Saints fans are resigned to losing Dejan Lovren and are bracing themselves for Morgan Schneiderlin to go but news that talks are taking place between Saints and Arsenal about Callum Chambers could be a step too far.

In another summer the news that Arsenal are willing to pay around £16 million for a teenager who has barely played 20 games for the first team would perhaps be seen as a good deal, especially when you consider that the club have a very good player already playing in that man's position, however in the summer of 2014 it is a whole different ball game and if it goes thorough you have to ask questions about why it is happening.

On one hand this is not going to be a problem for the club and it does give them yet another big wedge to play with in the transfer market, but before we let any one else go we really need to start making signings ourselves to replace them.

There have been rumours coming out of the club about relationships being strained between the players and the person allegedly responsible for the contracts and the transfers Les Reed, certainly Reed does not appear to be a people person who the players look up to and under Nicola Cortese he was seen as the man who advised on a number of deals that have not turned out for the best, be it the big money signing of Osvaldo or the less expensive signings of Vegard Forren.

But it has been the transfer dealings this summer that have called into question who is calling the shots on when a succession of players seem to want away and are sold before we have signed the replacements. The PR work in these transfers has been lacking as has been the interaction between club and the players who want away, there seems to be a lack of clear understanding between both parties leading to the statements attributed to both Lallana and Lovren, this can all be avoided with strong firm leadership being shown by whoever is responsible for the player contracts etc.

ut perhaps what the fans most want to see is the club say "No" sometime, Lovren was only a year into a four year deal and now Chambers is seemingly away only a year after signing a four year contract, in short there is no reason for the club to sell either in terms of what players are worth now or the length of the contract remaining.

I am still confident that Ronald Koeman can rebuild the Saints squad and that ultimately we will still be in a far stronger position than most in the Premier league next season, however the club need to start showing the fans they are in the driving seat and to do this they need to start making a few new signings and they need to tell a few players that they will be going nowhere until replacements have been signed and that it is then in the best interests of the club itself.

There has been great upheaval in the boardroom at St Mary's and this has put the club in a far stronger position in commercial terms, but it seems in terms of player contracts and transfers it is still the same people in charge, if that is true then the worry is we will repeat the same mistakes we have previously made in the transfer market which has seen a great deal of money wasted.

Photo: Action Images

abingdonsaint added 12:31 - Jul 26 Mind you......last last 5 years have been fun, so perhaps the new '5 year plan' is to put us back to League 1 and do it all over again!!!!
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slynch added 12:42 - Jul 26 Davepid. My take… The top 6 clubs are top 6 clubs because they have 50,000+ supporters each week that have given them a regular income for years, this has been invested wisely and given them the position in league and business, they have. Liebherr took over a bankrupt business for a song recognizing an opportunity to run a club on a system that does not rely on 50k supporters. That is the development and selling of younger players which provides the funds to build a successful football club which only has about 30k supporters. The success of this system and the WCup this year, has vastly inflated some of the players' worth. It would be foolish not to sell them. Those players largely came from the Southampton system and the next crop will follow. On top of that a sophisticated recruitment network has been established that enables non Southampton players to be purchased at a fraction of the sale price of the Saints players. Brenda and his system see as far as Southampton and waste their money cos they have no reliable business system and pay 23k for a average winger who can only manage 60mins and Saints get Tadic in 10 minutes for 10/6s. Additionally, It must also be recognized that football is a team game, yet the managers buy individuals. The sold, Saints players are ok but a lot of that was the system and team style they played in. I think they will largely fail to impress when immersed in another system. I think Saints will emerge this year with a better team than last year as youngsters mature and the new bods arrive in the next 7 days. They will compete successfully with the teams above them as they try to buy famous, fashionable names (Heat Magazine Selection) instead of creating a football team. Second by Xmas!

