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...

Yes I do think Chambers to Arsenal will be a step too far. I have been satisfied that the departures so far were players who had had their heads turned by the higher wages to be earned at the "big" clubs and the "reality" of champions league football in the future. But this is a player who has barely broken into the first team, has not even hinted that he is unhappy and looked to be a great prospect for the new season. I don't believe in "fire sale' rubbish or the board being inept. Les reed was in charge of transfers under Cortese as well and Koeman was impressed by Les Reed enough to take the job on. Koeman and his brother are the public face of the club now, other chairman and football directors and club owners don't make press statements. When was Abramovich interviewed about the sale of David Luiz or the signing of Drogba? No i believe this is just the "big six" of the Premiership flexing thier muscles and ensuring there will be no breaking of this highly lucrative cartel. Even Everton are seen as a threat hence the claims over Lukaku being sold abroad, Ross Berkley being purchased no matter what price, Leighton Baines is still on the radar even after a terrible world cup. No the players bought are not for the regular first teams and will be "bench warmers" or in Callums case back into a developement squad with maybe a couple of substitute appearences later in the season. The conspiracy is not from The Saints board it is from the Premier elite. Thow shalt not be in a postion to upset this applecart. I shall support Saints even if they put out a team of under 18's against Liverpool but please stop slagging off the board the statements from the manager are still positive and he is the public face of the club just as any other normal club. The only reason anyone from the board was forced to make any statement to the press was because Mauricio was so unhappy with press conferences. Ronald Koeman is not. COYR

But do you have any faith that the buffoons at the helm would bat away bids for clyne, cork or ward Prowse because I sure as hell don't.

Southampton have a new business plan. Its one where Katherina doesn't have to plow in any more millions of her family's cash. They've already parted with a hell of a lot. I think she knew that under Cortese the club would be a bottomless pit for tens, maybe hundreds of millions of pounds. She didn't want to throw away that kind of money. Fair enough.
So now the plan is to buy low and sell for as high as possible. Saints have created value in players like no other club has ever done in the Premiership era. Even a year ago you wouldn't have dreamed of clubs paying these massively inflated fees for our players. So we'll rake in well over £100m and we'll spend probably £60m on new players, without paying over the top for them, and the rest of the cash will pay off the training ground and previous Cortese transfers. The club will stand on its own feet and be financially sound without any further investment for years to come.
The danger in this plan is the drop in performance on the pitch after selling so many players. At the moment we are short in a number of positions. Its obvious for everyone to see. So the fate of next season comes down to who we sign in the next 30 odd days. We need to sign 3 or 4 quality players just to compete next year and even then we'd depend on the youngsters providing adequate back up.
There's a lot of work to be done by the recruitment department but keep the faith, things should start moving quickly now.
The biggest, and most important job, is to be done by Koeman who's got to try to form a team out of the ashes of last season's squad plus the new arrivals. He's got one hell of a rebuilding job on his hands but doesn't seem fazed by it at all. In fact he's relishing the opportunity to mould it his way. If he fails, we could go down, make no bones about that. Our defence and attack will change massively from last season with no guarantees that either will perform well. The best we can hope for is mid-table security. If we are not in a relegation battle then it will be a success. Next summer if someone offers silly money for one of our players then we will sell. We are not funded like a top 6 side. We will buy low and sell high but be self sufficient and given time we might even push for top 8 again. That's the reality for Saints right now. We can't achieve any more without being funded like a top 6 side which would mean utterly huge investment from a billionaire. Katherina doesn't want to do that so we are where we are. Its still a good position to be in if you consider where we were in 2008/9. Keep the faith and pray for some quality players to be signed.

