy squaring up to Joey Barton!! Definitely not needed in the Saints dressing room!!
PTF, that is fair enough. How will you be when he says something like... there was a training ground bust up, he behaved badly toward a team mate, this is his second bad incident and so we are getting rid? Oh, and by the way... anathema? Are you for real? I think you'll find that no-one really dislikes the idea, just they don't seem to see it necessary as it is pretty clear from the club statement how the club feels. You just won't ever budge; not even slightly.
