Lallana's Left Peg

It does have an impact, but it happens to all U23 and U18 teams so isn't a difference maker. Our coaching and talent is clearly a problem. Don't score goals, concede too many, and play badly as well. It's just rotten. EDIT: I do think we have some talented players, but no more than a handful and the moment they are injured or are training with the first team the lack of depth, and lack of quality of depth, really exposes us and we're whipping boys.

B Team playing WBA at home and two down at HT. Conceded the first after 2mins, and the second on the stroke of HT. Something is going catastrophically wrong and given how blunt Crocker was in the summer about fixing it whatever has been attempted hasn't worked.

Yeah not great but this is one of my fondest away days: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7565074.stm Svensson and the kids playing a team off the park - was never going to end well over the course of a season but very satisfying to see our youth players do so well and have so many of them in the team.

Terrible at football though.

But as others said, he was spending a billionnaires money without a need to balance the books outside other regulations. It was easier to convince players to stay when you had the money to back up the ambition - either by new signings or new contracts.

Any idea what the PA of Small and Livramento will be in the upcoming seasons DB? Assume they are still set by the Everton and Chelsea researchers respectively regardless?

When it comes to keepers the best way to judge someone is if they'd start for another team in your division. Would McCarthy? Not for me.

His threatening words after West Ham last season appear to either indicate he's incapable of addressing the issue despite recognising it or the players aren't reacting to his coaching. Either way it reflects badly on on him. A reminder:

We don't know what Salisu's ceiling is, I am pretty sure we now experience Bednarek's - the issue is our team is so chaotic that we need very good centre halves to deal with all thrown their way and when we don't we concede the amount of goals we did last season. I feel sorry for our CB's in some respects, but in others you always get the feeling that a very good CB would make a world of difference.

When it comes to throw ins I think it would be less painful for all if we just agreed to throw it straight to the opposition and get on with things rather than wait 20 seconds and do it anyway after some half arsed attempt at movement and keeping possession from them.

Nat Phillips not in Liverpool training pictures today...

Sell all day long. We'll miss his passing out of the back more than we will his defending. Considering he's got a year left on his deal and wasn't going to sign a new deal, to end up being able to replace him with someone of not far off the same quality and have that player for the next 4 - 5 years is a good move for us. The emergence of Salisu has helped this to happen too.

On the basis Kepa remains their #2, I assume not.

An interesting dynamic to Ings leaving and Armstrong arriving is how it trusts Adams as our senior striker. I often felt that when Adams didn't have Ings as his partner he stepped up in his all round game (leading the line, holding the ball up etc.). There is definitely more to come from Adams and I wonder if the need for him to step up will now suit him.

We don't need players in Oxlade-Chamberlains position and he would be an expensive loan. Better than what we have got but we need a striker and a defensive midfielder. Bit concerning that we're linked as it makes me wonder if we're about to sell JWP (which then makes AOC affordable)?

I don't think its as clear cut as having a deal lined up for a replacement the moment Villa moved for Ings. I do think it would be normal and sensible to be kept abreast of the market so that in the eventuality Ings went (for whatever money) we knew what we might do. I assume the club have done this and feel confident we can retain our status in the league so gave the Ings deal the green light. Whilst its hard to know what is true and what is not in the media, it doesn't appear on the face of it that the club has been able to act swiftly after Ings' departure which again suggests to me we aren't as sure about things as I might otherwise hope we would be after selling our best player. Right now we're less than a week from the start of the new season and have one of the worst strike forces in the league and have to hope that one of the most porous defenses last season has got better. It doesn't exactly fill you with confidence, does it? EDIT - to add to this, signing a kid on loan from Chelsea is the sort of thing you normally see from Championship clubs or promoted teams, not one that has been back in the Premier League nearly a decade now. Alarm bells should be ringing. And I would love for him to be brilliant, but the odds are that he isn't right now.

The decision to sell Ings for such a good fee should have only happened if they are sure they can purchase players to replace him and retain our presence in the league. If the club sold him without knowing who they could realistically get in then it is a massive risk that means the fee is less attractive to me. If Ings had no intention of signing then £30m sounds good in principle but if we end up signing players who between them cannot replace his goals then the club is likely relegated. I'll decide on whether or not the Ings deal was good firstly on 1st September, and then with hindsight at the end of next May. As for the overall criticism it is entirely probable that both Semmens et al are doing a good job and the club is decaying can both be true. The club heading in one direction is no criticism of our board when you consider they are playing in a rich mans playground with no money. Gao needs to find a solution quickly.

Bye bye Premier League 👋

I think its even worse than that in terms of the way things are trending: Light Years Away Forget About It Man City Man Utd Chelsea Liverpool Spurs Arsenal Too Big / Too Rich (either by size and / or investment from owners) Everton Leeds Aston Villa Leicester In & Around Us But More Means Wolves Brighton Crystal Palace West Ham Hopeless Praying On Muck Coming Up Saints Newcastle Burnley Promoted Clubs - Wilcards But Likely Crap Watford Norwich Brentford We're really only a couple of promoted clubs getting their act together or Newcastle waking up to being back to where we were most of my life - but back then there was always a clutch of teams fighting it out each season but those above us will simply leave us stranded because of the investment they get while we decay.

Negatives Best player gone Vestergaard still not signed a new deal (or been sold) Operating in bargain bin and club has said as much Team has very little goal threat League is very much becoming a playground we can't afford to play in Absolutely nothing about a takeover which means the club is heading only one way Positives We're so broke and so desperate we're genuinely attractive to 18 year olds in big clubs as they know they will get gametime Signed a left back (still one short) Some takeovers come out of the blue, but I really am clutching at straws here

Not for top half clubs in the richest league in the world. Shows the trajectory of our club right now.

Which is exactly why they are more attractive. This league is slowly becoming a playground we're too poor to play in.

Two sides of this deal for me. The first side is that on the face of it £28m (after the £2m we give Liverpool) for a player who may otherwise walk free next summer is decent, and I presume the brain trust at the club have a clear idea of what to do with the money. The other side is that he has decided that Aston Villa have more to offer him - both monetary and on the field - and both equate to ambition no matter what you think - and that serves as a reminder as to the long term prospects Southampton have right now under the current ownership. It's another reminder that the club is slowly decaying no matter what anyone says. There is no way we buy anyone as good as Ings with the money either, so next season will be challenging up front.

Man City nab one of our top prospects: At least I assume he was a top prospect if Man City want him. A big blow for our Academy that.

We're very skint, that's why we operate around the £10m for signings and no-one of any interest to any other club signs a new deal with us. £10m is peanuts in the Premier League. As a way of comparison: 1. It got Aston Villa one season of Ross Barkley 2. It's a quarter of what Manchester United spent on a teenager with no senior appearances 3. It's just over a third of what good Championship players cost 4. Most Premier League teams (but not all to be fair) don't even spend that on players for depth - and it's what we spend on first teamers Until the club has a takeover we have to hope that others don't get it right when they spend money and the clear decay in the quality of our team can be slowed as much as possible so we're still in this league.