Matthew Le God

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You joke, but some very good players were either born in French Guiana and Suriname or they have parents/grandparents that were! For example... Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Florent Malouda, Mike Maignan etc

They do in French Guiana and Suriname!

Not seriously. Rusk said yesterday he'll be ready for pre-season.

Andrews

It does benefit others (including Saints) beyond just those in the Club World Cup, in that they can sign players earlier. So they can potentially have them settled in long before pre season starts.

It is because of the new format for the FIFA Club World Cup. They want teams to be able to sign players before that competition starts and keep same length of window, and because that means an earlier window they need a gap during thd summer. https://www.premierleague.com/news/4272739

I doubt the gap will make much difference. It is only a 6 day gap, that finishes long before players return for pre-season. 1st June to 10th June 6 day gap 16th June to 1st September Deals could be worked on during those 6 days and go to completion shortly after it reopens.

Difficult to know until we get an idea of outgoings. We are all only guessing who will leave. Russell Martin largely focused on domestic signings, I'd guess we'll use the German, French, Dutch and Belgian markets more with the new management and recruitment setup.

That would do for me!

Why do you think so few 5 foot 9 players play centre back in a two and instead play in other positions? Fabio Cannavaro could because he was exceptional at other aspects of the game. Taylor is not exceptional in other areas that make it worthwhile him switching from a fullback to a centre back in a two. He can get away with it in a three, because he'd have two other centre backs alongside him.

A transfer embargo alongside a point deduction would make things interesting!

Only 6 days until the transfer window opens!

There is a huge difference in size and physicality between Taylor and Bednarek. Taylor is built like a fullback, because he is... a fullback. He can get by as a left sided centre back in a three because he can be with two other centre backs to help with that part of the game. Despite what some on this forum think, Bednarek is very good in aerial duels.

Why?

RC Lens statement today says they both are leaving. Remains unclear if they will end up at Saints.

Yes I'd rather see us use Edwards, Woods, Harwood-Bellis (if he stays) and Kayi Sanda as centre backs in a back four.

He'd be exposed in a two vs certain types of strikers. In a three it is easier for a fullback to cinvert to as he'd have more support.

He wasn't playing in a two today, nor was he up against a striker that would test him for aerial balls. In a three a fullback can potentially would as a centre back, many struggle in a two due to lack of physicality. Some can get away with it if exceptional in other areas of their game.

Yes

His ability on the ball doesn't make for his lack of physicality for the role of a centre back in a pairing. It is less of an issue in a three centre back system and often fullbacks can be used in that role.

2008/09 was a worse team in terms of quality.