A couple of weeks ago Saints were being touted as favourites to land Theo Walcott from Arsenal, now that plan looks scuppered.

Saints were hoping to unveil Theo Walcott early in the transfer window, but for one reason or another that did not happen, although they were close to the signing two weeks ago, the players agent seemingly wanted to wait and see if he could get his client a better offer.

That proved to be the case and Everton came into the equation and were willing to pay Walcott somewhere in the region of £110,000 a week if you believe most media reports, that is certainly way above the value of a player who has never quite established himself at Arsenal and this season has dropped right out of the equation struggling to get even games from the bench in the Premier League.

Saints although they were willing to make Walcott their highest paid player were not willing to pay him that much and most Saints fans would probably agree that this would be over priced.

So now the club have to turn to their plan B and the reality is that this is something they have been planning for, they have always had several other targets and although Walcott was their primary aim, perhaps mainly for the fact they felt that they needed to make a statement to the fans, the other options on the list could turn out to be better choices given Walcott's record of late.

But plan B needs to be sooner than later, this weekend could well se the club drop into the bottom three and with games looming against fellow strugglers Brighton and West Brom, Saints need new blood into the squad well before these games.

Photo: Action Images

TimSaint added 08:59 - Jan 17 Plan B is to promote Josh Sims !! According to some on here, a deal was already arranged for Theo before the window opened and a personal terms had even been agreed. Not sure what happened there then !! Plan C is to sell Gab, as Austin will be back in 6 weeks, Long has finally managed to find the net and JWP is our new scoring sensation.
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Gman added 09:01 - Jan 17 The silence is deafening. The Gao's took over and have barley said hello!! I appreciate the club need to play cards close to their chest but the utter dross Reed and Kruger spout is laughable. This window will tell us all we need to know about the clubs plans going forward.
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saintwizzler added 09:01 - Jan 17 Fûcking hell Plan D better be good then!!
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JGH added 09:07 - Jan 17 Bullet dodged...
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inthebox added 09:19 - Jan 17 I'm not too sure how serious the club are in bringing new players on board. I think the club have put the responsibility onto MP to produce with what most people agree are a good squad of players. In three weeks time they may find themselves having to pay compensation to MP and financing a new managers contract. This has been the craziest season for a while, great performances mixed with howlers.

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mgprobert added 09:37 - Jan 17 Some fans need to be more realistic. Theo can go to Everton and get £110,000 per week or come to a side teetering on the edge of the relegation zone, and be paid maybe two thirds of that if he's lucky - even I'd go to Everton! The time to invest was when we were a consistent performer in the top half of the league. We got lucky with a few replacements as the top clubs came shopping, but its a hard ask to keep doing that. We haven't really filled the gap left by Pelle, who filled the gap left by Sir Rickie.

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LordDZLucan added 09:37 - Jan 17 Our transfer strategy of buying cheap on low wages and selling high is fine when we are able to develop the players that we buy because they contribute before they go. But when we struggle to take the players to the next level, and I think that is where we are with a lot of the players that we have bought recently, the team starts to underperform. Therefore, the only way out of this mess is to sign players that will get the Boufals, Redmonds, Gabbiadinis and Leminas to start firing. That means signing one or two water carriers and not luxury players like Walcott. I’m therefore pleased we didn’t get him.

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AirFlorida added 09:38 - Jan 17 Well dodged Theo! Who would?! 🤔
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highfield49 added 09:46 - Jan 17 AS one of those supporters who believed that Walcott could have been a decent signing I have to say that £20m and £100k, or whatever, a week for an injury prone player in decline would have been a mistake. West Ham reportedly want stupid money to release their donkey from the treatment table but they'll probably find a club daft enough to sign him. Not that I believe that Saints were interested in him but it illustrates why big spending doesn't necessarily mean value for money. Other than Carrillo, none of the players linked with us by the media seem to fit our needs so time for patience and crossing of fingers in the hope that Les Reed has some deals reaching fruition.

