Saint86

Squad Depth Goalkeepers Forster (From January) - Good Stekelenberg -Good Gazza – Capable/Cover Kelvin – Capable/Cover Defenders – IMHO - a weak area for me at present. CB's Yoshi - Capable Fonte - Key Player Gardos - Capable Martina - Assumed Capable Stephens - Unproven Turnbull - Unproven McCartmey - Unproven LB's Bertrand (injured) - Good Player Target - Capable Yoshi - Can cover but not in an attacking sense so changes tactics by playing there Debayo? RB's Soares - Good Player Martina - Assumed Capable Stephens/McCartney - Unproven in the extreme in this position. DM's Wanyama - Good Player Reed – Capable Gape? CM's JWP - Capable/Good Davis - Capable/Good Tadic - Good Ramriez - Capable/Good Maybe?!?!?! Sadly all of these fill basically the same position when they play central midfield. Wingers Mane - Best player imho Jayrod - Hopefully comes back firing and therefore good, otherwise capable Tadic - Good Ramirez – Capable Hesketh? Sims? Isgrove? Forwards Gallagher - Capable Pelle - Good Jayrod - As above Seager? Depth when looking at solid/good first team players (no cover/capable listed): GK – MS/FF RB – Soares LB – Bertrand (Injured) CB’s – Fonte CDM - Wanyama CM’s – JWP/Davis/Tadic RW - Sadio LW - Jayrod Striker - Pelle In summary, we currently have no real competition amongst our better players. If wanyama goes we’re up a creak. If fonte goes we’re up a creak. Similar if gardos or Yoshi go down with injuries :/ If soares goes we’re up a creak If pelle goes, jayrod is up front, and we’re back to Sadio and tadic on the wings with no solid cover for either. If sadio or Tadic goes we have good/proven wingers to step up. We can realistically survive knocks to the attack, because the kids need their chance. But we have to reliable right back cover at all tbh, we need 1 good CB ASAP, we need a CDM/CB to cover Wanyama and we need JC in the CM role. That is a RB, CB,CDM and CM – 3 new players to tick those boxes is solid improvement. 2 is treading water and will lead to us sliding down the league imho.

I am disgusted with you for choosing any CB over Fonte.

Still here Glasgow? And bitter that someone is actually ITK. Oh how you've been missed

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3155487/Southampton-miss-ditch-attempt-sign-Angelo-Ogbonna.html Southampton made a late attempt to sign Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus on Wednesday night but the defender is due to have his medical at West Ham on Friday before signing. The 27-year-old opted for West Ham over Everton after the London club agreed an £8.5m fee. Juventus turned down Southampton's offer, understood to be £10m, because they had already given their commitment to West Ham. Napoli also made a late enquiry. Southampton are weighing up midfield options too with Morgan Schneiderlin set to depart. Marseille's Mario Lemina has been discussed as has Feyenoord's Jordy Clasie and former Arsenal player Kyle Ebicilio, 21, who has been playing for FC Twente. Schneiderlin was the subject of much transfer speculation last summer too, but it appears the France midfielder will complete a move away from St Mary's, with Manchester United the likely destination. If true then it is becoming a joke this summer. Board look to have got very lucky with Koeman last year but are currently on a mission to hamstring him utterly atm.

JAYROD!!!!!

Not only saved the club for us all, but set the foundation stones in place to lift us to greater and sustainable heights. Will never be forgotten!

I'll say this much guys. This would simply not have happened had Cortese never left.

You know that's happened right?

Reckon he'll become a cult hero Someone has to be positive right?

FWIW The daily Fail have locked comments on this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3150824/Tottenham-remain-runners-land-Toby-Alderweireld-11-5million.html#comments Pretty unusual for them to stop people commenting on a non controversial sports article after 48posts.... Me thinks he isn't going to spuds and the tottenham supporting journo has got some egg all over his face. It all comes down to the fact that AM have no choice but to legally accept saints offer of £6.8m. They can stall all they want, but ultimately they can't change the contract they've signed. The club will certainly be doing everything to stop tottenham registering the player in england whilst this is unresolved. In addition, there is no credible Tottenham ITK to say he has been to the ground, had a medical or actually wants to be there / agreed a contract. Where as we have a manager saying he's been in contact with him this summer and the fact that we all know Toby and his wife like it in Southampton. Fairly sure he'll come to saints if the legal side of this is upheld. But will probably run and run a bit. Looking forward to spuds reactions if we do nab him lol. They're a club going nowhere with a stadium to finance and a massive wage bill to cut. They've got hardly any money left to invest in the squad in relative terms and will be eclipsed by us or someone like us in the near future.

Alpine you raised a serious point and predictably CB Fry and Batman were here to troll you ASAP. Stick them both on ignore and you'll have far less grey hairs

