Professor

Before Shane Long came to Southampton he was one of those players who you always feared when he was in the opposing team. He's been under-used here but mainly due to the competition for places. All the same, he looks to me well worth the fee the club paid. Speed, accuracy, team work and ability to read the game for those deadly runs behind the defence; you can't ask a lot more from a striker.

RK has said that Gaston is training hard, working well and is deserving of a place in the squad. His decision, not only to have him on the bench at MK but to bring him on would seem to confirm that the door is open.

Not a suggestion but just another guess at what RK might start with:- Stek Soares, Caulker, Van Dijk, Targett Romeu, Wanyama JRod, Davis Long, Juanmi

Is there anyone who has left Southampton FC since we returned to the Prem League whose career has improved since leaving? For Clyne and Schneiderlin its too early to pass judgement although Clyne's new team isn't setting the world on fire and although Morgan's club are 2nd in the table, reports suggest that performances are lacklustre even before you consider how much cash they have splashed. Perhaps Jack Cork would say his career has improved as he is a more regular starter for Swansea than he was here but there does seem to be a tendency for players to do better here than elsewhere.

Reluctantly, because I have so much respect for him, I have found myself on the 'RK was too negative" side of this discussion. Long and Juanmi unused subs is hard to fathom when we end up without a goal scored. I do understand that the manager's selection job is a difficult one. Mane scored that incredible hat trick just 4 months ago; Tadic got 2 goals against Norwich; Pelle has 2 goals in five games so that on Saturday, RK must have thought he had plenty of fire-power on the pitch. But crosses to Pelle become predictable for the defenders and the result shows that this approach for the full 90 minutes wasn't enough. I do like Steven Davis and JWP but goals from them are rare and both on the pitch together for the whole game if we are not in the lead, feels to me like too much of a good thing.

Concerned at RK saying if you can't score, don't lose. We had mostly a good defensive record last season but didn't score enough goals and here we are again, drawing games we should win. Steven Davis and JWP in midfield may do well at possession and defend the back four but scorers from midfield they are not. As the game went on we needed more fire power and flare which Long or Juanmi could have provided but it seemed to me that RK was put off by the introduction of Berahino and decided to play it too safe right to the end.

Although Tottenham unsettled our manager in early 2014, presumably by offering more money, many Saints' fans would say they are grateful that he went, as Koeman is regarded by many as an upgrade. Looking back, Pochettino's lack of communication was also an irritation, regardless of his coaching skills. Despite Tottenham's rumoured interest in Saints' players, SFC has not sold a single player to Tottenham in the last 3 years. Alderweireld chose them over us but as he wasn't a Southampton player he was free to do whatever he wanted. It's very early days but so far we have had the better start, despite the Everton result, and the back four looks as strong as before as well as having greater strength in depth.

Before the fans can boo or cheer Victor, he has to get in the team. If Clasie is fit and with Davies and JWP back from international games, Koeman does have alternatives but clearly Vic will get on the pitch sooner or later. When that happens, the fans would hardly be serving the interests of the club by acting in a way that might impair Victor's performance. But this episode has left a bad taste over a player who we all had a lot of time for. Even his statement from Kenya about seeing out this campaign with Southampton left open his options to leave next summer.

I'd also suggest that he has a look at the date on his birth certificate before he touts himself about for a manager's job. The sooner he fades into obscurity the better.

Good to see that Redknapp can still pontificate about football, and presumably get a fee for ghost-written articles, despite the knee injury that brought his management 'career' to an end a couple of months before his club, QPR, were relegated and before issues came to a head about QPR being punished for breaching the Fair Play Rules.

Seems fairly clear that on the hypothetical premise suggested by the OP, most posters wouldn't want this particular player back at Southampton. Personally, I can never see the attraction of re-employing a player who has left. The fact that someone has played for your club before doesn't in itself make them the best choice when a new player is needed. Brighton have done it with Zamora and have yet to discover that he now needs a wheelchair to get from one end of the pitch to the other. If SFC want to recruit an attacking midfield player next season and have a budget of £10m I'm sure there will be better options than yesterday's man.

Clyne didn't seem to do much for Liverpool, who lost 3-0 at home to West Ham on Aug29 despite ex-Saints, Clyne and Lovren in their back 4. Many Saints' fans will have enjoyed the second W.Ham goal set up by an amazing schoolboy error by Lovren but you have to wonder what has happened to him since he separated head from body because at SFC he was seen as a thoroughly reliable CB, better maybe than Fonte. BTW MikeSFC, you can't 'of' anything. You can 'have' a defeat but you can't 'of' one.

Looks like Les Reed has balanced the books: Back of the envelope calc suggests income from sale of 3 players (Schneiderlin, Clyne and Mayuka) is about £38.0m whilst the purchase of 6 players (Van Dijk, Clasie, Juanmi, Martina, Romeu, Soares) is £35.2m plus 2 domestic loans. In addition, JRod being back is equivalent to a £10m+ signing for no fee. If Soares, Romeu and Van Dijk play at the same level as Clyne, Schneiderlin and Alderweireld, the team will be as strong as last season but the extra strength in depth should avoid the problems faced last year when suspensions and injuries started to impact on results in mid and late season. An exciting prospect, but it's as well to remember that even clubs with players worth tens of millions don't win every match, see Liverpool, Chelsea, Man U.

