Stekelenburg set to sign for Southampton

[Bill2]

He is off on loan at Saints for one year.

Do we get a transfer fee?

[Lighthouse]

He is off on loan at Saints for one year.

Do we get a transfer fee?

No but part if not all his wage bill goes off the books.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

Do any of these players want to play in the Championship?

If they don't I can see Kit and Riggs logic that we're better off without them, clearing the wage bill to sign younger and hungrier championship players.

It's the Cairneys, Husbands and Dunks of this world as well as Pringle, Woodrow, McCormack, Bettinelli and Christensen which will be the good long term investments and help get us back to the Prem.

Ruiz has openly said he wants to leave. We can only assumer Mitro is the same. And Lovebite is a liability with his red cards.

You need to get real. You do not need over paid Prima donna's to get out of this league. Debt will get you out quicker than you think!

no what you need is the best players in the league, with a good manager leading them. confident? i wouldnt sell one top player till there replacement has signed. now you could argue that we have done that with stek, but not with any of the others. and granted none have actually gone yet. i just dont get how some can be happy that good players are leaving, just because of a wage bill. and yet know one mentions parker, yet the majority recognise the importance of a good dm coming in. getting rid of him will improve us and save us the most on wages, why is he never mentioned in a cant wait to get rid of list?

Possibly because Parker still has a lot to offer and the others don't

[b+w geezer]

I didn't go to that many aways during his season, but whenever I did it seemed to coincide with Stek letting in a soft goal. Nor did he impress neighbours who only saw him at home. The seasonal opener at Sunderland -- when reportedly he did do well, but got injured -- may well have been his Fulham highlight.

Can't have been easy playing behind a porous defence, but he did seemingly little to take command of it. Didn't come across as (by goalie standards) the bravest either. Altogether a disappointment. Maybe he'll revive under a Dutch manager, but it's now been a fair few seasons of decline.

[fulhamben]

fulhamben - having a laugh are'nt you?

Ridiculous posts

what, about not getting rid of your assets before replacements are found, or how weirdly some are happy to lose better players just to save on wages

[WestCountryWhite]

We don't hold any of the cards when it comes to Stek. A - he doesn't want to be here B - He's got a long contract with big wages C - He's been injured or benched for the past two years so no one will take a punt on him with a permanent transfer especially matching the wages we are probably paying him D - Everyone knows we want him off the wage bill.

Normally our transfer policy if laughable but can't see how the club had any choice with this one

[HatterDon]

He'll be happy there. They have a good training table.

[fulhamben]

Do any of these players want to play in the Championship?

If they don't I can see Kit and Riggs logic that we're better off without them, clearing the wage bill to sign younger and hungrier championship players.

It's the Cairneys, Husbands and Dunks of this world as well as Pringle, Woodrow, McCormack, Bettinelli and Christensen which will be the good long term investments and help get us back to the Prem.

Ruiz has openly said he wants to leave. We can only assumer Mitro is the same. And Lovebite is a liability with his red cards.

You need to get real. You do not need over paid Prima donna's to get out of this league. Debt will get you out quicker than you think!

no what you need is the best players in the league, with a good manager leading them. confident? i wouldnt sell one top player till there replacement has signed. now you could argue that we have done that with stek, but not with any of the others. and granted none have actually gone yet. i just dont get how some can be happy that good players are leaving, just because of a wage bill. and yet know one mentions parker, yet the majority recognise the importance of a good dm coming in. getting rid of him will improve us and save us the most on wages, why is he never mentioned in a cant wait to get rid of list?

Possibly because Parker still has a lot to offer and the others don't

lol, so parker has more to offer than hugo mitro dembele ruiz roberts david and stek. when is he going to show it to us then. and you dont want us to sign a dm then?

[McBride78]

Not bad deal if you ask me.  If he is not going to be our first choice keeper this year (which he is not as we have Betts and signed another keeper), he gets a chance to play at a high level which i am sure he wants.  If he does well, and we do well, we have the option to have him back with us next year...especially if Chelscum or someone come in for Betts next year. 

As to Hugo, Mitro, Ruiz going.....I am OK with that.  Hugo is not a bad player and score some goals for us last year.  Mitro I think is quite good, would not be upset to see him in the squad.  Ruiz wants to leave, has only one year left.  I say get some cash while we can for him.  Our defense SUCKS as evidenced by how much we conceded last year.  Midfield needs work too.  If the sale of the before mentioned players finances the improvement of the defense and midfield, than i support it.

I know few who wish to see Roberts move along.  If he will not sign, at some point we have to make a decision is it best to let him go on a free or take cash for our investment?  I doubt anyone wants to see him gone.

David I could care less about if he is here or not.  I know...here come the David is awesome crowd.  Could not get in our team under several managers.  Could not get in the team when on loan.  I suppose fans are correct and none of the managers who have had him knew how to evaluate players. 

