SNSUN

This - the big clubs will just pick off anyone good from your squad - Mac Allister, Caicedo, Cucurella etc in Brighton's case - and eventually your run of buying successful replacements comes to an end. Nobody can get every single transfer right, it's just not possible. Look at Palace, a half decent season and they've lost Olise and are possibly going to lose Guehi and Eze. They need to get their replacements right or they could be in trouble.

His goal return isn't great but just read the Leeds forum MOT - they are almost universally gutted about this.

I've been reading and carefully analysing the Hoffenheim forums for their take on the ABK transfer and I can safely say that I don't know what they're saying because I can't read German. HTH.

Tricky but not impossible. This cup is not a priority this season so going out in the second round wouldn't be a disaster - but I would like to see the youngsters and some of the bit parters given game time - namely Woods, Edwards, Charles, Dibling and SAA (if all still here) - then put a bit of experience around them.

I see Onuachu has been given a squad number. If we can't sell him (for the right price) and we're struggling to bring a striker in I'd be OK if we integrated him this season back into the side. He's a proper striker, he's fit, he can score goals as he showed last year. I'm not sure how he fits into our system but I still feel he'd be an asset. I'd like to know what he thinks about it though! Alex was out of contract in the summer and on high wages. If we hadn't gone up we'd have released him. Ironically then it's very possible we would probably have signed a better keeper than the one we're about to start the season with - Alex. 😀 As for Rutter - Leeds fans really rate him despite his lack of goals and think he's going on to big things, and he's only 22. I'm still not quite sure how him and Whittaker got into the team of the season over AA though but still. It definitely looks like Leeds are getting pulled apart. Gnonto next. I think they'll go for Jack Clarke to appease their fan base. £40 million is a lot but I think that may be good business for Brighton.

If we could spend £150 million say with no PSR, could SR even afford it? Anyway we utilised the loan window well last season so hopefully we can do the same this season. He says hopefully.

If he has to retire do we even get an insurance payout? 😀 Hopefully this still goes through. Might just be Hoffenheim trying to save themselves a few quid.

Instruction Manual - Manuel Benson.

Yeah BBD and Taylor (unless KWP stays) - Sugawara comes with good reviews and has had a good pre-season so there's hope there. It does look like we're rebuilding with one eye on the future rather than the present. I'm glad we managed to get Downes though - while it's the League below we could see how important he was to the way we played. THB we knew we were getting if we went up but that's a key signing too but I appreciate both were here last season. We do still need 3/4 first teamers though if we want to avoid relegation this season.

I'm talking about the squad - the first team does need more quality and remember: With, say, 4 more first team signings (GK, DM, AM and Striker are what we need) that makes the squad stronger too as current first teamers drop down the pecking order (if we get them). Add in SAA and Dibling which I really hope we keep (certainly Dibling) and I really don't think we're in bad shape squad wise. The first team quality is my issue, not the squad - but anyway we'll see in the next two and a half weeks. We probably have the weakest first team on paper (bar perhaps Ipswich) but I do think we plan to be loyal to players that got us up. I think Smallbone plays the majority of League games, whether that's a good thing or not.

According to Wiki, including youngsters we've signed we've actually made 15 signings: 1 July 2024 DF Taylor Harwood-Bellis Manchester City Undisclosed [1][2] 1 July 2024 MF Adam Lallana Brighton & Hove Albion Free transfer [3] 1 July 2024 DF Charlie Taylor Burnley Free transfer [4] 3 July 2024 DF Ronnie Edwards Peterborough United Undisclosed [5] 5 July 2024 DF Nathan Wood Swansea City Undisclosed [6] 14 July 2024 DF Yukinari Sugawara AZ Alkmaar Undisclosed [7] 16 July 2024 MF Flynn Downes West Ham United Undisclosed [8] 20 July 2024 GK Khiani Shombe Lewisham Borough Free transfer [9] 21 July 2024 MF Brook Myers Charlton Athletic Free transfer [10] 30 July 2024 FW Ben Brereton Díaz Villarreal Undisclosed [11] 30 July 2024 MF Kuryu Matsuki FC Tokyo Undisclosed [12] 5 August 2025 MF Romeo Akachukwu Waterford Undisclosed [13] 1 January 2025 FW Juan São Paulo Free transfer [14] 1 January 2025 DF Welington São Paulo Free transfer [14] 12 March 2025 FW Rento Takaoka Nissho Gakuen High School Undisclosed [15]

Post injury he needs a good season on loan - if we do go back down I can see him being part of the squad at least. He seems to have something about him. I'm hoping we can sort JB's contract out too soon, he's one we need to be keeping next season whatever happens - in the Champ he's one of the better CBs and if we do stay in the Prem and upgrade, he's still a good squad option. (And KWP's but I'm not holding my breath)

I don't think the squad is that bad, the first team just lacks some quality here and there. And put it this way, if we get spanked to Newcastle, it might make the owners act a bit quicker in bringing players in.

