Rebel

The problem is that out of all of our central midfielders Cork and Morgan are easily the best of them - and for whatever reason they both seem to be leaving us this summer. Ward-Prowse, Reed and Davis are all too lightweight and more box-to-box midfielders. That leaves Taider and we've no idea what he's really like - and he was really just a make weight in the Osvaldo deal. That leaves us with only one defensive midfielder in Wanyama - who is no great passer of the ball that's for sure. So what happens if we need to play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with two defensive midfielders. Without Cork or Morgan there is no one to drop deep bad pick up the ball from the keeper - and supposedly distribution of the ball is not Forsters strong point. On Saturday we were pretty awful with our starting 11 - we only started to pass the ball well once Cork came on - along with Ramirez and Taider. The two key elements of the way we played - the building from the back and the pressing of the opposition seem to have disappeared from our game. So at the moment are squad for Saturday - taking in to account the supposed transfers of Cork, Gardos and Long as well as Boruc and Morgans unhappiness and Rodriguez injury - looks like this: Gazzinaga Davis Forster McCarthy Stephens Hooiveld Targett Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Gardos Wanyama Ward-Prowse Reed Davis Taider Isgrove McQueen Long Tadic Ramirez Gallagher Pelle So no proven premier league goallscorer and very little depth. And Reed, Ward-Prowse, Targett, Isgrove, McQueen, McCarthy and Gallagher are all probably a little too young to rely on week in week out. And to be honest I'm not really sure where Long and Ramirez fit in to a 4-3-3. And only 3 maybe 4 starters fom our first 11 last season in Fonte Clyne, Wanyama and Davis - and you could argue that Chambers and Cork were preferred over Clyne and Wanyama at times. Lovren, Lallana, Morgan, Cork, Rodriguez and Lambert were key to the way we played last season so things are going to have to change. In effect we've lost the spine of our team. On top of that Selling Cork and Chambers makes no sense to me when we desperately need their versitality. I thought we were supposed to be selling these want away players to bring in some more depth to the squad - so far we haven't actually added anyone in terms of depth and the reality is the squad looks a lot weaker. Koeman and Les Reed need to earn our trust - and faith - by actions - they shouldn't just be given it. And right now they've got an awful lot to do to earn it. Actions speak louder than words. Against Bounemouth and Bayer Leverkusen we looked pretty awful - very one dimensional and vert static. There was no interchanging of position, no building from the back, no pressing of the ball - just a very basic tactic of get it wide and cross the ball to Pelle or play it long to him. And get it forwards as quickly as possible. Pelle looked very static - lacking pace and movement. I was expecting him to work the back 4 and make space for others to attack but he just didn't. And I've seen no real evidence of Les' fantastic scouting network apart from perhaps Taider and Gardos. But if Long for £12.5 million is the best they can come up with we're better off without them. Pelle and Tadic were definitely Koemans signings but I doubt he's ever seen Long play. I am hoping for the best - that things will click on the big day cone Sunday - but fearing the worst.

I would be very surprised if Schneiderlin and Rodriguez are still at Saints by the end of the transfer window. So discounting Morgan who is our back-up defensive midfielder after Victor? Sapher Taider? Is he a defensive midfielder though - I'm not really sure where he plays? box-to-Box? As a number 10? And I have feeling he was only brought in as part of the Osvaldo deal as it was the only way we were going to get rid of him for the season. Is he any good - we don't really know yet. Harrison Reed? Too young and unproven probably and maybe too small. But again I thought he was more of a box-to-box midfielder.

If we start with the same team as we did against Bayer Leverkusen - and play the same way - we are going to get torn apart by Liverpool on Sunday. Mayuka, Isgrove and Yoshida looked out of their depth - and Pelle was just very disappointing. He didn't seem to have any pace or movement. Davis and Ward-Prowse just looked very flat. We played a very one dimensional 4-3-3 - get the ball wide and cross it to Pelle or long ball it from the back to Pelle. We looked very static - Pelle hardly moved. There was no fluidity, no interchanging of positions. We didn't press the ball and we didn't build from the back. We seemed to have lost the two things that defined the way we played last season - the pressing of the ball and the passing it out from the back without adding anything we were missing - pace or a goal scorer. Tadic showed flashes of potential. And things improved when Taider, Ramirez and Cork came on. But Lovren, Lallana, Lambert, Shaw, Rodriguez and Schneiderlin were key to the way we played and at the moment we are missing all 6 of them. At the moment we don't have the players to play a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. Our best hope is 4-2-3-1 with Cork and Wanyama sitting in front of the back 4, Tadic in the hole with Taider and Ramirez either side of him and Pelle up front. I think I might have to watch the game from behind the sofa on Sunday

