Dusic

All gone quiet really. A bit suprised we haven't brought in a DoF. Right to wait for the right person but surely a bit of a void at the club, and especially during a transfer window.

Good to see a picture of Cedric working hard in Novikov tonight.

He isn't good enough, but I haven't seen any reason to question his professionalism, attitude or effort.

Post match Ralph was interesting on transfers. Said he has been able to see most of the players now and determine if they are useful to him or not. Said he knows a few positions he would like to strengthen and the window* gives us a chance to do that. Sounded like there could be quite a lot of change, and given our position and fixtures the sooner it arrives the better. * The one thing I miss about Puel is him whispering "window mercato" as if it was a secret (As an aside I asked an Olympiakos fan about the Norweigan RB we have been linked with and he said he is a good, strong, physical RB who can cross and makes good forward runs. Not rapid but quick enough.)

A game we thought we would lose, that we deserved to lose, but a game where, with slightly better players, we could have made it a lot tougher for them. The positives: - We could have lost by more but fought hard - Bednarek was good - Watching David Silva The negatives: - Ramsay shouldn't have played, he is nowhere near PL ready. Barely played a smooth short pass. - Elyounoussi shocking - will never make it in the PL. - Austin - a waste of time - Targett - poor as usual - JWP - can't run The Abysmal: - Hojbjerg's utter stupidity. Jesus wept. The Manager: - Needs a settled defence - Needs Bertrand

Great achievement. He had a good impact during his time at Saints. He clearly wasn't PL level though - no room for sentiment. Essentially replaced by Jay Rod.

The Senegalese Longy was last spotted playing for Italian Serie D side U.S. Folgore Caratese A.S.D. Probably our best player never to have played hugher than League One.

Sounds like Kayne Ramsay will get a start at RB tomorrow. Big call when Cedric is fit and available and we are in a poor position. Ralph is unafraid of these decisions, which is great - even if personally Im not sure about it.

Whats your opinion of Targett and ehat he offers to the team? Also, presume you have missed my Redmond thread: https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?60170-Nathan-Redmond#.XCZtNmmnydM

He is also out of contract in just over a year. Assuming he won't sign a new one he needs to be sold this summer or we fsce losing him on a free, which is the worst secnario for our buy & sell business model. Has Cedric played his best the last year or so? No Is Cedric better than Valery for a team in a relegation scrap? Yes

Has seemingly been fit and available for the last few games but not selected. Leaving in January? Not selected for tactical reasons? Something else? Odd one IMO. Clearly would improve the side and well suited in theory to the Manager's style. Will find out soon enough but if no fitness issue then we aren't a good enough side to leave him out given our situation.

The same player aside from fake tan and a tattoo sleeve? Nice left foot, good cross but dreadful otherwise. Will never take anyone on and get taken to the cleaners by anyone with a little bit of pace. Fox wasn't PL quality and neither is Targett who I can barely remember having a really good game at this level.

A couple for you...

Fair enough that its not for you. Its not for me either, but its 100% harmless and does not bother me in the slightest. Reality is that over the last 30 years following any PL team has changed, just like most things in life change. It will never be how you want it to be, or how it was and in some cases that is probably for the better. In this specific case, it does absolutely no harm and I tend to watch the game more than I watch other supporters.

Absolute rubbish - I don't think anyone would moan at securing a good young player on a fraction of the money the players you mentioned were signed on.

Anyone know how long his contract is? The only thing I can find is that he sined his first pro deal in 2017, but not sure on length. Would hope he is tied down for a while. Looks a great prospect IMO as in the few minutes he has been on the pitch he seems to get really good chances, which suggests his movement and anticipation is good, even if some of his finishing has been poor. Very well suited to Hasenhuttl, and I think he will get a lot of minutes in the second half of the season. Seems a nice lad as well, with a good level of self belief.

Obafemi's ratio of big chances/minutes played suggests he is doing something right with his movement and that he is in the right places. Very promising and pace will always worry defenders. Seems a nice lad but with confidence too.

If we could have got £15m for Targett who IMO is just passable as a lower PL player then I think £25m plus a decent sell on % would represent good value for JWP. But nobody would pay that because he doesn't impact games. So probably £18m or thereabouts.

He is a nice person, a good professional and has technical ability. He represents the club very well, especially the image that they rightly want to portray about the type of people the academy develops. That said, his career has stagnated at Saints, during a period where very few players have shone. After 6 years he still doesn't have an obvious position and isnt a useful sub to change a game. A move away, outside of the Southanpton bubble may be exactly what he needs.

Would be astonished (and disappointed) if Long and Austin start vs West Ham. Ings came off after 65mins today and there is a 5 day gap to that game. Rest players for City, West Ham should be targetted for a win.

Cedric is OOC in just over a year so need to cash in soon... JWP doesnt suit pressing and Hoedt is just crap. Smart gaffer.

VVD proving he was too good to mess around in a Pellegrino team. Would have been a waste of his career, as his move has demonstrated.

Could do with getting Redmond and Hojbjerg extended soon, assuming they are vaguely interested. Cedric to go in the summer.

Sell both, obviously.

Hope we can sell him rather than loan. Can surely get £10m for him?