[FulhamStu]

We could be getting a loan fee for Stek.  Plus hopefully lose his wages and we still own the asset.  Yes, I am sure we would prefer to sell him, however he has a contract so we can't just sack him !

[snarks]

Do any of these players want to play in the Championship?

If they don't I can see Kit and Riggs logic that we're better off without them, clearing the wage bill to sign younger and hungrier championship players.

It's the Cairneys, Husbands and Dunks of this world as well as Pringle, Woodrow, McCormack, Bettinelli and Christensen which will be the good long term investments and help get us back to the Prem.

Ruiz has openly said he wants to leave. We can only assumer Mitro is the same. And Lovebite is a liability with his red cards.

You need to get real. You do not need over paid Prima donna's to get out of this league. Debt will get you out quicker than you think!

no what you need is the best players in the league, with a good manager leading them. confident? i wouldnt sell one top player till there replacement has signed. now you could argue that we have done that with stek, but not with any of the others. and granted none have actually gone yet. i just dont get how some can be happy that good players are leaving, just because of a wage bill. and yet know one mentions parker, yet the majority recognise the importance of a good dm coming in. getting rid of him will improve us and save us the most on wages, why is he never mentioned in a cant wait to get rid of list?

Possibly because Parker still has a lot to offer and the others don't

lol, so parker has more to offer than hugo mitro dembele ruiz roberts david and stek. when is he going to show it to us then. and you dont want us to sign a dm then?

Yes he does have more to offer and showed it week in week out, but you will only see what you want to, doesn't mean that the club shouldn't get a DM though, after all he's a year older

[J.Perkins]

Stek was treated badly, and his injuries hampered him massively. Would have been a very good goalkeeper for us. Good signing for Saints.

[fulhamben]

Do any of these players want to play in the Championship?

If they don't I can see Kit and Riggs logic that we're better off without them, clearing the wage bill to sign younger and hungrier championship players.

It's the Cairneys, Husbands and Dunks of this world as well as Pringle, Woodrow, McCormack, Bettinelli and Christensen which will be the good long term investments and help get us back to the Prem.

Ruiz has openly said he wants to leave. We can only assumer Mitro is the same. And Lovebite is a liability with his red cards.

You need to get real. You do not need over paid Prima donna's to get out of this league. Debt will get you out quicker than you think!

no what you need is the best players in the league, with a good manager leading them. confident? i wouldnt sell one top player till there replacement has signed. now you could argue that we have done that with stek, but not with any of the others. and granted none have actually gone yet. i just dont get how some can be happy that good players are leaving, just because of a wage bill. and yet know one mentions parker, yet the majority recognise the importance of a good dm coming in. getting rid of him will improve us and save us the most on wages, why is he never mentioned in a cant wait to get rid of list?

Possibly because Parker still has a lot to offer and the others don't

lol, so parker has more to offer than hugo mitro dembele ruiz roberts david and stek. when is he going to show it to us then. and you dont want us to sign a dm then?

Yes he does have more to offer and showed it week in week out, but you will only see what you want to, doesn't mean that the club shouldn't get a DM though, after all he's a year older

weve been crap week in week out for the last two years. dominated in the middle in most games. so would you spend good money on a dm, or just some cheap average cover player?

[dannyboi-ffc]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

[shnlwswlkr]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

What a load of absolute sense.

[fulhamben]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

What a load of absolute sense.

sticking parker on the bench? couldnt we use that 75k a week else where?

[dannyboi-ffc]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

What a load of absolute sense.

sticking parker on the bench? couldnt we use that 75k a week else where?

Until I see proof he is on that much then I wont believe it, I reckon that was his wage in the prem before all the squad had to take deductions.

And I am sure you as well as most of us feel that Hyndman and LVC as well as one more quality midfielder is the way forward. Now if that's the case why would we spend money on someone to sit on the bench when at the end of the year the transfer fee, agent fee and wages will probably account to a similar total to Parkers wage anyway and how many players could we get to sit on our bench with his experience?

For me, Parker isn't comparable to the others being mentioned. He offers qualities on and off the pitch that none of the others have, maybe Mitroglou is a better player but I don't think he is what we need and more importantly I don't think we are what he wants. Its about balancing the books but its also about building the right squad for our situation

[fulhamben]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

What a load of absolute sense.

sticking parker on the bench? couldnt we use that 75k a week else where?

Until I see proof he is on that much then I wont believe it, I reckon that was his wage in the prem before all the squad had to take deductions.

And I am sure you as well as most of us feel that Hyndman and LVC as well as one more quality midfielder is the way forward. Now if that's the case why would we spend money on someone to sit on the bench when at the end of the year the transfer fee, agent fee and wages will probably account to a similar total to Parkers wage anyway and how many players could we get to sit on our bench with his experience?

