Saint_Tony

Think this will be a close one. We have nothing to lose, and I'm not overly impressed by Liverpool's signings (apart from that **** Lovren), and Sturridge won't be half as threatening without Suarez next to him. I think we'll struggle for goals though. 1-0 Liverpool

Probably not, but with 2 more signings (defensive cover and a wide player) we might have greater depth, just slightly less talented individuals. I'm happy right now that we have a squad that is perfectly capable of finishing comfortably in mid table

I'd put good money on Long scoring twice as many goals playing for United as Welbeck has. Hopefully this one will be tied up soon, he's already been written off by most on here so has nothing to lose

I wonder when these games were when he has performed particularly well. I get more nervous when the ball is near him than with Jos

That's a 50% change though, plus factoring in that Yoshida is a complete liability and nowhere near as good as Lovren. So yeah, only two players different, everything is fine

Too true. It's disappointing knowing that we are getting a decent signing and that there are no quality 3 minute you tube clips to get us excited about signing another potential world class superstar.Some of my favourites have included Mayuka and De Ridder.

Signings that are capable of helping us match our European dreams. Negredo might be available. Hernandez is keen I've heard and Bony wants to further his career in the middle regions of the Premier League.

Sounds like Spurs are having a big clear out. Would happily take Dembele/Sandro and naughton plus cash. Not sure if that's realistic though now that we only buy overpriced players from bottom half sides

Saint Charlie and Heisenberg are in the minority of those who are talking a bit of sense. Long will get us goals, forget the transfer fee, that's the way the market is currently. Hernandez clearly didn't want to come so we've had to set our sights lower. I hope Long bangs in a few goals so we can revisit this thread.

So shall we write him off already for not being worth £12 million?

Of course you are. It isn't the most inspiring signing ever I'll agree, certainly not for the price,but that's the level we're at. I would have preferred Ings but Burnley must be asking for a lot for him. We've sold players for inflated fees this summer, but unfortunately it works both ways. We've only bought 2 players for more, Ramirez and Osvaldo. I remember the excitement when they both signed, and both turned out to be very poor buys. At least the disappointment won't be so great if Long turns out to be another disaster buy!

Bit different when we're discussing strikers though, isn't it? We were in a much better position 12 months ago, and were a more attractive proposition than we are now. Things have changed

I thought we all knew by now that Ralphy is full of ****?

So who's the exciting signing we should go for? The player who will score 20 goals, but is not good enough for a top side and wants to move to the mighty mid table Southampton?

We have to be realistic. We hit a glass ceiling very hard last season, and are now very much a mid table side. Long is far from the greatest striker ever, but will get goals for us. The other options are unproven European gambles or targets that are unrealistic like Bony and Hernandez. Quality PL strikers don't grow on trees. And any that are capable of scoring 15 plus goals end up at the top 6 sides. It's time to face facts and accept this is as good as it gets

Long has been mentioned as a potential decent signing for the last couple of transfer windows yet now he's a poor signing? Seems strange. Ignoring the excessive fee, he's a good player at this level, the sort of striker we could have done with at times last season. Would definitely take him even for £10 million

Pelle's record is very poor elsewhere too. I'm not going to judge him as I've never seen him play, but I'm very concerned by his lack of games and goals pre-Feyernoord. Still, we have to trust Roko's judgement that he is good enough

Maybe he's just trying to dampen expectations? Say 1-2 are coming but then sign 3-4

Maybe he's saying it to fire up Boruc to be more competitive? Don't see the problem, surely Artur would know a £10 million goalkeeper is likely to come as first choice?

People will moan, but its the same for other clubs. I think we will be trying to bring in new recruits up until the final minutes of the window.

All I will say is they are still very, very interested.

We all know the club need another 4/5 players, but it's simply not going to happen. The Schneiderlin situation will also go on for a couple of weeks until Arsenal weigh in with a £25 million deadline day bid

It's become quite clear all of our business won't be done by next weekend. Have a feeling Gardos will be a done deal but that's about it

It's a step down for all of them. Bony will only move to a bigger club, we're a sideways move. Hernandez will still want to play at the top even if it's on the bench, and Remy will only go to whoever wants to pay ridiculous wages

None of Hernandez, Bony or Remy would ever come to us, we are wasting our time. Ings should be the number one target as it's realistic and we've had success buying Championship (now premier league) players.