beermatt1

Paul Telfer wouldn't make many "Top 5's" but would make it into our Top 5 free transfers based on that list and the time he spent playing in the Premier League for us.

Sounds good. Let's hope it comes to fruition to shut the bed wetters up. Other than missing out on Toby we know nothing about other targets we have "bid for" or "missed out" on... Baffles me why people believe reports in the Daily Fail or a tweet from some second rate journo in Italy. Last year during the meltdown we recruited superbly with young, hungry players coming in with the right character and technique to play the Southampton Way - why would this summer be any different? In fact it should be different in just one way - we get even better at our recruitment and therefore end up with an even stronger squad. Proof is always in the pudding I know so let's wait patiently and watch as we at least match what we did last summer...

You are obviously trying for more children. Good luck with that ;-)

It is impossible to know the impact of the players we have lost until at least 5-10 games into the season. We could end up replacing like for like, but they will not necessarily click as effectively as Lambert and Lallana gelled the team together. J-Rod will not be the player he was last season, possibly due to the recovery from injury but mainly from the fact our other attacking players knew how to play to his strengths, knew the timing of his runs, when to give him the ball and when not to. We have lost our captain and our talisman. We were not as effective without Rickie in the team last season. His control and vision mean Liverpool fans are excited to have him in their squad. Shaw and Chambers (also being English) and Lovren's experience and ability means we have lost the core of our team, maybe even our heartbeat. Replacing that takes more than a few new signings - it is going to take a lot of time, clever coaching and team spirit (which hopefully does remain despite the players we have lost). I find it really amusing that Shaw is now fat, Lambert can't run and Lallana is no longer as good as we thought he was last season. 95% of us were clambering for them all to start for England in the World Cup 7 weeks ago! Let's not destroy our recent past, or fear our future. We will survive next season, avoid relegation, possibly sell a couple of our star players next summer and our academy will continue to thrive. We won't make it to the Champions League, but then we were never going to really were we? The retards in the press (they know who they are) will find something else fashionable to write about before too long, and we can get on with supporting by far the greatest team the world has ever seen, as we have done for the last 5, 15, 25 or 35+ years.

The issue for me is not that we are selling 2-3 of our best players last season - it is the players we are selling. Lambert is the heart beat of the team, the focal point, the clever player with an eye for an assist and a goal threat in and out of the box. Our set-piece king. Lallana going too and also Shaw means we are losing the core of our on-field strategy and am awful lot of our attacking flair. Rodriguez would not have been the player he was last season without a massive contribution from both Lambert and Lallana. To replace this will be very difficult, but not impossible. If (or should that be when) we lose these three, like for like replacements will be hard to find. The new manager will therefore have to implement a new style of play (which he may well have done anyway) to integrate the new players into the team. Imaging if we replaced Lambert with Bomy or Lukaku (not going to happen, I know) - they are different players who would not have the link-up play of guile of someone like Lambert. Who replaces Lallana is even more difficult. A left back coming in for sure if the least of my concerns - we won't sign one who is as good but he is less key than the other two. We all know Rickie has got better and fitter with age so I see no reason why he couldn't play another 3 years at the top. He may lose another yard of pace, but he won't ever lose the vision and guile that has played such an important part in our success in the last few years. So, £4m for his transfer and £6m wages saved is all well and good, but replacing him for that amount of money just cannot happen.

There might be a huge amount of transfer activity going on, just not many rumours leaking out. I bet they are trying very hard to get players signed and hopefully we will see 1 or 2 new faces in the next few weeks.

Surprising that nobody has mentioned our options at center back yet. Cahill has been struggling with injury, Lescott just made a really bad mistake in his last game and Terry is a time-bomb likely to explode on the pitch at any point. After that Phil Jones could play there but has been used more at right back and center midfield for Man Utd this season. Great to see AOC in the squad and I reckon he will definitely get some game time - very exciting. And Downing has been excellent for England this season, dire for Liverpool, but he really isn't as bad a player as people are making out.

All of those days seem like a massively distant memory now though, almost like they never really happened. It is the next three games that really count and I can't think of anything but those games! And I really can't imagine they are going to go as well as we all hope they will. Realistically we could be 7 hours away from the Premier League (subject to big swings in goal difference) but we all know it will probably go down to the last 10 minutes of the Coventry game before our fate is decided.

You should have gone to Skybet - I did the same this morning but got 61/1 on it. Might as well have been 60,000/1 as results like that do not happen for Saints do they?!

Was actually 13th...not that it really matters! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/8673102/Championship-2011-12-season-preview.html

******.

Excellent appointment who is certainly well qualified to get us promoted this season. For those who are slightly underwhelmed or concerned how he will be with the "big names we have here for league 1" and the "high expectation of supporters" just look at Leeds and Newcastle as an example. Neither set of supporters would have been excited when Grayson and Hughton were appointed and expectations at both those clubs are at least equal to ours. They both now find themselves in the top 8 of a higher division than they were in when their current managers were appointed. I will be surprised if the same cannot be said about us in 12 months time. Welcome, Nigel, and good luck.

Whoever Pardew brings in to replace the poles will need to be really fit - our side burns up far to much energy in the first 70 minutes meaning we recede too many late goals.

Depending on the set up of the new board, we could be one of the most inexperienced clubs at board level in the whole of the English league. We will therefore need an experienced manager, used to running a club, not just coaching the team. Now is not the time for an up and coming manager. Somebody like Alan Curbishley or Steve Coppell (doubt either would join us) needs to be installed and told they have 5 years, as per Pinnacles business plan, to get us back into the Premiership and a proper top flight club from top to bottom.