Lallana's Left Peg

The biggest statement they can make is the state of the squad at the start of September. And as others have said, any written statement they now make will be worthless as all they've done since May is lie so why would anyone believe them?

I never really thought he'd hang about too long if things went wobbly because he is just far better than anyone else in that back line. £20m is great money for him however now the pressure is on to find a real leader and quality central defender and that is where I worry - can our current Board get a deal done for one?

He also believes that the number of players leaving could have been quelled with stronger leadership as well. But some people on here refuse to believe that the moment a bigger team wants a player he always leaves.

Yep, good news that the players who seem to care are the ones we're messing about with contract offers. Fills me with confidence.

Neither. He's probably as annoyed as the rest of us.

I think you'll be surprised. I think he has an input but not the final say. I believe Mr Reed is very taken with his newfound power.

A club that pays U18 players £20k a week, I'll file this one under 'talking bull****'.

He isn't the decision maker. I've no doubt he can make recommendations and have input. But I don't think every player signed will be one he targets specifically, no.

With £85m raised from player sales this summer I'd say we're doing just fine on the FFP front.

How can anyone trust them? They haven't done anything thus far that is trustworthy. They can redeem themselves by signing good players and the club finishing mid-table. I don't rate our chances of achieving either right now.

Why - every time they've opened their mouth since May it's been a lie, so I'd rather they say nothing at all than take the ****.

I still think we've made it too easy for players to leave and cannot believe we have not signed replacements and / or players before we let our own leave as well - I bet clubs are quoting us all sorts of silly fees which will be wiping the smug grin off the faces of those involved in selling players for big fees earlier this summer.

Be interesting to learn if it is the same ligament he damaged against Reading in December 2012. Anyone know?

If in the space of 3 months we went from finishing 8th in the Premier League to then being a club that relied on other clubs to provide talent for us on loan which we then develop for no long-term benefit of our club I'd be raging.

Would not associate the squad with Koeman as he clearly isn't responsible for signing or selling players.

I don't think it is asset stripping I just think it is a bunch of inexperienced people making big decisions and being a bit out of their depth. They will face the consequences of their decisions in time.

Clubs with financial clout are getting deals done. We should be one of them at the level we now operate but we're finding it hard. I have no idea why but if we can't get deals done in our current situation it doesn't bode too well. Many of the deals you referenced were done very quickly after the World Cup finished, so I don't buy that they took a long time - the reason they did was the tournament many of the players were at rather than the process of the deal taking a while. We'll see what happens in the next six weeks.

The concern comes from an inexperienced Board now being challenged with replacing half the team and no track record of ever doing it successfully. We have one football man making all the decisions and the last time he saw an overhaul of a playing squad was at Fulham where he was an unmitigated disaster. So if people are worried it is not without foundation.

Then why are other clubs signing players with such ease? Can we not afford the players we're going after? Are we realising that when you sell players for big fees before you buy that you then have to pay more than you should for players as other clubs aren't stupid? Are we failing to attract players on a sporting level? As far as I am aware the club have never been richer or in a better position to attract players yet thus far all we've done is managed to 'back fill' two of our best players with two punts from Holland (which could be very good or very bad - no-one knows - but that is the gamble you take). There are 6 weeks left of course but the concern is how we haven't been able to use any leverage to get deals done when in theory we have a lot of money to spend. Lets see what happens.

He's a gonna apparently.

I think trying is the least the club can do given the sales thus far. The proof is in the pudding and getting signings over the line. I'm aware it can be hard but we've never had more money so if we can't get deals over the line then I suspect there is something up elsewhere. As always, the club have until the end of the window before I'll make conclusions but I'm concerned at their work thus far.

How is it obvious the club are doing their best? It's not clear to me that we either are or are not.

Why should he be quiet? It's getting to the point now where if I was Jack Cork I'd be telling the club to do one as I'm leaving on a free in 11 months time.

If, as the pre-season friendlies suggest, we are to play 4-3-3 this season with two wingers either side of a striker then I can see the attraction with Redmond. He's rapid and is definitely a winger. He is young and quite experienced as well. But he plays so stupidly. Every time he hangs onto the ball too long, or runs into a dead end, or cuts inside and shoots. It's infuriating. The Norwich strikers get stick but they had sod all created for them last season. Redmond is a selfish player who hasn't shown signs of learning. Now I agree that if he could be turned into a proper footballer he'd be dangerous indeed but when will the penny drop with him and how long would our supporters put up with his style of play when we've been used to a pass first team for a long time?

Forster would be good. Redmond on the other hand - no thanks.