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Tessem on trial with Saints

6:20am Saturday 4th July 2009


FORMER Saint Jo Tessem has linked up with his old club on a short trial.

The Norwegian, who made 112 appearances for Saints from 1999-2005, has joined former Reading skipper Graeme Murty and Nigerian born striker Ode Thompson as free agents training with the Saints first team.

Tessem, whose most recent league experience came at Bournemouth, was offered a contract by Swedish club Elfsborg but wants to stay in and around Southampton.

Though it is informally being described as a trial, Tessem is training with Saints to get fit and he and manager Mark Wotte will decide in two or weeks whether to take it any further.

Full story in today's Daily Echo


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Your Say YourHampshire

Southampton boy, Southampton says...
6:58am Sat 4 Jul 09

how can Southampton Foootball club give players trails with no money and no chairmen give players trails, what does Wott know that we as fans not being told

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Condor Man, Southampton says...
7:00am Sat 4 Jul 09

Tessem is about 36, I know we need experienced players and he served us well in the past but I think he's too old this time. Is Paul Telfer considering a come back too?

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Bitterne Park Tim, says...
7:26am Sat 4 Jul 09

I saw Franny Benali the other day... is he next?

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Tirau Dan (NZL), Tirau (NZL) says...
7:32am Sat 4 Jul 09

I could be completely wrong but believe this is a great sign of great things happening at the club. When quality experienced players start lining up to be in the action it's exciting.

We need a squad with a lot of experience. We didn't have it last year and paid the price.

Just so long as we don't carry any passengers with injuries. Reading between the lines Mark Wotte isn't taking prisoners he's getting rid of the slackers and drawing in players that want to be part of the rebuild. They will be doing this for very little money on the promise of contracts if they perform in training so it's all win win for Saints. Remember every cent saved by Wotte at this stage is a cent that can go on a couple of higher grade players to get us up fast!

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Mike_Saint, Soton says...
7:43am Sat 4 Jul 09

Are we know the knackers yard!
I had great hopes when MLT & KK looked like they were taking the helm but it now looks like sameold same old or perhaps even worse with has beens?

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Gozzer, Hedge end says...
8:18am Sat 4 Jul 09

Condor Man, Jo, is 37 and looking extremely good for his age.

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Optimist, Soton says...
8:39am Sat 4 Jul 09

Jo always kept himself fit and has an attitude that shines. Always thought he was underated utility player.

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Bob's Your Uncle, Eastleigh says...
8:41am Sat 4 Jul 09

Interesting news and not too old to be of use for a season or two if fit.

(Have you checked out Southampton World and given your views?
www.ohwhenthesaints.
net )

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southamptonwayne, Sutton says...
9:01am Sat 4 Jul 09

I think bringing back some of the old players could be a good move, cost effective and much needed experience (in the game and playing at St Mary's) I'm waiting for Pahars to make a cameo, provided he has decent fitness he could be awesome in league 1!!

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kinkyboots, land of leather says...
9:06am Sat 4 Jul 09

think tessem would be ok for 45mins but i still think its all a bit sad that we have to resort to getting players (tessem)who wasnt that good first time round

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Rudd Gillett, Saffhampton says...
9:12am Sat 4 Jul 09

Only Saints can go from playing our "great youngsters" under the Dutch regime, to trialing old "has beens" under the watchful eye of our Acadamy Director who was part of the Dutch regime!!! Only in Saintsworld could you expect this!!!

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jhp767903, Terra Firma says...
9:12am Sat 4 Jul 09

As ever we get some very cynical views posted on this site. I believe that Jo is just a good person to have around the squad, and if he sat on the bench or just made the tea (at a modest cost) I think that he would help the cause. Better to accept that tha delude ourselves about "quitter" Keegan!

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Barney123, says...
9:15am Sat 4 Jul 09

What a total waste of money - totally past it! He wasn't even that good when he played for Saints last.

I'm sure Jason Dodd is interested as well...

s-word: past-it

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jono1974, eastleigh says...
9:25am Sat 4 Jul 09

Apparently jimmy case has been seen with peter shilton at staplewood and the are about to sign 5 year contracts.

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Saint Rob, Southampton, Freemantle says...
9:33am Sat 4 Jul 09

Ah, i wish some people would just stop being bloody negative all the time. Yeah, Tessem may be 36 or 37 but, we need experienced players in League One. Chris Perry is in his late 30's and people don't seem to be moaning about that.
Jo and Paul Wotton in centre midfield would be a great combo!

coyr

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Sally Hamilton TT, Botley says...
9:33am Sat 4 Jul 09

Kerry Dixon and Perry Groves along with ruddock, flowers, terry hurlock and david pucket are coming back!

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bumblysaint, new forest says...
9:35am Sat 4 Jul 09

Agree with kinkyboots
and barney 123,Tessem
wasn't that good first time around,for
God's sake don't sign
him again,know times
are hard,hopefully things will be getting better soon,
players like Tessem
can't be the way forward for our club,
we can't be the dumping ground for old has-beens and even older no-hopers.
We need experience and a little bit of class,there have to be players of that ilk out there out of
contract,trying so hard to keep the faith.COYR.

