Professor

Is this why Adkins had the phrase 'Young Boy' on his mind in his SSN interview? Did he have Alex and Ammar confused?

True or not, and my guess is 'true', the remarks attributed to Alex in the press have definitely damaged his image with a good number of Saints' fans. It may be unrealistic, given that football is now about money and not much else, but fans still look for loyalty in the players that turn out for their club. If the disapointment in Alex turns into boos at the SMS, that might make things worse but its still the case that he has to perform, or be dropped. His advisors, or his father, need to give him some good advice, which is to remember you have signed a contract which requires that you play football for SFC to the best of your ability and that now you are in the public eye it is a good idea to be very careful about what you say. I hope he has been fined and that he takes the lesson on board. Even better would be an apology to the fans who pay his wages because it would be accepted that he is still young and may have been misled.

Ward-Prowse and Jack Stephens having squad numbers is very promising.

Which players are you talking about? I know Willo is back on the payroll but don't think he'll be in the team! Liked the kit, the extra white looks like a clever transition from the sash and the black shorts back to a Saints' tradition. PS. It wasn't entirely July weather in Interlaken!

Saints are said to be in the market for a striker. The three we have all have their own qualities so it would be interesting to know what Adkins is looking for. We also have Ryan Doble, who has made the fringe of the first team, as well as Wales u-21 and the fringe of the Welsh full side. Ryan will be 21 next February so although he can still improve, he should have arrived as a player now. Is he good enough for the extra striker slot?

Saints are looking to strengthen, not just fill in places down the pecking order, so this looks more like unfounded speculation linking a player who wants to leave with a club planning to make a signing or two. Actual link seems negligible.

Most exciting signing for several years could be Alex Chamberlain signing a 3-year contract in August 2010.

It's sad that NickG's enthusiasm is degenerating into abuse as the time he spends searching other websites and posting the results here is to the benefit of the rest of us who don't have as much time to spare. As Suewhistle has shown above, being offensive is bound to generate a like response, so lets hope enthusiasm can be directed into more positive comments, such as Sue's that one good signing can act as an incentive that might encourage any other players we are looking at, to want to come here.

A couple of days ago, NIck didn't actually think that bringing in someone like Cork was necessary. He thought that although we should do what we can to improve, the team was good enough anyway. That makes an orgasm when we do recruit a decent player somewhat excessive. But lets not pretend we've got a PL player. Cork is good Championship standard and is young enough to get better, but he's not at the standard of players we had here 10 or 15 years ago. Nick says he can't remember being so excited by a signing which suggests he must be very young, or wasn't a Saints supporter when we regularly recruited full international players. Cork's signing is excellent news, not just because he's a good player, but also because it shows an intention by the club to deliver on the promise to strengthen, which I for one, was beginning to doubt. I'm now expecting at least one more quality player at CB but with Connolly fit, I'm not convinced we need a striker.

Excellent news and not only because Cork is a great acquisition in midfield where we needed to improve and added to a fit Morgan will make a very effective core for the team. But also the quality of this signing shows that the ambition to press ahead has not diminished, whereas the lack of activity until now was beginning to feel worrying. That worry can be put aside and not just for us fans, because this signing will also send a message to any other player we might be trying to sign that Southampton is a club worth coming to. Centre Back next, please. Not bothered about a striker as I'm hoping we will see more of Connolly this season.

Absolutely. This is the evidence we needed, (and which wasn't here until now). But now it is, its not just the good news of the signing, it's also the reasons that Cork has given for choosing to come, which might influence any other potential signing. Signing current u-21 international is definitely a sign that the ambition is alive.

Not sure that when a player transfers, money is the only factor in choosing between interested clubs. Surely it depends on how big the money gap is and if its not a lot, other factors will count. The prospect of being at a winning club, potential promotion bonus and whether the club has a strong pool of players, will all mater, as will the reputation of the manager. Fair or not, there are quite a few clubs in the NpC whose managers have a higher profile and more of a track record at higher level than Adkins. That doesn't make Adkins an impediment but it may mean that we have to try harder to get a player we want.