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abingdonsaint added 12:56 - Jul 26 Haha......I hope you are right Slynch!!
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slynch added 13:08 - Jul 26 Davepid. My take… The top 6 clubs are top 6 clubs because they have 50,000+ supporters each week that have given them a regular income for years, this has been invested wisely and given them the position in league and business, they have. Liebherr took over a bankrupt business for a song recognizing an opportunity to run a club on a system that does not rely on 50k supporters. That is the development and selling of younger players which provides the funds to build a successful football club which only has about 30k supporters. The success of this system and the WCup this year, has vastly inflated some of the players' worth. It would be foolish not to sell them. Those players largely came from the Southampton system and the next crop will follow. On top of that a sophisticated recruitment network has been established that enables non Southampton players to be purchased at a fraction of the sale price of the Saints players. Brenda and his system see as far as Southampton and waste their money cos they have no reliable business system and pay 23k for a average winger who can only manage 60mins and Saints get Tadic in 10 minutes for 10/6s. Additionally, It must also be recognized that football is a team game, yet the managers buy individuals. The sold, Saints players are ok but a lot of that was the system and team style they played in. I think they will largely fail to impress when immersed in another system. I think Saints will emerge this year with a better team than last year as youngsters mature and the new bods arrive in the next 7 days. They will compete successfully with the teams above them as they try to buy famous, fashionable names (Heat Magazine Selection) instead of creating a football team. Second by Xmas!

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slynch added 13:11 - Jul 26 Davepid. My take… The top 6 clubs are top 6 clubs because they have 50,000+ supporters each week that have given them a regular income for years, this has been invested wisely and given them the position in league and business, they have. Liebherr took over a bankrupt business for a song recognizing an opportunity to run a club on a system that does not rely on 50k supporters. That is the development and selling of younger players which provides the funds to build a successful football club which only has about 30k supporters. The success of this system and the WCup this year, has vastly inflated some of the players' worth. It would be foolish not to sell them. Those players largely came from the Southampton system and the next crop will follow. On top of that a sophisticated recruitment network has been established that enables non Southampton players to be purchased at a fraction of the sale price of the Saints players. Brenda and his system see as far as Southampton and waste their money cos they have no reliable business system and pay 23k for a average winger who can only manage 60mins and Saints get Tadic in 10 minutes for 10/6s. Additionally, It must also be recognized that football is a team game, yet the managers buy individuals. The sold, Saints players are ok but a lot of that was the system and team style they played in. I think they will largely fail to impress when immersed in another system. I think Saints will emerge this year with a better team than last year as youngsters mature and the new bods arrive in the next 7 days. They will compete successfully with the teams above them as they try to buy famous, fashionable names (Heat Magazine Selection) instead of creating a football team. Second by Xmas!

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slynch added 13:16 - Jul 26 Apologies for the repetition! But not this one... Second by Xmas!
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bstokesaint added 13:21 - Jul 26 Orange, whilst I genuinely admire your optimism as much as I despise doom-mongers looking for credit in forecasting our fall from grace, the real problem is not identifying replacements. None of the players we have/ had are irreplaceable. We don't have world class players like Suarez, Ronaldo or Messi. However these players have been together for years and years. They have formed and understanding and know each other's games inside out. You can't replace that understanding inside a month however good the incomings are. You can let 3 or 4 go maybe, but beyond that is suicide whatever the value you receive. This is why my optimism has been crushed. The people in charge of our club look to have lied to us all. We're going back to the days of relegation, despite a staggering bank balance. On the pitch it is the same. This rebuild is looking harder and harder without anyone seriously fighting our cause.

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bstokesaint added 13:23 - Jul 26 Orange, whilst I genuinely admire your optimism as much as I despise doom-mongers looking for credit in forecasting our fall from grace, the real problem is not identifying replacements. None of the players we have/had are irreplaceable. We don't have world class players like Suarez, Ronaldo or Messi. However these players have been together for years and years. They have formed and understanding and know each other's games inside out. You can't replace that understanding inside a month however good the incomings are. You can let 3 or 4 go maybe, but beyond that is suicide whatever the value you receive. This is why my optimism has been crushed. The people in charge of our club look to have lied to us all. We're going back to the days of relegation, despite a staggering bank balance. This rebuild is looking harder and harder without anyone seriously fighting our cause.

