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Once the football season finally ends after a gruelling nine months, silly season begins in earnest, or the rumour mill as it is more commonly known.
Players that have been released by their clubs for one reason or another are looking frantically for a new club to call home, whilst trying to avoid the ignominy of dropping too far down the divisions in the process.
Players from newly relegated clubs are the ones that are more likely to suffer from this affliction; suddenly their status as a Premier League player has come to an abrupt end and, instead of testing their mettle against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, they are now facing the prospect of trips to Barnsley and Peterborough.
This is when, more often than not, they will give their agent a call and urge them to find them a new club (hopefully back in the Premier League) whilst all the while distancing themselves publicly from their part in their parent clubs relegation.
Of course, clubs who have had the satisfaction of gaining promotion to English footballs top table are the ones who are most likely to require a retooling of their squad, in order to stand any chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Football League Championship. This, in turn, leads to a frenzy of speculation as the rumour mill goes into overdrive, fuelled by a succession of desperate footballers agents looking to earn another huge payday by fixing their client up with a club who are looking for some Premier League experienced players.
Oh and lets not forget those players who are available on a free transfer, but most clubs should be aware of the old adage that you do not get something for nothing. Players who are obtainable for gratis have usually been released for one of the following four reasons: A) They are looking for more money although, unfortunately, the remuneration they seek usually matches their over inflated ego rather than their actual playing attributes. B) They have injury concerns and their parent club have released them in order to save on wages for a player who spends more time in the treatment room than on the pitch. C) They have been released because they are “getting on a bit” in football terms and, again, their wages are not worth the actual amount of time they spend on the pitch. Usually in tandem with category b. D) They are just not good enough. Any players in these four categories should be avoided if a club wants to stand a chance of prolonging their stay in the top-flight.
For Southampton Football Club, we are, of course, looking for players that can not only keep us away from the relegation zone, but also help us kick-on and gain a foothold in the league for years to come. We have so far been linked with players from most of the above categories; the most high-profile of which would be Manchester United’s ex-England international striker Michael Owen who has been released on a free transfer. As good as he was earlier in his career I do not consider him to be a worthy signing for us as he can now probably be categorised in A, B and C in the above list.
The kind of players that we should be looking at are ones that are obviously going to give us at least an outside chance of survival, and the strongest rumour of the close season so far is of our reported £6-7 million bid for Burnley striker, Jay Rodriguez. A player who we had hoped to sign during the previous January transfer window, where a Burnley side that were still hopeful of landing a playoff spot rejected our bids.
Other strong rumours include a cash plus player deal for Blackpool’s young prospect and son of England international Paul Ince, Thomas Ince – £2 million plus Saints midfielder Jason Puncheon has reportedly been offered as an exchange. Celtic striker Gary Hooper’s name is still being bandied about (he was another player who we tried to sign in January). He may now find our Premier League status too tempting to turn down this time.
The silliest rumours so far this close season include absolute gems, such as Nigel Adkins being fired and replaced by Roberto Di Matteo should the Champions League winning boss not be given the job permanently by Chelsea this summer. Although this was trumped just days ago by a post on the Saintsweb forum that stated that Rickie Lambert was on his way to Norwich City, who had apparently offered him £70k a week in wages, which is laughable for a club the size of Norwich.
Other rumours include re-signing striker Kenwyne Jones from Stoke City; personally this is one player who I would not want to see anywhere near our club again. Especially after he essentially went on strike and refused to play for us a few seasons back, when he thought that being at a Championship club was a bit beneath him and he wanted to join a Premier League club. Funny that, despite the odd glimpses of proficiency, he has not exactly set the Premier League alight with his goal scoring talents, and now Stoke are looking to get his overinflated wages off their bill.
Whatever happens in the transfer market over the next two or three months, there will be plenty of rumours that are going to be wider of the mark than a shot by Emile Heskey. Oh and I’m glad that he hasn’t been linked to us so far, and lets hope it stays that way.
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