Really can't see why Wenger would sign Chamberlain. Alex wouldn't make the Arsenal first XI for quite a time, whereas the pressure is on Wenger to win a trophy this season. £10m, if the speculation on price is accurate, is a large slice, even from Arsenal's transfer budget so surely they are more likely to spend that on a player who will strengthen the side immediately, not one for the future. My feeling is that SSN are wrong.

It is flattering that Mr Fowllyd should have taken the trouble to read my posts but disapointing that he failed to grasp the qualifications built in, as the posts make no assumptions but do set out to explain how others may perceive our club as one where it appears there is no activity, compared to all that is going on elsewhere. The answer to that from some people, that maybe there is some activity going on that we rightly do not know about, will not affect perception. Unfortunately some of the other responses have been to rubbish the suggestion without presenting evidence. But we do have a good attempt to show some evidence of ambition from Gingletiss. These are fair comments. The only doubt may be the extent to which some of this is noticed elsewhere or how it compares with what some of our rivals have been doing. If its true that P*mpy are in for ex-Prem player Puncheon, that could just about cap the lot as far as showing ambition is concerned.

So an opinion to agree with is a 'valid point' and an opposite opinion is an 'assumption'. Not much logic in that. The point about ambition is that having it is one thing but it is the perception of a club's ambition as seen by others that may affect real decisions by real players as to which club they want to join. Cortese and Adkins have said what their ambitions are, and Adkins has said his ambition includes signing 2 or 3 quality players but as yet, there is no evidence available to the football community to show this. The club may or may not have bid up to £3m for one player but if so, the move did not happen so we have not been able to demonstrate ambition. Adkins is now saying (OS 1/7) that transfers in are more likely at the end of July or in August. He says that clubs buying earlier are those who are trying to build a whole team, although that comment doesn't seem to fit with our reported bid for Cork, made weeks ago. Could it be that Cortese wants our first signing to boost the commercial sales by having the player presented on 20th July in the new strip (that's speculation, not an assumption). Or maybe, (speculation) we have a couple of overseas players lined up - especially for the key CMF role. If so, we can only judge that when it happens but already, despite Adkins saying how important this carefully constructed pre-season is this year, it seems that any new players will not be taking part in pre-season. In the end none of this will matter if the team is good enough and some people think it is. But if they are wrong, and if the team is not good enough without two or three additions, we may drop points in August that earlier action could have prevented. If you, dear reader, do not share this view, it may be that you are a better judge, or that you are just being too complacent, but either way you are entitled to your view and I for one, would defend your right to express it. Just as you should defend mine to say 'I told you so' if things go pear shaped. But I sincerely hope they do not and that Adkins gets his way to strengthen.

Massive overstatement. Questioning why the intention to make signings hasn't happened yet is not 'throwing toys out of pram', in fact to characterise measured comment as such is quite ludicrous. What is being examined is why this has happened. On one hand there are people who trust the club explicitly and feel that if we have missed out on any targets it doesn't matter as either we don't need them or others are lined up for later in the summer. Others ask if we are losing out on signings such as Maynard, Sharp and Cork and if so, is there a reason that is under the club's control. To attack analysis from critical friends is to miss the point entirely.

I don't doubt it either, but that isn't how football valuations work. A Premier League striker might be half as good again as CMS but he won't be 50% more expensive, he'll cost 3 or 4 times, or 13 times if its Tevez. If you want a better player you have to pay more but you can't relate it to 'how much better' the player is because that's not the factor, only who else wants him and what will they pay. Norwich wanted CMS to play in the Prem but Brighton looked more attractive to him which had to be money and future prospects.

