17 Dec 2013 22:32:16
Clubs Most Likely To Poach/Buy Southampton's Players:
Paulo Gazzaniga - Newcastle United - reason: Their Director of Football (head of buying) Joke Kinnear (sic) accidentaly thinks he's Paul Gascoigne.
Nathaniel Clyne - Spurs - reason - The new Spurs manager (hopefully Hoddle) will realise how useless (as a right back) Kyle Walker is, and opts to splash the cash on Clyne, who is Britain's best young right back!
Luke Shaw - Brazil 1970 - reason - No other team deserves to take him from us ;)
Jos Hooiveld - Manchester United - reason - They need to try someone else out of position, so why not sign centre back Hooiveld and stick him on the left wing?!
Dejan Lovren - Manchester City - reason - Pairing Lovren with Vincent Kompany would be quite formidable, and they're in need of another player in this position.
James Ward-Prowse - Barcelona - reason - They'll have to replace Xavi and Iniesta one day!
Jack Cork - Reading - reason: Nigel Adkins connection, and Cork needs more 90 minutes' under his belt. Great player, and has a Saints future (I'd hope), so this move is just a rest of the season loan.
Gaston Ramirez - Yeovil Town - Reason: They need a bit of cover on their bench.
by Saint Etienne.
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The title promises something the rest doesn't deliver. Can't see any of this as likely and I would also point out that most of these players leaving would not be a good thing.
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17 Dec 2013 15:29:04
even Luke has said he`s not going, it doesn't stop the rumours, just a way of unsettling him, he obviously has good people around him to keep him grounded.
COYS
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Read the article on the tv sport site about us (Sorry if that has to be censored then you won't understand what I've said, but it is a good read). The atmosphere that has been worked on so well as to get the players socialising and enjoying working together promoting a very positive and supportive attitude around the saints camp.
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17 Dec 2013 12:38:16
Hello Southampton fans. I'm an Everton fan visiting your banter page in peace and the spirit of goodwill.
A question for you: do you get as cheesed off as we Everton fans do when the fans of so called bigger (i. e Champions League) clubs expect our players to jump ship and join their clubs - especially when those fans expect to only pay ludicrously small fees?
For example, one of your many talented players is Luke Shaw and he's supposedly got to move to to Chelsea or ManUtd or whoever for a paltry £20M in order to "further his career" - domestic and international - by playing in the Champions League, etc. Your views?
Also, how many of you have been pleasantly surprised by the progress under Mauricio Pochettino - especially because of the way Nigel Adkins was treated? At Everton, the appointment of Roberto Marinez wasn't universally welcomed by the fans, but pretty much all of them are now pleased with the progress being made.
Wishing you a successful season - although something like Europa League qualification with its Thursday night football has proved to be a poison chalice for some clubs re their Premier League form. I guess you'll just have to qualify for the Champions League ;-)
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Hi Kevin,
Regarding links to our players - absolutely. Luke Shaw has made it 100% clear he has no wish to leave, and the club say he's not for sale. Gone are the days where we need to sell due to finances, and Cortese is one ambitious man.
As for Pochettino, I watched his first game in charge, against Everton, and to be honest I noticed the change in the side after just a few minutes. I think Pochettino is a top class manager. For most saints fans the introduction of so many academy players is so exciting, and Cortese was recently talking of wanting 80% of the first team having come through our academy. I for one am so proud of the way which the club is run.
If we get the poisoned chalice that is the UEFA cup, we would struggle, but I'm guessing it would make us stronger in the long run.
As for Everton - Martinez has been doing a sterling job, and I think you may well have a chance of CL football this year. Either way, it's great to see new teams challenging the Big clubs this year!
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The reality is very few teams don't suffer from this but we tend to only see our teams issues.
Arsenal bid 40m and 1p for Suarez. (What were they smokin?)
Man utd will have to try hard to keep hold of RVP and Rooney.
Spurs lost Bale
Arsenal lost RVP
Reports that even Barca may have to try hard to keep hold of Messi even though his contract is only 6ths old.
We are just a bit further down the food chain.
The Chelsea fans are all over Shaw at the moment and they are like 20m 30m whatever just had him over you know money talks and you will give in. Loads ahf moneyyyyyy look at my wad!
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Hi KevinM. Yes, we have the same gripes about the "top 6" focus by the lazy media, but it does make it all the more sweeter when they actually have to do a bit of work and look at some other clubs.
I like the football you are playing at the moment but, to be honest (and focused on Saints) prefer our model which is not utilising loaned players. Obviously the key to our model is to keep hold of the players, like Shaw, we develop and if we can do this IMO we have a better chance of "shaking the tree". In itself, that is probably the main reason the "big clubs" will not get very far with taking players like Shaw-our chairman is unlikely to take a quick profit and destroy his model.
Saint Martin
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17 Dec 2013 22:12:10
Hello KevinM, and welcome!
Good comment, and so nice to see a fan of one club respecting/crediting another. Don't get that much these days. Everton fans, like Saints, are made from the good stuff!
Everton are going to do VERY well this season. They've already done blooming marvelously so far, and it's impressive how quickly Roberto Martinez has turned them into such an exciting and victorious force. I actually fancy Everton for a top four finish. Oh no, I've said that dreaded phrase "top four".
Everton are a big club. A bloody big club, and it's good to see them heading back into the mix. Ironic (cliche I know) how Moyes spent eleven years trying to make Everton higher than Manchester United, and as soon as he leaves for them, it happens.
As for Kevin's question, well.
Totally agree, the "big" clubs are always assuming they can get their rich grubby hands on "little" clubs' talent. I'm glad Southampton's an ambitious club, a well run little club, who are doing things (relatively at least) the right way, playing some of the best/most entertaining football in the country, developing an endless list of academy players, and cleverly bringing through ones others (big clubs such as Chelsea) didn't want, and a club progessing in the right direction.
Oh, I also annoy myself when I refer to Chelsea as a "big club".
If Luke Shaw wants to follow in Ashley Cole's footsteps and be the England left back for a generation and be regarded as "the best left back in the world" then I reckon he'd best off staying well clear of Chelsea, and staying put at Southampton. Biased opinion perhaps, but, if the Saints' model stays in place, we could do so much for his career.
Good luck Everton with the rest of the season, I hope you finish 4th. I'd settle for Saints finishing 3rd ;)
And finally, Pochettino has done a terrific job during his eleven months in charge. Building on the legacy and foundations laid down by the genius that is Nigel Adkins, and the great Alan Pardew.
by Saint Etienne.
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