Dusic

We must be the only PL team without even a well sourced report of player interest? Hasn't been a single Wilson report on signings as yet. Hopefully behind the scenes Les and Ross are on it...always better to have players in for pre season, especially as the window closes esrly this year.

Its a good job for him, absolutely. But he has seen the squad we have at first hand, knows the strengths, weaknesses and player situations. He knows who will be leaving so must feel that he will be able to replace in order to be sufficiently competitive. These guys have big egos and big bank balances. At his career stage he doesn't need to agree to a job in which he feels he won't have a chance to at least hold his reputation. I'm sure will we bring a couple in, but equally sure we will end up with pretty much the same CBs and Strikers as this season when in reality we need a clearout, especially of the likes of Long, Austin etc.

Could we do much worse than look to bring back Dany N'Guessan? Has pace, strength and will bomb up and down the line all day.

Im not really bothered about the kit specifically. Its a football kit, and its miles better than the kit we wore in our first year back in the PL. However, the operational side of it has been a shambles, which is symptomatic of the last 18 months or so. Whilst our team has gotten worse, so have things like communication, ticketing, social media etc etc. Bit of a general malaise and lack of accountability. Specifically re the kit, it hardly disproves the suggestion that they are more focused on what happens in the Asian markets than what happens in Southampton. Which is a shame for a club that will never be more than also rans in the fight for overseas attention.

@MirrorAnderson: Leicester and Everton are slugging it out for Norwich’s £25million-rated James Maddison. Fulham also keen. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/leicester-everton-eyeing-james-maddison-12676154 ------- We have been linked before but obvious won't be in at those sort of fees. Also says Fulham want Joe Bryan from Bristol City, which would surely have an impact on any move for Tiggs, unless they want both.

Steyn is a great player but surely a batter should have replaced Amla, especially with Northeast injured? Players like Adams, Weatherley, Ervine and Taylor just aren't reliable enough with the bat. We havent had a good opening pairing all season since the odd call to push McManus up there.

With respect, this (IMO), is an absolute mess of a post. What rate has Bednarek progressed at in about 5 games? He is totally unproven. What was Hoedt's Lazio level (he was a third CB for them) and why were they happy to get him go? Whats the relevance of Schar? Our previous spines were lightyears better than this will ever be. Quite simply, if we don't sign better players throught the spine then we will struggle again because what we have is not a good PL spine, its a bottom 6 spine.

Does it?

Top half of that shirt is an absolute mess but at the end of the day its a shirt and people only talk about it because there are no games (or transfers). The last one was generally liked, but after a week of the announcement nobody commented on the kit again because its largely irrelevant.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5821965/Ryan-Bertrand-opens-heartache-England-World-Cup-rejection.html Good interview.

http://sportnews.hr/index.php/1-hnl/1-hnl-seniori/2108-karlo-bartolec-dinamo-me-kao-i-nantes-zelio-zimus-ali-bila-je-prevelika-odsteta-ili-cu-igrati-na-otoku-ili-u-euroligi-dalic-me-nije-zvao-on-gleda-igrace-iz-jacih-liga.html Karlo Bartolec says Saints are very interested. Sounds like our style. 23yo Croatian RB playing for Nordsjaelland

West Ham bids rejected for Mawson and Fabianski according to BBC. Such a shame that finally the penny appears to have dropped with regards to their transfer business. Seems they may have a good window for what seems like the first time ever.

I think thisnis going to be a very difficult window for the smaller PL clubs to sign quality players as the fees are getting ridiculous and even unproven types are getting way out of the price range of teams like Saints. Have low expectations of what we will do, but at least we will be better managed. Hard to see us challenging for 7th- 10th though unless we did a fair bit of good business to match the likes of Everton, Leicester, and possibly West Ham.

Shaqiri seems very likely to go to Liverpool. Even if he doesn't, if Everton or Leicester want him, why would he come to Saints?