I'd be more than a bit underwhelmed by Shane Long if we signed him to be honest - and a bit horrified if we paid anywhere near £10 million for him. He may have pace and be a workhorse but that's about it. Anyway why would he leave Hull - an upwardly mobile club playing Europa League football and a club that have actually won something for us - a club with no real ambition and a team very much on the down and set for a relegation battle. Whatever the truth may be that is how it looks to the rest of the football world right now. How about Fabio Borini, Danny Ings, Luc Castaignos, John Guidettii or Jeremain Lens instead? Any two of those would do me right now. I hope our board have learnt the lesson - don't sell before you buy - but I would guess they have as they are trying to buy before they sell Rodriguez and Schneiderlin at the end of the transfer window. I think they also might have learnt there is no point in chasing players like Hernandez or Rojo when you've already sold players like Shaw, Lambert, Lallana, Lovren and Chambers - it doesn't show any ambition and players like that want big clubs and/or champions league football - or Europa at least. I have to ask what has happened to our scouting network Les Reed was so proud off - and our much vaunted Director of Football / Technical Director set up? Surely we should have had a whole list of great young players we were going to bring in to replace those who have departed. It looks a little bit like we are in panic mode and without much idea of what we are doing. It should really have mattered who the manager was - we should have had our transfer targets sorted - and our succession plans in place.

He's certainly no worse than Ben Davies. I think it's a good signing - he's still relatively young, he's English, has played 50 games in the Premier League and won the champions league - plus he sounds like he wants to be here - which makes him a Saint in my books. And if he shows half the commitment of Benali he will be great for us. He can play at left fullback and left wingback so we still might bring in Rojo to play left fullback and or left centreback. I am sure Koeman wants the option of being able to play 3 at the back with wing backs. And maybe we've realised our youth players aren't all ready to be thrown in at the deep end

I don't wish Liverpool FC or Brendan Rodgers any luck whatsoever - or the plastic Liverpool fans that live down here - you know the ones that have never been to Anfield let alone a football match - who have been laughing at us since Lambert signed for his hometown club. The plastic Man Utd fans are pretty much the same. You know the ones - who watch Sky, read the Sun, subscribe to the club TV channel and buy the Club magazine. For some reason the Cheslski and Citeh fans have been sympathetic - but maybe they just don't have so many plastics. Maybe the proper Liverpool fans are different - like the OP

The only problem with that is outside of the top 4 - other than asset stripping like we are doing now - you can't make any money in football - your cost of sales run at about 90% just to stand still - and to stand still is to go backwards - and to go backwards is to go down The US buyers have realised this and that's why Lerner at Villa wants to get out The only reason someone would buy a Football Club now is for vanity - and the FFP rules have made that a pointless thing to do as if you're not successful already you can't buy success now That's unless you're actually a fan - then it's a didn't ball game

I don't know - say you sell £100 million worth of players and only spend £40 million - and cash in the remaining £60 million as a share buy back and dividends The club will still have a turnover of £80 million from the TV money, match days and commercial stuff - and probably a squad worth £50 - £60 million If you've put in £60 million to the club over 5 years and sell it for £60 million you've still doubled your money The way I see it that what the Liebherrs are doing - getting there money back guaranteed - and then they will either sell and make a very decent profit or milk the club for the premiership cash like Lowe did - until we get relegated - a then they'll cash in on the playing assets, take the parachute money and sell the club for whatever it's worth with a stadium and academy Outside of the big 5 or 6 clubs that is the only way an owner can make money - and we've just proved you can't compete so why try? You need a vanity owner like Chelski or Citeh to compete - but the FFP ruled have made that impossible now anyway

I have to say I am more than a little bit worried about Saints right now. We had no strength in depth last season - and have just lost 5 of our key players - and so far only replaced 2 of them with players unproven in the premier league. I can't see how we'll persuade Schneiderlin to commit to another season at Saints having let all these players go - and we seem unable or unwilling to make players stay if they don't want to - so I'd be surprised if Morgan move to Arsenal this week - and in reality who could blame them. He's asked the club to show ambition and they haven't In effect we've ripped the spine out of last season's team - the only place we have any strength in depth now is central midfield I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez and Ramirez follow Osvaldo out of the door this week - and the way we are going Ward-Prowse as well Add to that we all know Sharp, Mayuka, Gazzinaga, Kelvin Davis and Hooiveld are not premier league class and need to be replaced and Targett, Reed, McQueen, Isgrove, Gallagher, Turnbull, McCarthy and Stephens are all unproven and inexperienced so can't be counted on yet. I'm not sure the owners are cashing in - but it's more than possible they are - I think is more likely that it's just down to incompetence, naievity and/or stupidity. Right now are starting 11 looks like a team that will struggle in the premier league: Boruc Clyne. Fonte. Yoshida. Targett. Cork. Wanyama. Davis. Isgrove. Pelle. Tadic. It looks more like a bottom half championship team if I'm honest. We need to sign about 3 players a week for the next three weeks to really stand a chance of staying in the premier league. We desperately needed a right winger, a left back, and another striker before we sold anyone anyway. Now we desperately need a right back and another centreback as well. Forster and Van Dijk from a Celtic would do for starters - as would Guidetti and Castaignos up front. De Vrij and Clasie would be nice as well. And even if we do sign these players there is no guarantee they will make it in the premier league. Tadic and Pelle didn't exactly stand out against Bournemouth - but the no one else that played did either really. To be honest we looked pretty bad against Bournemouth - I was expecting us to win 2 or 3 Nil.

