Matthew Le God

Gallagher is still behind Lambert in the pecking order. Gallagher won't be starting many games, he'll be the striker option on the bench. I think you should put more trust in the coaching team to know when teenagers are ready. They got it right with Shaw, Chambers, Ward-Prowse. Using your logic we wouldn't have replaced Fox with Shaw in the starting lineup last season. This is actually Shaw's 2nd season, not his 3rd.

So would you play... Fox over Shaw? Chaplow over Ward-Prowse? Richardson over Chambers? Why would you trust the club with those decisions, but not Gallagher over Sharp? Unlike Shaw and Chambers, Gallagher isn't going to be first choice, he still has Lambert ahead of him in the pecking order.

See the rest of that post.

He has never scored a Premier League goal in his career and the team that signed him is in the bottom half of the Championship. I think that should tell you something about his level. The club clearly see Gallagher as ready for the Premier League, they've been right with Shaw, Ward-Prowse and Chambers, so why not trust them about Gallagher over Sharp?

Which of the players that have left would you use in such circumstance? None of the players KelvinsRightGlove listed have been in our first team this season. Them leaving doesn't make us weaker as they weren't really part of the squad anyway and are below the level we need as a top half Premier League team.

If he isn't replaced by September 2014 then I'd agree with you. But I doubt the club wants to rush into anything before the summer in an inflated January market where clubs are less willing generally to let star players leave.

I've already said you aren't a wind up merchant. You are just misguided with this thread. Yes, it is cost cutting, but it is cost cutting for good reason. The players that have left bar Osvaldo are of no use to us in the top half of the Premier League. Osvaldo left because he is a mentalist, not cost cutting. Apart from Osvaldo the players that have gone this month make no real difference to the strength of the squad as they weren't considered as part of the first team squad anyway by Pochettino. Even Fox who has been in the first team, stopped making the match day eighteen and when he did play he was a liability. Perhaps Pochettino has seen more promise from Targett.

Barry Sanchez, batman and yourself are wind-up merchants (as you well know). St Marco isn't a wind-up merchant, he is just misguided with this thread. Yes, it is cost cutting, but it is cost cutting for good reason. The players that have left bar Osvaldo are of no use to us in the top half of the Premier League. Osvaldo left because he is a mentalist, not cost cutting.

Because the people that start these threads are... a) wind-up merchants or b) daft or even c) a combination of the two The players that left have all done so for good reason and are of no use to the first team of a top half Premier League side or like with Osvaldo have left for non footballing reasons.

It was near the top of the 1st page... http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?48848-Cost-Cutting-January#.UuvGznl8bR4 The players that have left weren't really considered to be in the first team or of use by Pochettino. He said no player he wants to keep will leave in January and that still looks to be the case. Even if Osvaldo goes, that will still be a lot down to the Fonte incident. The club have merely shifted from the wage bill those players that weren't able to keep up with the progress of the club. many of them deserve thanks for helping Saints into the Premier League but why would they keep a player that isn't going to be of use for a top half Premier League team. Better to move them on for their own careers and free up money for Saints to strengthen in the summer. You are right, it is cost cutting. But its cost cutting for good reason, the players that have left offer no real benefit to a top half Premier League team and the money would be better spent elsewhere.

My point was they've all moved into contention for a 1st team squad spot, saving the club the need to make large numbers of signings. A policy of 2 or 3 high quality transfer signings each summer combined with high quality academy players progressing in to the first team is a solid long term strategy for any Premier League club. It allows Saints to spend big on a small number of high quality players rather than spreading that cash around on a high number of lower quality players.

Did you read what I said? I said "Is it not better that they get the next big money signing right and buy in the summer?" Rather than making a last minute panic buy which you appear to be demanding. You say our big signings have been "complete crap". I think they are all good players, Osvaldo failed as a good signing because of his character rather than footballing ability. Osvaldo is clearly a very talented footballer with character flaws. Lovren, Rodriguez, Wanyama and even Ramirez are all good signings.

And seen the emergence of Shaw, Chambers, Gallagher, Reed, Ward-Prowse, Targett. Think how much all of them are worth and saved the club needing to buy players.

Would you prefer the club rushed into overpaying for a replacement in January? Is it not better that they get the next big money signing right and buy in the summer?

Your post was us "losing a £15m striker for nothing", he will remain a Saints player beyond today and the loan arrangement has a potential future fee which means the club will recoup what we paid for him. Some even suggesting a profit.

Well that is simply not true.

His passing in particular is terrible (especially given the team's style of play), but he also has other weaknesses... decision making, positioning and marking could all be a lot better.

Only two of them are good enough for a top half Premier League side. Yoshida is bottom half Premier League quality and Hooiveld is a Championship level player. We do need another quality centre back to partner Lovren, which would then mean we have a good replacement in Fonte on the bench. May have to wait until the summer though.

That isn't the real Jim White from SSN, it is someone messing about. For a start the real Jim White would have more than 1,562 followers, even I've got more than that!

Fox and Puncheon going, makes little to no difference to the quality of the squad for the reasons I've already outlined. Yes, Osvaldo going does weaken us, but he hasn't really contributed that much to our season. The Osvaldo situation is down to his fight with Fonte, not cost cutting. Plus him going may improve morale and he hasn't actually gone yet. If we can't get a good replacement for Osvaldo in a few days they shouldn't rush and pay over the odds for a striker in the barmy January market. We'll be fine until the summer and can reassess things then.

Fox didn't make the match day 18 anymore and when he did he was a liability at Premier League level. Puncheon hasn't played a single game for us this season. How are we weaker? The Osvaldo situation is down to his fight with Fonte, not cost cutting.

We've already been through this nonsense with Barry Sanchez. The players that have left weren't really considered to be in the first team or of use by Pochettino. He said no player he wants to keep will leave in January and that still looks to be the case. Even if Osvaldo goes, that will still be a lot down to the Fonte incident. The club have merely shifted from the wage bill those players that weren't able to keep up with the progress of the club. many of them deserve thanks for helping Saints into the Premier League but why would they keep a player that isn't going to be of use for a top half Premier League team. Better to move them on for their own careers and free up money for Saints to strengthen in the summer. You are right, it is cost cutting. But its cost cutting for good reason, the players that have left offer no real benefit to a top half Premier League team and the money would be better spent elsewhere.

A player is only "good back up" if he is capable of playing at the level his club are at, even if only coming on as a sub or when the 1st choice is injured/suspended. Jack Cork for example is a good central midfield back up for Victor Wanyama because Jack Cork is a good player at Premier League level. Danny Fox cannot play at Premier League level well and is a disaster waiting to happen whenever he is on the pitch so is not "good back up". Jos Hooiveld, like Danny Fox was also effective at Championship level, but as a backup for a Premier League team he is terrible. They just aren't capable of putting in good performances in the Premier League as their weaknesses are easily exploited by Premier League level opponents.

So it was the latter of those three.

I'm not sure what job he'd expect him to do, because I think he'd struggle to make an impact in the Premier League as a midfielder. Even more so than the role he's played for most of his career at left back.