Cabrone

This can't do any harm to Osvaldo's value. Goal So much talent, shame he couldn't do that for us.

If you didn't know him you'd think he was an experienced pro with lots of games under his belt. I was very impressed. Even after losing Shaw our left back situation looks solid.

I just want Chelsea to lose and us to win by 3 so we go top, even if it was for a week what a buzz. When was the last time Saints were ever at the top of the 1st div\premier? Was it in the Keegan days?

I know, it's good fun isn't it. If you can't get a bit excited when you're 2nd when can you? I stand by what I posted, I think it's closer that it's been for a long time and other than Chelsea, City and yes, Arsenal I think it's up for grabs. Liverpool are not convincing me - I'm not even sure if they can get top 5, Utd will get it together and when they do I think they'll be formidable but at the moment are very hit and miss, Spurs don't impress me at the moment and Everton will be there or thereabouts but are a team we can compete with. I'm off to the Emirates on Tuesday so I'll see for myself how we match up at the moment. This could be a interesting season.

A big part of it is our diamond hard midfield which is, like last season, one of the best in the premier league. Schneiderlin, Cork and esp. Wanyama are wrecking machines, Davis is a quality midfield-attack linking player with a strong engine and Ward-Prowse is the free-kick taking, passing part of the unit. It's a great group of complementary players. We've also got arguably a better keeper this season (although I still really rate Boruc) and we've exchanged our lost defenders with new ones that look potentially every bit as good so it's all looking rosey at the moment. Infact when I look around the premier league and compare what I see to Saints at the moment I'd say Chelsea are head and shoulders better than us, City are better than us, Arsenal are probably better than us (but there's not too much in it) and then I fear no-one. If the players get the bit between their teeth, believe in themselves and we get a break from injuries then who knows where we could finish this season.

Quality signing for Bournemouth, he's above champ standard and should be competing with Forster for no 1 spot at Saints. Their defence has just significantly strengthened whilst our GK situation goes back to being vulnerable.

If you didn't know any better you'd think Sammy Lee was Koeman's brother. Not sure what he's like as a coach but as a motivator he looks like a good person to have around. Well done Graziano, just needed a bit of time to adjust but a few games and a goal or two later and he's up and running. Can't help but be reminded of Luca Toni, if he turns out anything like Toni then we've got a very good centre forward on our hands.

Like it or not Pelle was signed to be our main goal threat this season and as such our success is linked directly to his success. Therefore why boo a player that we are relying on to perform at his best? He's already having to deal with a new style of play, new team mates, different language and culture and now you can add to that a small section of negative fans with the attention span of a gnat. It's counter productive and pretty dumb TBH. Having a pop on here is different IMO, fans vent spleen and it's forgotten as quickly as it started but to jeer at an actual match? Stupid. He did the business at Feyenoord so there's no reason given the correct support (both on and off the pitch) he can't do well here. If you claim to care about the club then give him a break for your own sakes as well as his.

Well said and yes Beatts was always a bit slow off the blocks, I can remember him usually getting into the groove around October and then banging them in on a regular basis. If he'd be around now I'd guess he'd have been written off before he even started by some of our uber knee jerk supporters. Getting on a player's back after 2 games, a player that has come from a different league and needs time to adjust, a player that is pretty crucial to our prospects in this league is stupid, self destructive and bang out of order. Get behind him and give him a chance, he's proven that he knows how to find the net so be patient.

I've never quite understood why GKs are valued at less than a lot of outfield players. GK is a crucial position and I don't mind if we spend big as long as get quality and FF does look quality. If we struggle to score this season FF (and possibly AB) may be the difference between success and failure. What would have happened if Gazzaniga had been in goal? 1 point already on the board courtesy of FF.

It's been a busy summer and the club have done as well as they probably could, getting top $ for the sales and buying some decent cheaper replacements. I fully expected those players to go at some time, just not all at the same time. That said the only big disappointment was Chambers, thought he'd hang around a bit longer. Surprised to see so many press predicting we'll go down, I'm thinking more mid to lower mid table comfort. Actually I'm not surprised really, as per usual they've read the headlines and made up the script accordingly. To call it the best ever summer is a bit OTT but some of the dramatic nonsense on here over the last 3 months has been equally ridiculous. It's been as good as it could have been given the circumstances and we've still got cash in the bank if we need it. We'll find out pretty soon anyway.

Chelski because I couldn't see it ever happening again. Failing that Everton, always like to see them get beat. Heath's goal burns deep.

Overall slightly stronger but they will take time to gel which is going to see us start more sluggishly. GK dept is easily better than last year, a crucial improvement. Defence is weaker but if we could pick up another quality CH we'd be pretty close. Midfield is the same or slightly better, DMs are still the same and I think Tadic will be at least the equal of Adam. Up front we are better, last season we were a bit threadbare but now we've got some solid backup. Hopefully Pelle can cover the Lambert shaped hole and I think Long will surprise a few. With JRod making a return and Gallacher pushing for a place there should be some competition.

