Saint Pete

Oh dear Austin.

Great save - unlucky Austin.

Depends on whether we can put it in the net though, doesn't it? Suspect we will see lots of the ball and dominate for long periods, but will we have the firepower/cutting edge to turn that into goals? Based on last few games, I would expect it still to be a tight scoreline, although obviously hope we can find our scoring touch today!

JWP!!!!

We should have had 5 or 6 in this second half!

Cedric got to do better there!!

That's what Austin's on for

We need at least one of Rodriguez or Austin to come up trumps over the next few weeks given that Boufal unlikely to be available at full fitness for a while. Otherwise goals look hard to come by without Mane and Pelle. We also need Puel to put the team out in a way that suits our players. Will be interesting to see how long we persist with current formation.

Olympics were much more exciting.

This.

A striker who can't shoot?

I don't get why any of that should matter to us though? Fonte is our player, under contract, and if we don't want to sell him now, we don't have to, no matter what games the player, agents or other clubs want to play.

There's a difference between physical peak and overall peak as a player though in my opinion. You're saying Fonte is past his peak, but I assume you are basing that pretty much entirely on his age rather than his performances, which have been outstanding in the last year. Defending is not just about pace - this is a factor of course but it's also about experience, reading of the game positioning and tactical know-how. For that reason, I would say Fonte IS currently at the peak of his powers overall as a defender, as he demonstrated in the Euros. Regarding Ivanovic, he did have a poor season, but so did a lot of Chelsea's players - there were clearly other factors at play there! Would also note that both Ivanovic and Terry are both still first team starters under Conte, a man I would suggest who knows a thing or two about setting up a defence.

That's kind of a big IF though, isn't it? Defenders of the quality of Toby, VVD (and Fonte for that matter) who are within our price range for transfer fee/salary are pretty few and far between. At this stage of the window, and bearing in mind the dubious strength of our squad in other areas, I don't think it's a gamble we should be taking in this window to lose another one of our team leaders - even if the price is right.

Yeah, only one issue with that - Man U are not in the champions league.

It's really simple - we don't have to sell, we don't need the money. Tell him and any club enquiring he's not for sale in this window and that's it. At this stage of the window, we need to be fully focussed on incomings, and not even contemplating selling Fonte, a key part of the defensive solidity that we have based our success on in the last few seasons.

Never really been a fan of designating one particular preferred formation too rigidly - formation should be picked to get the best out of the players you have available, and should also be able to be adjusted according to opposition strength and tactics. Last year, I thought Koeman did this well by adjusting the formation when certain players were out of form or unfit, which helped turn around our form and start winning games again after a bad run. Bizarrely though, rumours were that some in the club were unhappy about this? Too early to really criticise of course and it may be proved that we will still operate more flexibly, but slightly concerned if we are putting all our eggs in the diamond shaped basket by getting all teams to play that way already.

Fair enough and hope you're right. Just think the stuff about Wanyama's attitude is a bit overplayed on here at times. He made some mistakes with a couple of the sending offs (at least one was unlucky as I recall), but overall he still did enough to play an important role in us finishing 6th. And we should have been good enough to beat the mighty Midtylland with or without Big Vic so think there were others at fault for our Europa exit as well!

Ah, the trashing of quality players as soon as they leave Saints - a SWF tradition if ever there was one. If you want to pick on individual Wanyama performances, what about home to Liverpool when he came on at half-time with us 2 down and getting mullered (a game Romeu started) and played huge part in turning it around. A result that played a pretty big part in us finishing ahead of Scousehampton last season. I like Romeu and think he's a wholehearted player who will no doubt get more chances to play this season, but if you you're saying he was as effective as Wanyama last season, you're kidding yourself.

Only time will tell I guess, but if the club's view regarding players who were previously considered as good backup or alternatives is that they are now good enough to be first choice and to keep us progressing as a team, doesn't that feel a little bit complacent? As we know, the Premier League is extremely competitive and arguably becoming more so with the extra TV deal money, so it's vital to keep striving to improve year on year if you are to stand a chance of even maintaining your position in the league. Undoubtedly, the club and management have done that superbly in the last few seasons, and they may well do the same again this season, as there is still time to strengthen the team before the window closes. It just concerns me a bit when some noises coming out of the club seem to suggest we can just promote players who were squad backup or had serious injury concerns last year to replace top class first team regulars like Mane and Wanyama - without any consequence to the strength of the team? That said, I still hope and expect there to be some additions to bolster our options before the end of the window, so that will be the time to make a meaningful assessment of where we are.

I'd say it's a little early for statements like that, but certainly hope you're right! Haven't seen enough of him yet to make any real judgement, but suspect he will be a different type of midfielder with different strengths? I don't see much evidence of a major "meltdown" this summer from saints fans, just a bit of natural concern at this stage that we look weaker as a squad than at the end of the season. As you say, I agree everyone needs to be patient and wait and see what we've got come the end of the window.

Yep, pretty much tallies with my thoughts at this point. I suspect we will sign a backup GK, creative No.10 type and possibly a RB before the window closes. Personally, I think if we added another striking option to that I'd be pretty happy, if still a little worried about loss of power in midfield, but as you say, can't see any more signings in that area. Hopefully the likes of JWP and Clasie will step up more this season given the opportunity.

Great news - nice one Ryan

Think we're all kind of assuming that the club are quite happy to take the offer for Pelle, rather than him demanding a move like some others who have left? Out of interest, does anyone know if the club made any kind of offer to Pelle to extend his Saints contract?

Thanks Graziano and good luck. Had difficult shoes to fill when he joined, but has done a great job over the last 2 seasons. I know he had his critics, but he showed again in the Euros what he can give to a team, so it seems kind of a shame that he won't be doing that in a top league any more - but of course can understand his reasons for moving on when you see the numbers quoted! Still don't feel over comfortable if we are not looking to get another striker to add to squad in his absence, but maybe Austin and/or Jay Rod will get fully fit and find form that they couldn't last season. Seems a bit of a gamble though and may put a lot more pressure on Long, who will need breaks from the first team with the extra Europa games.