Professor

Am I the only one disappointed that its not Primark? Shirts for £4.99 would do fine.

A Dell Diamond of fine carat.

Striker David Villa from Barcelona £12m; Slovakia's Centre Back Martin Skrtel from Liverpool £12m; and midfield playmaker Clement Grenier from Lyon at £12.8m are all reported to be on the move, but the current reports do not mention Southampton as a destination. Three players of that calibre and top half of the table would start to look realistic.

I'm someone on Twitter and I deny having said this...

Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao is expected to move to Monaco for a French record fee of £51.3m. Unfortunately, that is the sort of money that the Champion's League sides splash about and much as I wish it were otherwise, I will find it hard to believe our ambitions are likely to be realised unless we look at players who are far more expensive than anything we have imagined in the past.

Total spend on players wages is a different issue, as is the fact that many transfer fees are spread over payment by instalments. The point here is the 'transfer value' of the players we recruit. The up-front value of the players that the top 4 clubs sign is often seen as an indication of their continuing ambition, so that is the measure being used here, not the total playing budget which is much harder, if not impossible, to use for comparison purposes. A couple of players in the £12m+ range would be more of an indication than just one, whereas you could argue that signings at £2m - £4m don't tell you a lot as that is probably the going rate for an average premier level player. Some signings at that lower level may prove to be very good, such as JRod and some less so, but it is the higher value signings that tell you more about ambition.

Duncan, you may have missed hearing that the club's ambitions, as discussed since the meeting between Cortese and Katharina Leibherr are for European Football, widely thought to a target within two years. To achieve this Saints would need finish in the top 4 or 5 places in the Premier League, ahead of some of the present top six teams. All the top six teams have a spread of full international players many of whom will expect to be in their country's national teams for World Cup, European and other international tournaments. That, is what is meant by world class players and that is what Southampton has to compete against if the club really intends to break into that top group. Or perhaps it's just pie in the sky but the evidence will be when we see Cortese splash the cash, how much and on which players. If our signings are not 'world class' or with that potential, it would indicate that ambitions are mid-table rather than top six, so we shall see. It is true that we have one player widely thought to have world class potential in Luke Shaw, and he cost nothing, but unless there are others of that category coming through from the Academy, then the transfer market is where team strengthening must come from.

At least one rumour is that £30m is the budget agreed between Cortese and Katharina Leibherr for this year's close season squad strengthening. That may be no more than a guess based on what the club spent last year but if that is a fair 'ball park' figure would it be adequate to support the move to 'the next level' that is being talked of? Although there may be some fees from a few of the players who are surplus to requirements, the total income from Transfers Out isn't likely to add much to the budget. Some people day we need to bring in 5 or 6 players to the squad, some suggest 2 or 3 will be enough. If we take three as an example and if the budget is £30m the question is would£10m a player be enough to add 'world class' quality? The top 6 clubs are being linked with players carrying transfer fees of £20m or £30m or more. Unless the £30m budget is a significant understatement of what the club will spend, we would seem to be well outside the top 6, looking as are a lot of other clubs at maybe one player for £10m or bit more and others in the £2m-£3m range. If that is true, will we ever make it across the divide?

The window has now been open for 4 days and still no news on Saints' signings. Just what is going on?

Are you there for The Tour? Ventoux is splendid, and of course, the Tommy Simpson memorial, whereas Alp d'Huez is indescribable for atmosphere and for amazing scenery.

Yesterday's man, very sad old git who ought to dumped to make space for someone with more presence, more connection with the audience and without that miserable face.

Best not to do a Man City or a Chelsea as both clubs have turned large numbers of footie fans against them. Saints are well-liked by a lot of people, which is an assert worth trying to hang on to.

Scott Sinclair would be a risky signing. Has had so many clubs and loan spells that its hard to judge how well he could do at SFC. Given the risk, I doubt NC will go for him unless its a cheap transfer fee and he takes a wage cut. As he may not fancy a wage cut, even if offered an increase based on performance, my guess is this won't happen.

Loan at Brighton has definitely ended so he's back with Saints. Was very good for us at the right level but clearly not regarded as a Prem player or he wouldn't have been loaned out. Expect to see him leave, possibly on a Free.