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cornishsaint added 09:53 - Jan 17 Get players firing ? They have to be picked first by the manager and he obviously believes that they don’t have the ability to make a difference, PELLEGRINO OUT NOW and Reed can follow his dismal appointment. That needs to be Plan A then we can look at the squad that finished 8th and got to a cup final playing again with confidence with better tactics and formation, how is MP still running the show it’s a disgrace and spits in the face of us fans

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petedoors1 added 09:55 - Jan 17 Saints Already Into Plan B? I don't think they even have a plan A. Its getting more like Southampton FC Bank.
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StRipper added 10:12 - Jan 17 LordDZLucan you've surprised me there. If we have multiple versions of the same player, we could just sell our spares, then we'd have a much bigger transfer pot?
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BarnetSaint added 10:22 - Jan 17 I see mp is now bookies favourite to be next manager to leave his post. Would love those 2 chancers, reed and kruger to follow him out the door.
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SAINTSNIL added 11:23 - Jan 17 I think the word 'PLAN' has gone out of use in SFC for a couple of years now!
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 11:41 - Jan 17 Walcott will be great for Everton. People forget he scored 19 goals for Arsenal last season. His finishing is very good now, finally! He would've been perfect for us and would've signed for us if he didn't get a better offer else where. The club will sign a striker. Probably Carillo from Monaco. He's a target man so the right type of player we need. They need to keep Gabbiadini to play alongside him. Especially at home when we're on the front foot. Gameiro from Atletico is probably unrealistic. He's top class. Lead the line for Sevilla when they won the Europa League 3 years in a row. He'd be a major coup but I don't fancy our chances.

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dirk_doone added 12:26 - Jan 17 Of all the players we've been linked with in this window, Gameiro would be the most useful as he has averaged close to a goal every 2.5 games throughout his career. The reason why we have a realistic chance of getting him and why Swansea think they have too is that he is 31 in May and a big fee and salary should do the trick. I'm not sure our club wants to spend much though, especially on a player they can't sell for a profit to Liverpool, so we'll probably go for a cheaper option who doesn't score many goals.

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SanMarco added 13:00 - Jan 17 My understanding of PROPER planning is that all these various letters, A, B, C etc run concurrently. My fear with Saints is that they run in succession so once plan A fails plan B starts etc. I really hope I am wrong because there is only two weeks to go now and our squad is not too good to go down.
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dirk_doone added 13:30 - Jan 17 Les Reed is so slow he wasn't even capable of planning his own retirement. It will probably take him until he's 80 to do that.
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IWOZTHERE added 14:13 - Jan 17 We don't have 'plans', we are lead by circumstances.
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SaintBrock added 14:57 - Jan 17 Well done NICK, keep it going...
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SaintBrock added 15:07 - Jan 17 We do have plans IWOZTHERE at least Reed & Kreuger have a plan, devaluate the club by so much that Gao will be pleased to get it off his hands for peanuts. Guess who'll be in for buying peanuts?
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qnehl1 added 15:13 - Jan 17 I tell you the player we really need to back, the 12th man of the crowd. Getting behind the team will have a much better positive effect than any new player. How would you feel if someone followed you around all day, criticising everything you do, booing you every time you have a break? stop moaning, stop booing, start signing, bring back the atmosphere
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underweststand added 17:38 - Jan 17 Talk about fake news Donald ...was this ever really a possibility?. Clearly our budgetary situation doesn't depend on Mr.Gao's millions...but the budgetary restrictions placed on the club by the FFP/FPP ? Euro regulations . Quite simply we can't afford to commit to a 100K /week salary for anyone because , as a club, Saints don't earn enough from a 30,000 crowd x 19 times a season, and those few extra millions coming from sponsorship. Was Theo's 4-5 years in our youth Academy really a good reason for him to return 10 years later ?..perhaps not. His "relative success" with Arsenal was partly a failure; (1) -because he just didn't fit in the formation that Wenger had in his head, and (2) because his performances for Arsenal and England veered between Man of the Match and The Invisible Man . In short- inconsistant, but then that a footballer's life - isnt it? IF he's a great success for Everton -we missed the boat, but if not, it may remind us of the story of the man who came late to the Docks - and missed the Titanic.

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schatfield added 18:03 - Jan 17 well said qnehl1, at the away games the Saints fans are superb. At home, its like playing in a library with the occasional boo. the 12th man in a positive manner would be better than any new signing
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pintsizedsaint added 22:27 - Jan 17 Chaps Guido Carillo is coming. Next few days. This is the Pelle replacement that we took a punt with regarding Austin, but have looked for a stronger option. Carillo is 6"2 and incredibly strong in the air. His main strength is aerial duels as well as being very capable of either flicking the ball from a high cross or holding play/laying off. He's not had much of a run out at Monaco, although a rare 90 minutes recently saw Carillo knocking in a hattrick. More to come - this one could bail us out. Gutted about Walcott, but its not the end of the world. Another Mane is really needed though.

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