I would love him to stay and would be delighted if he believed in us that much, but I can't see it. I think he has been charming without promising us anything. We may have to wish him Bon Voyage with love.
I think he is a cheat. He makes defending look so easy that I know he's cheating. He must be. He is cheating, isn't he?
Do we really think he's that much better than fonte? I would love him to sign but I don't get all this 'hes a level above us' business. Wasn't he 3rd choice at athletico? And after 6 very good months hes suddenly walking in to every CL team out there! Hes a great player and is part of an excellent defence. If we don't sign him it will be due to wages or we don't make CL.
This tbh. I do think he is a cut above Fonte, but I know a couple of people who follow European football closely and they both have said that Alderweireld is good, but not great. Can't help feeling that it could be a similar case to Lovren last season (pre injury). If you had told us that next season he would be behind Skrtel, Toure, Sakho and even Glen Johnson in Liverpools pecking order for CB then you would've been laughed off the board. I really think that you put any decent centre back behind Morgan and Vic and they will look very good. I still hope we sign him but am interested if he does go how he does in a team that doesn't play 2 centre mids as defensively sound as Morgan and Vic.
Yes, I do. He's the best Centre Back I've seen play for Southampton for many, many years. What he's done at other clubs is irrelevant for me; I make my judgement by what I see at Saints. I also think he has improved Fonte, so not disrespecting him at all. There may be an effect from Morgan and Vic, but so be it. If Toby isn't great elsewhere fine, he should stay great here.
Ronald was surprised we got Alderweireld, so that tells me that he is a cut above without seeing him play. He is a CB who is not always obvious (i.e. doesn't perform lots of exciting last ditch tackles/interceptions)....that tells me he is very good in tandem with Jose et al. Nothing better than being completely unaware of your CBs. He can also play midfield. The hard part will be replacing him. He may not be as good in another team, but, by the time he finds that out, it will be too late. Lovely lad...hope he stays.
How we felt about lovren, coming in taking PL by storm, improving fonte. Toby is a great player and has so much potential but I feel his pairing with fonte is appropriate. I don't feel he is 'out of our league', he plays with other very good defenders and has first rate coaching. If fonte was 25 I'm sure a fair few big clubs would be after him. As for Koeman being surprised we signed him, well that could mean a number of things.
I never mentioned Koeman being surprised, so not worried. Fonte isn't 25, he's over 30, so that's ifs and buts. At 25 he was playing for Palace before a League one team rescued ( ) him. By the second half of the season, a lot of people were questioning Lovren. It's the second half now, so maybe Toby will go the same way. I haven't said he's out of our league and that in my opinion he is the best CB I've seen in a Saints shirt for many many years. Have you seen better? This started when you asked if anyone really thought he's better than Fonte. I said yes. Do you not?
Agree with FLT. He's a top top defender. I dont think we've had a CB pairing this good since the Nicholl Watson days.
Toby is better than Fonte but together they make a great pair (just as Fonte did with Lovren). Be nice if we can keep Toby when Fonte is put out to stud #hopefulface
We won't keep Toby. I just don't think it is really on the cards. That said, he's never promised us anything and I look forward to seeing him playing for one of Europe's elite... so long as that involves leaving the country!
I don't think we will keep Toby either, but wish him the best (abroad preferably). He has been straight with us from the beginning and has certainly given his best this season.
I just had a moment where I imagined a Toby/Killer partnership. It was a nice moment. Dean Richards was great when he played for us. As was Richard Hall actually. Ah the joys of rose-tinted glasses. My all time favourite CB for us though stands proudly in my avatar.
Short answer: no Long answer: no, but probably due to things that are beyond the control of Southampton FC, sadly