For me, Parker isn't comparable to the others being mentioned. He offers qualities on and off the pitch that none of the others have, maybe Mitroglou is a better player but I don't think he is what we need and more importantly I don't think he is what we want. Its about balancing the books but its also about building the right squad for our situation

fair enough, but id rather see mitro next to ross, with a shiny new dm in place of scott. and im at the point now, where i dont care about what happens off the field.

[MJG]

Well I'm sorry you don't care about what happens off the pitch,  and by that I think you mean FFP, but it's part of the modern game.
Fans have to accept that clubs generally can't just spend shed loads of money and not worry about the consequences. Now you might not want to know the details and that's fine,  but you have to understand that's the situation we and others,  find ourselves in.

[dannyboi-ffc]

if you limit your research of Fulham's season to highlights then Hugo looks amazing. But if you watch every game for the full 90 minutes he actually offers pretty much sweet FA. As for Stekelenberg I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. We have a very good young keeper who will only get better. He is one of our own which is something we haven't had since Sean Davis. Even the likes of Williams Dembele and Woodrow were signed from other clubs.

If we are going to keep Stekelenberg then it has a few issues on its own. 1- if he is made the number two is he really the kind of character to respect that decision and keep a happy camp? 2- if he is number two then surely that is ridiculous business sense to keep his wages for doing virtually nothing, and before we compare wanting Parker as a squad player I think its fair to say a reserve keeper does far less through a season. And 3- if Stekelenberg was number one what would that do to Betts and more importantly why would we want him to take Betts place?

I am not commenting on whether he was treated right or not but what I will say is that from what I saw of him he wasn't good with the exception of Utd away where he had 9 defenders in front of him, Stockdale if nothing else added the passion and heart that most of the squad lacked. Parker has a lot to offer in the squad, we have a lot of young players and his experience and quality gives a good balance. The reason he burned out so much last season was because he was left far too much to do, at times he carried us and at his age it proved too much. That's why we need the CDM who can take his place but having Scotty on the bench makes us a better team than a worse one.

Dembele and Roberts seem to have been managed poorly on and off the pitch and it will be frustrating to lose them both but at the right price I think we need to accept that's how it is especially as a championship club. Saints lost Walcott Ox and Bale whilst they were down there and they didn't bounce back immediately, sometimes its the cost of being a smaller club. But Amorebieta Mitroglou and Stek are a waste of time for us, if nothing else Parker understands English football and has the mentality, I also would like to think Parker has enough of a conscious to care about us being relegated. Cant say the other 3 are actually that bothered about us and I think they should be accepted as bad bits of business and moved on.

Its not just about cutting the wage bill, its about forming a group who can have good team morale and buy into our ambitions. I cant see Mitroglou or Stek being one of the lads somehow, they could be quite distant from the rest which is not what we need. We need a team, not individuals

What a load of absolute sense.

sticking parker on the bench? couldnt we use that 75k a week else where?

Until I see proof he is on that much then I wont believe it, I reckon that was his wage in the prem before all the squad had to take deductions.

And I am sure you as well as most of us feel that Hyndman and LVC as well as one more quality midfielder is the way forward. Now if that's the case why would we spend money on someone to sit on the bench when at the end of the year the transfer fee, agent fee and wages will probably account to a similar total to Parkers wage anyway and how many players could we get to sit on our bench with his experience?

For me, Parker isn't comparable to the others being mentioned. He offers qualities on and off the pitch that none of the others have, maybe Mitroglou is a better player but I don't think he is what we need and more importantly I don't think he is what we want. Its about balancing the books but its also about building the right squad for our situation

fair enough, but id rather see mitro next to ross, with a shiny new dm in place of scott. and im at the point now, where i dont care about what happens off the field.

But what happens off the field effects everything. This isn't football manager, if a player isn't happy or doesn't gel then they might hit mid table form but they wont play on a consistent basis. I would rather lose Mitroglou and try to sign Vydra for 7 million or Rhodes etc.... Someone proven at this level, I have only seen Mitroglou perform quite well in the odd Champs league game and against Greek opposition who to be fair half of which are probably worse than us. At least top scorers in this league almost guarantee goals.

So I would get him out asap and refuse a loan, 5 million will do. And spend it on one of the above or similar, to me that shows more ambition than pretending a glorified injury prone Greek wants to be here and will ever come good.

And I don't think anyone wants to have Scott starting, most of us agree we need a shiny new dm like you say but the point is does losing Scott altogether benefit us. We wont get a fee and replacements as the squad player we want him to be wont be as good. And if they are they will cost, which seems pointless to sit on the bench. We need all the money we can get to sign the key players. I will even accept Kavanagh as a squad player to free up funds!