Saint Fan CaM

Can't see this happening - we've got all the midfielders we could ever need.

I don't think Spiderman is going to be a first choice with the 4-3-3 we've adopted - Davis, Lallana and SWP are more likely. I agree Fox is 1st choice if we don't sign another LB - Shaw will not be ready this season.

Maybe you're right, however that was not my point. Do you think that replacing nearly half the first team is evolution or revolution? It's not a difficult question and there's no judgement in terms of right or wrong - just interested in considering the definition and consequences, not just for Saints but for any promoted team.

A real disappointment - I don't think he was given enough of a decent opportunity to show consistency in the team. He certainly gave defences something to think about instead of watching us fanny around with the ball in the final third taking one too many passes. As good a player as Guly IMO and look how much game time he's had. However, having said all that, I am reasonably confident that if he had shown more in training in terms of fitness etc, he would have featured more as a starter.

I think most supporters and commentators were of the opinion that we needed to improve the squad. It looks like finally we could be seeing this happen, however it strikes me that NA's previous mantra about "evolution not revolution" was perhaps a bit premature. The new 'starting 11' players could total eight if the rumours all come true...i.e. Defence: Clyne + a CB? + a LB? Midfield: Davis + new central midfielder? Strikers: JayRod + Ramirez + Another? First choice players from promotion team : KD, JH, AL, Lambert With the new faces being talked about it seems to me that the team will potentially see quite a revolution actually and it got me thinking then about how the spirit in the dressing room might be holding out in light of this. Hopefully, there's enough about NA and his backroom staff to keep the squad positive. Comments?

Reckon our interest in this guy was superficial to keep the Ramirez deal on the boil and finished quick.

Kinda sums up his performances on the pitch really. Hope the club take a dim view and drop him from the starting 11 as a result.

Guly was OK in the 1st have against Wigan and then just got worse in terms of a contribution to change the result. It's no good having a good % pass rate if they then all achieve the square root of F all. By contrast, Rodrigues had a largely anonamous game for the whole 90 minutes and was just useless, although I really cannot blame him entirely because he doesn't know how to fulfill the LM/winger role. Fox and Fonte are looking like being liabilities in defence too. Guly therefore, while frustrating, is by no means the biggest issue regarding quality in the team.

Very poor game from the start of the 2nd half onwards really. I don't think it's the formation at fault - it's (a) the overall quality of the players and (b) Adkins got the tactics completely wrong today. As others have said, JayRod on the left is not working and probably never will. Guly had a good 1st half and a shocker of a 2nd. Overall though, we looked like an OK Championship side up against a tough Prem side. Badly need some creativity in attack - far, far too laboured in build-up play. And yes, we really do need to sign some players that are above Championship level to raise the bar or we'll be cut adrift at the bottom well before Xmas.

Agree it will not define the season - in fact I think that could be said of any match for any team for that matter. The Prem is quite competitive this season IMO at the top end and at the bottom. I also agree with your comment on "winnable" and yet Wigan are a decent team.

Mmm, I have a horrible feeling leading into this that the players will be a bit overconfident and we'll receive a wake-up welcome to the Prem. Saints 1 - Wigan 3.

What a complete grade one **** you are. Always attacking other posters instead of offering your own opinions. Why you've not been banned from the site is beyond me - you've broken every rule in the book and still you get to post insults.

Fox - unfortunately there are times when you need to rely on players fulfilling their primary role adequately, especially when not under pressure and Fox completely let his teammates and the supporters down big time with his lovely little header back into the area. Beautiful set-up for Citeh's third - a striker couldn't have placed that ball better. Those kind of errors are the essential difference between a Prem player and a lower league player.

This has all the hallmarks of a deal not about to happen this side of ever. If Bologna really were cash-strapped, I can't see them not accepting the best terms we could offer. Looks like we're walking away from the deal now and if that's the case I can't see NC piddling around any longer. Real shame.

Others may not say, however I can tell you that the salary talked about for this guy are very much in the ball-park of the salaries commanded by the best players in our squad. I will not give details, but I am assured that a certain player had his wage more than tripled on reaching the Prem. Don't think our players are the poor boys among a bunch of well-heeled Prem stalwarts - they are doing OK thank you.

Would be awesome player to have among our current CB's, however his wage demands would probably be a problem I would imagine. I should think there's a 21year old foreign player just itching to play in the Prem in Serie A or similar.

Can't believe we would be in for another striker with the options we've got now. Ramirez and 1-2 CB's please and we're done.

I can't see us playing the same game that we played against City - we were rightly very cautious and Adkins tactics almost paid off completely. This is a home game that is very winnable, but we need to keep pressure on them and not sit back quite so much IMO. I would start with Lambert and Davis. If somehow the Ramirez deal comes off, then he will be a definate starter eventually but not next week - too soon. Still don't think JayRod is working on the left in terms of pushing forward, plus he isn't providing Fox with the cover he needs. Very excited about the game - hopefully our first Prem points.

Agree with all said so far - great commentary Tim. I was actually a bit shocked to see some of the poor displays, however we should not go into this league thinking that the first game of the season is indicative of the entire campaign and the performances therein. Some of the teams that looked poor yesterday will come good I suspect because they've got good players that adapt DESPITE their managers/coaches.

Err, so just how many of the 25 places in the squad have been taken up now? Davis, Gazza Clyne, Richardson, Fonte, Seaborne, Joss, Fox, Shaw (Buttner) Morgan, Guly, Davis, Hammond, Lallana, Chaplow, (Phillips) (Ramirez), Punch, Sharp, Lambert, Lee, JayRod I make that 22 or 23 if you include Buttner per the rumours? Who have I missed (nippers don't count)? If correct that leaves 2 spaces for CB's?

Wow - if that's not a statement of intent I don't know what is - bound to be a 1st team regular starter. However, will only believe it to be true when it's on the OS. Also, I'm still concerned that we've not signed a quality CB yet - that could ruin what otherwise could be a great 1st season back.

Rarely post on here - there's little time to take a breather from laughing at the excellent efforts of others to be honest. Anyway, some have mentioned BC liquidating the club, but surely it has nothing to do with BC? Surely liquidation is the sole decision of the Administrator who can pull the plug anytime he sees fit - i.e. when the money runs out???

It's a reasonable article to be fair.

I think Lallana's issue(s) are as much about the position he is being asked to play as about his basic ability. Same with JayRod. To have 2 players not performing to the top of their game is one thing, but add into the mix Lambert and pretty much 3/4 of our attacking capability is failing. This new system may be the way forward, but it's far too early to switch with the current players in the squad AND expect to suddenly start winning games. Having said all that, Lallana used to strike some impressive goals from outside the box - when did that get coached out of him? Rickie and Guly have hit some belters, but how often do we see that now? Simple fact is we don't have the pace through the middle of the field to allow such attacks to take place - it's always going out to the wings to either cross or cut-in. The prem opposition are going to be too quick and canny to allow us to gain advantage that way most of the time (as demonstrated by Udinese).

No time for sentimentality I'm afraid - Seaborne has had a good go at Saints but when I saw him pre-accident in games, he displayed an awful awareness and got turned inside out on many occasions. He also seemed to be very prone to hoofing the ball upfield - quite OK for a L1 outfit, but certainly no good for Prem. Regardless of who is in the squad now, we need 1-2 experienced Prem level CB's and this will be facilitated by Seaborne moving on.