Saintdownunder since when do emotions and sentiment have anything to do with business decisions. KL is not a football fan, its likely that she will want to offload the club at some point hopefully sooner rather than later. Its clear that she has no interest in investing in players only two have been brought in and further departures appear to be imminent. The situation has now spiralled into a full blown row with heavyweights moving into the argument like Channon who cant be ignored. KL seems to have burned her boats with the fans, time for her to sell. She is a disgrace to her father s name. A part of me is hoping Cortese will stage a come back with a different owner now would be the time to buy the club, for sure.

halftimeorange I admire your obvious enthusiasm but wearing blinkers is dangerous. Reed claimed that Saints had a huge dept. working on incoming transfers collating information about potential transfer targets. Really, his words. So why please tell me has no one been brought in?. And whats this, Targett ahead of Shaw?? You must come from another planet..if anything Targett does not have Shaw s pace. I hope Im wrong we will see. But I am glad fans are now waking up to the Board s strategy which has been obvious to me for quite a while. I am as gutted as most saints fans what seems to be happening is a kick in the teeth for every decent Saints supporter who just wants to see the club progress. And you dont do that by selling your best players, it sends out the wrong message to the opposition.

For those of you who think I have been unduly pessimistic here are my reasons:
1. Cortese s departure due to major difference of opinion as to way forward. Cortese has said he would have retained the squad and added to them. KL would not support that view, he rightly left.
2. Pochettino departure. For similar reasons to that of Cortese.
3. The appointment of unqualified personnel in the form of Reed and Krueger to administrative posts. Neither has commercial experience, and they were appointed because other candidates had the integrity to refuse to endorse a policy of wholesale player sales. Reed and Krueger are being paid handsomely for the jobs they are doing which is to negotiate player sales. It does not appear to say much for their perceived lack of integrity as far as I am concerned. I am entitled to my opinion, and I believe these gentlemen are in an asset stripping exercise. They can prove me wrong by making half a dozen adequate signings before the close of the window. Not going to happen is it!
3. Player departures due to club s lack of ambition. And not I suspect because of the size of their wage packets, the just want to win things and Saints needed a bigger better squad to get to Champions League, and it was doable based on previous years investment.
4. Failure to adequately replace players who have left or add quality to the squad.
5. Saints reneging on their promise not to sell, in fact every player seems available it is only a matter of price. And it would seem seven or eight could have left by the close if the window.
6. It is infinitely better to be forewarned and act before the inevitable happens, as a very sage sea captain once told me, think of the worst that can possibly happen and plan against it. Wise words indeed in my opinion.

If I can offer a crumb of comfort , nobody would be better pleased than me of the perceived damage to our club does not occur, I dont want us fighting a relegation battle because of the actions of people with a different agenda.

Slynch and cheltenham saint. I see your argument but its based on the belief that we are controlling events. Im not sure we are.
Also we are now having to concentrate on filling key posts as quality players leave. Most of us I think wanted the summer signings to be to strengthen the squad to replace the likes of Hoov, Guly Yoshida and Gazza, who we all agree werent up to playing regularly in the premiership .
Weve made no such signings,I think.

We are of course having this debate a couple of weeks early. There is plenty of time to bring in good players. I agree with davepid that we are obviously not in control but I feel montecristo's NC blinkers do make him slightly (I pray it is a lot more than slightly) pessimistic. (see excellent post from Reedy above). I am yet to see a description of just how NC would have dealt with all this - to say it wouldn't have happened under him is untrue and dodges the question. Perhaps he would have told everyone they weren't going and they would have said 'yes sir' - in your dreams monte...

We do need to go to Liverpool with at least three more signings + 1 more for every further player that decides to leave. These signings need to be as good as those that have left and there is no reason why they shouldn't be. But do get a move on Ron. If we are still having this debate at the end of August then we really ARE in trouble...

Agree with Reedy. The big clubs strip mine the lower ones for three reasons: stockpile talent for themselves, keep that talent away from their competitors, and make sure the lower clubs never become their competitors. See Spain & Scotland.

Montecristo, you're having a laugh saying players value "ambition" over wages! Mourinho said he wanted Shaw, but his demand of over a hundred grand a week was too much. "Lack of ambition" is a red herring used by players to turn public opinion and make the club look like the bad guy. See Van Persie vs Arsenal. As if Arsenal has any less ambition than ManU!
It's the old PR tactic: "I'd love to stay and play for you fans, but the club doesn't care about you, so to punish the mean owner, I'm going to leave. Oh, and I might have to make more money, not that I want to, it's just to embarrass the owners who don't love the club like I do!"

