This won't please Spurs fans but Saints will not sell to club's who they see as in direct competition according to an article in the Telegraph today.

There are some journalists in the National press who when they write something they know their sources are good, Jeremy Wilson is one of those, not only is he one of the most respected sport writers in the national media but as a former Daily Echo staff member he still has close contacts with Southampton Football Club.

Today he has written an article about how Saints are now reluctant to deal with Spurs when it comes to selling players, part of that is of course because of the way that the North London club have behaved when trying to tempt Morgan Schneiderlin last summer when they offered somewhere in the region of £10 million for a player worth twice that, also the way they have tried to court Jay Rodriguez and Victor Wanyama, again the Kenyan was subject to unsettling tactics with an offer far from his true worth from Daniel Levy.

Add to that the way that Spurs took Mauricio Pochettino and his backroom staff and subsequently head of recruitment Paul Mitchell it would be fair to say that Levy & his merry men are not the most popular in the Saints boardroom and Saints like many clubs are becoming exasperated by the way that Spurs are conducting themselves.

However Jeremy Wilson suggests that Saints being reluctant to deal with Spurs is not just because of the tactics of the White Hart Lane club, but because they see them as a direct rival

In the article Wilson says

"Tottenham have succeeded in taking manager Mauricio Pochettino and some of his backroom staff, notably head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, from Southampton but any effort to resurrect a deal for Wanyama, or Jay Rodriguez, who they were also interested in, will be immediately rejected."

"Southampton eventually got £24 million — more than double Tottenham’s previous valuation — from Manchester United for Schneiderlin this summer after refusing to sell him last year. "

"They are confident that their decision to say ‘no’ last month to Wanyama and Sadio Mano, who was a late transfer window target for Manchester United, will send a consistent message both to the rest of the squad and other clubs."

"Southampton’s strategy is to produce from inside the academy or intelligently scout emerging players, such as Mane and Juanmi. They are not then interested in selling those players to clubs, including Tottenham, who they regard as direct competitors. Every significant Southampton sale over the last three transfer windows has been to Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool. "

Strong words from Jeremy Wilson and ones that will not please Spurs fans who see the likes of Arsenal & United as their true rivals and not Southampton, from that point of view this season is make or break for Mauricio Pochettino, last season saw him make no headway with the fifth place being one place better than the season before but the 64 points gained 5 points less than in 2013/14.

Pochettino having had a season to bed in his ways is now under pressure to deliver, there are those inside White Hart Lane who feel that last season he got lucky with Harry Kane, a player he was reluctant to pay in the opening months of the season, they feel that if Kan doesn't find his goal scoring touch soon then Spurs might again find it hard to even get near breaking into a top four position which is where the club feel they should be, without Kane there is no plan B up front.

Daniel Levy is not a patient task master, since Glenn Hoddle was sacked in September 2003, Pochettino is the 8th permanent manager employed at White Hart Lane, 5 have not lasted 18 months, with only Martin Jol & Harry Rednapp surviving for longer, Pochettino is coming up to the time when Daniel Levy gets an itchy trigger finger and he is not afraid to use it.

Photo: Action Images

WestSussexSaint added 18:24 - Sep 7 I agree with the policy as not only would we lose a quality player but it would directly strengthen a rival. The debate will be is who is Saints rivals? Alongside Spurs I would add Everton, Swansea and Liverpool as rivals for those 5th to 8th placings. And didn't we just sell Clyne to Liverpool and Cork to Swansea in the last 12 months. Strikes me this is more about just not selling to Spurs.

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Sintie added 18:41 - Sep 7 It would be easier to read your post if you used punctuation!!
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1970 added 19:54 - Sep 7 I think Spuds have a big problem this season, because there squad looks a bit light, they have some youngsters that good be world beaters,but I doubt it, can poch play a different style? I don't think so and they are not fit enough to carry it through to the end of the season let alone challenge for trophies and top four, the Europa league will also be a problem but we will see, my money is on Brenda fired first then Poch lol, these teams have been very ordinary for years coyr

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SaintBrock added 20:21 - Sep 7 I just don't buy this propoganda, the stable door has been left open for years and a whole first team of star players have bolted. Pointless now to bolt it shut and expect anybody to take any notice. If players want to leave we can't stop them simple as that and if one of our rivals puts in the highest bid, for sure we're going to say sorry old chum but we're not interested. Pull the other one. More to the point is to ask what this non-story is all about and to whom it is aimed? Somebody under pressure for past misdemeanours? I smell a rat