They aren't even negotiating down to the wire. I think it reasonable to assume that the fee and the contract terms were agreed before V.V.D travelled down for the deal to be to tied up. Once it was decided not to finalise the deal until after Celtic's Champions' League qualifier there was no rush to make the signing before the weekend and today became the only deadline. Those who have been panicking will be able to calm down very soon.

It's just too easy working for the media, saying anything that crosses your excuse for a mind, regardless of truth or honesty. It was always said that there is nothing as old as yesterday's newspapers and it's still true in the broadcast and digital age. When the mistakes and misleading remarks they make become apparent the next day, they know they won't be held to account for it.

That would be the Rupert Lowe who was heavily criticised for buying the young Schneiderlin for about £1.5m from whom the club has recouped a huge profit. Having just bought in, about 7 players, mostly with international experience in their own countries, the idea that the club will buy 3 more players is a non-starter. May even be a doubt now as to whether the Van Dijk move will go through.

Almost all the players brought into the squad on transfers have played in their countries' senior national teams. Just because they haven't cost as much as the inflated fees that SFC has demanded for the players who have left does not equate to downgrading the squad. Currently, Koeman has at least 3 top quality players not available to him through injury - Forster, Bertrand and Clasie but the players presently being used in their positions are arguably just as good as those who are missing. It is far too early for fans to be writing the present squad off for 2 away draws, a home win and losing a European tie by 1 goal over two legs. We have a great team and the supporters need to do their bit by getting behind them.

To suggest that Koeman sent a team out that was designed to lose really makes no sense nor would the idea that he told the players not to try to win. My impression of both games was that Midtjylland were marginally the better team but in football the best team doesn't always win and Saints could have won if the luck had gone with them. Tim Sparv's goal had a touch of good fortune and there was the penalty issue last night. So I can't see that going out is a reason to despair. What does matter now is that the team begins to win Premier League games and with the strength in depth that Koeman now has they should be less affected by absences through injury and suspensions this season. it is, of course, also true that there will be less pressure without the Europa matches. At this stage I'm still optimistic that we will have a decent season. We just can't expect to compete consistently though with the ultra rich clubs that can spend anything from £20m to £50m on a single player.

Even with injuries limiting some of his selections, Koeman almost has too many players to pick from. Whereas we have seemed to do well in the past with a settled first choice XI, the need to rest players while playing 2 games a week adds to the disruption. Even with Mané off, we still had proven goal scorers in Pelle, Long and JRod but couldn't find a way through. RK must be wondering what he has to do to create the clear cut chances that we need. Defence did look good with the three CBs formation working well. Caulker was my MotM and Romeu seemed to me to be a good equivalent to Schneiderlin, but the five across midfield did little to provide the front two with chances. How you provide stability in the team while still trying to find your best side and your best formation can't be easy.

Perhaps, as fans, we may have underestimated the impact of the team changes. If you take last season's first choice defence, (GK, Back 4 and 2x DMFs) we have had to change 5 of the 7 players.The replacement players are all good quality but having to settle so many in at once is bound to present problems. The staff and the players will know that well enough and they will learn from today.

Having the objective of developing players through the Academy doesn't mean that the club must settle for a first team that is only as good as the home-grown players permit. The statement about half the team being players brought through is a perfectly good ambition but achieving it at any particular time must depend on the quality of individuals. Some Academy graduates will be good enough to be a professional but short of the quality for the top half of the Premier League. Occasionally, one may prove to be so good that they will become the target of the ultra rich clubs and will want to move on. The Academy doesn't just provide potential first team players for the Saints' team, it also provides an income for the club. In today's football environment you need the best players you can get, regardless of where they come from. It's a shame, as there is a sense of pride in seeing local players in the Saints' team but that can't be the principal factor in team selection. Having half the first team made up by Academy players doesn't depend on the first team manager, it depends on the Academy, over time, attracting the best candidates and developing them as players to a highly rigorous standard.

I'm sure it's just me who is confused as to how this thread has gone off topic.

I'd be unhappy with a draw. Saints are the better team and although that's no guarantee of the result, I think they are better prepared than Newcastle and will have more confidence. Our strike power looks good so its really a question of whether the defence can hold out. Ryan Bertrand being out is a loss but if Matt Targett plays we should be OK on the left. Yoshi will probably be ahead of Caulker for the second CB place but I don't agree that Caulker isn't quality, after all, he was good enough to get an England cap and is more experienced now than he was then, and is still only 23.

Our team is still as good as last season if not better, even allowing for the changes in the back four. Despite Newcastle bringing a few players in, I'm confident that we are still a class above them and will start the season with a win.

Can't see Koeman putting out a weakened team but it may not be all the players we would generally regard as first choice but as I see it, that's because there are now some positions where personnel can be rotated without weakening the side. The three goal lead may not make us as invincible as a four-goal lead but it's still a very good cushion an although the mantra is the next game, my guess is that we will might see a slightly laid-back performance in Arnham but a very committed Saints' team at Newcastle.