qwertyell

We played some good stuff - albeit against a side of very limited ambition. But 29 shots and 2 on target tells a familiar tale. The problem is a lot of our chances tend to fall to terrible finishers like Tadic and Redmond or rare scorers like David and Redmond. Hard to be too harsh on the team - you couldn't pick out anyone who didn't play quite well - and overall it was more positive than the death throes of the Puel era. And Forster got another of his fabled clean sheets where he didn't have a single shot to save but the statistic will be held up anyway as iron-clad evidence of his quality. So that's nice...

Played pretty well. Tadic missed a sitter and should've had a penalty; we've generally looked quite dangerous but lacked composure when it comes to the finish/final pass. There's a lot of anxiety out there to break this goal drought. Abraham has predictably looked a threat in the air for Swansea, but otherwise it's been comfortable at the back. Wouldn't be surprised if they nicked a goal, though. Davis seemed to have a knock - we might see Lemina after the break, which might not be a bad tactical move in any case. Mike Jones is not an adequate referee. Never has been.

That's a more balanced appraisal. Technically, he's very good, and in a central role - and more responsibility - with the u21s this summer he showed a lovely range of incisive passing that we don't see enough of from him in a Saints shirt. His weaknesses are all physical. I can't think of a slower midfielder. Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick have proven you don't need great pace to succeed in a central role in the Premier League, but Prowse doesn't have anywhere near their physicality. And without that ability to use his body to win/shield the ball, he's a bit of a sitting duck in the middle. Which is a great shame as he should be dictating games from the centre of the park, but instead has to be shoe-horned further forward, out wide or in the 10, where the limitations of his mobility are even more starkly exposed. It's pretty telling that he's played 150 odd games (including internationals), under four or five different managers, and still no-one is any the wiser what his best position is because he's compromised in every role. And so Pellegrino will no doubt continue the cycle of flipping him from one role to another, from starter to substitute, hoping that he'll finally settle somewhere and excel. But until he can develop the physical attributes to play in the double pivot in men's football, as he did in u21's football, I think the debate will continue as to whether he's actually any good or not. As someone suggested earlier, I don't think we'd have any interest in signing him if he were a West Brom player. Which isn't to say he's appalling. Just too often underwhelming at present. I hope this year will be his "breakout" season and all of us unbelievers can tearfully repent, shamed by being on the wrong side of history, but I won't bet the farm on it. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Really, is it expecting too much to find an attacking option who can play out wide and through the middle with some level of competence? We've been linked to two such players - Karamoh and Vietto - and had another in Juanmi on the books not so long ago who might well have fit the bill now. Yann Karamoh, 19, seemed like a transfer rumour with some substance earlier in the window - a young, versatile attacker probably within our price range.

Would have no problem with selling Long and bringing in a more versatile option. He was hideous on the wing, but not good enough in front of goal to play centre forward regularly. Gabbiadini, Austin, Gallagher and a winger/10/false 9-type would keep us well stocked considering we're only going to play one up. And we still have the "new Henry" up our sleeves if things get desperate...

Hmmm... Weren't ITK-ers suggesting Bertrand was going to Spuds this summer? Made no sense initially - to play second fiddle to Rose - but perhaps this knobhead's interview is about to have an unwelcome knock on effect for us...

So we're selling Van Dijk for, presumably, a flipping fortune, but are only looking at signing two permanent deals and a couple of loans? We really are skint, aren't we? The Fonte money paid for Bednarek, the Rodriguez money looks like it'll cover most of the Lemina fee. And I'm guessing our Van Dijk replacement won't cost £50m. Another profitable transfer window, then...

Gibson is another Roger Johnson - looked okay in an ultra defensive set up, but totally at sea in any tactics more ambitious than playing for a grim, backs to the wall 0-0 draw. He's not quick, particularly strong in the air or good on the deck. £30 million? If anyone pays even a third of that, they will have been royally had.

All those words and yet no mention of the lucrative six year contract he signed last year. Needed another draft or two - not nearly enough self-pity. Hard to imagine bridges aren't being burned at the moment. It'll be interesting to see the club's response.