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SaintBrock added 20:24 - Sep 7 I'm with WestSussexSaint on our new rivals, with Swansea & Everton on fire and Palace flying high, finishing in the top ten this year will be a seriously big ask.
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fubsy added 20:29 - Sep 7 I agree with West Sussex Saint that this is more about not selling to Spuds than anything else. When talking about Pochettino, I find myself torn. He did an excellent job for us and he developed (improved?) several players, who we sold at handsome prices - Llana, Lovren, Chambers, Lambert and Shaw. The manner of his leaving still rankles......
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steve73 added 23:03 - Sep 7 I'd like to believe this but I still think if our 'direct competitors' offered serious coin we would sell. The reason we've only sold to Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool is because they've fronted up the cash. It's easy to posture and say no to Spurs when all they do is put in comedy bids but if they'd made a decent offer for Victor he'd probably be gone.
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truthfulsaint added 02:43 - Sep 8 @steve73 You miss the point Spurs no longer have either the pull or the financial clout to put in silly money bids. They therefore are in our category of clubs. The difference being our whole system is probably the best in the premiership or perhaps even the world for sourcing decent players. If that boast is too much well we romper stomp both Spurs and liverpool for recent decent buys and long may it continue

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BarnetSaint added 07:40 - Sep 8 Tott arn't in the position at the moment to oay the going rate, but like west ham, the slending power and draw will go up enormously when they get their new grounds. We may not like selling to them, but like alderveyrald, mitchell, pooch and Wanyama, they still chose to jump ship and join them. I wonder if any of our immediate competitors will try and grow their fan bases and pulling power by expanding their grounds. We certainly should. Meanwhile, if anyone gets a chance to read an article in yesterdays Times about the financial clout of clubs, and where the money goes, read it. Very interesting.

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leighsaint added 07:59 - Sep 8 Barnetsaint Why not put a link
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BarnetSaint added 08:16 - Sep 8 Hi Leigh I'm a total IT dummy but will try and put some extracts of it on here later.
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BarnetSaint added 08:29 - Sep 8 £870 M spend represents era of austerity for the premier keagur fat cats. By Gabriele Marcotti. Article talks about how the new sky deal will ensure the prem hoovers up all the talent in europe. The transfer tsunami will increase in strength and height. Its the last part which some may say applies to us..... You may wonder where this extra money ( apart from transfers) is going. Wages? Sure. They are on the rise. Stadium refurbishment and expansion? Only at a couple of clubs. Stockpiling cash for a rainy day? No such thing on the horizon. Passing the benefit to fans in the form of lower ticket prices? Yeah. Right. Good one! The impression is the EPL is achieving some sort of maturity, sense of loving within its means and offering owners a return.

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IWOZTHERE added 11:06 - Sep 8 BarnetSaint's extract only really points out where the money ISN'T going. The writer's last sentence touches on it but tails off into 'nothingness', so we're none the wiser. I'd still like to see a simple balance sheet accounting for Saint's trading over the last couple of years. SFC is not a charity and I'm not naive enough to think that every last penny of transfer income can be spent on new players, but there is a large shortfall and I think the supporters have a right to know where it's going. Thankfully we got VVD over the line so with potentially a good squad I'd normally 'pipe down' after the transfer panics and concentrate on the football. Now we're up and running I think we'll do well, but that shouldn't mean that we stop asking questions!

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helpineedsomebody added 11:08 - Sep 8 do you want your assets on the field or money in the bank ??
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IWOZTHERE added 13:20 - Sep 8 Sorry it's off the subject but can anyone update the Bertrand and Clasie situation? There was strong talk of RB being in contention for West Brom but a worrying silence over Clasie. Is all going to plan?
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Jesus_02 added 15:29 - Sep 8 It’s nice to think that we don’t sell to our competitors but it’s simply not the case otherwise we would not sell to Liverpool either. They are both considerably bigger clubs than saints but are similar positions as far as the league goes as they can’t find. The only difference is that Brendon Rogers has wasted his cash windfall more recently. Saints will go on selling to the bigger clubs but it’s not the end of the world, Stirling to City and Cech to Arsenal shows that no-one is beyond selling to their rivals.

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