david in sweden

Agreed, but it'll be RK who decides his future (with Saints or elsewhere).....time will tell.

Ouch ! ..are you, by any chance, studying to become a surgeon, Ludwig?

makes you wonder just how many we are going to sign, but at least RK is getting a good look at everyone. Three friendlies (so far) and 24 players have had at least 45 mins. each Any clues to new numbers? well ..Jack Cork has started all three occasions and worn 4, and JWP has had the 10 shirt. Sam G. has used 19, and Billy Sharp 20 . Matt Target has had no. 3 and Pelle 9 (twice). OK...it probably doesn't mean anything, BUT as everyone else is having ago...here my contribution. ..as for goalies. The name list isn't so long ....and fairly predictable, but with Dave Watson as goalie coach should we add John Ruddy to the list? LB.......I've got a feeling that Matt Targett may get a few starts in the Prem., before RK brings in another more experienced foreigner. CB ...I'm sure we haven't seen the last Dutchman signed yet ..maybe van Dijk. or couldn't be Ron Vlaar??? (sorry - I'm not convinced about Caulker). M..... with the line-up we have already (Steve Davis, Wanyama, Cork, JWP, and Mc Queen and Reed on the horizon ...and of course Ramirez)....maybe the answer to that one is already.. Tadic. Striker....Of course we already have Pelle...but, how I'd love to see John Guidetti come in. (Swedes follow his career so eagerly )...and the proverbial Sam Ings saga ...?? not long to wait now. By the time we've played Brighton AND Bournemouth, I expect to see most of the answers.

never going to become first-choice again, but a good sub. in emergency situations. Good for another season. Brave and tough - if only his goals for tally outweighed hos OG's a bit more, he'd be better thought of by many.

it's obvious that club owners whose ego is even bigger than their bank balance spend huge amounts on transfer fees and as much on salaries.(£25 m. for Lallana PLUS 5 yrs x 100K week is another £25 m.) ......but in business you normally look for a return of investment and I doubt if even winning CL would recoup the long term cost of long contract salaries for some of these clubs...... looking at the enormous outlay at Spuds last summer (£85 m. in for Bale and £106 m. out for 7 new players) most of whom did little to improve that side will mean that it looks like MP will only get petty cash to buy new players whilst Daniel Levy will expect him to " make the best " out of the squad he has already....good luck, I say . He'll need it. The price of " being a big club " actually means being a big spender. Saints have as good a chance as any if we have good players / from the Academy) and can manage to keep them. Perhaps it's the difference between those young players who want to play every week, or get £100K week for sitting on the subs. bench.

it might be argued that IF MP had stayed, we would n't have seen the exodus of several leading players....now if he himself doesn't survive at Spuds, there may be lots of aggro from various sources, and questions about what might have been.......but perhaps not from those who have already moved elsewhere ......and are currently on £100K /week.

think we will see a lot of fresh faces in the next England game. Most of those who " failed " in Brazil will be doubtfuls when you consider it was our " second string " that drew 0-0 with the " mighty " Costa Rica ! Those who have finished their international careers were predictable, (Gerrard will be next).... but expect to see new some new recruits in preparation for Euro 2016. Roy still loves us... and a good run of results will mean he'll be back to look at our U21's every week

Steven Davis gets my vote for team captain.....50 or more (?) caps and captain for N.I. Forget their FIFA rating, he has more international experience than any other outfielder we have...very dependable..

I don't think that we can " assume " anything - especially that the Board has suddenly woken up to the fact that Lovren wants to / is leaving. According to Lovren himself, he told the Board he wanted a move back in May, so do we " assume " that they just ignored that outburst from a disgruntled player and forgotten about it ? - I think not ! If the scouting system is what we are led to believe and the media is telling the truth for once, we are " in " ...for Steven Caulker ...or Ron Vlaar ...or van Dijk from Celtic and goodness knows who else. Ever since Cortese took over there has been a policy of keeping quiet until all the paperwork has been completed - which is a lot more than just the player signing on the dotted line. ...and I don't think anyone has changed that ruling, and it's obvious from various interviews that Les Reed keeps his cards close to his chest...and won't give anything away too soon. ..with all due respect to you are many others on this board ...why do you think the SFC Board need to inform everyone on a day-to-day basis ? ....I wouldn't until the ink was dry on the contract.. and it also weakens your own bargaining position ......by letting other clubs know that we have an additional £20 million in the kitty. Bad business. If I had signed someone already, I'd say ......keep your mouth shut until we announce it ...(when it suits us) . Sell Lovren first (if thats the plan) and maybe pay only £10 millon for his replacement.

They certainly have a bigger ego than many clubs. Their ground has a larger capacity than ours....and their owners pay out bigger transfer fees than we do, (although they've always screwed us on deals) BUT a quick look at their trophy cupboard in the last 20-odd years doesn't show a lot of difference to ours - does it?.

well said MLG, it's obvious that this is a win-win situation and even with Luke's great career start there is no guarantee that he will fulfill his "supposed " potential,( although I hope he does). As for Schneiderlin....if he doesn't want to be at SMS - let him go, I say. He's given great service since coming as aan 18 y.o. and deserves to have been capped more by France. He is capable of CL football and should have the chance to play. Even a GREAT season for Saints might not see us in the top four and he'd have to wait another year before getting that (CL) chance. I always had him ear-marked for Arsenal, as I think he's perfect for Wenger style football BUT if he wants to go to Spuds innstead ....put another £5 million on the price.