Good player who has had his settle in year that many need when moving to England. Selling at this stage, having had the adaptation and with four years on his contract would be utterly stupid unless the offer is absolutely huge. Pretty much all our best team performances last year were when he was bossing it in midfield.

Di Marzio says West Ham in for Felipe Anderson from Lazio. No mention of other clubs. Has barely been a solid suggestion re Saints so far this summer. Hoping (optimistically) that we are doing our business quietly.

Would be an excellent signing for us but is going to Leicester it seems. Given a couple of years ago we easily had the best CB pairing outside the top 6, it has regressed a lot. Maguire and Evans is miles better than anything we have.

I'm not a moron with an agenda. I like and respect Yoshida and have bought his book which I am reading now (and is quite interesting). I just feel that we were so weak at CB last season, but can't see us selling Hoedt, Bednarek or Stephens. We need to bring in someone who is better than all the other CBs we have, and Yoshida is probably a player who wants to be starting every week. I think he has improved massively but if we really want to be a team fighting for top 10 then you need better centre backs than Yoshida and I don't feel he would he happy moving back to third choice, which I fully respect. Would not actively look to offload him, but had he left this summer it may have provided an opportunity for more change in this position, something that is badly needed. Instead the club will probably put faith in Bednarek, Hoedt and Stephens to kick on alongside Maya. IMO that set of centre backs is what we were last season, a bottom third club, fighting relegation. For example, both of Brighton's centre backs would have got in our first team once VVD left.

Would be silly as a Saints fan to turn down someone of Shaqiri's quality but I don't necessarily see him as being really what we need in an attacking sense unless Tadic left. Think we miss pace, power and someone to carry the ball in the opposition half and for all the good Shaqiri does, he doesn't really offer those things. At £12m he is a steal though and certainly a good, proven PL player.

Seems to be a united belief that we need at least one better option than we currently have as we conceded so many headed goals last year and this area has become a clear weakness for us since we lost a settled partnership in Fonte and VVD. I wonder though, whether we will buy a CB as we have four on the books and it seems unlikely any would be sold? Yoshida - for me a 3rd choice PL quality player but has been a first choice for 2 years or so now, probably an indication of where we have dropped off in quality as a team. Were some rumours about him leaving, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a natural leader. Hoedt - largely poor last year although better in final few games. Bought for a big fee so will be given a chance to establish himself. Not a natural leader. Stephens - young Academy player who has definitely got quality but also goes missing. Little chance of selling him as he is the Academy player who plays the most games. Not a natural leader. Bednarek - Promising if raw in his first games. Now he has been picked for the WC by a semi competent nation he would hardly settle for being a 5th choice at Saints, and no way we will sell him as seems a good talent. Too inexperienced to lead a PL backline. If we play with 3 CBs as the main formation next year then possibly could get away with bringing in a first choice but even then some of the above would barely figure. Be interesting to see... IMO it wouldn't have been a bad time for Yoshida to leave as would have freed up one of the 'established' slots and allowed for some needed change.

Ralphy clearly said all the VVD cash could be reinvested so there is still a big chunk of that, even before the eye watering TV money. Things will get interesting if they do play that card though! Hopefully we are setting things up quietly behind the scenes, a few clubs are starting to be active now and we arguably have more to do.

Hudds signing Sobhi from Stoke. Good signing, player with high potential IMO.

Staying up slightly masks just how absymally **** that January window was. I'm not convinced that the wee boy has ever had a good window at Saints, so very low faith about this one.

The season we finished 6th we were dire for almost the whole winter at there were some calls after Norwich away for Koeman to go. At that stage we were 13th and it wasn't great to watch. The Pochettino season waa about more than just results, it was the style, the players, the connection with fans and the fact that for the first time in my lifetime (31) we went toe to toe with the best sides and were often better than them. He is a brilliant manager.

Will be very suprised if we sign Promes. It will be too pricy for us.