IIRC we were quite strongly linked to him when he was at Marseille. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Semedo was surely one, as we were supposed to have been lining him up for 18 months. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Weren't they Fonte and Rodriguez's numbers? Perhaps no-one wants them incase history repeats itself and they suffer a career threatening knee explosion or, worse, have to join West Ham. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Always makes me sad to see a player as insufferably crap as Shane Long befoul the glorious Saints number seven shirt. We should leave the number blank until we have a player worthy of wearing it. (Not that it really matters, obviously.) Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I suspect we'll cobble something together and avoid total catastrophe, but it's going to be soberingly ugly. Pellegrino will probably realise that the only way this dire squad can compete is by defending in numbers and hoping to nick something on the counter or from a set-piece. Pulis-ball. 15th. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Gabbiadini and Redmond are the only relatively successful signings. Boufal and Hojbjerg have it all to prove this season, and seemingly some potential to succeed, but I wouldn't hold your breath. From everything I've seen of Hojbjerg, he's a turkey. What's most depressing is that, according to the books, we've pretty much reinvested all the monies we've received for substantially better players on this shower of crushing mediocrity. What a waste. If there was anyone else at the club with power who actually knew anything about football, Les would've been made to walk the plank (and take Ross Wilson with him) when he declared that we had the best midfield options in the league. We have Romeu and Davis as the only two who can consistently hold their own at this level. And that's being generous.

It's a bit different. Neymar's actually respecting the contract he signed - it just happens to have a release clause in it, which he's perfectly entitled to expect the club to honour. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

As with Lallana, Lovren and Fonte: if you kick up enough of a stink, the club will cave in ultimately. Schneiderlin and Wanyama evidently blinked too soon or they could've escaped a season earlier. Chickens. But no doubt the club will still keep hyping up the latest contract extensions as though they're ambitious statements of intent, when in reality we all know they're basically meaningless. Sad. I expected Van Dijk to leave this summer - he's a far better player than the level we seem complacently content to amble around at. But not to join Liverpool. And certainly not after they made an illegal approach and subsequent humiliating public apology - which was as disingenuous as our "resolve" to not sell. For this story to end up with the player, agent and club who have treated us with such distain getting prescisly what they want, is utterly, dishearteningly predictable. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

For 50 minutes, until he runs out of puff... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

The proverbial game of two halves. Stuperman Taylor proving that with training - and only training - for ten years or so, you too could possibly improve fractionally. Or at least give the impression of improvement, as everyone's memory of your previous level of ability will have faded with the passing decade... St. Etienne deserved a goal or two - we were far from watertight, and too easy to get through when the midfield was just Romeu and Davis (which still doesn't work). So, who's next to try out in the 10? Austin looked horrible. Boufal and Tadic haven't convinced there. Davis has been underwhelming a over the years. Ward-Prowse did a decent job when he came on. Is it Redmond's turn next?

Playing with better intensity this half, thankfully. Who knew Matty Targett would be our game changing creative ace in the hole...

Slow, disjointed, unbalanced rubbish. Romeu and Davis doesn't work as a partnership. Never had. Tadic and Boufal have never worked when both are on the pitch - they both take too many touches and stop the flow of any rare attacking breaks. One or the other can play, not both. Is Austin playing as a 10? Probably our least technically gifted player in a key creative position - makes no sense at all. Gabbiadini has had no service at all. High press? No. High energy? No. Attacking, flowing football? No. Any signs of progress from the Puel era? Non. Only a friendly, of course, but nothing so far this preseason has even hinted that we'll be any better than last term. Boufal has looked all right, mind you.

Well, Gardos obviously doesn't have a future here, and things are awfully quiet around Yoshi, given that he's only got a year left on his contract and we hand out new contracts like confetti even to wheelie bins with four years remaining on their previous deals... So perhaps Wimmer is a bit of future planning - along with Bednarek and tying Stephens up long-term - for 12 months down the line when we have neither Virgil or Yoshida at the club. By then Alfie Jones could be in first team contention, and we'd have four CBs in the 20-25 age range. Just a thought.

We already basically did that with Lovren and Lallana.

If we persist in playing non-winger Ward-Prowse in a wide position, we'll persist in creating and scoring bugger all.

Except only one of those teams progressed last season, while the other went backwards.