Saints transfer rumour thread

Well let's keep in mind, Everton are 5th. Being reasonable, we have very little chance.

 

Cortese aims high and looking at the league table as it is and the inconsistency outside the top two. I don't think it's unrealistic to be challenging with the merseyside clubs next season with good investment.

 

Can I just say Chelsea and Arsenal.

 

According to the Sun (caveat lector), Pochettino's 'project' is to get us in contention for Europe by 2015: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4753342/Mauricio-Pochettino-tells-Southampton-Ill-make-us-big-time-club.html

 

Beat me to it Fran. Add 2-0 down in front of Chelsea as well.

 

We have a chance against anyone. I sincerely hope rather than just scouting our team, MP has also been scouting our opposition...

 

People may laugh at plans like that, but they also laughed at the Wright brothers (isn't that part of a song). Adkins was asked to get us in the PL, was it likely that Poch would be told target 10th place. A European place is the kind of target that would be set (even Cortese has the sense to keep his plan for the title under wraps).

 

That is only relevant though if our fans are as behind the players as much tomorrow, as they were for those two games.

 

Very good point, but you can't run before you walk. Hope he's a quick learner.

 

Yeah, sure. But I see those as anomalous rather than setting expectations. I could just as easily say, Wigan and Sunderland.

 

But we also need to build a top team that can survive first and foremost, it's no good us splashing £40m in the window on great players who don't fit into our team and who just destabilise us. I think there is little question that on paper a pairing of Astori and Forren would be far better than what we have, but to use that horrible old cliche; football isn't played on paper. Dropping two new centre-backs neither of whom can speak the same language as each other or the rest of the team into the deep end I don't think would improve us in the short term by any stretch of the imagination. And I know we want to look long-term, but if you keep looking at the horizon and walking eventually you're going to step in dog ****, you still have to look where you're going. We had a horrible start because our inexperienced team was given a baptism of fire and we chopped and changed and the organisation and team chemistry was all over the place and we got bullied. Then we finally got a structured team together and stuck with it, and that's what's gotten us to where we are now. I don't think we can afford to just go back to the drawing board and start again, another manager learning his way, a defence learning each others names and a nasty run of fixtures, that's an unnecessary risk in my book. The team can and should get bigger but we don't need to do that all at once, with the team we have with Forren added in, and perhaps a winger and some other depth, there would be no excuse for getting relegated and that's all that matters this year, the gain from buying a bunch of risky and expensive signings would be minimal this season, the loss could be massive.

 

Theres a Tranmere joke here somewhere, but I'll resist.

 

Mikey, pretty sure Forren speaks English, but you're right with the rest. I see no evidence that we're going to spend loads of money and totally overhaul the team though.

 

i Mauricio Pochettino is looking to raid former club Espanyol to add experience to Southampton. Also because RCD Espanyol are deep in financial trouble so he knows he can get the players on the cheap.
Players I've seen linked so far:
GK-Cristian Álvarez
GK- Kiko Casilla
DF- Diego Colloto
MF-Simāo Sabrosa
MF- Joan Verdú

 

Joan Verdu would be brilliant. Freebie at the end of the year.

 

Nixon says the Saints committee made enquiries for two domestic players last week. A keeper and a left-back.

 

English domestic or Spanish domestic??

 

English.

 

But land and Olsen?

 

Could the left back be Riise? Supposedly he's has a falling out with Jol, he's good enough to share fullback duties with Shaw for a couple of years and can play left midfield as well...