Believe me, it's always about the money!

I fear you've had too many of your oranges!
You mentioned it takes time, how quickly did the chambers deal take?
He's suddenly withdrawn at b muff and next minute it's a done deal.
That's one transfer we had to resist, we don't need the money and I'd be surprised if he was agitating to leave.
Do Kruger/ reed have the word NO in their vocabulary?
As for schneiderlin, I'll be amazed ( delighted) if he stays, just can't see it.
Here's hoping this depressing cycle ends now.

Since both Lovren and Chambers are now foregone conclusions it is more than time to start asking some really serious questions about what is going on. I believe that it is unprecedented for any English PL club to sell 5-7 of it's best players unless to stave off bankruptcy. Why should we believe that quality players want to come here when they all are desperate to leave? Little doubt that Morgan and JRod will follow through the exit door. As a PR exercise it could win a price for the greatest shambles of the year. I find it difficult to believe that this is a mere coincident. There is purpose behind this, but what is it unless there is a sale of the club in the offing? Odd way of going about that as well.

sanmarco remembre we are all on the same side of the fence as Saints fans and obviously there are going to be diferences of opinion about what has been going on. But I suspect that you will conceed that there is a ground-swell of opinion now supporting my view point which is that there is a fire sale going on. I take no pleasure from it, id sooner there wasnt. Cortese was playing the cards in the right way. He had I am sure offered inducements to the players for doing well as a mean of ensuring both their loyalty and maximum endeavour. he is as I am a realist. Players tend to be financially greedy, and when KL pulled the rug from under Cortese s feet he had no choice but to resign. He would certainly have kept the squad together , the players were loyal to him be sure of that as was Pochettino. Yoju see in a commerical environment that is how you ensure loyalty by rewarding performance.KL refused to play ball more fool her. Cortese was only practising what is preached, the club was being run to a blue print developed by her father and Cortese together. And it worked a treat did it not while Markus was alive.
I will never forgive Kl for what she has done, this was our chance to become a great club and she snuffed it out like a candle. The only successes I have witnessed were the FA cup win the loss of the league cup final and the last two finals including the Paint trophy. Not much of a return for more than fifty years support. So yes I am furious. But just as I in business have a positive attitude which you need to obtain comercial growth, as well as the ability of not taking no for an answer, I am not prepared to dance to Kl s tune. I have two sons, both young men, and die hard suporters of Saints. I somehow owe it to them to put my experience to good use and let other fans know what is likely to be in the mind of Katarina Liebherr, based on the reports we have had from Cortese himself and from the statements of those that have been involved, players and staff, not to mention the decisions taken by KL herself which are evidence enough of her lack of ambition for the club. I dont know the woman, but I just wish she would sell, and leave us with the memory of her father intact.
There are reports in Portugal today that we have bid for Rojo from Sporting Lisbon. The bid is way too low, and while we have three weeks left it will be a tall order getting the six or so players we now need to stand a chance of emulating last seasons performance. It all feels unlikely. We had the makings of a great team, and it will be very difficult to replicate that, even allowing for some gems to come out of the academy, All of this disruption is down to KL and it was all so unnecessary.She did not make her fortune she inherited it,and with her inheritance came responsibility, and I am sure her father expected her to complete his mission with Saints. She has failed us miserably. Even if RK is able to perform miracles I still wont forgive her, because she also robbed the players who left the opportunity to achieve what they should have done with Southampton. They genuinely believed they could do it,they were for a time our heroes, and so yes I understand their anger and why they left.

Reed should quit..go and haunt some other club..any club..but go

Monte, whilst I share your frustration and pain if the players really had believed we could push on as you say they'd have stuck together when Poch left the exit instead of fighting to follow him through it. Not one of them has shown a shred of loyalty through this. We all have bad days at work, it doesn't mean overnight we all decide to leave, especially when on long-term contracts.

Monte Your hatred of KL, and your admiration of NC is clouding your thought processes tho I must admit you are admirable in your elegant prose.