What's the point in having an academy if you're just going to sell all the players. I thought the whole idea of football was to win something not make money by becoming a football factory - obviously I was wrong. Either that or some very very stupid / useless or incompetent people are running the club now. If the Calum Chambers rumours are true we seem to be in a perfect storm - of selling our best players and relying on our youth players to rise to the premier league standard without passing 'experience' on the way'! It reminds of when we sold Bridge and never replaced him because Lowe and Co were taking the money out of the club - and we got relegated. And when we went Dutch with Wotte and Poortvliet and we relied on the kids - we got relegated again. Now it seems we are going double dutch! It seems McCarthy and Stephens will be the right back cover for Clyne. The only problem with that is players like Clyne will be off next as they want to win things - and if we barely have a first 11 and then just a bunch of kids we're not going to win much other than a lot of sympathy. But probably not even that. Katherine Liebherr and/or Krueger do realise we can get relegated right!? I think Koeman is going to have a horrible shock when he realises how hard and how physical - and how competitive the Premier League is. It may not be the best league in the world - but it probably is the most brutal. It takes no prisoners.

I think we're in a little bit of trouble. Pelle was pretty anonymous tonight - I expected him to score against Bournenouth to be honest. We lack pace and creativity.

Top 5? Probably not. Top 10 possibly. You've got Feyenoord and Ajax in Holland. Barca and Bayern. Borussia Dortmund maybe? Sporting Lisbon probably - although they import a lot of Brazilians and Argentinians. and that is just Europe. River Plate in Argentina seem to produce more than their fair share of great players. And I'm sure if you asked Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool fans they would say they did although I would disagree with them. Fulham have a great academy at the moment based on our old academy staff - Huw Jennings et Al. I think in the next couple of years if Ward-Prowse, Reed, Targett, Chambers, McQueen, Gallagher, Seagar, Hesketh, Sims and the others live up to their promise then yes we porbably will have.

I'd have thought we'd have been better off signing Timothée Kolodziejczak from Nice for £5 or £6 million. Just as much of a gamble but a lot less money. He's 6ft 2 and can play at left back or centre back. And at only 22 he's a good age and will probably gives us a couple of years before we sell him on at a profit. Another player we were linked to last year was Lucas Mendes at Marseille - a Brazilian who can also play at left back or centre back Rojo would be a sign of intent though

I'd be very surprised if we sign 2 players from Celtic - can't see us signing both Forster and Van Dijk - and of the 2 it is more likely to be Forster and we will have to over pay for him It also sounds like De Vrij and Koeman fell out at Feyenoord so I can't see him signing for us - he'll be off to a Man Utd I expect - and why would Vlaar leave Villa for us - they are arguably a bigger club than us and we're not the up and coming club we were 4 months ago I fully expect Fonte and a Yoshida to be our starting centre backs - with Caulker gone to QPR - and Hooiveod and Turnbull the back up on the bench I'd like to see us sign Guidetti, Castaignos and Redmond up front - but I think that's the level we are looking at - £5-7 million players in the main - a bit of youth pace and with a sell on value in a couple if years I fully expect Sharp and Mayuka to go out on loan I think we've been burnt by signing players like Gaston and Osvaldo - both of whom we'll lose a lot of money on when the leave this summer I'd like us to bring in some of the bright young talent from South America - U21 players from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Argentina - before another European team beats us to it and their price trebles after a season or two over here - players like Manuel Lanzini and Luciano Vietto - and send them on loan to a club in Holland or Spain if we have to for a year or so. It's how clubs like Porto survive

If anything tomorrow will be the day we sell Lovren

I'm not sure Gaston Ramirez will be back at St Mary's as I expect he will be agitating for a move back to Italy - a bit like Osvaldo. And it's a bit too early to be. Punting od Rodriguez - even if he does stay until January. I also have a feeling we won't be seeing Morgan or Lovren in a Saints shirt again - for pretty much the same reasons - both of them will force through transfers to bigger clubs . Our starting 11 looks pretty weak right now: Tadic. Pelle/Gallagher. Isgrove/McQueen Davis/Reed Wanyama. Cork/Ward-Prowse. Targett. Hooiveld/Yoshida. Fonte. Clyne/Chambers Boruc/Davis We need to bring another 2 if not 3 players this week - and another 2 or 3 the week after if we are going to have a good start this season - and I think we are going to need one. We need at least 1 more left back, another striker with pace and at least one more winger attacking midfielder.

