MerceSaint28

Firstly i felt the need to chip in over the Lambert comments. Ricky is a fantastic player, technically excellent, great strength, good in the air, great finisher and will be a top top player in the champ this year. Anyone who says otherwise knows nothing about football...had he had pace in his locker, he would of been a Prem player for sure. Secondly, sad to hear the news about Billy and i genuinely think both he and Donny will regret not going to us as it looks like it could cost him his big move. Thirdly as this is thread is about incoming bids, i imagine the Oxo deal has been agreed, hence the large bids coming in...hopefully we can spend a large chunk of it before he leaves and everyone puts their prices up. The requirements before Oxo was going to leave were a Centre half and a striker, does this now mean we need another winger?...that would be 3 players

Sorry guys i completely disagree...Seabourne is a League 1 player and will be well out of his depth in the Championship. With regards to pace, he is relatively quick but still got caught by CMS with a 5 yard start...he was utterly inept in that game and there is nothing in his performances thus far that makes me think he can be a decent player for us. The fact that he plays shows the weaknesses we have at the back...should be sold in my opinion With regards to Redknapp...im not the biggest fan myself but the old adage is "you can't polish a turd" and that unfortunately was how bad some of the squad was. He said i couldn't give some of these boys away and he was right. I remember Saints had about 4 right backs at the club and they were all crap. So he was just saying the plain honest truth im afraid... Annoys me about some Saints fans...sometimes you have to see the flaws in your own squad and centre half is a massive one. You can be sure that SeaSpunk will be targeted by Leeds tommorow. Saints are still 2-3 players light, that much is obvious...it will be the difference between mid table and a play off push

Pretty dissapointed with our failure to get deals done to be honest..... Billy Sharp - couldn't agree terms.... Jemal - couldn't agree terms... not saying we ahould give in but come on....2 players in before the first game is a poor return considering we have had over 3 months since we have been promoted... Starting to getting annoyed....happy to pay your extra ticket costs saints, but get some quality players in please...my ROI is not good considering we are watching a league 1 team again this season shame as we are 2-3 players from being a play off team

Pretty excited about the season...i still don't buy the old line...let's see where we go this season and we will be better equipped in a year blah blah I feel we have a good team and a few more quality additions and we will be a real threat. Fortunately it looks like Jemal is coming in and that is great news but unlike Clarke, i feel we must get another quality striker. We were going to splash £3.2 mill on Sharp so clearly a striker is on the radar, i just hope we have other targets set up. I don't see how people are so relaxed about having the same strike force as last season. Connolly cannot be relied upon, news about Barnard and maybe going in the nick is rife and Forte is never a striker, ditto Do prado. If we can get another quality striker in as well as Jemal, i will be really happy and feel we can do well (TOP 6)...without a striker addition i think we are looking at top 10-12. Come on Saints fans...don't just accept mediocrity...we are so close to filling all the pieces but a defender is alone is not enough

http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...26prmd%3Divnso Be nice if this saga can finally end today...apparantly he has been training with us for a few weeks closed doors

Looks like he might be a Saint pretty soon http://www.topnet.tn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15276&catid=6&Itemid=177

I think what people are forgetting is that a lot of scouting and reseraching has been done in order to choose Jemmal. He has been linked with some big clubs and is obviously a good player. We are clearly after a left footed centre half to compliment Fonte and one which can play from the back is the requirement. Does anyone know how long work permits take to come through?

Guys we are in a good place but lets not get carried away. The point about quality is still valid.... I am one who thinks we still need 2 more signings...a centre half and another striker. If we get 2 quality players in these positions i will be more than happy to harp about our quality. If you are objective, we have a decent keeper, fairly average at full back position if the truth be told...certainly lacking pace. Centre half, we have one outstanding centre half in Fonte, Jaidi is a good back up, Seabourne is poor, Martin is a good youngster who needs a short loan and games. Midfield we are very strong, provided Holmes doesn't break down as usual, he is decent cover and the addition of Cork and De Ridder looks fantastic business. Up front we have strength and some good strikers...although Connolly has a horrible injury record. Forte is a winger and therefore the argument over lack of pace is still valid. If we can get Jamel in and a new striker and off load Seabourne, Mills and Puncheon....i will feel we can make a strong impact on the league. We are still a little short at present....let's hope this changes soon

Sorry guys got to tell you...i went drinking in Fulham on friday night as i live up in the smoke. Went to a bar called Marimoto...got there pretty cut and ran into none other than George Burley...obviously had a massive drunken chat with him...didnt used to like him as i felt he blew £7mill on carp players...derided him for getting rid of Fuller and get BWP...he said Fuller had a bad knee...looks pretty good to me...also he said Rudi never adjusted to the English game...too quick for him...he tried to claim some appreciation over Bale although said he was always going to be a top player...blah...he got on well with Lowe although he knew the fans hated him Apparantly he lived in London the whole time he was Saints boss...he is such a booze hound...he was there on his own anyway ended doing shots with him at the bar for a good hour until i decided to leave to chase the fluff elswhere... Annoyingly got a soft spot for old George now...not because he was any good...he was ordinary at best but nice guy