Someone easy we can put a back up team out of, say, Lumley, Bree, Edwards, Wood, Stephens, Taylor, Charles, Dibling, Charly, SAA, AA, Edozie (pending ins/outs, something like that) and still have a good chance of going through. Someone like Barrow or Leyton Orient.

https://tribuna.com/en/news/liverpoolfc-2024-08-13-liverpool-to-consider-permanent-bids-for-ben-doak-sky-sports/ ...and I'd definitely take JWP back for the right price. Bring him home.

This - sometimes it's not about signing one player but signing two that can complement each other. That's why I'm hoping if we bring in a striker and an AM that they click. Tadic and Pelle - hoovering up the best talent from Holland - it was a good strategy although we also got Clasie and Martina so...

Probably THB on the back of an excellent season at promoted Burnley, especially as we knew he'd be ours if we went up. This summer I'm mildly excited by the signing of Ronnie Edwards to see how he copes on the Prem stage. He comes with a decent reputation. Weirdly the last transfer I can remember being excited about before those was Nathan Redmond. He'd been good for Norwich and I remember giving the wife some hell about it. Finally Rickie Lambert. League One, Million spent, best striker at that level. After a shitty couple of years before that, after the Liebherr takeover it finally felt like we were on to a good thing.

Rebuild for next season’s Championship push! Well travesty of travesty he beat AA into the team of the season last year so he must have something about him! Seriously how AA didn’t get in that team I’ll never know.

Rooney getting spanked. Long season ahead for Plymouth. Come on Saints, cheeky bid for Whittaker even though he was pants today.

We've had seasons in the Prem where we fail to get many points for ages, the Souness season springs to mind, and it's possible that could happen to us again, but bar Newcastle the first 6 games are largely favourable - coming out of them with 6-8 points would be ideal but I'm not holding my breath. Already the Forest game looks like a 6 pointer. I think the squad is in a reasonable place to start the season - it's not near the finished article but we should have enough about us to compete. Newcastle away though - that's not a nice start! I think the starting line up is the one we saw start yesterday. I don't want to predict a defeat in our first game so I'm going for a cagey 1-1. I do think we'll win the possession stats though.

Hard to tell from such little game time... but when he came on against WBA in the play off first leg I thought he looked very direct like he wanted to score, which a good striker should do. https://www.skysports.com/football/video/30998/13134530/alex-mccarthy-makes-big-save-for-saints-before-alex-palmer-keeps-out-stewart The concerns are of course his fitness and his lack of Prem experience but I don't think we should be completely writing him off just yet. He's only 28.

I think Carvalho would be a decent signing, I think he has shown he can put the ball in the back of the net and he offers flexibility too. Proper 9s are few and far between in the modern game but I like the look of an AA, Carvalho, BBD forward line for fluidity. However I think we play 3 CBs against Newcastle which gives the defence better protection but stunts us somewhat as an attacking force. It worked against Leeds in the final but we need it to work against Prem teams. It'll be AA and BBD up front for Newcastle IMO.

Apart from fannying around with the ball at the back with our passing game and conceding stupid goals (which we all hope won't happen but probably will from time to time), I actually think defensively we're in a better place this season than we were pre-relegation, and with Lis seemingly going on loan we must be bringing in a new Keeper. It's scoring goals that worries me. Without a good striker and one more attack minded midfielder I worry we have enough goals in us. I'm hoping SAA and Dibling don't get loaned out to provide us with an "unknown" factor. An attack force of BBD, AA, Mara and Stewart doesn't fill me with confidence that we'll score that many. Hopefully AA will continue his Championship form in a settled side unlike his last Prem stint and hopefully BBD gives us something more than we got with Adams but there are definitely pieces of the jigsaw missing that we will hopefully rectify before the end of the window.

"Hey Jurgen buddy, miss ya, hugs and kisses! Let me know when you get a new job and I'll be on the first plane out."

I'd take Skipp. No frills but has a bit of experience and is probably "our level". Had a decent spell at Norwich the last time they got promoted in the Championship.