06 Jun 2017 17:20:07
I apologize if this question seems to actually be about Southampton, but I see it as very relevant to the current VVD transfer and I am VERY curious if any Eds have an opinion or insight into this.
Anyway, season after season the Saints have to deal with players wanting to leave. Lovren, Fonte, Van Dijk and others. Surely that is just normal for a cub of their size and yet they keep getting the hump about it and complaining about other clbs dealings. I just read Fonte's intervie with Souness and it seems they didn't really do right by him and Lovren maintains his innocence and I know Alderweireld was only on loan there, but they had some issue with that as well. So Eds, have yous got any clue if it's sour grapes or just a tactic to get maximum value for them or if indeed Southampton are the injured party in some or all of these dealings? I would love to know what you think about this issue and transfer etiquette in general.
Thanks very much in advance.

{Ed001's Note - it is a mix of things, none of it is simple. Each case is a separate one in its own rights, with two different viewpoints, neither truly correct. Fonte was a bit of an arse, but they had promised he could leave for the right move, which he feels was offered. None of the dealings are really the same, though, in essence, the big clubs bully the smaller clubs and the smaller clubs then bully the even smaller clubs in turn, so it is difficult to have sympathy with anyone. They are all as bad as each other and a bit of integrity is very badly missed in football.}

1.) 06 Jun 2017
06 Jun 2017 17:44:56
Spot on, Ed. The clubs just accuse others of doing the same things they would do if the roles were reversed, in essence so no one goes home like a saint in these cases.

2.) 06 Jun 2017
06 Jun 2017 18:05:46
nice pun.

3.) 06 Jun 2017
06 Jun 2017 18:33:20
Let's all remember this when Barcelona start messing with us about Coutinho.

4.) 06 Jun 2017
06 Jun 2017 18:23:04
That's great Ed001. Thanks for taking the time to give a real response. It seems to me that with player-power these days stuff like this is becoming 'part' of football. I never like to see a player agitating for a move, but surely common sense would suggest that it's only natural since, like-it-or-not, a certain hierarchy does exist and they will always want to climb the ladder (while getting paid squillions of course) . So, a club like Southampton for example should expect and account for it. I must add that I really admire the way the Saints have managed to manage things since their return to the Prem by consistently making good money on sales and replacing them (usually) with successful players, not to mention their academy. Although, my advice would be to keep Claude Puel. Sacking him would be a mistake imo.
Thanks again Ed001, and I just hope this current 'saga' doesn't get ugly.

{Ed001's Note - they do account for it, but they just want to get what they consider fair value for their players.}

5.) 06 Jun 2017
06 Jun 2017 19:35:20
Well that is fair enough. So the whole thing is just a bit of a song and dance really. I imagine there must be a whole load of unofficial stuff going on behind the scenes that we never hear about that. Oh to be a fly on the wall in a boardroom at times like these.