Ralpk Krueger has said that Morgan Schneiderlin has to stay and play for Saints, but with a bid in for Andros Townsend and a few other Spurs players that we could do with, would it be in the best interests of the club to let Morgan go.

The first thing to note is that although MOrgan Schneiderlin is not best pleased about being told he must stay, especially when the club have caved in to the demands of much less deserving players than himself, that he knuckled down and put in a great performance at Anfield on Sunday.

The only thing that makes real sense at the moment in hanging on to Morgan is that we have to do so to prove a point, a point that should have been proved a few players back.

The real situation is that as good as Morgan is, we have a plethora of players that can play in the centre of midfield including Jack Cork, James Ward Prowse and Steven Davis, we have more than enough cover to let him leave for Spurs or anyone else for that matter.

But we do not have enough cover in the centre of defence and Spurs have at least two players in that position that they are willing to let go including Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches and as was proved at Liverpool we do not have enough cover in this position, we cannot cope with one injury to either Fonte or the untried Gardos, two would be a disaster, I know what Koeman has reportably said about not being in the market for another central defender, but in my opinion he is wrong.

So given that situation and the fact that we are looking to sign Andros Townsend, should we start to talk to Spurs and make Morgan Schneiderlin part of that deal ?

Under virtually any other situation I would be saying a resounding yes, I would be looking to make Morgan the bulk of the money in a deal that saw all three bought in, but there is only one thing stopping this happening and that is the knee jerk reaction of some of our supporters if we did so.

Some of our fan base would be screaming about Krueger going back on his word and Saints being a selling club, they would be wrong, we are a club in transition and we need to wheel and deal, that being the case there is a lot os sense in considering moving Morgan on, in some respects we are only delaying the inevitable, he is going to go and the only reason he isnt going now is because Saints have to prove a point, a point as I have said that they failed to make with Dejan Lovren for instance, to be blunt if I was Morgan I would be livid myself.

I don't think this deal will happen and in that case I think that out of spite Spurs would rather sell a player to Arsenal than deal with us, this isnt great business, I know why we have to keep Morgan, indeed I can see why it would be great to keep Morgan, but in the grand scheme of things we need to plug gaps in other areas rather than be over stocked in the centre of the park.

personally I would rather see Jack Cork given a new deal and Townsend plus one even two of Dawson and Chiriches arrive in exchange for Schneiderlin.

Photo: Action Images

TorontoSaint added 17:27 - Aug 20 I agree with you Nick that Ralph will lose face but also agree that everything is about strengthening the squad which we clearly need to do. Mistakes have been made and whether we sell him now, January, or next summer he will go and we could do without him. Guess it's up to RoKo to plead his case to Ralph one way or another and trust that his course of action is correct and Ralph will go along despite his comments. The next two games may decide this for everyone....

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slynch added 17:33 - Aug 20 The club was offered silly money for Lallana et al, but only sensible money for Spiderman which made selling him pointless. I'm sure if someone came in with a silly-money offer he would be straight out the door despite what Kreuger says. Need a cb, definitely. And a right winger instead of a right whinger!
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Scummer added 17:41 - Aug 20 It is imperative that we do not sell him. Regardless of the recontruction we see, the club is perceived as a selling club. The club has drawn a line in the sand, and if they go back on that then we have zero credibility in the minds of the media, opposition managers, our fans and our players. And you are right, that line should have been drawn before Lovren. (Fonte, Lovren, Chambers and Maya as the CB options would have been great.) In fact, it should have been with Lallana, so that it was clear to everyone that the club will determine who goes, and any tapping up, player unsettling, media leaks or misuse of social media will result in a blanket no. Wanyama had a good game on Sunday and on MOTD2 they suggested that Liverpool should go in for him. Because of how we are perceived. We need to change that perception and be seen to have control again. Even if it means we have a glut of quality CMs for a transfer window or two.

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BUCK added 17:46 - Aug 20 are you absolutely mad, morgan is probably our best player by a country mile. there is no way you can sell on a defensive midfielder of that quality, get rid of him and the ambitions have gone, shaw,lallana,lambert and chambers are soooo easily replacable. lovren is going to be hard,but obviously he had to go.you cannot be held to ransom because you want a player, it doesnt work like that in football.not yet anyway

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SaintGeorge added 17:56 - Aug 20 Andros is sadly is an absolute slave to online betting — he's ruined himself several times despite endless second chances and rehab. His promising England carrer is over and now Spurs want him out the door. I wish him well combatting his disease but we can't be the ones to shoulder the burden — it's Tottenham's responsibility.
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gpsgm added 18:08 - Aug 20 Are you Schneiderlin's agent in disguise? You had the violins out for him on Sunday, keep talking about him deserving to be aloud to leave (Is playing for Saints some sort of punishment?) and now you say he can go because we can nick some of Spurs hand-me-downs. Central midfield is key to controlling games and therefore key to success. I say he should be allowed to stay because he deserves to play for Saints. Vive Morgan, Viva la France !!!