The thing is, I don't see MS as an improvement to FF... On top of that, we don't actually have FF for at least half the campaign. So actually all we have done is go from one first choice and KD/Gazza to a slightly worse first choice (or the same ability) and KD/Gazza - that is not an improvement nor is it strengthening and should not be classed as such. (It is simply treading water of which I do not complain about in this case overly). Cedric is by all accounts a good player, fine... But as we saw last year, not one of our foreign league players came in and lasted the whole campaign and faded in and/or out. Most also had to get used to the league, and the lack of a christmas break also took its toll. If you are banking on Cedric being different to that then I think that is a risky assumption. He is therefore replacing clyne, who is a very good prem right back and plays like such for the vast majority of the season. We have also lost our back up.... Therefore I class cedric as a slight reccession in terms of defending. We are also losing MS.... he will not be replaced by someone at the same level. Simple fact. We also look to be losing Toby - i hope this is not the case but I can't see Levy flying out there for any other reason (fingers crossed however)!! Junami is what, squad depth for the shane long/mane role. All very good but attacking we are actually very strong in really: Pelle/Jay/Tadic/Long/Mane/Junami/Gallagher/seager(?) So yes, signing Juami is "strengthening" but not in a major way. As I said above, the season starts early and we will need to be better than last year in order to remain competitive. At present we are not, Toby has gone at present, MS is going, and clyne/cedric (you decide if thats an improvement/treading water/worse).... The club clearly has the money having not managed to spend the Looserpool/arse/manure fees yet, let alone the two seasons of increased TV money and prize funds. And they need to invest it in a couple of quality players to replace Toby and MS and get some 1 or 2 further cover players. Considering that we'll bank £39m from MS/Clyne/Toby, still have a nice chunk of last years transfer income and and the tv revenues/prize money... we need to spend and improve! Certainly more than we have done so far. I do believe the club will do this. But its not "getting players in early" from an improvement position if by the end of the weekend we've lost Morgan, toby, clyne and Forster and signed Junami, Cedric and MS..... I think thats a valid point tbh.

Club need to pull their finger out, we have probably regressed with cedric at right back (don't doubt hed good but he'll need to adapt and will tire)... No strengthening of the GK situation, and we've bought a spare squad striker. In comparison, we have lost the best English right back, will lose the leagues best DM, and will lose one of the leagues best CB's it appears. On top of this we face a gruelling campaign in Europe with shed loads of travel and many more fixtures (we hope!).... Not really too impressed with the club transfers thus far, our season starts early and no real improvements have been made nor look like being made. Sorry to go all Alpine on you

Harry kane?

Fairly confident that is rubbish, we have not activated any of the clauses in the transfer deal so straight away the fee reduces to something like £9m... Plus he has been on loan for 1 or 2 seasons? and got a whopper fine for half the first one following newcastle and Fonte. Not to mention sizeable loan fees from his various clubs. Basically, if we spent anywhere near 16million on his first season's wages and buying out the end of it I'll be amazed.

I don't see your point? Would you pay to watch a game you know the result of? Would you pay to watch a movie in the cinema you had already seen? The drama is part of football, whether your team is rubbish and playing boring football (I always remember saints vs wolves ending 0-0) or playing great stuff you go to support them... At at the end of the day, a local derby and the last game of the season at sms should provide some of the best atmospheres and therefore an enjoyable experience. Therefore I don't particularly mind the pricing. Probably worth mentioning that people are only complaining about the price for these games because they want to go to them and they're re therefore desirable games... if it was Norwich away I doubt anyone would be moaning.

Seems fair to me mate! I would expect both to be great games and worth the money. You can always pitch in to get a season ticket anyway...

I'd wager Koeman knows more than you or anyone on this board. So you and those who are like minded can be as negative as you want. The club will continue to progress next year.

Its pretty much exactly the same as carragher and gerrard tapping up lallana and lambert..... **** me but we have some fans who need to lose the rose tinted spectacles once in a while

By all accounts, if clyne has asked the club to listen to liverpool's offer then he has waived his loyalty bonus... We've got near enough £15m in which case. And are our fans deluded... If we wanted £15m we would have asked for £18m.... you don't ask for the amount you want, you ask for more. Personally think that we've got a very good deal for clyne considering he has 1 year left.... Cedric sounds like a quality replacement and this deal alone covers our other transfers this summer. 1 out, 3 in.... with morgan to go for £25m, Half of liverpool's summer transfer spend (2015) and the tv monies still to spend. I'm happy enough, just wasn't a mug who expected the club to get any mroe for this player, the board have no leg to stand on in that they have to sell and 12.5m is pretty good in that situation.

also on daily mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3138926/Nathaniel-Clyne-set-Liverpool-Southampton-accept-12-5m-bid.html

Also a classic: http://www.pompeyonline.com/forums/index.php?threads/your-favorite-anti-scum-song.69042/ we are a non entity and they can't be arsed any more.... In other words, they've realised their place on cold windy trips to Newport and Dagenham and it hurts them so much they can't bare to think of us living it large in europe this year :lol:

"got to be one of the most recognisable football stadium entrances in football. i'm sure in a quiz most football fans would get it right" Amazing, its probably infamous because of how dilapidated and dirty it is I suppose. But even then, you really do have to wonder what level of intelligence the skates have, they are so delusional it is unreal. One of the most recognisable football stadium entrances in football.... I mean we aren't just talking stadiums, this is a whole other level.... we are talking Entrances!!!!!!!! Bugger me sideways

I would be totally against moving the stadium out there. However, if the club want to become an oil magnage then i fully support that method of catching man city and chelsea Are there rules against a football club going into business as a natural/shale gas or oil producer for extra funds?

Why is this skate troll not put down? if he is garbage then you don't need cover do you you muppet? You are suggesting we should buy an even worse player to be back up for our "garbage" first teamer. ****ing moron. Why the hell are you not at least banned from ever escaping that sh1te whole down the road (be it psychically or from reaching out via the marvellous invention of the internet)... pathetic bell end if ever i saw one. God knows why trolls like you don't just get banned. Its not like having Mane, Tadic, Pelle, Jayrod, Long, Juanmi, Gallagher in the 3 attacking positions is enough is it what an egit.