Are Southampton being sold down the river?

[Badger]

There's absolutely no place for this sort of reasonable, well thought out, insightful analysis on NSC. What were you thinking of?

Exactly this. BURN HIM.

 

[crodonilson]

It's very well they may have sold players for over their true value, but if you can't replace them then what's the point?

I think they've gone too far with their sales, they've essentially sold probably their best 6 or 7 players, I don't think anyone can do this and then expect to stay the same or improve. Every foreign signing is a risk, all of those players had proved themselves in the PL who they sold.

Some of their fans may think they are sitting pretty with all that money in the bank account but they may not be quite so happy if they get relegated with the majority of that money still in the bank account.

 

[perseus]

Sign them Up!

Can't we sign Cork and Fonte?

 

[Mo Gosfield]

All this doom and gloom about Saints selling their best players and how they are gonna struggle in the PL.....
1) None of the players sold are world beaters. Shaw and Chambers have potential but are still very raw
2) Every single player sold thus far has been at a price above real market value. If the big boys are happy to keep paying over the odds, then keep taking their money. Everone has a price.
3) People make out the PL is the greatest league in the world. Bovine manure. Outside of the top 7-8, the standard is very ordinary. Average players earning vast salaries and failing to deliver. You don't have to be anything special to get into the top half ( e.g Newcastle ) The quality in the bottom half of the PL is going down, year on year. Saints will comfortably cope with 2-3 new signings.
4) The structure and club management at Saints puts some of the bigger boys to shame. It is a breeding ground for good players and will continue to be so.
People shouldn't be worrying about Southampton, its the elite getting ever stronger ( which the PL was designed for ) that is the long term worry and the gap that is getting bigger all the time.

 

[twowheelsbest]

Do you think Sammy Lee may be regretting his about face?

 

[London Irish]

Anyone looking at the game on Sky today will see that Southampton still have a bloody good team (which of course we got a glimpse of in the pre-season game). Dominating second half and deservedly level.

Southampton show that you can cash in on a few players without breaking your squad. Obvious lesson for us but I just think Southampton have done the work and we haven't.

 

[Bladders]

We did well to just lose 1-3

 

[London Irish]

Kiss of death

 

[Bladders]

Kiss of death

 

[Albumen]

They're unfortunate to be losing, playing very well. They got a new manager in, sold their best players to make themselves financially secure and bought in a higher level of squad players. They'll be fine this season and better off for it.


Ring any bells?

 

[Bladders]

They're unfortunate to be losing, playing very well. They got a new manager in, sold their best players to make themselves financially secure and bought in a higher level of squad players. They'll be fine this season and better off for it.


Ring any bells?

Yes, but not the playing very well bit

 

[Albumen]

What a save by Mingolet, and what a miss by Long.

 

[ridda]

Southampton are dominating this game with Liverpool playing on the break, very unlucky to be losing.

 

[Albumen]

Yes, but not the playing very well bit

We're not in the position to replace the players quickly.

 

[London Irish]

We're not in the position to replace the players quickly.

But why are Southampton and we aren't? We are surely aiming for a lower bracket of player than they are.

 

[Albumen]

But why are Southampton and we aren't? We are surely aiming for a lower bracket of player than they are.

As I've said before it's the trickle down effect. The best players get bought, the lower players need new teams. That is when we come in. The World Cup was always going to delay that even longer.

 

[Skylar]

People said, papers/pundits that Southampton would be fighting relegation after seeing their squad dismantled but after seeing that performance then I'd expect them to finish in the top 6.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

People said, papers/pundits that Southampton would be fighting relegation after seeing their squad dismantled but after seeing that performance then I'd expect them to finish in the top 6.

Not all papers/pundits. See post #39.

 

[Skylar]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with most people on here.

Katharine Liebherr, the new owner, isn't asset-stripping, and there's no suggestion that the family money will be pulled out. Re-tooling, more like. She engineered the departure of a highly unpopular executive chairman in Nicola Cortese, whose transfer activity last summer left them with a £27m deficit, which was effectively wiped out by the Shaw deal - unbelievably good business for an 18-year-old left back.

Lallana and Lovren made it very clear that they wanted to go, and Liverpool have paid massively over the odds for both, IMHO. And £4m for Rickie Lambert, who makes me look fast, was ridiculous on Liverpool's part. West Ham offered £1m, which was about right. And Arsene Wenger has taken a bit of a punt on Callum Chambers, I think. By selling English players, who go for well above market value as usual, Saints have now got a huge transfer kitty to spend on additions to a few decent young players that they have pushing for the first team as ever.

Ronald Koeman is a manager who has been around and won trophies in Holland and Spain, and he's picked up a couple of bargains from Dutch football already. Dusan Tadic, the replacement for Lallana at a fraction of the cost, was the top provider of assists in Holland last season and the fourth-highest scorer. Graziano Pelle, although twice the price of Lambert, can contribute more than just free kicks and penalties.

The departure of Cortese has also had a very positive effect off the field, from what I've heard. The local paper has been un-banned, fans are regarded with less suspicion, and former players are being invited to St Mary's again. Matthew Le Tissier had been told he wasn't welcome, which is rather like us barring Peter Ward.

Much as I'd have a chuckle or two at Southampton's demise if it happened (not to mention spending fewer hours of my professional life at the Estadio Santa Maria), I won't be putting any money on them to go down. Eighth place again is out of reach, but I'm sure there will be three wosre teams than them.

Barber must go

 

[London Irish]

As I've said before it's the trickle down effect. The best players get bought, the lower players need new teams. That is when we come in. The World Cup was always going to delay that even longer.

I'm not going to be an idiot and deny that's a factor at work, but for me it's not a convincing explanation to explain the totality of our transfer work - plenty of deals have been done already at our level.

My alternative explanation is that Southampton are willing to go aggressively after their targets and take a good punt on reinvesting a LOT of their transfer revenues in signing replacements - I think they see it as vital to retaining their Prem status to do so. We seem much more diffident at the moment, as if the board think we can muddle by this season even if we miss out regularly on targets.