07 Jun 2017 19:03:01
Liverpool end interest in Virgil, apologise to owners, board of directors and fans of Southampton. Nice to see the board actually stand firm for once! Hopefully we can get another season out of Virgil but I'd imagine next summer he'll have even bigger clubs calling!

1.) 07 Jun 2017
07 Jun 2017 19:48:55
LFC very embarrassing. What a debacle: looks like Kloppo has a lot to do with this and may well be in trouble: VVD needs to do a lot of grovelling now.

2.) 07 Jun 2017
07 Jun 2017 20:47:25
I don't think VVD needs to do any grovelling at all. Why, what has he done wrong? There has been paper talk and speculation but nothing concrete and official from him.

3.) 07 Jun 2017
07 Jun 2017 21:12:17
I hope not Cyorussaintbut no smoke without fire. Either way he needs to come out and fully commit to the club now to put to bed any doubts in the fans minds. His agent will doubtless be most to blame,

4.) 07 Jun 2017
07 Jun 2017 21:55:55
He's changed his twitter bio: looks like he's furious to me.

5.) 07 Jun 2017
07 Jun 2017 22:36:10
He changed it back pretty quickly.

6.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 06:38:34
Hi Eds. Do you think the manager situation will be resolved this week for sure as this must be unsettling the players.
Also how serious is this for Liverpool now?

{Ed001's Note - I don't know what will happen with the manager now. I was expecting him to be removed, but the end of season review has given the club pause. The circumstances regarding Jose Fonte and how it unsettled the squad has been raised as mitigating circumstances. It has been explained how upset the players were and that a lot of work had to be done to get their heads back into playing for Saints. However, my personal opinion is that Puel will still be removed, they were actively seeking a replacement prior to the meeting. I doubt that anything other than being unable to attract the right replacement would stop his removal to be honest.

As for Liverpool, it should be very serious, due to the previous instances they have been involved in. However, in this instance, they have put forward a defence which Saints might well accept. It really does depend on if Soton push it, which seems unlikely as they would then have difficulties of their own to contend with. The business model being based on recruiting players who are looking to use Saints as a stepping stone to Champions League clubs is already struggling due to the Fonte situation. That created a lot of unrest in the squad, most of whom have promises that they would be allowed to leave if a CL club came in for them. When Saints fought so hard to keep Fonte, it made them wonder how much store they could set by the promises they were given. They are not there as the culmination of a dream, they are there as a step towards a dream and they were shocked that the club stopped Fonte making his dream a reality. Especially when he ended up in limbo and only moving to West Ham.

Anyway, back to the question, if Saints pursue it, then there is a very real possibility LFC get a transfer ban, though it is unlikely as their claim is that they were led to believe VVD had the Saints' blessing to discuss a summer move. Hence the swift apology and talk of a 'misunderstanding'.}

7.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 06:58:41
Wow thank you Ed for a very detailed response. Shall await developments with interest.

{Ed001's Note - you are very welcome.}

8.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 11:42:14
Ed, that is the first sensible thing I've tead re Fonte and Virgil to LFC. Thank you.

{Ed001's Note - thank you.}

9.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 15:36:29
Can someone explain the story about Fonte please?
Do I take it Fonte wanted to go to Liverpool?

{Ed001's Note - no Man Utd in the summer, but his move was blocked as Saints wanted him to stay. He felt that he should be allowed to make what he saw as a dream move and that he had shown the club a lot of loyalty by rejecting offers to stay with Saints previously.

The club felt they were short at centre back and wanted him to stay another couple of seasons to allow Stephens to develop.

I can see both sides to be fair, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Fonte at his age, but the club needed him and were well within their rights to reject offers for him. However it was handled badly and relations between club and Fonte broke down completely in the January window with Saints refusing to deal with United and Fonte forced a move out just to get out.

Shame as it was not a nice way for him to end his time with Saints, but I can understand why Southampton did not want him to go to United, as they were unhappy with the public pursuit. If United had been willing to pay up, then it would have ended more cordially but they were not willing to pay what Soton wanted due to Fonte's age.}

10.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 16:20:55
Thanks Ed001.
That explains why he got arsey.
How much was Saints looking to get for him, and how much did Manchester United offer?

{Ed001's Note - I don't know mate, it is not worth getting into that because the payment terms are complex and lots of clauses can alter the amount by a significant margin.}

11.) 08 Jun 2017
08 Jun 2017 16:41:23
Again Ed, very through thank you very much.

{Ed001's Note - very welcome HES.}