Agree, but you could arguably say that about any game, the fact is we have those performances in our locker as well as defensively solid counter attack etc. we can play in a variety of ways, not a bad thing EDIT: on Sunderland game I actually thought we played better when we beat Newcastle 4-0 & Villa 6-1 but Sunderland scored OG's for us, nice of them
Mate, I am in full possession of my sanity. Can you really be happy with your transfer policy, if you have a transfer policy. Over recent years it just seems you can show off by throwing money about, generally putting back a player's progress, and then selling at a big loss. You know who I'm talking about, for example Johnson 17.5m Carroll 35m Downing 20m Borini 10m Allen 15m Aqualini 17m Most of the 117m you spent last year. Transfers are a big part of football and no club is perfect including Southampton but we generally develop players and sell for a profit. Of course football has changed over the years but Liverpool use to turn players into legends. As I say are you really happy with the way your club is being run, players coming in or coming through your youth system. Am seriously not bothered about you signing our players if you are willing to pay the price. It just another player in saints success story.
So you're actually trying to suggest that the performance of all those players was down to the club, not in any way down to the player being totally unable to step up to the plate at a big club, unable to take their chances in the team when they came, unable to show that they had anything about them that made them undroppable, and generally their all being absolute dross (ok Johnson was decent - actually quite good - for a couple of seasons but was then picked out of habit / lack of any actual alternative and in the case of Aquilani he was just crock). I think I'll join you in the asylum
Bigger clubs tend to buy big and sell smaller, its the hazard of other clubs knowing you have money and the lower teams knowing you want something they have. Then using them up till the resale value is low. Now this isn't a defence of our transfer policy, which has been shambolic for almost the Prem era, but the risks are higher and so are the prices. Lets address the ones you listed Johnson 17.5m- Was at the club 6yrs and was used as first choice RB for most of them, not a bad return really. The decline is more down to his attitude and ageing. Carroll 35m- Yep we got done on that one, Newcastle knew we had the money and needed a striker fast. Downing 20m- Overpaid, but the player failed to deliver, hardly the most consistent player even now at a club with lower expectations Borini 10m- Rodgers fault, never worth the price and not good enough for the club and never will be. Allen 15m- Another BR player for the dressing room. Aqualini 17m- Came with a big reputation, the price looked good at first. Injuries, homesick and general lack of interest to play for the club Of those, only Borini has been failed by the club and he shouldn't have been bought in the first place (discounting last summers buys as they've only had 1 season), the rest all failed themselves by not delivering their best. But for those there is also Suarez, Torres and potentially Sterling. All bought for good fees, improved whilst at the club and sold on for mega bucks
So all these players who were playing well enough for you to buy them just couldn`t step up to the plate at a big club Makes you wonder how teams like Barca, Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal etc ever get the players they buy to "step up"
1. Clubs out of the top 6 generally HAVE to buy small, develop and sell for a profit because they can't afford to take bigger gambles. All transfers are gambles, smaller fees are just a smaller risk and no one cares/notices. Bigger clubs have to take bigger gambles because the more highly rated players cost more. If you consistently buy cheap players, develop them and sell them, your team never progresses beyond a certain level. If a big club consistently buys cheap and young players to develop, they never achieve in the short term and lose any chance of keeping said players when they do develop. This all seems very simple to me. What you're basically saying is you're proud of being a small club with no ambitions, but that's fine because you get top 8 and sell for a profit. Few years floating around there and eventually you'll take the plunge on some big buys. If they work great. If they flop, you start again. Welcome to Liverpool of the last 8 years. 2. Liverpool used to find the gems because we had good scouts and academies didn't exist. Now, all the talented players are snapped up and you can't just go unearth a gem as easily because they're all buried in the academies. Buy 'em early and hope they make it. 3. Happy, no. Need more kids in the first team to get opportunities. 4. You clearly are bothered else you wouldn't be here. I really wouldn't claim selling a player to another club to be a success story either...whatever floats your boat.
They don't go sniffing around Newcastle, West Ham or Villa for their players... Their scouts have some semblance of a brain.
I agree, I just think it silly to say they couldn`t "step up to a big club". Most of the players mentioned had reached their level and were unlikely to improve much, you can only expect a player to step up at a bigger club if he is already beyond the team he is playing with (or very young with lots to learn).
Always easier to judge in hindsight. Only way you find out if players are capable of moving to a bigger club and stepping to the required level is by them actually moving. Sure, some players you can look at and you know they won't such as Adam, Downing, etc but there are always others such as Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham who every thought had already peaked but went on to new heights once they got their move to Man Utd. Gary Mac at Liverpool is another good example that people thought was crazy at the time but proved to be brilliant.
Well to be fair some players don't "step up". But I don't think its a mentality thing for most players. Some like Lovren just hit a patch of form when everything clicks, but soon revert to their normal form and it just isn't good enough for Liverpool. Others like Lambert might not be good enough but the tactics & team mates at Liverpool didn't suit him either and was probably the main reason why he didn't succeed at LFC. Where do you draw the line between the player not stepping up & him not being good enough in the first place?
I think what I`m trying to say is, with most of the players mentioned it was more a case of bad buy/ wrong fit instead of the player not stepping up.
I'd say Sahin was a decent enough deal but he never wanted it so therefore, never stepped up. Can't think of too many others under our Brod.
Sheringham and Gary Mac had peaked and were good enough to fit into any big team. I would liken York to Sturridge in a way, they looked like they wouldn`t get much better but suddenly clicked when paired with Cole and Suarez respectively.
Selling a player to another club can be a success story. Of course you don't want to keep selling players but lovren for example we pay 8m, get a really good season out of him, sell him for 20m and he has a **** season. A good bit of business. Clyne we paid a small compensation fee, get 3 great years and sell for 15m. Good business again, would like to keep him but if he has made up his mind to move then so be it. Every confidence in saints moving forward.
I think Southamptons success has come from replacing the players they sell with equal or better quality for lower prices. Keep this up and the team will keep on improving.
We've had a fair share of quality dealings with players too. Torres, Suarez, Mascherano, Alonso, etc, not to mention some of the youth players we've before getting a tidy sum for such as Fowler and Owen. We just have far too many bad ones in recent times.
Disagree. I think if they keep on going like that, they'll improve to a point and then stop short of the big 6 or even top 4. Eventually you need that next level of player and unfortunately, they're mostly at the big clubs already, or about to be snapped up for 'small' bargains of 15mill+. Those are the type of player which Southampton cannot afford to gamble on and yet those are typically the players to push a club on after a few seasons. Edit: Look at Depay. Rated highly, hugely talented and could step up a level at United and be a mainstay (I think he's that good), but too pricy for a smaller club to gamble on. Their current stars like Schneiderlin won't last long when the squad is just replaced with small, safer gambles who'll never push the club higher than 5th.
But they are the type they are developing. If they can push to be fighting for top four on a regular basis they will start to hold on to these players longer and get even stronger.
