Matthew Le God

I think its a good thing there aren't rumours. Shows the club is being professional, unlike West Ham for example who are media whores for transfer rumours. Like hypochondriac said above, I'd be surprised if we didn't sign one (possibly two) good signing before the window closes.

It is 18th August... the window hasn't closed! We signed important players late on in the last two summers... Mane - 1st September 2014 Alderweireld - 1st September 2014 van Dijk - 1st September 2015 Of course it would be nice if the club were able to sign them earlier. But it is in the interests of some selling clubs & agents to wait out the window to get the best possible deal.

I make the tea. (still Saints researcher, as I have been for the last decade)

Game is out on 4th November 2016 (pre-orders get access to beta version roughly two weeks before release) If you own one or more of... - Football Manager 2013 - Football Manager 2014 - Football Manager 2015 - Football Manager 2016 Then you get a 5% discount for each when buying Football Manager 2017 on Steam (if all on same Steam account). So a potential saving of 20% for being loyal to the series...

Every league match we have has a pre-match press conference 1 or 2 days before it.

Puel hasn't tested it (at least in a match situation) since he arrived. So the players last used it in May... 4 months ago. I doubt we'll be changing from the 4-1-2-1-2 system. Ok, we didn't beat Watford, but it worked well in the 2nd half today, especially with Hojbjerg on the pitch.

Well that is complete nonsense! In 2015/16 the only players to score more than 15 goals were... 1) Kane 25 2) Aguero 24 3) Vardy 24 4) Lukaku 18 5) Mahrez 17 6) Giroud 16 Saints didn't have a 15+ goalscorer last season and we came 6th! Long got 10 from 28 games last season (some of which were out wide), Redmond was playing as a winger not a striker in a terrible side last season and scored 6. In their last full Premier League seasons, Rodriguez scored 15 in 30 games and Austin scored 18 in 35 games for a terrible relegated side.

Cheer up! Lots of pace with Redmond, Long and Cedric. Creativity from Tadic, Davis and Ward-Prowse Very good outfield options on a strong bench Austin, Fonte, Hojbjerg, Pied, Clasie, Rodriguez.

"in the end"? It is the 12th August! We signed van Dijk, Alderweireld & Mane in the final days of the window.

They announced it had sold out 3 days ago. Southampton FC ‏@SouthamptonFC Aug 9 Tickets for #SaintsFC's opening game of the season against #WatfordFC have now sold out.Thanks for your support!

The media department is having fun this summer... Southampton FCVerified account‏@SouthamptonFC You all seemed a Tad excited last night. Not sure why... #saintsfc

My point was fans don't need to know in advance. There is no real benefit to them knowing in advance. I was asking why the club would bother letting them know a few hours in advance.

You've provided an answer to a question I didn't ask.

Why would the club think the fans knowing a few hours in advance makes any notable difference? It ultimately doesn't matter if the fans find out about a signing in a leak at 5pm or 8pm when it is officially announced.

It was looking this way anyway, but with Austin and Rodriguez playing for the under 23s tonight, it looks like Long and Redmond will start upfront on Saturday.

It may help give momentum for other clubs to follow suit in the future, which would benefit Saints fans.

Apart from what system Puel has been using throughout pre-season.

Why are you making sweeping generalisations based on one of the leagues they have played in? Players should be judged on their own merits.

Sky had a comprehension problem... Lyall Thomas‏@SkySportsLyall now been removed. confusion over what exactly he was giving positive affirmation to.

He is 72 years old!

Cheers, St Chalet that is what I said.

Why? English football in a 442 with 1-11 numbers tended to be... 1 keeper 2 right back 3 left back 4 centre back or central midfield 5 centre back 6 centre back or central midfield 7 right midfield 8 central midfield 9 striker 10 striker 11 left midfield

Gap left for 12, 19 and 20... 1. Fraser Forster 2. Cédric 3. Maya Yoshida 4. Jordy Clasie 5. Florin Gardos 6. José Fonte 7. Shane Long 8. Steven Davis 9. Jay Rodriguez 10. Charlie Austin 11. Dušan Tadić 13. Alex McCarthy 14. Oriol Romeu 15. Cuco Martina 16. James Ward-Prowse 17. Virgil van Dijk 18. Harrison Reed 21. Ryan Bertrand 22. Nathan Redmond 23. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 24. Jack Stephens 26. Jérémy Pied 27. Lloyd Isgrove 32. Olufela Olomola 33. Matt Targett 35. Alfie Jones 36. Jordan Turnbull 38. Sam McQueen 39. Josh Sims 40. Sam Gallagher 41. Harry Lewis 42. Jake Hesketh 43. Yan Valery

Claude Puel plays with one holding midfielder as part of a narrow diamond. We signed Hojbjerg as Wanyama's replacement. He is competing with Romeu to play in that role.

Club probably view Pied as an upgrade on Martina as back-up right back whilst Yan Valery develops.