hypochondriac

No I meant that it is now probably too late to get an alternative to Gakpo. I don't think we've sat on our hands but I do think we could have pushed and tried to sort one of our targets slightly earlier in the window. Waiting to pick up a target at the last minute is a risky strategy when an attacking signing was the priority of the summer.

IMO priority number one was to replace Broja this summer. If we get to close of play today and have not done so then we've failed in that objective. It's quite simple really and all the noise about what we could have done, what we tried to do etc is all a bit meaningless. Starting the season without a proper Broja replacement is disappointing however you look at it.

I think it's quite possible that we have left it too late to chase other options. If that is the case then that's the fault of the club and we're taking a risk by going into the season with a weaker attack.

Personally I think that's an absurd line of argument. We are a professional club and it has not been an impossible task for the club to improve the attack a sufficient amount from last year given the time and resources we have had. If we have now run out of time and so cannot strengthen further then I think we have made a mistake.

He wouldn't have to be that amazing to be an improvement on Bednarek.

Quite amusing considering the post three above yours which says that exact thing.

we failed to bring an attacker in to replace Broja. I would have thought that was clear and I elaborated on that very point in subsequent posts. I don't think anyone could suggest we aren't currently weaker in attack compared to last year. We have a few hours yet but if we don't strengthen in attack further then I'll be disappointed.

We've had the entirety of the summer to select candidates. It's not correct to say there simply aren't any suitable players available.

But the Ballard pathway, the change in formation, all the crap wingers we have and our bloated squad! etc etc etc...

All a bit rewriting of history now with some posters suggesting we never needed another attacking singing in this window after all. Even if you do think that, that's clearly not the opinion of the manger.

Given that we haven't replaced Broja then yes. You would hope there was an exciting prospect on our list somewhere that a big club is willing to let go on loan. Werent we linked with an attacker yesterday?

I know we don't need to replace both. My point was that Broja was on loan so was never really a permanent replacement. The vast majority of fans at the beginning of the summer would have said that our top priority would have been to replace Broja. If we fail to do that by the end of the day then that's a black mark against the club regardless of who they have tried for. I'm still hoping for an alternative so we aren't left exposed.

Where has anyone forgotten about Mara? Our forward line is not strong enough for a season in the Premier league and just like when we were weak at the back and failed to strengthen sufficiently and almost got relegated, it should be called out. We've done excellent work at the back and in midfield but we've left a hole up front and are currently weaker than we were at the end of the season.

I'll give up.

Yes he was the Long replacement quite clearly. He's a good prospect but clearly not what we had in mind at the start of the summer as our main attacking force to replace Broja and Ings.

I'm sorry but if the club have high standards then to fail to bring an attacker in when they've had the entire summer isn't good enough. Yes it happens but it doesn't mean it should be considered acceptable.

Not many of our signings are widely known in the media long beforehand. That's my entire point. It's got nothing to do with clauses about dealing in secret and special Southampton Way methods of completing transfers.

Personally I'd rather we got someone in, even if it's a loan. Going into the season with our current attacking options would be amateurish considering it has been our top priority to sort the entire summer.

I'm not sure what point you're making now. My point was that we don't insist on silence in order to get a deal done and that the reason you don't hear much about our transfers is because they are lower profile and because mostly no one cares about saints. It seems with this reply that you agree that United are higher profile and so you are much more likely to hear about their transfers a long way in advance.

I hope we didn't put all our eggs in one basket with this fella considering how important attacking signings have been all summer.

That isn't what you said though was it. I There may be times where a bit of quiet is prudent but the main reason that we don't hear a lot about transfers is because Southampton are a small club making small deals for generally lower profile players. It's why you hear about United transfer dealings weeks in advance, not because they wouldn't prefer some quiet.

There are some fans who have really swallowed the club pr. The club have done a good job!

Because there's a ton of examples of signings we have made where that isn't the case. We do sometimes not hear much about signings but that's mostly because they aren't high profile and no one cares about little Southampton. We aren't special we do transfer business like everyone else.

Very unusual without a mututal blackout of detail? What bollocks!

I don't think we can blame the club but we do need to get in someone who can improve our attack. If they don't get anyone in then we can blame them. Tick tock.