Southampton Rumours Archive January 23 2014

23 Jan 2014 22:21:00
Osvaldo likely to be loaned to Inter Milan for rest of season, with a view to summer transfer, selling now wouldn't yield a decent return on the outlay due to his lack of form and disciplinary issues. Hopefully he'll find some form back in Italy and that will increase his value.
Saints set to move for Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel, Joleon Lescott (LOAN), Thomas Ince and Jordan Rhodes in an attempt to strength the depth of squad in key areas.

Osvaldo isn't going anywhere. Gazza is better than Kasper, Lescott wouldn't get a start here, Ince is a wide player and wouldn't fit our style of play, Rhodes, not the worst signing we could make, but there are many better. I doubt any of these are serious transfers for a team looking to reach Europe pretty soon

Why go for Rhodes when you've got to player like ings who is aassivs saints can a lot better in my opinion


Fat saint

I don't think there will be that mutch activity this window. Can't see osvaldo going tbh. Probably in the summer.
Kasper would want 1st team if a move happened surely?
Rhodes ok, another attacking option but can't see poch sweeping for him. He wouldn't exactly be mega cheap
I personally think lescott would be a good signing. Give him 1st team football and we could see him hit the form he had while at Everton (look at Gareth Barry. )
I really don't know what's happening with saints future, but I think money won't be as readily available as it has been the past couple of years. I can see us living to our means. I'm happy with that, but I don't think it would result in Europe anytime soon given the strength of the teams above us.

Good stuff.

I'd also see Osvaldo getting booted out to Italy on loan. Not sure which club would be most likely. He's an Italy international so.

Kasper Schmeichel is a brilliant keeper. AC Milan are supposed to be eyeing him up. Would definitely be a good addition, and future #1 (give Boruc at least another year or two before he slides)

Joleon Lescott would be brilliant. Dare I say, way too good for us though. He's a Villa fan, and I'd bet on him moving there, or back to Everton. Arsenal and Newcastle are thought to be main contenders. We could get him on loan. But Man City still need him (unless they have two or three defenders coming in?!)

Tom Ince is a central player who plays wide. He isn't actually a "winger" - Just plays there of late. We are definitely I'd feel a possible destination for him, but he will go to Monaco. His dad said so, so.

Rhodes would cost a bomb, but he is a top class striker. Manchester United are onto him.

Saint Etienne.

{Ed001's Note - when has Tom Ince played central? He was always a winger during his youth days at Liverpool. He played as a winger the few times I watched Blackpool as well. Not sure where that 'Just plays there of late' comes from?}

Throughout his career he's played central more times than he has wide.

So, obviously, that's where it comes from.

Saint Etienne.

{Ed001's Note - when? I have watched him play over a hundred times, at various youth levels for Liverpool and England, plus a number of times while at Blackpool, never once have I seen him play centrally. I even went to have a quick look at his Opta stats, then on a couple of other scouting network sites, in case they had moved him centrally this season or something. Every single one has him listed as playing on the left wing all season, except for one game he played on the right wing! So I asked our Blackpool editor, who gets to see him regularly, and he tells me that Ince has very rarely played central for Blackpool, he says it would be in terms of minutes late in a game when they are chasing after the points.}

Lol Saint Etienne, after this and the heskey one, you should probably put the football 'knowledge' on the back burner for a while

Used to to think st etienne knew what he was on about. Lay off those crazy lills son, talk of berbatov and heskey are well off the mark. And r u sure your not getting Tom Ince confused with hos old man? Lol

Haha he's definetly always been a winger

Re-read my initial comment and the thread it came from, and you'll see why I've said Ince (Tom Ince, rather than England legend Paul) is central player.

OK, to make it easier for some of you to follow: It was based on a comment I often find on here "Saints don't play with wide men" which means therefore we're unlikely to go for a winger in a transfer window, so, if we refer to the young Ince as a central midfielder, we can happily sign him!

Love how someone's gone to a Blackpool fan and statistics to double check. Credit to you. Nevermind, I'll make the joke/sarcasm comments more obvious next time, by adding a little ";)" after them. ;)

And talking of which, the listing of Heskey and Berbatov was just me having a laugh; I'd be surprised if they're on our radar as they're the wrong side of 30 and would want high wages. Also, because they'd probably never wanna play for Southampton!

Saint Etienne.

23 Jan 2014 20:40:20
Inter want Osvaldo. I say let him go at this point. Try and get Belfodil/Icardi and a few million and that's a good sale.

We should let Osvaldo go - but go for Finnbogasson or Charlie Austin

Now now lads, don't be so quick to say such things. Osvaldo is still quite new to the club and, just like Ramirez, lacks confidence. Yes, we all know he is a bit of a pillock but that doesn't mean we have to sell him immediately. Give him some time and he'll become one of the best strikers in the league

Icardi for sure! I really like Osvaldo but Icardi could be a stunning signing for Saints'.

