Professor

Sorry if the title got you excited, because there isn't one as far as I know. The OS is still showing the last update as at the end of last season. With Lallana injured, and Richardson, and now Dickson, fans are naturally concerned to know the prospects of having first choice players available for the opening game. Come on OS - get some news out.

In his first term Alan showed that he has a good understanding of the subject but he could improve his consistency in putting this knowledge into practice. Alan has generally displayed a positive attitude, although he may tend to be a little less certain when challenged by the headmaster. He does have ready explanations for failings which is appropriate when necessary to deflect criticism but Alan should avoid being mislead by his own propaganda as he assesses what is required to achieve success in the coming term.

Concerned

Every reason to be positive. Not all the sides in L1 are of the same standard as Sutton Utd.

Correct. The close season signings have been inadequate and even if made now, it could be too late to avoid dropping points in the first few games. Correct, fans are entitled to criticise and do not have to do the manager's job for him in order to have that right. But as fans are fickle, all Pardew has to do is win the first three games and the reaction will be very different!

With Connolly and Barnard already competing to play alongside Ricky, and then only if the formation is 4-4-2, shouldn't there be other priorities for a £½m spend. Tyson is reported as saying he doesn't like playing wide, but aren't wide players what Saints need ahead of another striker?

Great debate this. Congrats to Alpine for kicking it off. Matron, look at it like this:- Its not that Antonio is or was better than Punch, but he did play more than a handful of games, 39 games altogether, check the appearances stats on the OS to remove any doubt. Another wide MF player, at least as good as Antonio is needed to provide cover against injury or loss of form and for use as a sub when the first choice player takes knock, or simply tires during a game. The same applies to the left side of MF so until we have 2 new players in the squad, the team is weaker in MF than it was last year because they might be needed from week 1. Even if signings are made now, time for them to gel with the rest of the squad in pre-season has already been lost. If the outcome is that we don't gain as many points in August as we should, those lost points could haunt us next April. On this basis it was reasonable for Alpine to ask about disapointment with our transfers.

Its immaterial really whether Antonio is or was better than Puncheon. Puncheon has the shirt for wide right midfield but last year we had competition for the place, providing cover and sub options. The debate has been whether the squad is weaker because Antonio hasn't been replaced and if so, when something will be done about it, given that we are now just 2 weeks from the first game. If Punch takes a knock or if there is a need to ring the changes during the game, options are limited and points dropped in August are gone for good.

Your mate might not be the expert he thinks he is. I was working in Lincoln at the time and he did OK for them and was regularly selected until his injury, but maybe Chris Sutton, manager at Sincil Bank, didn't have the benefit of your mate's superior expertise. Lincoln finished the season low in the L2 table, but they were actually higher when Pulis was playing for them, so maybe not as bad at the time as suggested.

The negative posts about Ant Pulis are mostly by sheep following a lead. Some people may have seen him play but if negative posts were only made by people who had, there would be a lot less of them. This all goes back to the mob mentality when Pulis came here carrying an injury while Portvliet was in charge. If Saint's coaches didn't think he was worth his wages, his contract would have been cancelled but its also worth remembering that not every player in the reserves will make the first team, some are there to help bring on other players. Its time to lay off Pulis and to trust the judgement of the club staff for as long as they think he has a role.

But Pardew also brought Antonio on as sub in another 14 games, so he played in 28 league matches, not 14. Also played in 11 cup matches, whilst Punch wasn't able to play in any. Overall, 39 games for Saints last season suggests Antonio was quite an important player. Maybe in selecting his statistics, Mr G has misled himself, but either way, Pardew is still saying he needs better cover at wide midfield, so the man himself isn't satisfied with what he's got at the moment. The first few games of the season are just as important as the last few (see Alex Ferguson comments about need to hit ground running if you want to come top) so if Pardew's own judgement is that the squad needs strengthening, he should get on and do it. We've already seen with Richardson that having a first choice 11 isn't enough.

If we haven't signed the right players, the time to worry would be 1st July, er, 1st Aug, er, no its 31st August now.....

We all hope the flying start materialises but the longer you've been a Saints' fan the more seasons you can remember when we went into the first match full of optimism, only to see the team struggle until October! This year the doubts are around the limited signings, all 3 at FB, and even if we do have a marginally better RB thats hardly game changing. Midfield still looks sparse after the first 4, especially with Wotton being another year older and cover from a 16-yr old. On top of that we have the injuries to Richardson and Lallana. Having 3 top quality strikers is great but as AP will probably only play one of them in 4-5-1, the two sitting games out won't be much help. Optimism will rise if there are one or two more additions to the squad, especially if one is a first choice in midfield.