It is a very impressive stadium in a controversial location, partly sunk into the ground to reduce the visual impact on the South Downs. Has a modern arch, like Wembley and have to say that architecturally it looks better than the SMS from the outside. The capacity is only 22,000 but quite an increase on the 9,000 at Withdean. The design allows for expansion to 35,000. The cost is not just the stadium but will include work to the adjacent railway station and to the A27 that passes the site. Tony Bloom, the Chairman is personally a wealthy man but also a member of the Bloom family who have been connected with the Albion for very many years.

This is such a good game it almost demands a thread of its own, and in fairness to Nick, his contributions add greatly to the fun of the forum. Anyway, lets see:- No signings at all: NickG - great decision by NA and NC - showing confidence in the present squad One signing of squad player: NickG - great decision by NA and NC - just the little extra support to come in handy One signing of a quality player: NickG - was always going to happen and a great decision by NA and NC Two signings: NickG - was always going to happen and a great decision by NA and NC Three signings: NickG - was always going to happen and a great decision by NA and NC 1st September, Saints in bottom 6, NA sacked: NickG - NA was never up to it at this level and a great decision by NC.

Some contributions go beyond complacent to the realms of utter silliness on the planet Silly. This quote from an Adkins admirer is saying that Adkins is wrong. He is wrong to want 2 or 3 quality players in order to make a genuine challenge in the NpC and should be expected to win promotion with the squad from last year, unchanged.

Its true that Adkins has virtually no recent track record in the transfer market and that unlike Poyet, Alladyce, MaClaren, Sven or Pardew, he's not an established name, either as a manager at high level, or as a player. That may be one of the factors that players consider when deciding if a particular club is where they want to be, or it may be that his management style is not good in meetings with players. On the other hand, he might be great with people and likeable but the decisions on transfers and pay might not be his to make. Adkins might be putting up targets that are not acceptable to the Chairtman. So is the question mark over Adkins, or is it over Cortese?

No, Brighton were not '****e' at the end of the season. They had promotion guaranteed with 5 games left and the League 1 title sown up early enough they didn't need to bother. In fact, the whole squad was taken off on holiday to Spain before the season ended! We are supposed to be owned by multi-millionaires, so what a fan on a few score grand a year would pay is immaterial. The market is set by what other clubs will pay for any particular player so it is never 'over the odds' to match the best bid. Maybe we didn't bid for CMS because we were waiting on Sharp and it wasn't practicable to turn to CMS quickly enough when Sharp turned us down. But it still sticks in the throat to see the best L1 striker from last season go to a rival, especially because we don't seem to have any other activity going on. This would be easier to take if we were just about to sign a recognised quality player for CMF where the need looks greatest - but are we?

Just to help explain what would count as a marquee signing - Mackail-Smith a marquee signing for Brighton. Nolan, a marquee signing for West Ham. Factors are international status, performance, transfer fee. I'm not suggesting Saints need a marquee signing to show ambition, just a couple of players of recognised quality and immediate first IX selections would do it. I am saying that Jack Cork, who seems to have been our most likely incomer, whilst he has quality and like Lallana has made the England u-21 squad, is not at the marquee level and so far he's still not here anyway.

The late signings in 2009 were because we had no owner and no manager until the end of July and what followed was a poor start to the season so that even without the -10 we were not in the promotion frame. Cork is hardly a marquee signing and he seems very reluctant to agree to come. Sharp preferred not to come. Will prospective players see failed bids as evidence of ambition or a sign that other players are not convinced that Southampton is a good place to be? PS Mr Delldays - if your comment is intended for me rather than the wider community - I don't see your posts as you're on my ignore list. If what you say is for the benefit of the wider community, then of course you are entirely free to add to polite debate.

The evidence as of today, of a lack of ambition, is no improvement on the squad, no added quality and the club turned down by one or more players for whom bids were reportedly made. These are the sort of things that a prospective player will consider unless the money on offer is so much better than can be got elsewhere. If we do have ambition, we have to demonstrate it in the way that Brighton and Poyet have clearly done to Mackail-Smith, so, where's the evidence?