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montecristo added 18:09 - Aug 20 What is important is that we stop being seen as a club who will trade any of their players for a pocket full of silver, this summer s experience has had a very negative impact on the club s image and if we are to progress it has to be repaired. But I dont think Krueger and Reed are the men to do this they have a different agenda, sell ,sell sell. And to hell with the fans. Keeping Morgan would go some way to restoring the club s credibility, because quite frankly lying to the fans just isnt acceptable no matter what the justifications put forward.

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BarnetSaint added 18:29 - Aug 20 We have to keep MS, none of the spurs players apparently available are sufficiently good enough for us to do business with. The players we have in that position quite simply do not play in that position, JWP for example is a creative player who takes our set pieces now, these are not attributes that MS has but his work rate and ability to read the game allows us to dominate midfield areas, as we did second half at Anfield. And as for spuds having a strop over us, were they not the ones who enticed, hoddle, Pooch and obtained a massive profit on bale. So levy and co. Do one.

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ExiledSupporter added 18:37 - Aug 20 Nick, perhaps unusually I rather strongly disagree with your line on this one. I might agree if the incoming players were up to scratch, but Dawson is the wrong age, Chiriches of debatable quality (why do we need a third of this variety) and I have doubts about Townsend for the reasons that St George mentions above. I think we could get better value elsewhere. Blimey, Zaha has more potential, Remy is more dangerous and scores more goals and either would be reputedly less costly. I would also prefer Wollscheid as the right mix of experience and youthful promise (on loan first and then signed up in, say, January). "No" to Spurs cast-offs and let's keep Morgan, an outstanding midfielder and one of our very best, not to be traded for Tottenham's tat!

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BoondockSaint added 18:45 - Aug 20 Absolutely not! First of all, we would would have gone back on our word and look weak to players and agents. It would take years to repair that image. Second of all, we don't need their crap leftovers (not that their regular team is that good) Townsend is way over rated (look at his goal per game average). Lastly, we will have been made to look like idiots by MoPo again!( Somewhere Cortese will be laughing) Spurs have blown the Bale money on lazy lie-abouts and now they want to off-load them on us: It's the Al Bundy Theory of Yard Sales: You were an idiot who bought a load of junk, now you have a yard sale to find a bigger idiot to buy it from you! Yes we need help on defence, but when were Spurs ever known for that? Just get a couple hard men (cheap) from the lower leagues that the prima donnas are afraid of running against!

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Jesus_02 added 18:49 - Aug 20 Put simply... no
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Nicolacomeback added 18:49 - Aug 20 you are very wrong. If morgan is sold this summer then the team morale will be quite badly affected especially for those players who played last year. See Fonte's interview with DE. He said that morgan staying means everything to the players-have a look at his interview. These players are humans too and they form a bond and attachment. I think he should be sold next summer and like luis suarez his value will go up even further. I bet if he has a great season and there will be a mad rush for him. He is well known now. The board will be playing with fire if they sell him this summer. absolute fire!

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mayfairsaint1 added 18:55 - Aug 20 Jesus Christ I hope Morgan doesn't read this article. Just when it 'seems' he might be back on board with Ronko you suggest that he deserves a move. Why does he deserve a move? He might have his dreams but we've got ours. Yes we do need another quality CB but why does it have to be one of Spurs cast offs? Dawson's got no pace and Chiriches didn't pull up any trees last season. Krueger can't go back on his word because it will send the wrong message to the vultures and it will disillusion our fans . How many seats will be empty for Saturday as it is?

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landsdownsaint added 19:13 - Aug 20 Yes , Sell him!!??... Actually he's the best defensive midfielder in the country ... Keep him .
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VancouverSaint added 19:20 - Aug 20 It's completely baffles me why Spurs are rated among the elite clubs that can stand on their lofty perch to pluck stars away from lesser clubs. This perception comes from the good old days of Jimmy Greaves and the 1961 double and more recently (the 90's), stars like sherringham and Klinsman. White Hart Lane is only 4000 more in capacity to St Mary's and their ownership has not the money that the Liebherrs have. MP was an Ok manager but now where near the experience of RK. They struggled at West Ham and were lucky to win. Morgan should stay with Saints as I believe we will end up higher in the league than Spurs and if things go sideways with Spurs then Levy will be handing out pink slips galore. Stay Morgan to a club that are going somewhere....up, and not go to a team of overpaid misfits.

