macca155

All we know is that Saints will now be buying (loaning) a goalkeeper, unless Moody becomes number 3. At best he will be no more than competition for Bazunu. Gav has the opportunity to grab the number one position but very much last chance saloon for him. I've a bit more time for Baz than some on here, but the thought of Baz in goal against Pompey makes me feel a tad queasy. I remember that hideous game at Fratton Park when Niemi went on loan to Pompey for 20 minutes......

Highly possible, you give me hope, but in all honesty we've been expecting this since the end of the season.

No surprise '10 clubs' are in for Fernades, he is Premier League ready. I just hope he gives us another year. I thought Forest, Villa, Spurs, or Utd would be in a bidding war. West Ham seem to be getting a bit desperate. He has a contract to 2029 so he won't be cheap. That might just stop any deals. Wishful thinking on my part sadly.

Fair enough and no doubt there is a lot of action going on behind the scenes. We wait with baited breath

Have we sold Stewart?

I wouldn't take what was said at face value too much. He was setting out a vision really. Underneath all our football priorities lies a business that has to remain solvent.

They've delivered on two of those. They can't commit to a midfielder yet, just two many on the books. As I said players have to leave first. I suspect Aribo, Smallbone, Fernades (sadly) and Downes will move on. That will hopefully loosen things up a bit.

Nothing is happening until that exit door starts revolving, the finances simply won't allow it. Look at how many FBs and CBs there are on the books, it's just unsustainable. As Will said there's a few stinking the place out at the moment. However, got to hold on to the positives. Quarshie, Downs, Charles, Robinson, Sesay, and maybe Wood have shown some promise. We may even keep Downes, Fernades, Dibling, and THB. Even big Baz seems to be taking it seriously. There's a team there somewhere 😂 i've resigned myself to August being crap, hopefully pick up after that.

Roger's Profanisaurus the greatest gift to English literature

ABK was a classic 'good buy' that just didn't work out. I had high hopes, and initially he looked the business. injury and attitude put pay to that. Very different to panic buys like Carrilo. However nobody but nobody is paying the wages he is on. There are plenty of decent CBs available, who are more robust and switched on. Saints bought potential, but that has disappeared, as has his value. They need to bite the bullet, sell him or loan him out. The whole soap opera around him is a distraction.

Oldest trick in the book, the club won't risk a £30 million asset.

Pretty sure Dibling, THB, Bendarek, and Ransdale will go. Club needs the money. Just get it over with. If they can keep Fernades then billy bonus. The major issue is shipping out players who won't give up on their wages. Clearly there isn't a queue of suitors, which is hardly surprising. It's annoying that if the club sells Dibling for £30 million, some of that money will be used to pay the wages of players we don't want or need. Through its own mismanagement the club is in a bind. Unfortunately there really is no other option than to make do with what we have, and use the loan market. That's why players like Bazunu and Wood finding some form is so important. They will be needed.

Only because I think he has his place cemented. He doesn't need to prove himself, he did that last year. In contrast Bazunu and Wood definitely need to do a persuasion job, newbies need to impress whatever their reputation .

Looks like Still is trying out various options. As others have said seems to be putting weaker units out. Maybe the idea is put pressure on someone like Smallbone. Shape up or ship out maybe. We all know pre season is never a good guide. However there are positives. Bazunu, Quarshie, Wood, and Robinson all seem to be pushing for a place. All starts for real in less than 3 weeks.

In fairness a rejuvenated Baz would be an absolute bonus for the club. I refuse to make judgements on one game but anything like this is good for us.

Good grief I knew I had forgotten one. We've so many it's easy to do. I guess replace THB with him as he's likely to be off.

Playing catch up here as been away but I thought the recent run out against Valenciennes was quite interesting. Still is certainly going for it fitness wise, good, reminds me of Strachan and Poch when they arrived. The big test for our new manager is coming up because some of the 'names' in the squad are probably about to have their noses put out of joint. Forget lethargy and mistakes by the usual suspects, look at the positives where they are. Wood played well and that's good to see. I'm convinced there's a decent player there, but he was poorly managed last year. Young players aren't machines they need to build confidence. He takes no shit and gives a 100%, the lad can tackle as well. Hopefully we'll see more of him. I thought Quarshie looked excellent and oozed commitment, he really is quick isn't he. I know we shouldn't make snap judgements but he's already someone I am looking forward to seeing. That means we have THB, Wood, and Quarshie as the 3 CBs. Sanda, and Stephens as backup. If Taylor stays he can be a decent backup as well. That isn't a bad line up. It looks like Archer is committed and starting to put last season behind him. Armstrong remains a decent poacher so all is not lost there. However as we all keep saying, all this good work will be derailed if the anticipated exodus happens late on.

I don't think the issue with Aribo has anything to do with his game. He was very effective in the Championship last time, and badly managed in the PL in my opinion. Problem is, he's on big wages, has a short contract, and isn't a regular starter. He's also made noises about wanting to leave. Doubt he'll be with us in September.

Probably got more to do with shipping players out. They cannot afford to have such a bloated squad. Just have to wait until the dominoes start falling in the Premier League. I'm anticipating a fair bit of action at the end of the transfer window. Gives us a few games of higher calibre players I guess.

So true and that will be even more of a tactic this year. However if Saints have Dibling, Robinson, and Fernades constantly probing, and they can somehow get a striker finding some form then no way will the average Championship defence cope. 'If' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there

Surely focusing on his transfer value is missing the point. Tyler's highest value to Saints is playing, and providing a significant edge to the attack. Players who run directly at defenders are very rare. That's why they are valued so highly. Once a defender is taken out of the game, by being nutmegged or whatever, modern zonal defence strategies are weakened. Do it enough times and goals will happen. Young Tyler caused utter panic in defences at times last year. They can't continually foul him, and if they double up that leaves gaps. The problem last year, and there were many, was that young Tyler could beat two defenders, have space in front of him, but there would be no one anywhere near him to provide an outlet. I'd imagine that is very demoralising, so no surprise his form dropped off Just play him and stop worrying about contracts.

Way too many what ifs going on here. At the moment the 4 frontline CBs are Bendarek, THB, Edwards, and presumably Quarshie. That leaves Sando, Wood, Taylor, and Stephens as back up. (Plus God help us ABK) I really don't think this an area to be too alarmed at the moment. Other than a bloody clear out is required.

Quite the opposite I suspect. A longer contract means he has a higher resale value, although his age may negate against that. He'd be hoovered up pretty quickly even at 34. Experience goes a long way.

This news will have some frothing at the mouth 😂 However, Stephens hasn't been out worst defender by a long way ( very very low bar). He has an edge about him which personally I like to see. Too many of our lightweights get intimidated. I know it spills out sometimes to idiocy like the Chelsea game, but in a team lacking any sort of leadership, he really is all we have. Good back up for the Championship, but I've issues with him being the team Captain. Still must have the option of not playing him.

I'm not even going to try and make a judgement on this one. He's a big lumping centre forward who appears to have a bit of pace . I like the sound of that, but he will either make it or not. Most teams have a player like this and we have two now. Attention turns to shipping some out. I have long complained about the fact that Saints always seem to be a small side. Good to see that is finally changing.