....to be fair David Hirst had a good season with us, but his career ended with a bizarre pre-season training accident.

YES....let him join Spuds!

Vlaar...an option . I hope so. IMO....Even a " very inflated fee" would be a very good deal.

good joke, but my laugh was ironic. I think that inside Jos is a better player trying to get out, AND to be fair to him, some of those notorious own goals he was credited with weren't totally his fault. He won't become player of the season, but with RK's encouragement, we may see him making some sort of a positive contribution this season.

The hardest job for a new manager is adapting a formation to use the " existing star players ". Look at Torres move to Chelsea, and that ridiculous Andy Carroll transfer to Liverpool...and there were more. With £50 million in the bank ..and who knows ..possibly another £40 million in the offing, I should think that RK would be grinning from ear-to-ear at the prospect of having " his own brand new squad ". I think the " no more will leave " statements from LR, RK and RK were simply a smoke screen to reasurre the " bed-wetters " and an ideal chance to get shot of the " money hungry stars" who would only create a bad atmosphere in the dressing room by moaning about their ... " lost ambitions ". Players should be loyal to their team and we don't need bad apples who create disharmony. Those who want away, for whatever reasons, should go and we get players who want to play for our club, and not those who only " dream " of those greener fields in the north of England.

I'm waiting for the......... " Saints may have lost last season's big names, but this new team is sensational ....!

.....we may have been kind to him.... allowing him an interpreter to convey his managerial message all season. He may know his football, but even his Spanish phrases were becoming a bit banal. Out of a "professional interest"....(I've taught English in Sweden for 30 years) I was interested to hear him. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing to listen to him, and I quit after about 5 minutes. He may get some stick for bad results when the season starts, but his after-match press conferences may become an even more embarrassing time for Spuds.

YES. A lot of people (above) have made a valid statement about the stupidity of buying an already injured player who is still in rehab. I think some people maybe missing the real point. Gambling firms; William Hill and the like are huge investors in the media, TV ads, etc and the chance to create a new wager is helping " their clients " to make a new bet list. Who will Jay Rod be going to?. Hey listen, he may never leave, and if he does stay.....millions of pounds will be pocketed on a lost bet that was never a " likely deal " in the first place. The "gamblers " will say that's part of the fun, but it's a poor way to lose money.

....perhaps abroad....... helping to sell our name and create a new overseas fan base (?)....It may take a few years, but Man U and Liverpool 's name sells all over the World.

I know, but sometimes it feels like there ought to be another " oh ...why didn't we sign that player " thread .....for all the moaners.

obvious reply is : ....that's all right then, at least we've got until Christmas before the Board realise it and sack us, and think of all that huge compensation we'll get on our 5 year contracts ....

Smart observation Lighthouse, as some of our regular moaners seem to think the only people left at SMS are the groundsman and the tea-lady

Do I sense a bit pf panic setting in here Gary?, .......not that that's it's unusual at this time of the year. Some famous names on this board go into convulsions every July 2nd ....if we haven't signed at least 4 new players and predict doom. If we backtrack to the original Les Reed interview on the subject, he said we have an ongoing review of all our " potential target signings" long in advance and if some of those coincide with some of RKs favourites .that makes it easier. Of course the players concerned need to be happy to come to SFC, and have a perfect right to go elsewhere, or stay at their present club. We don't hold a pistol to their head (though it might not be a bad idea with one or two) ...and they're all (supposedly) adult enough to make their own decisions if they choose not to come. I'm sure that a week or so of training and a couple of friendly games has helped the situation on a bit, and RK &Co. will have decided who he wants to keep and who he doesn't mind letting go / ignoring. I go along with the CB comment and particularly ...the goalie ( a position I have been concerned about since our return to the Prem.) however, I expect to see a couple more new names before the end of the month......and even one or two before the season really starts. NOTE: All new players don't necessarily start game 1, especially if they haven't had a Saints'-style pre-season ...... Having watched /listened to a number of fairly reputable agents (there are some ) state that a transfer - even when the player is willing to come - can often take weeks rather than days to complete. Saints' policy of not disclosing information until the ink is dry on the contract does mean we wait a bit longer before announcing new transfers, rather that the "other method " favoured by some Prem. managers ....of conducting the agreement via the media, and they tend to look a bit silly when it all goes wrong at the last minute. Of course, RK may have " discovered " more Academy talent that he intends to use ...and if they are anywhere near the standard of ; JWP, Chambers or Shaw ...then we'll have saved quite a bit of money in the long run.

At least you are polite in asking Tom. It's an idiosyncrasy of mine I know, but I write a lot (elsewhere) ...however, I'm certainly not the only person to use alternative font sizes, smilies or bold type. Bold type I often use, when referring back to someone else's comment, or where I have " raised my voice " to put more emphasis on a word / phrase. Italics whenever I repeat someone elses' quote, or give extra comment /info). by the way..why don't you post more, it's always good to hear other opinions, as some people (apparantly) seem have enormous amounts of time and post interminably.