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Mugger added 19:22 - Aug 20 Interesting that Spurs are the subject of this topic. I think you do well to take a leaf out of Spurs book about how you can actually get stronger after your best player leaves. I must confess to being a Spurs fan who would love to see Schneiderlin at WHL as he would add real grit and coordination in our midfield which, despite its quality, has looked all at sea since the departures of Messieurs Modric and van der Vaart. But, up until the Modric case, Spurs had sold two great players to Man U - Carrick and Berbatov. The net receipts from that process were GBP 48m. With the resulting money, Spurs brought in Modric, Kaboul, Bale - who were among the most sought after youngsters in Europe at the time and added a bit of experience in the form of van der Vaart. Other important additions came in the form of the now departed Corluka, Walker, Rose, Pavlyuchenko etc. and complemented well with players that Spurs had developed themselves or who were already at the club such as Dawson, King, Lennon, Defoe, Robbie Keane etc. The immediate aftermath of Berbatov's departure in particular was not a pretty one. Spurs were crap in the league that year though. The same applied to the year before when Berbatov stayed at Spurs against his will and his attitude infected the whole dressing room; a decent Spurs side finished in the bottom half of the table after two straight 5th placed finishes. The object lesson is that it is simply not worth anybody's while keeping a grumpy player at the club. If you can get good money for him sell him and make your squad stronger. Modric may have been an exception to the rule. When Spurs put their foot down when Chelsea came calling, Modric had a stellar season and Spurs finished 4th for the second season in 3. True we have never replaced him and he has gone on to great things at Real Madrid. Ditto Bale. These are two top performers who I don't even think Man U could have held onto when Madrid came calling. But, know what, if you look at the squad as a whole, they are only about three weak links - Dawson, Kyle Naughton and maybe Kaboul. Every other player is 100% solid and with a new coach and perhaps a little more stability in selection, I could see Spurs having a real go this season. Southampton's position now is that they could have some GBP 120m in the bank if the Schneiderlin to Spurs deal goes through. I say spent the money on building lasting success - extending St. Mary's and bringing in five or six of the brightest young talents in Europe. This will lay the foundations of the future - a strong squad and a strong revenue base from a bigger stadium to pay them decent wages. If and when this happens, I am sure thoughts of Schneiderlin, Lallana, Lovren, etc. will be a distant memory in everybody's minds.

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bigsplicer added 20:29 - Aug 20 I agree 100%. I have never been Morgan's biggest fan TBH and find it a little strange why the club have said no to him whilst others were allowed to go. Of all of the departures the biggest loss was Chambers, then Lovren, Shaw, Lallana then Lambert. More CB's mean we could adopt a dutch style 3-5-2 if required and with clyne and Bertrand this is a genuine option.
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Pecky3 added 20:40 - Aug 20 Why would we swap our best midfielder for another winger and two defenders who Spurs do not rate highly? The idea is to strengthen Saints team not weaken it!
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BarnetSaint added 21:16 - Aug 20 Very good post Mugger, you make some interesting points, but your argument seems to hinge on us letting MS go and we bank the money and reinvest, moving onwards and upwards. Alas the reality is that we would have to either pay over the odds to replace what we've lost or take a chance on a few, possibly foreign imports who may, or may not make the grade.
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andymcrowe added 21:25 - Aug 20 It's great to read a thoughtful set of comments rather than the mindless ranting of the saintsforum. What would help is to know exactly what the club's transfers policy is. It would seem to me that if we get a silly offer along with megamillions in extra salary from a Champions League side for one of our players we would be daft to ignore it. But if we get a derisory price from a side competing against us at the same (ie non Champs League) level then we should turn it down. I doubt that many among us, in the same position whether as a business or individual, would have turned down the Lambert, Lallana, Shaw and Lovren money. But Chambers is baffling - and as Terry Paine hinted at last night on Supersport (which I receive here on St Helena) there were more personal reasons involved.

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cheltenhamsaint added 21:42 - Aug 20 I'm not interested in other clubs "cast offs" or "he's surplus to requirements". We are not here to solve other clubs problems. I want players that we entice away from other clubs because of who we are and where we hope to be going, whatever level that club may be at. If MS goes, I will be fine with that providing we get our asking price and not get any make weights in return. This is not Osvaldo we are talking about. PS - MS covered more ground than any other player on Sunday so I'm confident he will beputting in a shift for Saints whenever he pulls on the shirt

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StRipper added 23:25 - Aug 20 Mugger you are way off the mark and I'm afraid so is Nick in this case. We have no players like Schneiderlin with both the passing vision and ability to dictate play. I also saw no sign of a disgruntled player against Liverpool on Sunday. Saints pulled a master stroke selling players for as much as we did, even Chambers. They can all be replaced. MS is different gravy though. He can not be replaced with a shrewd signing anywhere near as easily. He is top end and losing him would change our teams dynamic. Look how we struggled when he was injured last season. I agree with the other posts on here too about the poor quality of Spurs squad. They were only bailed out last season by Eriksen. I would hope that we have aspirations of finishing above them this season so it would be madness to help them solve a major problem with their team.

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Brianhimself added 03:56 - Aug 21 You overestimate Spurs desire to obtain Schneiderlin. Morgan is the one most invested in moving to Spurs. Spurs, too have a plethora of midfielders. Straight across Townsend for Schneiderlin would be pretty fair. Getting Dawson in the mix would be a bargain for Saints.
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StRipper added 07:09 - Aug 21 Strange that all these Spurs fans like your good Brianhimself are suddenly trolling through the Saints forum if Schneiderlin isn't that important to them, eh?
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