Baird of the land

Yep i certainly wouldn't have any issues if this turns out to be true.

Personally hope we just bring in one quality centre back to compete with yoshida and have Stephens step up as cover in gardos absence.

It's premiership experience Stephens needs now imo. Given our whole mentality has been giving our own youngsters opportunities it would make far more sense imo for Stephens to take up the fourth centre back slot in Gardos absence.

Wasn't particularly impressed by him during his loan spell. Is this sort of arrival going to block opportunities out wide for the likes of Mcqueen/Isgrove/Gallagher? I guess if Gaston is about to be shipped out again(which would be a tad disappointing) then it may make more sense. I still think there's a very good reason he's going to be available so cheap, and i'd be very put off by his rather dubious history as i would a 2nd hand car.

Personally i'm keen for us still to have room for youngsters such as Stephens/Mccarthy/Gape/Hesketh to get opportunities along the way this season. With Clasie's arrival our first choice centre mid partnership seems to be set. Reed should be ready to deputise much more this season. A replacement would be pretty much it in my eyes.

Happy days, ticks all the right boxes in terms of age & ability. Hope he can come across and settle quickly.

I'd happily take him back if it was in a Loan with a guaranteed right to buy at the end of the year. However i've no interest in Saints rounding off the rough edges of an Arsenal youngster if its not a case of us doing so with a view to him being our player again at the end of the loan period.

In what way do we know Toby was not going to sign for us. Maybe his head was turned after talking to them after they bothered to agree a deal first. Our argument that it was all Toby's fault would certainly look a lot better if we'd agreed a deal first.

But why muck about with legalities and let them agree a deal first?

Sounds like a lot of Spin. The whole trying to delay playing games with clauses before eventually ignoring them and bidding sounds bad. Toby ended up choosing them after we finally sorted ourselves out. Hope the black isn't a bunch more hype and there really is a list of alternatives to pursue.

Think there's very much room for having a mixed core of british and high quality foreign additions. Don't like Saints going down route of foreign filler dross.

Seems the equivalent of signing Antony Pulis. Not something to be excited about, quite the opposite in fact imo.

Surely we can use our own academy players as cover rather than importing filler.

Jack Stephens. Done well at Swindon 2 years in a row. Dominic Gape.

It's in our interests to be successful. My view is that success still comes from having a british core & personally i'd probably have a lot less love/interest for a team without such a core. Buying players at a low price and selling them at a higher one is a nice bonus. Also buying foreigners whilst cheaper can be a gamble in terms of them adapting to prem league (Osvaldo, Forren, Ramirez, Gardos, Mayuka to varying degrees over recent years)

I was hoping we might get Trippier or Jenkinson. Got to trust that he'll adapt well to english game and prove a shrewd acquisition.

Yep i'd very much like a balance struck in terms of imported foreigners and bought domestic players. So while i don't have a particular issue with bringing in a spanish attacker and a portuguese right back i don't want to see the rest of the acquisitions following a similar pattern. Don't think it is in our long term interests to have a team with little british core to it.

Think it's a decent signing by Villa. Assume he'll be on a high salary though.

Forster 8, Davis 6, Gazza 6 Clyne, 8 Bertrand 8, Targett 6 Toby, 9, Fonte, 9, Yoshida 7, Gardos 6 Morgan 9, Wanyama 8, Tadic 7, Davis 7, JWP 6, Reed 6, Djuricic 5, Elia 5 Mane 9, Pelle 7, Long 7,

Thought it wasn't a bad display. A game we needed to take our chances when they came and long and Pelle didn't have the clinical finishes when it counted. No shame in losing away to city, the disappointing results came beforehand which left us a disappointing 7th(though 7 would have been successful before the season started)

That would be a coup if true. I assume if it happens it'll be because Arsenal don't want to sell him but know he won't be happy sitting on the bench for them in the short-term. As i said in one of the other threads. The Mexican keeper Ochoa who's reserve at Malaga would be another loan i wouldn't complain about.

Think way Rickie has been treated is disgraceful. When he's been given an opportunity he's more often than not performed reasonably. I'd happily take Rickie back on a short-term deal. Obviously that would be wage dependent & reflective on fact he'd be more often used off the bench.

A goalkeeper i thought was very good at the World Cup was Ochoa. I see he's still back-up at Malaga. Wonder if we might be able to prise him away on loan.

Mane, Long and Pelle were excellent today, combining perfectly. Mane sneaking Man of the match. The defence was reasonably solid. Gazzaniga made a nice save at the end too from agbonlahor. If there was an area to be slightly critical on an amazing day it was the midfield. We won today by bypassing it but we've got work to do in terms of replacing Morgan/Cork ballplaying. None of Davis, JWP or Wanyama were terrible but neither did i think they stood out as excellent. Great that the team has got to 60 points. Now we need Swansea & Spurs to drop points.