Sell osvaldo and get Charlie Austin? someones smoking far too much, get a grip

Confidence is the last thing Osvaldo lacks.

Let's buy British players, or players who are either 1) a current/former player in English/Scottish football (and have done well here!) b) World class superstar who'd simply eat up the competition for breakfast. Messi your suitcases are packed :)

Taken too many chances on (dodgy) foreign forward players. Not just Saints, most Premier League clubs have, lately.

I wouldn't say anyone we've bought is 'dodgy' everyone with an ounce of football know how knows that the prem is one of the hardest divisions to get used to.

Osvaldo hasn't done badly considering. The only real negative has been his suspensions.

Ramirez had been doing brilliantly when he played lately and who knows, maybe he could have performed like that from the beginning of the season given the chance.

Most attacking players take between 1/2 a season and a full season to get used to the prem, some take to the division straight away (Michu) some longer (Henry, Drogba, C. Ronaldo), maybe try praising the positive things the players do rather than trying to ship them out to every club under the sun just cause they haven't scored 100 goals in their first season.

Theres nothing possitve about osvaldo, his goal return is pathetic and dis disciplin is even worse and need I point out he has missed 10 games through suspension when you add the extra 3 he is about to miss now, and why is he attacking our own players, very expensive mistake I think, he's obviously a good player but his attitude stinks he would be better off in italy, shame

st stuie

I know that our new regime has promised transparency and communication, but with this Osvaldo situation, I'd rather they had kept it quiet. We, and other teams don't need to know that we're fighting on the training ground - so what - they were using bricks at Swansea. Should have kept it quiet in my opinion, as how is he going to re-integrate himself with the team now? He's not is he as its too public a falling out. Shame, as apart from Lallana, who else could have scored that goal against Man City?

His goal return is pathetic? How many times do I have to point out that his scoring record was better than Lambert's before the suspension, yes the suspensions have been a downer but on the pitch he's been nowhere near as bad as you seem to think.

Attacking our own players who imply his pregnant girlfriend is a whore, tbh I think anyone would have lashed out at that point

Lambert didn't cost 15 million though did he?

Lambert has also created as many as he's scored so has been just as important, Osvaldo cost 15m so should be firing on all cylinders, shame about Gaston as he was just coming good, but oh well he'll hopefully have some confidence when he's back, I'd rather get a younger brittish player like Austin, Rhodes or Ings, lots of potential and ENGLISH

Osvaldo came from a different league, everyone knows there's an adjustment period when a player moves leagues

Unless you're a closeted racist why would it matter if a player is English or not? Surely you'd want the best person for the job?

Austin, Rhodes and Ings are doing well at championship level, but could they cut it week in, week out in a harder division, and possibly Europe too? I'd rather see them have another successful season next season before we'd take a punt on them. Osvaldo averaged a goal every 2 games in the Spanish and Italian top divisions, he's proven at this level and was showing signs of getting used to the prem just before his suspension

23 Jan 2014 12:23:23
So what has Osvaldo done? Anyone know?

He had an altercation with an unnamed team mate

Jose Fonte

I say reinforce now. we need to.

Someone said on that he threw his laptop and Starbucks at another player for calling him a hipster. Sounds like something he'd do ahaha!

I know it's only Neil Ashton, but the Daily Mail say it there was 'blood everywhere', it was a 'brutal attack' and has left Fonte with 'severe facial injuries' - training ground bust up broken up by the other players apparently.

Suspended for a "bloody" attack on Jose Fonte.

I guess the last two times he has punched team mates and been suspended has not taught him anything, plus his latest suspension for kicking Newcastle staff in the groin.

What good will this latest suspension do apart from keeping the two apart?

This is the act of a troubled or immature mind, no excuse, deal with it properly now or it will happen again without doubt.

Ha ha ha now another 2 weeks without someone who could have been very important to us in the coming weeks. His indiscipline has caused him to miss more games than he has played now. It's far from funny, the guys an overpriced buffoon.

Jose Fonte is said to have serious facial injuries, if this means the Hoover will be in at CB then that's a double blow.

All the best Jose Fonte for a speedy recovery.

The Hoover will be fine against Yeovil. Him and Yoshida against arsenal is a worry though.

I want a cb right now we must get one asap because utherwise we will be anihialated in the next month or more

Osvaldo probably scored a few goals in training or something, and as he doesn't do this often, I'd imagine they thought it was an offence. Joking aside, he got in a strop over the colour of his bib.

Your plane back to Italy is waiting, son!

Don't quite understand how an overpriced buffoon may have been important to us over the coming weeks!

Head butted fonte for holding him back

Why is everyone so quick to blame Osvaldo? He may have threw the first punch but who's to say it was him who instigated it? Apparently Fonte had some pretty harsh, unwarrented, words to say about Dani, behind his back, which if true, would have fully deserved a punch in the face.

Fonte is fine, he's got a split lip but nothing else, no game time missed, if the club choose not to suspend him also.