When a few of the more optimistic fans go into SMS they'd better duck to avoid the low-flying pigs. Support for your team is one thing but delusion is another.

Back to the topic. Two friendlies arranged in Switzerland to be played after the squad had done some detailed fitness and technical work. The opponents chosen not especially strong - Thun FC in the Swiss league only just promoted from the league below and FC Sochaux who finished in the lower half of the French League. It seems unlikely that to lose both games was in Saints' game plan and although the OS claimed that the 2-0 defeat to Sochaux failed to reflect a well contested and even match, that's not how Sochaux saw it. On their website, Sochaux said that they dominated Southampton and achieved a well-constructed victory. Not quite what we were told and possibly not up to Pardew's expectations when the tour was organised. How we assess the pre-season now depends very much on the results of the friendlies against Barnet and Reading. As AP said last season, the team needs to have a winning habit so at the moment I don't have as much confidence for the opening game against Plymouth as I would like, although a couple of signings could yet improve that.

In George we trust.

It will be interesting to see if Cortese and Pardew agree with this. If there is more than one additional signing made it will show that they don't. But if they do make more signings the question is already there - have they acted fast enough during the close season to get the best possible? Appreciate that looks like a no win situation for AP now but he will be forgiven if we are in the top 2 in September. If not.......

Raw spot there then Nick, but since Otsemobor has been signed by Sheff Wed someone with football knowledge must rate him more than you do, but maybe you know better. If there is improved choice at FB that does not negate the overall view of the squad as being weaker until the midfield losses are replaced. It is entirely valid to point out that a marginal improvement in options for the back 4 does not compensate for a reduction in midfield. It’s also the case that we won’t have Richardson available until October, so he's only got a 3/4 league season this year at best. To call Chapel End Charlie's opinion on the squad as 'daft' and to suggest that people who don’t agree with you are ‘wallowing’, simply diminishes you. I congratulate you on your loyalty to the management but to have your views respected means also respecting the opinions of others.

NickG's loyalty does him credit but sometimes it can make one blind to the obvious. Even though there is still a first choice 11 that is equivalent to last year's first choice side, by any measure the overall squad is currently weaker. The fact is we have lost two wide midfield attack players, with 16yr old Alex O-C as the only addition to the squad in that area. The players we have signed are all full-backs who may or may not be better than those who left (JO and WT). This is before we consider injuries to Lallana and Richardson so already not all of the first choice 11 are currently available. There may be more signings in the pipeline but we don't know that for certain and we are on the countdown to the first game so time is getting short. Blind faith is all very well but we could find that by the end of August, the team may already be needing to play catch-up before the side is properly stabalised

Wonder if Butterfield would have been signed but for the injury. He may have been looked at previously as an option but Richardson was preferred.

These signing by Sheff Wed don't look very impressive, in fact several are past their sell-by dates and a couple have failed to impress elsewhere. I'd rather have our 3 transfers than any of the Wednesday names and we may have a couple more to come yet.

Its getting really entertaining sorting the made-up crap from the true crap and the jokes crap. So did Pardew actually say to spokesman Jordan Sibley what he is quoted as saying about Lallana's knee and that he will be in the side against Plymouth, or did Sibley make it up on instructions as club cover for a transfer out, or is Sibley as much in the dark as the rest of us mushrooms? The house bought in Warwick story seems to have some flaws in it - how quickly can you find a house and exchange contracts especially if the deal for your new job is not signed and sealed? If it was settled a couple of weeks ago, why would the club take AL to Interlaken and if it is settled to the point where he's buying a house, why hasn't it been announced. I think I'll take another pinch of salt.

OK, so Thun have had their pre-season and have their first league game on Saturday, but on the other hand they have only just won promotion back to the Swiss Super League after a season in the second division. Maybe Saints should bring back one or two of the Thun team with them when they come home....

Stuart is at an age where this may be his retirement from the game entirely but that wasn't clear from the small information on the OS. Hopefully the OS will be used to record the club's own appreciation for Stewart in more detail and to properly mark his leaving. I can remember him playing for Brighton and can hardly believe that it was some 40 years ago!

Didn't leave Southampton too soon. Only played 16 games for Palace last year and 5 (plus 2 as sub) on loan at Ipswich. Palace manager (in George we trust) Burley says Stern has played his last game for Palace. Shame how good careers in football often just fade away. People who retire on a high are the rarities.