Don't think it will have an effect on the Jamal deal at all. Signings don't just happen on a wimb, just because QPR have a bit part player they want to give us to reduce the fee. Our signings have been scouted and done over time...clearly Jamal is the guy who we have been after. Adkins wants to play a certain way ie passing football therefore needs the players to do that. On the subject of Jamal and his FB page...i find it hard to beleive that someone would go throught the process of replicating his page just for a rumour...definitely looks like he is close to signing...normally work permits take 2-3 business days at least...would of thought we would hear something today

I think we can debate this until we are blue in the face....personally i agree with the Kracken and feel we have a good squad but we need 2 real quality additions at least...3 if Alex goes.. My problem as i have stated before is the lack of ambition of some of our fans...which to be fair is a result of years of mediocrity...but my spin is this... We have a good squad...we all agree on that??...so why would we wait a year before making more of a dent on market in order to get promoted as some of you think? Surely we ride the momentum now...Alex has pinned his colours to the mast that he wants to leave...for me it is important we spend good money on 3 players before he leaves and clubs try to take us for a ride on transfers...surely we have got a contingency plan if he wants to leave... In terms of the players themselves...the British market is so inflated...i really would be happy to get a few foreign internationals from abroad and i think that is where the value is. It seems there could be something in this Tunisian link...so maybe that is the centre half... Well 2 in the building by saturday was the shout...no surprise to see it being thursday and no signings yet...fingers crossed

Also looks pretty athletic and quick from this footage

Interesting he was looked at by prem teams and is left sided centre half and can play LB....could be some legs in this one...lets hope so http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/06/23/2544132/young-boys-defender-ammar-jemal-attracting-interest-from-english-

Marvin Sordell linked on football rumours....probably highly inaccurate... Completely agree about getting a foreign lad in....£2-3 mill on the continent will get you a proven International striker from a top 50 in the world nation...whereas £3mill in England gets you Billy Sharp....enough said Can't help hoping our much famed scouting network will turn up a couple of gems...i see no value in the domestic transfer scene right now...

If AOC goes...we will need to get a quality right winger in that is for sure...Holmes hopefully will be a good squad player but with his injury record, he cannot be relied upon. As it stands we are going to lose Puncheon, Mills and possibly AOC...we need another commanding centre half (Seabourne is not good enough), Pacey striker and right winger (if AOC goes)... I can't beleive that Adkins and Cortese won't have the AOC situation under control, so im sure if he is gonna go we have replacements lined up...we shall see, just hope it is sorted out the sooner the better as Arsenal have done everything in their power to unsettle the lad

Clarke we do in essence have a Championship club i agree...Lallana, Fonte, Chamberlain, Lambert and maybe Scheniderlain would walk into any team in the Champ, that much is obvious. However we all know it is best squad depth...and overall quality. An outsider would argue that Chaplow was Preston reserve and they got relegated...doubts still surround our captain (who i think should be replaced by Fonte btw) Centre half is still a problem as i have no desire to see Seabourne get dry humped by a player like CMS next season...etc..i still agree that we pretty much have a Champ squad and Cork was a very solid addition. My worry is that we are a little over 2 weeks to the start of the season and we are probably at least 2 new signings light...fine if they are in the pipeline then great...will be lovely to have them by saturday. I will however be mortified if we sign someone akin to Mellor...i really hope this is a massive understanding because expecting us to pay £500 plus to watch a team with someone like Mellor in the side is a disgrace. He is a failed League 1 player, over-weight and not in line with where the club is going surely? Im not saying we should sign Maynard because frankly i think the money being talked about for the kid is crazy...i would like to see this scouting network we have come up with something though...it would confuse me massively if having been prepared to spend £3 mill on Sharp we go for a cheap option... Anyway let's see what this week brings...if we have a quality centre half for Fonte and a pacey forward with an eye for goal by the end of the week im sure i will be feeling far more optimistic about our chances of success this season

Sorry Clarke i agree that we have a good squad and are a "team"...that does not mean that we can afford to rest on our laurels and make no improvements... We are playing in the league above with significantly better teams to what we are used to. If we were in League 1 i would argue that we wouldn't need any signings but we are trying to get to the Premiership now. If you are so deluded you think that a strong League 1 squad is good enough to canter into the play offs...you are wrong. For me it is all about expectations...we have been told that we want to be a promotion contender...well that is currently not reflected in the transfer activity we are seeing as we are painfully inactive. I am not asking for an overhaul...just 3-4 players who can come in and improve the team. I think you will find that the best teams in the world improve their squads each year...you can't afford to stand still in football. Lets look at it....Puncheon will go for around a million, as will fish mills and Gobern has gone...we signed Cork for around a million but we will get that back from the Puncheon deal. I am only frustrated because yes we are a good squad but even the most optimistic fan knows that the current squad is mid-table at best...however 2-3 more key signings and i think we would be a strong contender...i can't beleive some fans are happy to walk into a division with teams like Leicester, West Ham and Birmingham with a league 1 squad...madness "we don't know how lucky we have it"...you say....well i say yet another Saints fan happy with mediocrity....yes we have had a terrible last 6 years that doesn't mean we can't expect better in the future. The club are lucky that they will have around 26,000 capacity to watch their team every week, which shows how big the support base is and just think...excite the fans for once with a big signing and expect to sell more season tickets....simple economics

