BARCELONASAINT

If we don't get anything from this game or at least be 100% more competitive we cannot really blame RM because he's put our strongest side out there (Stephens aside maybe) It's for the players that have the shirt today to prove they desrve it!

I really hope the club get enough contact that they will put Elijah's pic up on the screens at the 20th minute mark, still can't believe such a likeable young man has gone.

Sulemana's lack of progress was not down to RM for gods sake. Some are just clutching at straws that he could have been the next big thing. The problem with that is the player had to have the right mental attributes and the willingness to learn. I honestly do not think that Sully as much as i liked him had enough of either to ever make it in English football. Reading his personal stuff he posts it comes across that he believes he is already a big player. He is all huff and puff but lacks any end product and lacks a footballers brain. We took a punt on a guy that had blistering pace and hoped we could coach him into a Premier League player....it hasn't worked out, that does not make it the managers fault, far from it.

I still think we lack a real striker who plays up the middle, is strong, holds the ball up well and shoots from anywhere because it's an instinctive part of his game. It absolutely goes against the grain but right now i would be delighted if we announced INGS!

Unless Saints pull a rabbit out of the hat it is looking more and more likely that any attacker we get in will be someone way down our list if even on the initial list at all. I hope we are all pleasantly surprised tomorrow but i have a horrible feeling it will be someones injury prone, hardly played any competitive football in the last 12 months player! I don't know why we waste so much of our time chasing South American players. My son is a football agent and deals predominantly with the South American market and he tells me it is horrendous when dealing with agents and clubs over there.

Well with just over 48 hours to go and arguably 3 positions still to fill (goalkeeper, striker and winger) it's certainly going to be a nervy next 2 days. Only going by the press snippets coming out we seem along way off from nailing down those three vital positions. I've quite like the business we have done so far, BUT without doubt 2 of the 3 positions i think we need incomings for are absolutely vital to us having a chance of staying up. That refresh button on the work laptop is already suffering!

So many on here are ready to have a pop at the club or RM in their frustration that we are either letting go off players the club have deemed are no longer required or we have not signed a striker or goalkeeper. Alcaraz the vast majority of us love his unpredictability, his obvious skill and potential to unlock a defence BUT the club have decided to call time on his stint here. Why? Looking at it without being emotional I would say the player has failed to settle in the UK, he does not speak the language and RM has been frustrated by his lack of desire to learn English. For all his skill he gives the ball away far too much in very dangerous positions and for me has never looked like he would make it as a Premier League player....do we have an Alcaraz replacement....yes we do i would say, Tyler Dibling! Tall Paul......again has any other Premier League team come in for TP?? NO! He really is not a Premier League player, he makes Peter crouch look a world beater. Our desperation for a striker is making some irrational in their thought process. Do you those slating the ownership and club not think we have been doing everything we can to bring in a striker and a goalkeeper?? Be realistic we are Southampton, we have just been promoted and are favourites to go straight back down, we dont have the millions to spend to compete against the likes of Bournemouth let alone Brighton. We have a wage cap we wont break, which is sensible. It will be an extremely hard sell to convince players we would all like to see here and then even if we convince the player we have the nightmare of clubs thinking because we are a Premier League club we can be held to ransom over the fee.

Alberto has the potential to be an eye-catching summer signing for Saints. His former teammate Edinilson's praise tells the story of a player who could skyrocket under the right set-up: “Since (Alberto) arrived, I have seen huge potential in him. I know that, soon, we won’t have him here anymore because he has really huge potential." He has registered an impressive tally of 57 goal contributions (43 goals and 14 assists) in 129 appearances for Corinthians, and he has even been capped once by Brazil to date. In total, he has 83 goals and 24 assists at club level across 253 appearances for some huge clubs in South America, as well as a brief spell in Russia with Zenit. The idea of Southampton signing a player who has appeared for arguably international football's most famous and glamorous nation would immediately be an exciting prospect for many supporters, and he is still young enough to improve significantly as a footballer, too.

Southampton see bid turned down for Yuri Alberto HITC understands that a number of Premier League clubs have held talks with Corinthians about a possible deal for striker Alberto. We understand that Southampton are amongst the teams looking closely at Alberto after previous interest from Wolves. Wolves failed with a bid to land Alberto in January, but he now could be heading to England in this window. We reported that Wolves were willing to pay £18 million for Alberto back in January but Gary O’Neil’s side could not pull off a deal this summer. Another side that failed to get a deal over the line was West Ham United. So if this report is anything to go by then we are not the only Premiership side with clueless scouts!!

you should know better than that! Everyone on here is a football expert about every player out there despite never having heard of half the players linked with us.

the only positive i can take from that first half is the fact its still 0-0. Adarma, Aribo and Smallbone having awful games. McCarthy did his best to present the opposition with a goal from another awful pass straight to one of their players. This performance is so far removed from last weeks its difficult to understand its the same 11 out there. Walker Peters is trying his best to drag us up but he is about the only bright spark. Its far too easy for Forest who will be gutted they are not winning this.