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rossofficial, St Marys says...
10:01am Sat 4 Jul 09


I think most fans on here are always miserable and slating eveyr articale that the echo releases!! these fans keep slating potential new owners on here to! no wonder they pull out!! Tessem does look fit and lets get behind whoever joins the club and give them a chance!! Tessem will be a useful target man! murty is a good player similar to prutton! dont know about nigerian player though.

what ever happeened to the likely lads? i mean tony pulis junior? maybe they made him tea boy!

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chip eater, fair oak says...
10:14am Sat 4 Jul 09

What harm can come of this 'trial' with any luck the spirit of that era will rub off on some of the other lads, my memory of tessem was a hard worker with a never say die attitude. good luck

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James the saint, Southampton says...
10:47am Sat 4 Jul 09

Good god! Aren't you saints fans? Tessem was a good premier league player! Were now a broken league one club at the foot of the table for at least two months into the campaign! I for one am proud that former prem league players are willing to TURN DOWN other offers for the chance to pull on the red and White stripes! Come on tess! I for one am right behind your spirit and look forward to you showing these so called fans posting negative comments that people like you, le tiss, svensson and the long list of former big saints stars are what this club needed to stay a club! Thank you jo and good luck

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Saintsteve, Southampton says...
10:57am Sat 4 Jul 09

Experienced players?What a load of cr*p.Tessem was useless 10 yrs ago so what the hell is he going to be like now?Absolute joke.The bloke wasnt even good enough for bournemouth or dont we set our sights as high as that anymore?The sooner we get rid of Wotte as well the better.We need a british manager with a track record not some foreigner whos more interested in how his hair looks.All this is really pi**ing me off now.

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Allotmentman66, Bitterne says...
11:13am Sat 4 Jul 09

Jo Tessem is just the man we need,he has got skills and the experience to teach our younger players, give the man a chance and see what he can do, older players are sometimes are better players and can give more to the club, he was a good player in the past and still is a good player.


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Shooter, Southampton says...
11:13am Sat 4 Jul 09

I'm not completely sure about Tessem being on trial again, as I didn't ever feel 100% convinced by him the first time around, However, I do totally disagree about the various 'knackers yard' comments.

Graeme Murty will be a great signing, especially alongside Chris Perry. We will need their experience in the League One scraps.
I'm totally chuffed that Stern John is back in contention - he will rip up the League One defences, and by all accounts this new boy from Belgium isn't too shabby either.
If we can keep Lallana and some of the other younger players, and build around the older stronger and more experienced players, we will definitely be back on + points before mid September and then pushing upwards.

Wotte is a good guy, and if the team respond to him, and he's allowed to get on with things instead of having his hands tied, then we'll see good things this year.


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bumblysaint, new forest says...
11:25am Sat 4 Jul 09

Saintsteve,good on you,you state the truth,he never was that good,as for the statement,most fans on this site are miserable,maybe we've
had some things over the years to make us miserable,'eh.
If you're misguided enough to think a trial with a possible
signing of Tessem is
gonna lift us or the club you're sadly mistaken,where are signings like that gonna take us,not to
promotion i'l bet.
We've had years of cheap options and look where it's got us.wake up and smell the coffee.
Saints forever,just give us a bit of hope.

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Jesus_02, Freemantle says...
11:47am Sat 4 Jul 09

Saint Rob wrote:
Ah, i wish some people would just stop being bloody negative all the time. Yeah, Tessem may be 36 or 37 but, we need experienced players in League One. Chris Perry is in his late 30's and people don't seem to be moaning about that.
Jo and Paul Wotton in centre midfield would be a great combo!

coyr
I completely agree.

Its also a trial people!

I think that it would be good to have Jo involved even if it was at a coaching level. He is a great professional with a positive attitude that is very much part of the Southampton community.

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born1990, Thornhill says...
11:52am Sat 4 Jul 09

At they say we need experience and here it comes, he ios a bit to old though, but every little helps, in the paper they are saying that Wayne Thomas will be going due to his wages.

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born1990, Thornhill says...
12:06pm Sat 4 Jul 09

rossofficial wrote:
I think most fans on here are always miserable and slating eveyr articale that the echo releases!! these fans keep slating potential new owners on here to! no wonder they pull out!! Tessem does look fit and lets get behind whoever joins the club and give them a chance!! Tessem will be a useful target man! murty is a good player similar to prutton! dont know about nigerian player though. what ever happeened to the likely lads? i mean tony pulis junior? maybe they made him tea boy!
Pulis cant be that good can he, as his dad flogged to us as part of the Andrew Daives deal. i wonder how much he is on? Great piece of business between Lowe and Jan the Man.