Cork is a fantastic DM, never lets the team down yet has been treated as a bit part. Whenever I've seen him play he's constantly winning the ball back for us, doing the dirty work and winning possession all the time. Also with Morgan agitating for a move we should make sure he stays. If we let him go I think we'll regret it and if it's for as little as £3M then Palace would have bagged an absolute steal. I really hope he stays but all the signs point to an exit.

Not great and he needs to up it but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and see how this one works out. Long is a striker that functions better in a partnership and his effectiveness will largely depend on the chemistry between him and his attack partner. I think Pelle is going to like him just like BT liked Ormerod even though Brett didn't score many. Let's hope Pelle can capitalise. I remember Crouch getting panned when we signed him and it turned out to be a brilliant signing, the club does have a knack of taking low profile players and improving them. He's one of our players now so give him a break.

Admittedly not a player that gets the pulse racing but with the right strike partner he's a real handful. One of the hardest working forwards around, he's always ready to make things happen and whilst his goal tally needs improving he chips in with a decent amount of assists. I'm wondering if Pelle and Long might be a BT-Ormerod type partnership, Pelle knows where the net is and with Long working all day there should be chances. Yes 12M is crazy money but then so were the fees for Lambert, Lallana, Shaw and Lovren. The Prem is a plastic circus and it's probably the going rate. A much better player than some of the drama queens make out and with the correct players around him he'll graft and make things happen. With JRod, Gallacher, Pelle and now Long our striking situation is definitely looking better than 12 months ago IMO.

Biggest plus is GK department. As long as Boruc stays the situation is excellent, hopefully no more shipping lots of points because our first choice keeper is out. Big Ron should let the two of them battle it out for no 1, both are more than adequate. Strikeforce is thin, a lot rides on Pelle's shoulders. IMO he looks a good player but we won't really know how he reacts to the prem untill the season starts. Tadic and Taider are going to need to chip in with their fair share of goals to support him. I don't think the team will miss Lambert or Lallana as much as many fans think as Lambert was going to be more peripheral (still a legend though) and IMO Tadic will be the equal of Lallana, maybe even slightly better. Defence is weaker, cohesion is going to take time and we have sold some very good players, however as said GK is stronger so that will help soften the blow. Also big Vic was out for big chunks of last season, if he can stay fit then he'll be a big shield for the defence and really help out. Talking of cohesion we've also lost our want-aways (Morgan excepted) and the disruptive influence of Osvaldo so hopefully behind the scenes the morale will pick up quickly with a squad full of players that want to be here. We won't go down but I don't think things will be as exciting as last season. 10-14th.

Been following Saints since early 80s and in terms of the impact he's made on the club Lambert is probably the best signing in my time. Keegan was a big signing but Ricky has had a bigger impact. We got his best days and he'll always get a clap from me.

Fantastic signing, at long last we've got some real strength in the crucial GK department. Now we can stop feeling nervous every time Artur gets a knock. I really hope Artur sticks around as he's still good enough to keep the jersey. Artur vs Fraser, may the best man win and the club reap the benefits. That's the way it should always be.

Grobelaar Lovren Kashloul Groves Speedie - Wright Phillips - Nathan Dyer Ossie Nile Ranger - BT - Lee Barnard

If you don't like how it's going - and I don't - then the only thing you can do is withdraw your money and hope enough other people feel the same. The plastic prem with it's 'set in concrete' top 4 has become a joke. Even the clubs that get relegated have a ridiculous advantage with their parachute payments, what a joke. Nothing means anything anymore, cash and CL potential places are the only commodity considered. I much preferred the champ and even league 1 to this, went to quite a lot of games and they felt more real to me than the plastic prem.

Poor old Morgan's been denied a move, what a tragedy. Looks like he's going to have to slum it on 40k a week or probably something close. I'm glad I haven't been putting any of my hard earned the way of these spoilt brats over the last couple of seasons, they haven't got a bloody clue about the real world out there. He's also pretty stupid posting to the world how he feels when emotions amongst the fan base are riding high. The greed is getting sickening.

Got to admit this one is the most disappointing of the lot, you could see all the others going off to the big clubs but at 19 I'd hoped Chambers would have stuck around for another year or two. The club must be wallowing in money at the moment.

No course not, firstly lets see what the transfers are, secondly lets see how the next batch of academy graduates get on and thirdly the champ is a great league - much more real than the plastic prem so I wouldn't be bothered in the slightest playing in it. The club almost didn't exist 5 years ago, this pales into insignificance compared to that.

Let's see what the transfer market brings eh? There's a long way to go yet and if players want to go after getting tapped up then what are the board to do? Koeman was a high profile manager and we've signed two of the best players in the Dutch league. So far they've brought in what looks like decent quality but getting good players takes time so fans need to calm down a bit and see how this one unfolds, besides which you can't do anything anyway so why get all worked up about it?