Southampton Banter Archive May 05 2014

05 May 2014 22:54:31
does anyone think that all is not well behind the scenes at Southampton. Am I the only one who thinks Les Reed does not inspire confidence I don't know the man but he didn't strike me as the shrewd confident operator that Cortese is. I am far from sure that Reed is the man to be dealing with top drawer international transfers, what languages does he speak other than english. Cortese makes him look bad i'm afraid. Would Reed have pulled off the Ramirez or Osvaldo signings, or even Lovren? No i'm sorry but I can't see it. It is no accident I think that the hottest rumours to date have all been about players from english clubs. I suspect Reed feels a lot more comfortable dealing at that level, in other words if anyone thinks we are going to get Rafa Silva or William Carvalho they can forget it. Unless of course they give the job of approaching foreign clubs to Pochettino which would make a lot of sense. I don't know what Reeds background is perhaps someone can enlighten me, he just doesn't seem to be the right kind of guy for the job of player recruitment. I just hope his brief is not to sell our best players, he didn't strike me to be anything more than someones yes man. We will soon find out, but don't hold your breath.

Hi Montecristosaint. Les Reed isn't a replacement for Cortese. Les was brought in by Cortese shortly after Liebher bought the club. Les set out the philosophy behind the playing style and that of the academy.
Try doing some digging for info on the man. He knows his stuff! He was previously employed by the FA.

I find it frustrating that people offer their opinions about someone (Les Reed for example) and yet they speak from a position of total ignorance, based on their impression of the chap.

why not do an internet search for the following 'five minutes your time please Les Reed'

I expect that the person doing any deals will be Kruger, and not Reed. It is after all Kruger that has replaced Cortese, and not Reed!

I would like to agree with you but the facts do nothing to support your view. Les Reed is on record today, not Krueger, as saying he will now sit down with Pochettino to discuss extending his contract. He added that no deals were being done for either Shaw or Lallana but crucially would not rule either from happening. He just doesn't inspire confidence. As far as I can remember Reed was originally brought in in an academy related role, now we find him chairing Saints transfer policy. I don't think he is the man for the job not by a long chalk.

05 May 2014 13:43:45
Hi, I feel Caulker would be a good signing, especially as a potential England CB needs PL experience. Forget any of the suggestions above, If Lallana stays it will be the signing of the season. Maybe one more ST is required and most certainly get rid of Osvaldo. I have always liked Hernandez from Man Utd. Works hard and would fit into our pressing system well. Wages may be on the silly side though. As for the GK situation, Boruc is still a solid goal keeper and i'm sure Gazzaniga can only improve. There's no point spending 80million plus on unproven players. just look at Spurs. Gallagher already looks twice the player that Soldado has this season. Sorry for the long Ramble. Plenty to discuss. Excellent Season So Far For The Saints. Thought?! :)

{Ed004's Note - You need to register if you want posts out up in future. On Hernandez he is likely to leave us this season and his wages wouldn't be an obscene amount though do not want to guess a figure. He suffers ATM due a lack of technical ability but is garunteed to get any team 20 goals if he is a regular. Came over to ask fans their opinion on Luke Shaw. You can guess why? But I haven't gotten to see much of him to know if he is worth 30 mill? What's his defensive game like? I'm not saying he will move btw just curios to see if he is over rated by media ATM}

I'm not a fan of Hernandez personally, but that's just me, Shaw is quality and will be worth more than that in the future

{Ed004's Note - thanks. Hernandez is a proven scorer. He has a better international record than Ronaldo and messi I think, and that's for Mexico. He's great against teams that deliver in quality crosses and against teams that try to play a high line. The way Southampton use their full backs I think Hernandez would score 20 a season there.}

Defensively, Shaw is pretty solid. He makes some positional mistakes - as you'd expect from an 18 year old - but I can't think of a single winger who has gotten the best of him one vs one all season. He's quick and strong. Worth £30 million? I don't know, but we're living in a world where Andy Carroll cost £35 million, so anything goes.

{Ed004's Note - Thanks a lot more reassuring. Never thought a full back would be worth that much but now a days they're a vital important part of the team. Just look at the impact alaba etc have}

05 May 2014 10:34:06
I'd expect would be leaving the club:
Guly
Osvaldo
Hooiveld
I fear are likely to be snatched by bigger clubs, the vultures!:
Shaw (Chelsea, United, maybe Liverpool)
Lovren (Liverpool, all day long)
Lallana (Liverpool if he wants to win things and play in Europe, or Man United if he wants mid-week off lol)

Coming in? Well, yes please!:
Steven Caulker (We can sign him now, as Cardiff Nil are down he'll probably be available. We would need an extra top centre back if we are to maintain our top 8 position, or go higher)

Nathan Redmond (If Norwich do get relegated, he's likely to be courted by various clubs, and would fit the criteria for what we might go for, in terms of his ability, young age and he is English, etc etc, but as he's a winger, maybe not on our radar?)

Lewis Holtby (join the queue!) might need to find a new club, he's a very good player in my opinion, and I'd happily see him wearing a Saints kit. But, he could still be a star for Spurs given the opportunity.

Probably a million other names too. And of course, Lionel Messi ;)

Keep our good players, and sign some good/better ones in, but not too many (see Sunderland!) and we can have a very good season again next time. Although, to be fair, the main eleven and often used subs, are bloody brilliant and could have further success without any new signings. But, as we found during the middle of the season, we can get a bit short in numbers, so it would be best to just help that out, with two or three new faces.

Here's hoping for something just as enjoyable as we've had in 2013/14 in 14/15. Southampton Football Club - A club to be proud of, a club to really love.

Saint Etienne.