OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint

Exactly, and that's why Edozie should not be put in the same hat as Sulemana and Mara. Those two are wasting too much time and too much space which should be given to the likes of Dibling & SAA to show their worth, especially as these friendlies move from warm-ups to pre-season tactics. But boy, doesn't our front line look weak? Already liking Ronnie Edwards looks very good at the back.

All very reasoned, Turkish, but it could be argued he will have more opportunities to be in the spotlight and show off his talents with a Saints team playing against other premiership clubs teeming with internationals. I believe Matt O'Riley is Danish so may be open to playing outside the UK more than others, but look how Lavia shone in our team a couple of years ago and got a dream move...not that we're going to be a team full of crap like that season.

I think playing in the premier league for a manager you know would be quite a draw. In fact, I'm sure to many players that would be preferable to upping sticks and playing in an inferior league albeit with a couple of European games in a season.

That's the weird thing. I always thought of him as a Shane Long. Likeable but genuinely awful, no real talent, when on goal he just thumped the ball as hard as he could but somehow we were worse last season when he didn't play. Good luck to him but now can we please have a real striker.

....to one of their players and then they hit the post. Suguwara will be a good first team addition. Lis didn't do his reputation much good, so it seems we're left with Mac and Lumley in goal, which is hardly a premiership goalkeeping dream team, unless they bring in someone else.

Commentator says that'll be a tongue twister as the season goes on "Suguwara to Sulemana". Easily solved. Don't play Sulemana. He seems to be given licence to roam the pitch and his touch still looks useless.

SAA certainly made an impression in pre-season games and as a sub, but like you say, one bad game and he was dropped like a stone. Don't recall him even come back on as a sub after that. Given there were a number of games when we were searching for goals, it all seemed strange SAA wasn't given more opportunities. He was often on the bench but RM always turned to Sule, Edozie, Fraser every time. On the basis that we can't/won't use SAA, Dibling et al, we have 5/6 weeks to replace Che/Mara.

Don't think we've given up on Alcaraz yet. I'm also pleased that KWP wasn't part of some swap deal with Downes which suggests he may also be staying. Happy days. Once again, as many are saying, on to finding that striker...

Really pleased this is confirmed. Thought they were negotiating a two way deal with KWP but evidently not.

Forgotten where but I remember last year we were all cheering for Aribo when he was warming up until we realised it was Mara sporting the same haircut. He's a master of disguise...perhaps someone should tell him he's Pele so go out and play like him!

Wouldn't be surprised to see Graham Potter as the next England manager. In fact, we were 86 seconds from looking for a new manager with the Slovakia game. I'll echo most of what's been said on here. We weren't resilient, we weren't brave. We were bloody lucky and with the technical talent in the team, we're capable of so much more. At least it's a relatively young team so there's plenty of potential.

And has RM been giving the commentary teams lessons? If I hear the word 'brave' once more...

And talking of Saints. there's a comparison here with us in the play off final. One team thought they would walk it - and they didn't it. 0-1 to England

Genuinely think our powers-that-be believe they have already done the majority of the transfer business. Goalkeeper sorted, defence sorted, Matt O'Riley/Downes negotiations ongoing in their eyes sorts midfield...we just need that signature striker signing. I'm not expecting a lot else. ABK can leave and good riddance, Alcaraz can come back and hope he does. It's that striker...

I think sadoldgit is actually a member, and probably a founding member, of the CoT. It's a self-publicity stunt to build the aura of CoT. No-one can get so consistently wound up as 'saddo' without have a heart attack! Personally, I think there are some of the CoT itk and I like their clues...even if I can never work them out.

We've also shown our cards by buying Suguwara. Would like to think that there's already an agreement in principle to do a Downes/KWP swap and that the numbers have been agreed. Suspect we'll be paying them, especially if Ings gets back in the picture.

Conspiracy theorists - blimey MLT and Rickie Lambert are coming back in some capacity!

Must admit, I don't follow anything other than the men's first team but I do remember through rose-tinted spectacles seeing Walcott come on for the first time and thinking Bale was a product of our academy whereas now the pipeline has run dry. Dibling, SAA and Meghoma have been given opportunities (and SAA looked ok in pre-seasons last year) but ultimately, they couldn't make our championship side. They're nowhere near the standard of youth player hovered up by the likes of Man City and I can't see them getting much game time now we're back in the premiership. So what strategy should SR have for the academies? I got the impression Saints were closing the academy for the ultra young at my son's university in Bath, so they seem to be curtailing their reach for the youngsters. Maybe, like Brighton, we should target 15/16 year olds to nurture rather than hope for more JWPs.

Two years ago, we signed a load of youngsters and then brought in the 'experienced' players to balance the side. Problem is Aribo, Maitland-Niles & Caleta Car weren't the experience we needed. If Ralph had also been given a striker, this thread would be so different. What have we done so far? Signed a few youngsters and Lallana and Taylor for experience. Don't have an issue with Woods and Edwards coming in, but I'm hoping we can get in experienced players who are in their prime and not past it. Maybe one of them could be a striker!

I wouldn't. More overrated than Baz. I somehow think our recruitment has decided the goalkeeper situation is now sorted. AM will be our no 1 goalkeeper next season. Time to move on and find a striker.

Our guys need to watch Spain. They never seem to do these 'floaty' crosses that come to nothing. The ball is whipped in from corners and crosses and that's always going to cause problems.

This bugs me about Saints, it bugs me about England. There were lessons to be learned after every qualifying game and we don't seem to change. Ten minutes to go and you couldn't tell we were 1-0 down the way we were strolling around the pitch.

You're right and it also seems a bit odd that a 'sister' club benefits from a sale of one of our players without doing anything. So if Goztepe pay us some money, what's the player value? I get the impression transfer pricing is a big thing in business nowadays because it's so open to being fiddled, so with FFP, we need to be careful.

I can see this too which means we'll need another centre back which in turn means we have less spend for other positions... so we keep Sulemana because there aren't many idiots who will take him off our hands. Yes, you'd think a pacey front man would suit that system, but someone needs to teach him new tricks. How often have you seen Sule run pass someone and then do a meaningful pass/cross? When he gets the ball, he first stops and goes to walking pace. Sometimes, he'll do some godawful kick 20 yards ahead and chase after it and if he gets past his man and gets to the ball first, he then stops and tries it all again. No instinct, no football brain, no good.

His touch is shit, in front of goal he can't shoot, his attitude stinks. Sorry, MLG, I don't see any good attributes. Changing the subject, who's this left back Wellington from Sao Paulo?