LuckyNumber7

What a horribly negative lineup. Despite all the signings, we look weaker than last season imo.

We have an embarrassing lack of songs the last few years, especially for players. Che and KWP need one for starters but as a fanbase we don't seem to have any creativity any more. While watching the game last night I thought the Zinchenko chant would work well for Aribo.

1. Man City 2. Liverpool 3. Arsenal 4. Spurs 5. Chelsea 6. West Ham 7. Man Utd 8. Newcastle 9. Aston Villa 10. Crystal Palace 11. Wolves 12. Leicester 13. Brighton 14. Brentford 15 N Forest 16. Leeds 17. Everton 18. SAINTS 19. Fulham 20. Bournemouth We've signed a lot of players but arguably our starting eleven is no stronger than last season. Defence still looks very shaky and at the other end who the hell is getting the goals to keep us up? Not keen on the new formation either. My opinion may change if we sign a quality striker (and ideally creative player) but right now it's hard to see anything other than a long hard slog. The enthusiasm of youth can only get you so far.

Olaigbe with the last two goals here

I remember we were linked quite a lot with him a year or two ago, so I'm sure he was on our radar. Had probably gone beyond our reach though.

Yeah Ryan Kent is the one I'd have really liked from Rangers, but I guess he'd have his sights set higher than us. Very good player. As for Aribo, I'm not convinced he's better than what we've already got, although that bar isn't set very high at all! That said I thought he linked up quite well with KWP on the right against Klagenfurt, and I like that he adds a bit of physicality and presence to the team. Hopefully he can be a success here.

Except at the time we signed KWP the Spurs fans seemed happy for him to go as they didn't particularly rate him, so I don't think there was any real benefit for either club to make a big deal out of any buy back clause. Obviously he has developed into a quality player with us and it would be a shame to lose him for what feels like a relatively low fee. But it would still represent a good profit and this is our stated model so people should be used to it by now. If there is no buy back clause then I expect him to be sold next summer when he would have two years left on his contract, hopefully for a bigger fee than £30m.

He had a poor last few months of the season for sure (as everyone did), but he clearly has the ability and all the attributes to be a top defender. Pace, strength, good on the ball and his reading of the game is exceptional. He is still relatively young so will make some mistakes, but I expect him to up his game further this season. It's vital we tie him to a new contract so we get a proper fee for him when he inevitably moves on.

KWP is the only player in our squad I would be genuinely gutted to lose. With 3 years left on his contract he is surely worth every bit of £40m (at least) TO US, and if no club matches our valuation (whatever that may be) he won't be sold. Wan-Bissaka was sold for £50m with relatively little experience a few years ago and I don't think it's a stretch to say KWP is better. Regardless, the suggestion of a £10-15m fee is absolutely laughable, why on earth would we sell him for that? I'd like to think he'll give us one more season and then probably go for fairly big bucks next summer assuming he doesn't sign a new contract.

Heard Alex Crook (I know) on Talksport earlier talking about the Aribo signing, he said he was fascinated by the Saints 'project' and has been told there will be 'many more' incomings. Personally think after Aribo we will surely get a striker. Then any further additions will be dependent on who we can shift.

Welcome Romeo! Seems like a nice grounded lad, hope he has a long and successful career at Saints.

Agreed, he's never looked anything more than 'ok' when I've watched Rangers, I'm not convinced he's much better than what we have and seems to lack pace which we are crying out for. On the plus side it's nice that we're signing someone who hasn't just got out of nappies and the Rangers fans who see him every week seem to rate him highly but then Moi also looked good in the SPL. A fee of £6-10m means it's a relatively low risk gamble so I'm not opposed to the signing, just not too excited by it either.

As things stand I think we are almost nailed on for relegation so just staying up would be a success in my view. Of the squad that finished so appallingly last season we have lost our best striker and goalkeeper and only added a few kids who although highly rated, have very little experience of top level football. Now obviously that will change and we will sign more players but if we are basing our whole summer window around signing promising kids then we're in huge trouble. We need players who can come in and improve us instantly and we also appear to be severely lacking in the leadership department. I don't see a squad that is cut out for a tough relegation battle at the moment.

What the actual fuck is that? It's a shame as our kits last season were fantastic, especially the yellow and blue. Absolute monstrosities for this season.

I agree, personally think that shirt above is a disgusting mess.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/20207183.southampton-gas-works-st-marys-demolished-403-new-homes/

https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2022-02-12/southampton-fc-update-on-progress-of-the-new-big-screens-at-st-marys

I've been to Gdansk and saw the stadium from the plane, it is indeed very impressive.

Well that's really worked out for us the last five years! Since when has 22 PL goals been mediocre? Even 12 is a good return for a club like Saints. And his 7 goals last season were achieved in fewer minutes on the pitch than our two main strikers who scored 7 and 6. If he returned I'd be pretty confident, injury permitting, that he could score 10+ which is not to be sniffed at. Everyone always talks of needing a 15-20 goal striker but in reality that is only usually achieved by the top strikers in the league. For a decent fee and on a 2-3 year contract it would be a no brainer imo.

We know that if he can stay fit he is proven quality and fits our system. Is clearly better than any of our other forwards. For the right price I would have him back. I don't see a queue of quality strikers lining up to join us within our budget. Ideally we'd bring in two strikers this summer to replace Broja and Long/Armstrong. A bit of experience and known quantity in Ings, plus a younger striker probably from some foreign league would do nicely. I understand the concerns over his fitness but don't think he had too many injury problems last season, mainly just fell out of favour with Gerrard. It won't happen anyway so it's all academic.

If we are seriously offering Long another contract then my faith in Semmens and the new owners will be severely dented. At 35 he should be nowhere near a PL pitch, as shown at Bournemouth he's not even good enough for the Championship now. I honestly don't know what we are doing but the thought of McCarthy and Long both still being around the team next season is utterly depressing. Not even bashing Long, he's been a great servant for us but all he does now is come on for a few minutes and run around a bit and throw himself to the floor. He should have been released two years ago, by keeping him around when he's well past it all we're doing is tarnishing his memory here. I honestly can't believe we're not releasing him. What other PL club would have him?

Would be happy with any of Barkley, Traore and Diop.

Let's not forget he won Player of the Season under Koeman so whilst he's never been a prolific goal scorer, he has still been an important player for us. THAT Anfield goal, the goal against Villa and the record breaker at Watford are the obvious highlights. Well past it now and shouldn't be retained, but even this season he basically turned around that cup tie at Swansea. Not the most talented player we've ever had but has certainly made a contribution over the years. I wish him good luck at Reading or wherever else he ends up.

Yep spot on, it feels like there has been a disconnect between the fans and team for a long time now. It briefly improved when Ralph first arrived but clearly hasn't lasted. A terrible home record together with the high turnover of players over several years I feel has really affected the atmosphere and there is a significant feeling of apathy amongst the fanbase. I don't have a ST any more but it feels like a long time since I actually enjoyed going to games. I don't know what the answer is but something needs to be done.

I know very little about Dragowski but Johnstone is shite. Seems to make a howler every time I've watched him so not sure he's really any better than McCarthy.