Okay well im pleased to hear that we are going to get some players in but i wait to see the level of quality.... Worries me when Blackpool are signing players like this http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2015802/Blackpool-set-sign-Mame-Biram-Diouf-Barry-Ferguson.html?ITO=1490 and we are being linked to filth like Mellor....if we sign Mellor that is a sign we are not serious about promotion and are just making up the numbers...why are we need in for a player like Diouf....? Im sorry i love adkins and the boys but unless we seriously pull our finger out on the transfer front, this season is going to be a big dissapointment...

That is my point Dell Days...you sum up most Saints fans....happy with a top half finish... Reality of the situation is Fonte and Lambert were bought over 18 months ago...yes they are on good wages as is Lallana but we have 23,000 ave gate so we should be signing decent players. Cork is a good addition but one player alone is nowhere near enough...i just feel with the talent we have in the squad, the manager, coupled with a few more top drawer players we could really have a good go of it this year...why wait??? That is what i don't understand....unfortunately good footballers cost money, there are rarely short cuts....it's sh*t or get off the pot time...i would just like us to make a statement with a few quality players and really go for it. More bums on seats if we spent a few bob as well...just don't understand Saints ambitions this season judging on our lack of signings thus far

I have faith in the squad...but even the best teams look to improve. You don't see Barcelona resting on their laurels... Realistically the squad we have and taking into the other teams in a very tough division...we are only going to be mid-table and maybe a play off with some luck. I just feel if we have the finances avaialable and the vision, why would you not want to propel the club forward and buy a few more players who can make us a promotion contender. I think a lot of saints fans are afraid of success or just have had so many years of mediocrity that they would probably be happy with mid-table. Norwich are the obvious blue print...however they still brought in 5 players... I like our team, we have an excellent manager and very decent squad but lets not be fooled...we are 2/3 quality players from making a dent on the promotion race. Jaidi is a good reserve, Martin is one to nurture for the future and Seabourne is not good enough and should be sold...another CB is vital. Up top we are clearly looking for a striker...£3.2 mill for Sharp was steep IMO but i want us to spend a similar amount on another striker as we can't just keep a League 1 strike force. As i have previously said...we are being charged a significant increase in ticket prices and therefore i want that reflected in the quality of player on the pitch. Im not panicking but if we want to achieve back to promotions...we will not be able to it with the current squad...just not strong enough

God this forum has gone to the dogs...nothing to read here for days... Don't any of you useless half wits know anything?....alas my frustration is clearly building.... I am happy that nothing Mellor wise has been mentioned in the press...that would an abomination of a transfer and fly in the face of the vision Cortese set up for the club. Surely after bidding £3.2 mill on a striker you don't sign a fat scouser.... And no one give me the line he would be back up for Ricky as we have Guly who can do that... What i want to know is....where is this scouting network we have in place?...Cork is so well known you don't need to be a scout to know he is a good player. Im pretty disspointed...no one has been unearthed this summer considering we have had this in place for year and a half. I think we need still clearly need a towering centre half and a speedy striker at least...another winger would certainly not go amiss but that is not a neccesity. 3 weeks to go until the season starts...we leave our shopping late yet again...

He is an A hole end of...someone needs to leave some sort of dirty protest on his car if he does move to the filth

Dammit....Leicester in talks with Peltier according Sky Sports News.....cracking player, would of been great at Saints Despite what some of you clueless wallies think (i mean you Shurlock) Looks like the top 10 teams are all fighting over the best players....interesting to see what Nicola is prepared to do...

Agreed I was going to say add Pilkington to the list if we lost Alex, if we kept him I think those signings might be enough. But there would be no silly wages there and hungry players who I think would make us a play off team.

Okay here are the players I want for us this season. Realistic and I think would really push us on Pearce from Bournemouth approximate 750k- natural leader, young and would be excellent alongside fonte Peltier from Huddersfield approximate 1 mill - quality rb with pace, power and also can be play in a variety of positions Danns from Palace on a free - will be tough to sign as rangers and Celtic want him but is a quality box to box player, 8 goals from mid last season and would be perfect alongside Morgan Jennings from tranmere approximate 1-1.5 mill - excellent prospect and can play either wing, would be tough to sign as he is wanted by many teams but this is where nicola can earn his corn Emmanuel ledesma on a free - some would say this is bizarre but he is a quality player who has lost his way. He was outstanding against saints and can play anywhere in midfield. Excellent squad player, low wage, there is no down side just plenty of up side. Sam Baldock for approximate 900k - cracking busy little striker. He is fast, hard working and technically excellent, as well as being young. Would work very effectively amongst our strikers and provide competition for places Overall I think that would be an ideal window for me, thoughts???