Matthew Le God

Thanks x

- Bertrand has been more effective than Shaw - Forster is an improvement on Boruc - Alderweireld is an improvement on Lovren - Gardos is an improvement on Hooiveld as 4th choice centre back - Clyne was ahead of Chambers in pecking order last season and still would be if Chambers was still here - Long, Tadic, Elia, Djurcic and Mane all additions to attacking depth compared to just having Lallana - Ramirez and Osvaldo still Saints players (although will probably leave) - Pelle vs Lambert? Last summer was an exceptionally good transfer window, the first XI improved in quality and so did the squad depth. Hence why we are higher in the league and 1 point off 5th with 4 games left.

Did you say the same last summer?

I didn't list the names for three of the positions and I'm only guessing Clasie would replace Schneiderlin.

Forster's cover New RB Fonte New CB Bertrand Wanyama Clasie Mane Ward-Prowse Rodriguez Pelle

Its also how you can attract players... by being ambitious. It'll be extremely difficult of course to get in the Champions League, but we could still finish 5th this season (currently 1 point off it with 4 games left), to set a goal of one place higher in the next 5 years isn't unreasonable.

Williamson joined Saints when he was 18 years old, its pushing it to say he was a Saints academy product.

Filip Djuricic is back in training, so will probably be on the bench if fit against Sunderland. A lot of Saints fans have been very dismissive of him, but he does look a technically gifted player in the brief chances we've had to see him.

This is done quickly after scanning the league table without out checking all the details of the deals, but I'd say the following squads were more costly than Bournemouth's to assemble... Norwich Derby Middlesborough Blackburn Nottingham Forest Cardiff Fulham Reading Brighton Wigan Possibly some others as well. To finish above them all is impressive.

Wanyama is 6 foot 2 and is build like the proverbial brick **** house. He is good in the air. Also although size can help, how you attack a header can make a huge difference. Shane Long for example is relatively small but he consistently wins headers against bigger men as he attacks the ball at pace and has a good leap on him.

It effects the attendance, impact on the players mindset and players have a rating for "big matches" which will have an impact.

I've got Bournemouth as "minor rivals" on the game, it'll stay like that for FM16.

Some people appear to see it as you are either a rival or not, with no grey area. There are scales of rivalry, some relationships with other clubs being more intense than others. Saints vs Bournemouth will have more spark about it than Saints vs Charlton. That makes it a rivalry, but relatively small compared to what we have with Pompey. It is also more one sided with Bournemouth seeing us as their biggest rivals, but us putting them below Pompey.

How would you define "rivals"? Ok, its not Pompey levels of rivalry, but there is something different about Saints vs Bournemouth than a lot of other games Saints play. So what? Ipswich to Norwich - 45 miles Newcastle to Middlesbrough - 40 miles Bristol to Swindon - 40 miles Liverpool to Manchester - 35 miles Cardiff to Swansea - 40 miles Cardiff to Bristol - 45 miles etc Reading is 50 miles away from Southampton. Again, okay its not Pompey levels of rivalry but our fanbases will overlap geographically and there is a degree of rivalry between the clubs even though it is nowhere near Pompey vs Saints levels. That doesn't make a team not a rival however.

You continue to miss the point that although Bournemouth have had an owner putting money in, they are still on a smaller budget than lots of other Championship clubs. That is what makes it impressive this season. For example... Fulham's Ross McCormack cost them more than the entire Bournemouth starting XI last night.

As I said... their wage budget and transfer spend is still significantly below a good number of other teams in the league.

What is your definition of a "rival"? Of course Saints vs Bournemouth isn't like Saints vs Pompey, and the interest is largely from the Bournemouth fans. But there is still more spice and interest from both sets of fans to a Saints vs Bournemouth game than Saints vs West Brom or Sunderland or Burnley etc.

Thats harsh! Whilst they have had a decent amount of investment, their wage budget and transfer spend is still significantly below a good number of other teams in the league. Particularly those with parachute payments and some with rich backers of their own. From -17 points in League 2 to the Premier League in such a short space of time is extremely impressive.

There is no minimum capacity requirement for the Premier League. Bournemouth do have plans to expand to 18,000... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30169243 But you don't have to move out of your stadium just because you are adding more seats. A huge number of clubs just continue playing whilst construction takes place, it is extremely rare for a ground share. In any case, what would be the incentive for Saints to agree to a deal? Bournemouth could offer money, but it'll be tiny compared to the TV money and mean twice as many games on the St Mary's pitch. Not to mention the nightmare for the police of huge numbers of Bournemouth fans in Southampton. Blackpool started their Premier League season with a 12,000 capacity and improved media and medical etc facilities over the summer... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackpool/7764836/Blackpool-will-start-Premier-League-season-with-12000-stadium-capacity-says-chairman.html

Why?

Barring massive GD swing, South Coast derby! Pompey may get derby with team from SO postcode!

Barring massive GD swing, South Coast derby! Pompey may get derby with team from SO postcode!

He didn't say he wasn't good enough for the top flight, he said he wasn't good enough for us.

Doing what? We already have David Watson and Vince Bartram as keeper coaches, plus others at lower age groups.

Is Dejan Lovren modelling himself on David Brent? He is playing like him!