Overpriced? Up until his suspension he had a better goal scoring record than Lambert, a 32 year old who's touted to be worth 10 mil, I'd say 12 mil was alright value for him.

How do you know all this mate?

I wonder if the 3 game ban has sent osvaldo a little mad and he is frustrated and chomping at the bit to get back to playing. Maybe another two game ban is not the best thiing in this particular situation.

This has to be dealt with properly, just imagine if it had been Artur he had head-butted.
And yes he probably is mad enough,
would be going home in a body-bag!
Got to put a stop to it.

Like with gaston we were warned about this guy he has form big time.

Under MP in spain we know he had his most productive and settled period but I wonder if we are seeing one of the reasons that NC is no longer at the club.
22million on two guys where there was known history in terms of attitude.

And please stop knocking Fonte. If he is that bad why did Pardew want to take him to Newcastle. He sometimes loses concentration but so do Ferdinand, Lescott, Aggar etc who rated some as some CB in the perm.

I think over the 4 seasons he has been with us he has been very consistent and put in many good performances.

Lovren has raised the bar and in fairness to NC what a good buy but Fonte is OK in my book.

I've also heard that Osvaldo head-butted Fonte, but not any reasons why. Our Dani is certainly a colourful character.

Just chuckiling at the best typo of the week. Something about Ferdinand, Lescott and Agger being some of the best centre backs in the PERM

Kevin Keegan's back! ;)

Anyway, putting the perm to one side.

Fonte is a good defender, Osvaldo is vastly over-priced. Another Italian player who sucks in English football. They don't all turn out as useful as Zola or Di Matteo. (Think about Maccarone at M'boro, what a shocker he was!)
So, to say he's scored more than Lambert this season (has he? really?) I'd say the 100+ goals Lambert's scored for us easily weigh in his favour.
Osvaldo would still make my Italy squad for the World Cup though.

Comment by Saint Etienne.

My girlfriend works as catering staff at the training ground, she didn't see what happened, but saw the aftermath and saw Fonte and Osvaldo talking and shaking hands as well as Fonte admitting he'd gone too far with what he said. The players were talking about it like it was nothing and it isn't going to effect anyone beyond suspensions. Sometimes things like that happen and everyone is happier afterwards, much the same as having an argument with the Mrs.

Everyone is fine, no injuries apart from Fonte's split lip, it is being investigated by the club though, so it's probable Fonte will get a suspension too

Up until chrismas, Osvaldo had a better goalscoring record, minute for minute than Lambert, the facts are undeniable. Lambert has scored lots for us, but Osvaldo has a pretty consistent scoring record in the very top leagues of the world, surely that balances Lamberts goals? Osvaldo isn't over-priced

But Osvaldo didn't score against Scotland with his first touch in international football though did he?! (smiles)

Lambert every day for me. Have been a fan of Osvaldo until the past couple of weeks. I was a happy fan when we signed him (having seen him in action for Italy and Roma on television), but now, for footballing and business reasons, sell the record signing. He's an expensive substitute player.

Saint Etienne.

No but iirc he scored twice against bulgaria on his international debut

Lambert has been lacking something this season, he just doesn't look as 'in to it' as he has done, Osvaldo, whilst he hasn't set the world on fire, hasn't been bad for his first season, everyone knows it takes a while to get used to the premiership and before his suspension was looking like he was getting there. I think the 3 match ban was a bit harsh and was mainly given to him as an example to every other player. As for the training ground bust up, Fonte himself admitted he was in the wrong after the incident and it's being investigated by the club, which will more than likely end up in a ban for Fonte too, don't be too quick to judge in situations like this and wait for more details to come from the club. Sometimes stuff like that has to happen to clear the air. Look at Bowyer and Dyer when they were at Newcastle. Osvaldo will be a big, big player for this club, more than just an 'expensive substitute' and it's time everyone stops getting their panties in a twist over mistakes and players learning the division and start getting behind the positive things they do

Fonte isn't being banned and Osvaldo is a f. ing liability that we don't need. He has cost us a fortune in missed game time, infact you could say his goals have cost Saints £5 million each or his appearances £1.6 million a game, is that really the sort of player we want at the club, wake up and smell the roses!

Yea fonte has stitches wich means any player that's worth their salt will open them up any chance they get, so both centre halfs are out, just in time for arsenal to play us (the luckiest team in the world) great, no lovren no fonte just doesn't get any better, you coudnt write it

Danny the head butt in the italian squad for the world cup. England fans we have hope. Hit him hard early and get him sent off.

I like the idea of the prem being called the perm kind of sums up some of the individuals who play in it these days.

Gaston R's hair is going to be in super condition when he gets back in the team at the end of the season.

Will confess to the fact that he was showing real signs of being player until Wes Brown's tackle.

Fonte does not have stitches, I'm guessing some people on here also believe the rumours about him bringing a sword, right?

I find it hilarious when people take a Pirates of the Caribbean joke about a sword seriously. the police definitely wouldn't be involved if anyone took a sword to a public place. ;)