I’ve just been watching bits of the Red Star Belgrade game and seen some of our former team not do very well for their new team. Adam Lallana, once beloved of Saints, and for a long time in his Southampton career, someone that’d make you anxious in his absence, is now seen as utterly disposable at Liverpool, with most fans thinking the sooner he goes the better.
Lallana hasn’t made it in the big time. He never will now. He is perhaps Saints’ biggest cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for.
Gareth Bale is the only Saints player that has left us that I’d consider world class. Most move on for much bigger money, but it doesn’t seem like many vastly improve on their game or form.
Luke Shaw a gets bumper contract at United, only to be told he’s a fat bastard by every manager he works with. Scheiderlin goes to United, fails, and is now unthought of at Everton. The Spurs lot have still won precisely fuck all. Neither have the Liverpool defectors.
Genuinely think Lallana’s career as a credible top class footballer ended tonight. He’s not the first to use us as a stepping stone only to jump into footballing chasm of unending doom, entailing an eventual transfer to Stoke. He won’t be the last.
Beyond money, how many ex-Saints do that well? Is Southampton FC a rather slippery stepping stone?
Wasn’t Nivea Boy the golden boy at Liverhampton until better players came along? Is that a definition of a failure? Likewise, isn’t fattie Shaw now getting back into contention.
You didn’t mention Van-Dick or Manè. Are they has beens now? Is Lovren a failure? Or is it because they left Saints?
What about Billy Sharp. We dumped him but is banging the goals away in Sheffield. Is he a failure?
17 goals in 103 appearances over 4 years, not exactly Le Tiss levels for an attacking midfielder is it? He’s 30 and achieved nothing more than a Johnstone Paint Trophy, a ton of cash, and the overall dislike of fans of both his current and former club in his career.
Ah right, thought you were talking about someone at Liverpool. Tbf to pap I think he was only really talking about those players who left us rather than those we let go like Sharp.
It has seemed that for a while our rise through the divisions provided some up and coming players with a sense of ability that was above their level of actual performance. However, some have done well, some have not and some have realised their level is about where they were. Surprised to hear that Lallana isn’t popular with Scousers though as i thought he hadn’t actually done too much wrong since his transfer and in any case their scapegoats have been in goal for the last few years.
If a bigger club comes along they’ll go and we’ll get a sore arse, we’re whores, so are the players.
The only way to stop is is to bench a player wanting to go and not play him, we’re a business do that ain’t going to happen, fans pay the price as always but always remind the club when they’re chatting shit about progression etc etc
The best we can be is the periphery of success and even then only for a while as we’ll sell our best players as we’re total whores._
Let’s go through the list of the players that have left and whether they angled for a move and my perception of how they’ve fared.
Alderweireld, angled, done OK at Tottenham
Victor Wanyama, angled, done OK at Tottenham
Callum Chambers, didn’t angle, didn’t do anything at Arsenal, has had several loan spells to other clubs, now on loan at Fulham
Lallana, boy did he angle, intially did well, injuries have made home go backwards faster than an Italian tank
Lovren, angled, has he actually done anything
Mane, left quietly, done really well at Liverpool, I’m actually pleased for him
Van Dyjk, angled and then some, he’s doing OK at Liverpool and has actually helped shore up their defence
Schneiderlin, initially angled then went quietly, failed at Man U, failed at Everton
Clyne, angled, where is he now exactly?
Fonte, less said the better really
Shaw, didn’t really push, initially didn’t do well, doing better
Well, that’s what I remember, so it would seem a fair percentage of the players who pushed for moves have, perception wise, taken a step backwards going somewhere else.
I have said to the Bournemouth fans crowing about their current success that the same thing is going to happen to their players soon. Callum Wilson is already touted to go to Tottenham in January.
But, Mr Sanchez, every club is a selling club, yes, even Barcelona. We’ve just done really well in the past in identifying players with potential and bringing them on.
What the club have done wrong is not investing the money made from players into keeping this going. As you say, moneyball doesn’t always work but when it does it does well.
We’ve tried keeping players by giving them improved and longer contracts and what did that get us, van Dyjk, Fonter, Forster etc. etc. etc.
We’ve tried benching players, Fonte, van Dyjk, and that just affected squad moral.
What the fuck can you actually do when the players seem to have all the power?
How ever much you don’t like it, Kreuger was right, we are a small club, we’ve punched above our weight for a couple of season. Giving yourself a hernia over the fact that this has not continued is not going to help yourself or anyone…
Krueger backtracked on his statement prior to that saying we could be up there, I laughed at his codshite, we all know it’s bollocks.
Aspiration stops at 7th place for a club like us, why the fuck don’t they admit it? It’s so obvious.
Selling players on is one thing but resting on your laurels with a risky strategy is totally another thing altogether.
To me it’s very simple. We buy our players at cheaper rates than we sell them on for. We can afford to be patient, and to be fair to the LFC fans, they were patient with Lallana too.
Problem is the chap doesn’t have the required footballing brain to play consistently well in his position in the Premier League, and he was arguably one of the best players to grace League One and the Championship in recent years.