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kuningan added 13:42 - Jul 26 Let's all take a deep breath ... there's plenty of time before the transfer window closes and Koeman wouldn't be on board if the basic idea was to sell every decent player on the books. Leaving MoPo out of the discussion - my bet is that he'll be out of his depth at Spurs (and out of a job before long), let's go player by player: Rickie Lambert. A legend but only a season or so left at the top. 4 mill? Good deal, and he's where he wants to be. Luke Shaw. May or may not become a truly great player. Hope he does but 32 mill is about twice what he's worth right now. Interesting to see he's looking somewhat, um, above his ideal weight away from MoPo's training. Koeman seems impressed with Targett. Adam Lallana. OK, we'll miss him but a little more consistency with the brilliance would have been good. Still needs to step up to become a great not just a very good player, maybe he'll do that at Liverpool. Ramirez can do the same job for us as AL. Lovren. Yes, there's a chance it could all fall apart without a replacement for him. Let's hope the double deal with Celtic for their centre back and goalkeeper is on. Chambers v. Clyne? I'd choose Clyne for RB for now. Surely we haven't forgotten the Cortese-era endless negotiations for Ramirez and Osvaldo, or the poor deals we got for Walcott and the Ox? Never mind about the Forren and Mayuka fiascos. Koeman probably knows as well as anyone which young European players are worth signing, and I assume Ralph is doing the heavy negotiating. (In Koeman and Ralph we trust ... maybe Les not so much ...) As for waiting for the side to gel, I don't see that as an issue, as Koeman is getting players he knows. It's business, there are times to sell and I'd suggest having a look at the first chapter of the new book Soccernomics to get the idea. The future's bright, starting with a win against Liverpool!

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bstokesaint added 13:52 - Jul 26 Kunigan, don't disagree with you on any sale in isolation. It's the net impact of the exits to the team as a whole that is the problem.
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cheltenhamsaint added 14:00 - Jul 26 Davepid - I have never been asked for my opinion on a forum before, so I'm chuffed and thanks. I know we had conflicting views on MP so guess you are intrigued by what the half glass full brigade think (PS I think you were right by the way) Churchill was asked near the end of his life (1965) whether he thought the Boer War, which he covered as a 21 year old journalist in 1898, changed the world in any way. He replied simply "It is too early to tell" Last night I thought like many " I don't know what is going on here. Why Chambers?" for all the reasons others have vocalised here and elsewhere. As a supporter of a football club I have to deal with that and wait patiently to pass judgement on the strategy of the club. First stop will be the Liverpool team sheet and subs bench, a re assessment around January 2015 and then a final assessment on our league position and cup success next May. Until then "it is too early to tell" but in general I agree with slynch. We have to have a different business model, one which suits us, in order establish ourselves long term in the top eight (or higher) clubs in England. I remain confident on the back of the calibre of re investment so far - first team managerial team, two players, assistant manager (Lee), goalkeeping coach, training ground, contracts to - that is our intention and ambition. Thanks again for your request. Long may we conflict and enjoy the exchange of views.

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bstokesaint added 14:10 - Jul 26 Hope all the 'half full glassers' are right. Would much rather hear the optimistic posters, even if I'm struggling myself. I love this club and it pains me to see what it is happening. I think the people in charge have been found to be well out of the depth when faced with proper football business decisions. You can't keep sending out messages and going against what you're saying. This discredits you in any walk of life. There are many fans out there putting all their faith and hard earned money into the club you are representing.

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SanMarco added 15:17 - Jul 26 bstokesaint " I think the people in charge have been found to be well out of the depth when faced with proper football business decisions. You can't keep sending out messages and going against what you're saying. This discredits you in any walk of life." Yes that gets to the very heart of the issue. Do these people know what they are doing? If they don't then they need replacing with someone who does (not NC he didn't know either). One final point though - it was us who wanted the board to speak and they then said what we wanted to hear. Perhaps NC was good for one thing - silence (just wish he would maintain it for the next 10 years)...