Petering out does matter. We finished the season as badly as we started, 4 points from the first 6 and the last 6 games. In between enough points were gained to get to safety by 5 points above Wigan but had we lost any two of the 3 great and unexpected, home wins against Man City, Liverpool or Chelsea, the picture could have been very different. The great thing is that we have survived and it sounds as if Pochettino knows where the weak spots are in his squad. It also looks like he has the financial support needed from the Chairman with the backing of Katharina Leibherr. The manager saying he wants his squad in place by 1st July is a very positive statement. Although it may not be in his hands to deliver on that, the next few weeks could be very interesting.

The Daily Mail is a newspaper that many people would say prints propaganda not news and tries to stir up hatred and fear as a marketing tool, so why should its football pages be any different.

Agree he's been a disappointment this season. Maybe too much was expected of him. In his first season at the level he's been a good supporting player, worth a place in the team, but hasn't shown the extra ability of a match winner and has drawn attention to himself by his missed chances. Given his natural ability, if he works with the coaches, I think we could see him doing better next season.

And our finish which was just as bad.

Stoke a very ordinary Premier League side, nowhere near competing in the top half of the table, and with a weakened side made Saints look just as ordinary. We had three incredible results against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, which raised expectations and without those 9 points we could have gone into this game with relegation already a certainty. Losing at home to QPR was a clear warning that attractive passing football doesn't guarantee a result and we've ended the season with 4 points from the last six games which mirrors our dreadful start to the season. Of course we are all grateful and relieved to have finished 5 points above relegated Wigan but sadly there are two conclusions that can be taken from this season and from today's game: (1) Saints have some very good players; (2) Several of them, who are good and a pleasure to watch play, are not good enough to take this team up a level.

If Katharina is unmarried I wonder of she'd be open to an offer from a Saints' fan carrying a bottle of Bourbon and 100 Viagra tablets.

Southampton and the fans should protest most vigorously about these Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea rumours. Why isn't Shaw linked with Man U, Man City and Liverpool. Are our players only good enough for London sides?

My impression is that the owners of SFC very rarely show any interest in what Nigel Adkins would call 'games of football'. I recollect one appearance by a wealthy female who I presume was Marcus Leibherr's daughter but unlike the owners of some other clubs ours appear virtually invisible. I have seen it said that SFC is owned by a Trust on behalf of the 'Leibherr estate' but have never seen any indication of who the Trustees are or who are the beneficiaries of the estate. If, and I say if, the owners of the club, whether they are trustees or beneficiaries, have no personal interest in football, then SFC would be nothing more than a financial asset required to return maximum profit either as an operational business, or as an asset to sell. As a dedicated fan of SFC for half a century, I am very worried, very worried indeed. Even if Cortese wins this battle and has his project back on course, that would not alter the interest, or lack of, by the owners in the football team leaving a fear that all of this could surface again in the future.

Its a very sobering reminder of what has happened in football with Clubs having become the private property of wealthy individuals. For Southampton fans, the purchase of the football club by Leibherr has resulted in a remarkable return to the Premier League but owners can go as easily as they come and ours went by a very permanent route. As it is, apart from seeing Cortese, who is not the owner, in the Chairman's job, we have no idea who owns our club or what their motives are. Of course fans don't want change while things look good for the future of the team because change means uncertainty but as fans we have no choice but to allow the boardroom games to be played out. The only two things you can be certain of is that this is about power and money. It looks like it would be in the fans' interests if Cortese wins his battle for power, but if he does, how long until the next time?.

And with Brighton out of the way, our chance has got even better.

Can't be a Saints' fan who isn't pleased we are staying up but the other emotion is feeling relieved. Its just that it shouldn't have come so close after expectations were raised so high by the home wins against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Statistically, it didn't seem possible that we would lose the last two games (Sunderland and Stoke) as that would have been a run of four league defeats which had not previously happened all season. But something does seem missing that the team has been playing attractive possession football without converting enough possession into goals. So, Well Done Saints, but please don't rest on your laurels as one season in the bottom half on the table is enough, thanks.