If there is a real possibility of a transfer happening then it would be madness to risk Charly playing at all

I'm in the camp where i think it makes perfect sense to do this deal and sell Alcaraz for an amount that will not see us lose money on our original purchase. I like Charly and have love the flashes of brilliance i've seen BUT they have been so far and few to suggest he will ever make it in England. If we sell Alcaraz for the rumoured $18 mill what is there not to like about receiving this or something close for a player that will not feature for us this season?? Then add into the equation we are also getting a very highly rated youngster (that Wolves were interested in buying) as part of the deal who even if he didnt work out would be sold for pure profit. Again for Southampton what is there not to like? Too many on here have a real problem with this multi club ownership and and appear blinkered on how it could benefit Southampton in the long run.

For gods sake can we stop with the who is the most shittiest keeper out of baz and McCarthy......the one thing we all agree on is neither is good enough for the Premiership and we desperately need a new keeper!

Genius why the hell did we not think of doing this with half our squad purchases?? Problem solved.

Simple answer i believe......we are relying on the loan market towards the end of the window for a goalkeeper and we are shopping in the bargain take a punt in the dark basement for a striker because we really have very little in readies!

Martin was quite clear a week ago he hoped to have 1/2 through the door before the Newcastle game, this is clearly not happening which suggests we have failed with targets. We all know we are financially not able to compete with virtually every other Premiership team out there when it comes to recruiting a proven striker and creative attacking players that are Premiership standard. We are going to have to rely heavily on the loan market and any extra players we do sign i don't believe we will see until the end of the window. I don't wish to sound negative before a ball has even been kicked but my honest opinion of our chances of being anywhere near competitive are really low. At the moment having watched all our preseason games i honestly think we have a nice team but one that will get battered because we give the opposition so many chances and are toothless in the final third.

Really???? Guaranteed we have made some ridiculous transfers but really??? Mark Robins has revealed that Coventry City’s influential midfielder Ben Sheaf is not as close to a return as it had been previously believed. The newly confirmed Sky Blues club captain has been sidelined since he limped off with an ankle injury just minutes after going on midway through the second half against Stevenage in last month’s pre-season friendly against the League One club. That forced him to sit out the three warm-up games against Darmstadt, Everton and Werder Bremen. It’s now emerged that the 26-year-old has been recovering from ligament damage that Robins admitted after Saturday’s opening 1-0 defeat at Stoke is a “fairly bad” injury.

and knowing our track record they will not be available until January due to a minor injury that just never seems to get better!

I've avoided coming on this thread up until now because i guessed it would be mostly doom and gloom. However with a week to go before the big kick off and still 4/5 signings away from being a competitive Premiership side i have to say I agree with the majority posting on here and think we will get battered on the evidence of the pre-season games so far. Newcastle 6 Saints 0

It really is worth posting the below for all those that keep harping on about Saints not just paying what the selling club wants for players and to just get deals done!! ‘The money isn’t there’ for Southampton after recent seasons Despite returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, Southampton find themselves limited on the financial front this summer. Alfie House on X made the financial situation surrounding the club clearer, where he wrote: “Context is important and Russell Martin did say the club can still do something in the transfer market if it’s urgent and they need to (which they do, so they must.) However… “It’s been made clear by leadership all summer that the money isn’t there. £100m spent on mostly rubbish in 2022/23, £100m losses between June 2021-2023 and relegation affecting PSR limits + off-pitch ££ (MSD loan). Sales last summer merely filled the black hole. Southampton signed the likes of Kamaldeen Sulemana, Paul Onuachu and Sekou Mara in the 2022/23 season, all of which have struggled to live up to their hefty price tag. Southampton must make the most of the loan market It’s clear that, unless necessary sales are made for those with very little future at the club, Southampton have very little leverage in dishing out sizable bids for players at this level. They may have to focus on players that may be free for loan, something that will ensure that they get quality additions, bolster their squad depth and improve their financial deficit with fees being very low in comparison to permanent deals.

Broke through at Barcelona and did very well before being snapped up by Chelsea. I would not be against this if there was any truth to the report. He is a pure centre forward, a classic '9', a specialist in the area who lives from his physical power. His best virtue is his aerial play. Marc is also very quick and powerful, he is unstoppable with space.

this Danish bloke!!!.......can i just ask if you have actually watched O'Riley play? There are quite a few including myself that tend to watch Celtic games and have seen how much O'Riley stands out in the Scottish league. He is without doubt currently the best player in the Scottish league and i have no doubt would improve our side hugely.

cam Martin not tell him when we play that it's a training session really!....Maybe the useless twat will play like a beast in a real game where it matters then!

I can't quite work out if you are taking the piss or not!