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montecristo added 17:49 - Jul 26 San Marco these are sad times and we need to stick together. My thinking is simply that it was Nicola and not Liebherr who made the rescue of this club happen, he it was who persuaded Liebherr to invest , and he it was who made it all happen. There is no doubt in my mind that he had incentives in place big financial ones based on perfomrance, and of course the players loved his ambition. Then Miss Liebherr comes along and starts to throw her weight around. The wheels came off, Cortese leaves and everything that has happened since is a mere consequence of Cortese s departure. it does not comfort me to know that Nicola was merely preaching from the business development handbook,the fewer people with irons in the fire and the tighter the ship you run. I come from the same school of thought, and Liebherr is a classic exponent of the divide and rule adage. Its no wonder Cortese left. She will go on selling she does not care, and thinks cheap replacements can be found. Cynical woman. Once again it is up to the fans to let KL know how they feel, and persuade her to sell the club. She has no interest in football, her personal life is also a problem based as she is on the continent. The best outcome would be the sale of the club. I sincerely hope for the benefit of the fans that that is what is being planned. Otherwise we will go on being stripped year upon year by this german billionairess. I wonder what her father would say. He really should have secured the club s future to prevent these events from happening through sheer financial greed. I also wonder just how much RK is prepared to put up with, seems to me he is close to the end of his tether. I share your sadness.

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SaintGeorge added 17:49 - Jul 26 "Could be" good grief
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slynch added 17:58 - Jul 26 Hey! montecristo. Is that the synopsis for a new ITV mini series??
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halftimeorange added 20:51 - Jul 26 montecristo, how do you ever sleep. The nightmare you speak of is of your own making. Katerina stated early on that she wasn't going to abandon ship. What makes you think she is? RK at the end of his tether. He's said be patient. Cortese had to go - nobody can spend somebody else's money and then tell them it's not their business. Check out what a martinet he was with the developers at Marchwood. Ask Frankie Benali how easy he was to deal with. The truth is that Southampton is not in the top twenty largest cities in the UK. All the biggest clubs worldwide are either in the capital or the second biggest city of their homeland. We are lucky that KL hasn't got off our particular boat.

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BlockRed added 21:02 - Jul 26 Montecristo - what utter garbage. I sincerely hope nobody heeds your post and intends to 'let Kl know how they feel'. By this I presume you mean protesting at matches? You're already incredibly negative about the situation, why on earth would you want to make it a f**k site worse by adding negative vibes at match days? I may be wrong but it very much seems to me that every player sale so far has happened on the players desperation to push the move through. I, like most people posting to this thread, am extremely disappointed with the Chambers situation but it seems as Simon Peach tweeted last night that 'player wants to go'.

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anwicksaints added 21:13 - Jul 26 think the board are amatuers at footballing matters they may be business men ,but they dont know football ,fed up with all these names being touted just more lies .les reed got slated when he was at charlton ,let alone all those lies he spouted about keeping the squad together
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Cork added 22:07 - Jul 26 I become sick of it time will come I don't pay to go anymore. Saints stop selling everyone, there's a reason why there leaving and the people at the top know , what it is. Relegation back to square one. Kat will sell and we become div two or nothing.
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sidsaint added 23:05 - Jul 26 Yes a step too far. I have tried to remain calm and patient until the end of the window. But now we hear from RK what we heard last year - "the club is working hard behind the scenes (to bring in players)". I have been saying for weeks that we should not let players go until we are certain they can and will be replaced and we have replacements lined up and ready to sign. I have also said we need to extend Corkie's contract before he joins the exodus. I have no confidence in Les Reed. Just look at his cv. I am losing confidence in the absentee chairman who I presume is in Glasgow watching the hockey, and I presume KL is in Switzerland counting her money. RK says it is normal for a successful team to lose players to the big clubs "we are not Man U or Chelsea or Arsenal we are Southampton" he said last night. Yes we are Southampton and we have the Southampton Way. I did not know that the Southampton Way was selling to anyone who came calling. I shall try to remain calm until the 31st August but it is becoming more difficult as each day passes.

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Kiwifiedpom1 added 23:06 - Jul 26 Plenty to say, all of you, even at this distance I've sensed the disquiet and I'm quite worried
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BlackRod added 00:08 - Jul 27 With Corke and Fonte wanting away as well things are certainly looking bleak. Come the start of the season compare the money spent on new players against that raised from sales and you will see what the business plan is.
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IanRC added 00:09 - Jul 27 Halftime orange, good post. But Reed and Kruger need to get their act together fast.
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tiptop added 09:07 - Jul 27 Its impossible to replace all the quality we're losing. Chambers is def quality. From the first game I saw him against Sunderland he showed that composure. Arsenal Wenger knows a decent player. Why sell CC though? Like others have said we have money?!! What is going on!?!! Lets hear it Les Reed. Speak up...
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