22 Jan 2014 19:14:01
Sharp on loan to Doncaster for the rest of the season, shame, always had high hopes from him in the PL, also with the tiny possibility SRL goes to west ham, we are in the need of strikers. I don't think we treated him very well once we reached the Premier League, and I hope he gets a run out in the future, good luck at Doncaster Billy
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I agree about billy but lamberts going nowhere.
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How did we not treat him very well? He, much the same as Puncheon wanted to live closer to his and his wife's family, had he not wanted to do that, he would have probably played a lot for us last season, we granted him the opportunity to leave, so infact we have treated him pretty well, and we got better players in than he is and thus, he is no longer needed
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I don't think he would have played for us last season, no matter what! He is just not PL quality and not even good enough for Notts Forrest to want back!
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Post 3- Seriously pal, do you read the news! I've lost count of the amount of times Sharp has said in interviews that he doesn't want to keep being sent on loan, considers Saints to be his club and wants the opportunity to fight his way in to the team but isn't being given it. What you have claimed there is absolute nonsense.
mssaint
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I did like Billy Sharp and would have liked to have seen him given a chance in the prem, But when people say didn't treat him well I think being paid £20,000 odd a week isn't to bad!
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Like many Saints fans, I actually liked Billy Sharp & wanted to see what he could do in the Premiership. On return to the top flight he was our top scorer in pre season - granted that means not a lot but would have thought he would be a great impact sub/ goal poacher at the least. My own opinion is perhaps his fitness levels were not up to scratch with what was required by the high pressing game? Its obvious that MoPo doesn't rate him enough to give him a chance either hence going straight back out on loan.
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''Post 3- Seriously pal, do you read the news! I've lost count of the amount of times Sharp has said in interviews that he doesn't want to keep being sent on loan, considers Saints to be his club and wants the opportunity to fight his way in to the team but isn't being given it. What you have claimed there is absolute nonsense.
mssaint''
it's fair enough for him to want to stay and fight for his place, but he isn't good enough. At the beggining of last season, he and his girlfriend wanted to live closer to their families due to the death of their son, the club granted him that, much the same as we've done with Puncheon this season, Sharp was preferred to Lambert during that pre season and probably would have played a lot had he not wanted to leave. He went on loan to the championship, thus the rest of the Southampton team got premier league experience and improved as players, Sharp didn't and therefore hasn't improved, thus now, he isn't good enough for our squad. So yes, the club has treated him very well in light of his personal life, it's not the clubs fault that they have progressed and he hasn't
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22 Jan 2014 17:47:56
Diego rumours starting to arise again. Hope this is true
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Not heard any Diego rumours for weeks. Don't think we will bring in anybody
Tonythesaint
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Any source for these latest rumours? I've done a quick search and can't find anything?
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I think we should sign Diego for Ramirez and astori for lovern and when they are back we then have a more indepth squad.
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Astori, Fonte, Lovren and Yoshida are all looking to get in WC squads. Astori or Fonte won't want to sit on the bench for the rest of the season, especially Fonte, who probably has his last chance of playing international football and definitely his last chance of a WC. And Yoshida, who already wants to leave to get first team football, will go if he's not even sat on the bench, and that will leave us in the exact same position we're in now.
We aren't going to get a quality CB until the summer atleast.
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Fonte has never played International Football and never will.
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Agree with the above. Fonte will never play international football. Ever. He's made to look good by Lovren, but is otherwise a relatively slow and often-times clumsy defender. Though, I acknowledge he's not as bad as Hooiveld.
Yoshida is a skilful defender with plenty of potential. He's only 25 so I'd hold on to him.
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There was something in the press the other day stating the portugal coach has never heard of jose fonte. i'd be very suprised for him to get a call up!
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I would be stunned if we actually signed anyone this transfer window. Given all the "turmoil" behind the scenes what player in their right mind would want to join us at this point in time. Any player with a deal on the table from us would probably be advised to wait until summer. Not suggesting for one moment that we are/ might be sold but it would be sensible to see how it pans out over the next couple of months.
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Dejan and Gaston are both out for approximately 6 to 8 weeks and you take that to the bank because it comes from Jesus.
With this news I do think we need to reassess the centre-back situation. I think another CB would not do any harm I shudder at the thought of Jos playing alongside Maya and Jose doesn't look that good when Dejan is missing, he's a bit like Claus he needs his 'Killer', he is not a leader and needs a strong CB next to him to play well. Maya and Jos are not strong CB leaders.
The middle of the back four seems to be a big problem for us this season as soon as their is a suspension or injury, this could be Katherina's first show of resolve and intent.
Does she or the interim CEO, make funds available to the manager to enable him to bolster a weak position in the team or will it be 'Use one of our fantastic academy players to fill that role'?
I would like another centre back drafted in but perhaps that isn't the best option. After all we are probably going to end up where we are or thereabouts so is it worth paying extra funds?
Any views?
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Ahh, now that's the difference between tactical and strategic thinking.
Is there really a need to buy now in haste when prices are higher (tactically) or wait for a considered approach in the summer when we buy for the long term (strategically).
Our early points are going to stand us in good stead. We're 7 points above our nearest rival and whilst we may drop a position or two, we are very unlikely to be relegated.
So I think the planning and building for the 2014-2015 season should take precedence, but who am I to know the machinations of football management?
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Fonte could/should (possibly?) qualify for British citizenship soon/already. So, seeing as the Portugal manager/selectors don't know of his existence (tbh, when Cristiano Ronaldo's in your team, you don't really need to know anyone else!), I reckon Fonte should give himself to one of the British nations to play for. England lack, severely lack, a set of centre backs, Scotland have holes at the back and I'm sure Gordon Strachan would like a bit of Fonte to help him out. Both Irelands and also Wales would surely be improved if Fonte became available to them.
btw, d'you prefer to vocally call him "Font" or "Fontay"?
Saint Etienne.
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I think it's 'Font-tay' because it's a romance language, like Spanish. Having said that it is in fact quite different from Spanish as Jose being pronounced 'Hose-say' in Spain, and 'Joe-say' in Portugal.
I have read so many reports about the fight at training, including the 'girlfriend in the catering staff' report above and have no friggin' idea what is going on.
Saints have a good team but our back four needs a decent replacement for Dejan and our '20 chances - 1 goal' front-line can't afford to lose a forward, even if he's only scored 3 goals.
If he goes he has to be replaced. The Development Squad players are great but you can't ask any of them to step up and just make an important contribution from the get go - even our current impressive youngsters needed to be eased in at the start.
It's a shame because it's been a great season and a few injuries, suspensions and weird insider stuff could actually make it memorable for all the wrong reasons.
As a club we need to get people talking about us because of our good football again!
Signing a couple of good players this transfer window might start that!
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Very good comments from IceLord. Lovely to read those.
I pronounce it as "Fontay" myself. Noticed a few television commentators calling him "Font" a lot this season. Doesn't sound as sexy!
plus "Josay Fontay" rhymes better ;)
Saint Etienne.
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Maybe everyone's been pronouncing it wrong and it's something like 'fon-tea'
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