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Saints Mike, Southampton says...
1:11pm Sat 4 Jul 09

For god's sake who's next? Tessem had a season done at Bournemouth, didn't play much due to fitness, so unless he has worked on that and by some miracle managed to get fitter than he was 2 seasons ago, I can't see the point, as for Murty, I always liked him at Reading, solid hones pro, a bit like Perry solid and honest who knows what it takes to kick lumps out attackers, as they will have to do in league 1

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Stafford Saint, Southampton says...
1:35pm Sat 4 Jul 09

We have not always had "cheap options" - Euell £200,000 signing-on fee, BOTH years! Saganowski, one good spell then a half million to not recreate it the next year. Wayne Thomas, I'm sure a great bloke but the contract pays he a huge lump and he doesn't play for a whole season. The Echo revealed that 8 players were costing £80,000 in wages and NI a week, not all of them were good enough (fitness, attitude) to get into our team last year.
The important thing for Saints to do is sign on fitness grounds and be cheap. Pulis and Gasmi were probably a massively smaller cost than some of the others.
If Tessem is willing to accept an acceptably low wage and a short contract after proving his fitness then 'why not I say'.
Perhaps we should have shorter contracts so that we will not get stung agin with injured or woeful players again. The flipside of this is that we might miss out on some sell on fees. The new owners hopefully will run the club in ways better than in the past. But I don't think glamourous signings on big money will be a part of that. Income is limited to fans in the lower league. The new owners will want to see how many fans Saints have before they fritter money away.

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kinkyboots, land of leather says...
2:07pm Sat 4 Jul 09

when tessem played for us 1st time round i thought his reading of the game was poor .he always seemed to wander out of position and his passing was lets say ..not premier league

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Saintsteve, Southampton says...
2:25pm Sat 4 Jul 09

Thats a good idea to have Tessem on a coaching capacity.I hope you were refering to him driving the bleeding coach because thats all hes fit for.Coach my arse.Total waste of space.

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RahRah, Southampton says...
4:40pm Sat 4 Jul 09

Things must be gettin brighter!!!! and the light at the end of these dark days must be drawing nearer!! Thank god. Well to be honest a trial is only an opportunity for a player to shine and a manager to assess! Experience has been the required ingredient that as most people would admit is the ingredient we've missed for the last couple or so seasons so I welcolme Jo T back, as posted by other members this could be a cheap way of instilling experience in the younger players. I personally see this as a good idea, hell we won the 76' cup with players that were close to Jo's age.

SW - Hope-Bear !!!
I think there is!!!
C O Y R.....

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sholingred, southampton says...
6:50pm Sat 4 Jul 09

This is the reality of where we are. Matty as chairman and KK as manager is fantasy.

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brighton saint, brighton says...
7:59am Sun 5 Jul 09

We need all the help we can get at the moment and that means whoever are the manager, coaches and players, we as fans of our great club need to get 110% behind them and show some unity for once. I am totally fed up with constantly reading on here saints fans slagging off people who are showing some loyalty.

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kski, Oxford says...
12:08pm Sun 5 Jul 09

It is said we get the politicians we deserve, and looking at te comments here we certainly have the football club we deserve!

It is no wonder our talent is leaving...given the slagging our senior ex pro's get

Tessem was a good pro and squad team player in the premiership and played in the team that took us to a FA cup final . Many of our "stars2 fron the last three years would have benefited from his attitude.
Whilts not the most skilled he was known as one of the fittest players at the club - and regularly topped out the Cardio stats.
He kept out of pubs, clubs and handbags.
Managers need a reliable trusted pro, Strachan had telfer to guage the dressing room, and we could do with 6 or seven with the right mentality to steer us thorugh the next season.
Tessem came back to the Uk last year and joined Totton & Eling as a player/ coach - ( not a manager), They finished on 100 points and i believe they topped the table.

Sometines the game is about fitness, sometimes about skill. Sometimes about attitude. Here is a player with the right appraoch who will cost us nothing on bar a pay per play basis. perhaps the begining of a Scandinavian mangement succession plan?

after all - we have to attract great players to to be great managers?

Er Ferguson , Wenger, houlier, Moyes - they all started somewhere.

personally, I would prefer we started with a sensible base, rather than hire an Ince or some other big name. Local connections, sensible work ethic - connects with the fans ! and we can afford him .....

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supermac, ford says...
3:55pm Sun 5 Jul 09

We had him at dean court last season for a month or so.GOOD LUCK.

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louton, Shirley says...
4:33pm Sun 5 Jul 09

Jo will do the club good as a coach or player. GOOD LUCK

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fuzabuznuz, Southampton says...
5:09pm Sun 5 Jul 09

A billionaire Swiss family and a group led by football deal maker Keith Harris are battling to rescue League One Southampton from oblivion and make them one of the richest clubs in English football.

http://www.dailymail
.co.uk/sport/footbal
l/article-1197540/Sw
iss-billionaires-rol
l-save-League-One-So
uthampton.html

Press conference at St Marys tomorrow morning.

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bekki0405, Totton says...
10:18am Mon 6 Jul 09

Shame on some of you. Call yourselves supporters? We are now in the depths of League One now, not the premiership. We're giving Jo a free trial, not a paid contract at the moment. I think Saints are right to expore every possible avenue. The news that Murty and Tessem are training with the squad is certainly the most positive news that has come out of the camp for quite some time. At least we still have a squad to train with!

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