I thought someone said we'd learnt from our mstakes

That's pretty much the kit worn by Monaco most years - and FC Utrechts Hummel kit last year

Advert or no advert the way he has behaved has left a bad taste in the mouth. The way Lallana , Pochettino and Lambert have behaved clearly shows the club can be bullied by the manager, players and another club like Liverpool - and I fully expect Schneiderlin and Lovren to leave in the same way now. Without Sharez Liverpool were no better than us last season - probably worse - but how will you feel when they finish in the top 4 again this season with 3 of our players in their team - whereas we'll be bottom half at best, possibly in a relegation battle unless things change dramatically between now and the start of the season. We will be an embarrassment if 3 of our players end up at Liverpool - and we are already a joke - which club started the World Cup with 3 England players and finished with none? And it could well be all 7 players who went to the World Cup leave us this summer. Never have I cared so little for the England team. With last years squad and manager with a couiple of additions we really could have been contenders this season - for the top 4 and maybe a even a cup. I don't t really care about Lallana winning something with another club - or the fact he'll earn a lot more money when he's probably already earned more money than I'll ever see and I well paid. I wanted him to win something with Saints - and he was probably already the highest paid player the clubs ever had. I hope everythiing comes good - and the players we bring in this summer our better than the ones we are losing - and that we can strengthen the squad over last season as well - and we continue to move forward - and maybe even win something - but right now that looks a very big ask. How foolish do we look now singing that Saints were off to Brazil last season!? And what example does it set for our much heralded academy graduates - the departure of Shaw and Lallana - make the first team, throw your toys out the pram and move on as soon as you can. What's the point of trying to compete? It seems the football world - the press particularly - are determined we can't. I have never seen a team dismantled so thoroughly by the media. Hopefully in a months time when we've signed Tadic, Pelle, Van Dijk, Rojos and Witsel to replace the players we've lost and added Caulker, Rodwell, Ings, Clasie, Martins-Indi, Firminio and De Vrij to give us the depth we need - I feel a whole lot better. And when they all gel spectacularly and we finally win something at the end of next season I'll laugh about all this - but that is very very unlikely isn't it. You have to ask what's the point? Now I know it's not all Lallana's fault - but he is very much part of the problem.

Can we ban him? After all he seems to be acting as little more than an agent for the so called big clubs! Crap England manager as well! I mean what idiot thinks Smalling, Jones, Milner, and Johnson are international class footballers!?

Sounds like Lallana didn't give up his loyalty bonuses too me - hence the reduced cut Bournemouth are getting. They are right ways and wrong ways to leave a club and Lallana has gone about it very badly. He should have kept his mouth shut - instead of leaking stuff to journalists - waited until after the World Cup, handed in a transfer request, said he wanted to play champions league and keep his England place - and lef it at that. At his age we could all of understood that - even if we didn't like it. To be honest I am fairly disappointed with all three of our England boys - Lambert, Lallana and Shaw - all of them should have kept quiet until after he World Cup and waited for their 'big move' to happen when the one is right - Lambert included. Lallana's comments about Liverpool and wanting to play for them last season - and their style fantastic style of play are particularly grating. Without Suarez Saints were arguably a better team than Liverpool - playing pretty much the same way. I hope Liverpool struggle this season once Suarez leaves - and with Gerrard well past his best. But then I never liked them for all the glory hunters at school in the 80s who supported them - then switched to man Utd, arsenal or Chelski. I hope with those three gone that's the end of it - but I have a horrible feeling Morgan and Lovren will follow them out of the club. To add insult to injury we'll probably be stuck with Osvaldo and Gaston too!

Just saying Koeman signed Ever Banega for Valencia from Boca Juniors and John Guidetti on loan from Man Citeh for Feyenrood.

Swansea have said Bony isn't for sale - and he'd probably cost double the £12 million thy paid for him. Luc Castaignos - the player they are signing from Twente for £6.5 million is the kind of player we should be signing. Young international striker with a great expectations of him.

We don't need a direct replacement for Lambert - who's really a second striker - we need a centre forward Luc Castaignos at FC Twente is valued a £4 million supposedly. Alfred Finnbogasson would probably cost us a bit more but he would be another Either Guidetti or Borini would be good to add some strength in depth upfront as well I'd love Romelu Lukaku - but I would guess we could only afford him on loan if at all I'm more worried about how we'd replace Lallana if he left

Moyes and Remi Garde?