SaintTex

--------------Stek---------------- Soares--Fonte--Caulker--Targett ------Wanyama-----Romeu------ ------------JWP/Davis----------- ----Juanmi-----Pelle---Mane--- 01) Be defensive first, pair Wanyama and Romeu 02) Get Caulker in for Yoshida 03) Let Cedric and Targett play, build their confidence back up 04) Put JWP or Davis in an offensive posture, distributing (the Clasie spot in the future) 05) play Mane on the right, can be creative and won't require the need for Targett going forward 06) hope that Mane and Cedric link up better together than Cedric did was Tadic 07) Give Juanmi a go on the left (can Juanmi play on the left?), if that is not working, take out Juanmi at half, move Mane to the left, bring in JRod on the right. I have to admit I am a bit flummoxed over what is our best front three at the moment and what players best link up with the MF and fullbacks we have available today. Two months from now I am imaging this as our strongest lineup, although if in form, it could be Tadic on the right for JRod. --------------Stek-------------- Soares--Fonte--VvD--Bertrand ------Wanyama-----Romeu---- --------------Clasie-------------- ----Mane-----Pelle-----JRod----

https://twitter.com/georgeyboy85/status/632514986208792580

Missing 5 of our back 7 from last year. Forster Clyne Alderweireld Bertrand Schneiderlin Pretty devastating. I am not wetting the bed yet. Let's get Clasie, Betrand, and Van Djck (assumed) on the field and see how we perform. Yet anyone with a brain in their head could take a look at out defensive line up and players before the game and see at least two goals were going to be allowed today.

Nice job. 01) You called for the signing of another CM; said we should look at Romeu (We got Romeu) 02) You said we need Van Dijk and as well as a second CB (4 days later after this post we signed Caulker) 03) Van Dijk, Van Dijk, Van Dijk. I really want you to be 3 for 3!

Salivating. Clasie running the show, distributing Romeu and Wanyma ruling the MF Fonte and VvD strong last line of defense Cedric and Bertrand bombing down the wings Mane, Pelle and JRod/Tadic doing what they do bench 2 - offensive super sub options galore (choose from : Long, Juanmi, Tadic/Jrod) 1 - backup GK (choose from : Gazza, Forster) 2 - DF (choose from: Caulker, Yoshida, Targett, Martina) 2 - MF ( choose from: Davis, JWProwse, Reed)

if true... in Romeu £4.0 mil Juanmi £4.0 mil Cedric £4.7 mil Martina £1.0 mil Clasie £8.0 mil Stek LOAN Caulker LOAN TOTAL £22.7 mil out Clyne £12.5 mil Schneiderlin £25.0 mil Alderweireld TOTAL £37.5 mil ---- REMAINING KITTY : £14.8 mil Seems like a good amount left for Van Dijk. Then, Les Reed can go on a well deserved Holiday with by all accounts a stronger squad (IMO) and no money spent to get it.

it's all a bit sad really.. PL stats 2012-2013 : 15 goals | 04 assists | 3133 minutes | 35 starts | 09th in the league for goals total 2013-2014 : 13 goals | 10 assists | 2820 minutes | 31 starts | tied for 13th in the league for goals total -- 2014-2015 : 02 goals | 02 assists | 0825 minutes | 07 starts | tied for 109th in the league for goals total 2015-2016 : ?????? even sadder, he made his own bed. Liverpool's top scorer in 2014-2015 : Gerrard with 9 goals - and Sterling was 2nd with 7 goals.

On the other hand, it is not nice and Belgiany enough for some.

This.. 9 out of 10 times that goes in. Tip your hat to Krul. even after the Krul got his pinky toe on it, it was tantilzingly close to skirting under the cross bar. oh, and I was looking at Mane's two chances at the end. He made Coloccini look silly on both plays On the first play, Colback miraculously blocked Mane's strike after nearly breaking Coloccini's ankles. Krul wasn't going to make that stop, it was going in. On the second play, Krul was positioned better. I think if Mane's shot had been on target in the left corner, it is possible Krul could have gotten a glove on it.

i am very worried Everton is going to swoop in and we get left in the cold. At this point, we better be prepared to pay the price and then some. I am sure there is a plan B, but no clue. today should have crystalized that we need a CB, if it wasn't already abundantly clear.

Our best defensive players are playing for Spurs, Liverpool and ManU. Pretty much sums it up.

Agreed. Been very happy with the transfers we have gotten in this summer so far. However, I think with a top CB and another CM, we will have a stronger squad overall than we did last year. Especially up front.. we have the likes of Juanmi and Rodriguez at our disposal now, where as last year it was Djuricic and Elia (for only half a year) Shek is looking like a really good pick-up, although I think we really will know more after about 10 games into the PL season. He hasn't been challenged all that much so far. It will be interesting if he starts the first half of the season really well and what happens when/if Forster comes back. Cedric, by all accounts, is not going to be a drop off from Clyne. At least this is the general train of thought so far. Clasie worries me a bit, as he is going to be compared to Morgan all season, which is really not fair. They are different types of midfielders. I think it is going to take time with him, but I do think he is a class player. In Caulker we have built quality depth at CB to cover for Gardos injury. I think most feel Caulker is an upgrade to Gardos. If he can redevelop his early career form that would be awesome. So, really just needing the Toby replacement and a bit more physical presence in the MF. I know a lot of people think we need a proper winger to add width, but I think once we have Soares and Bertrand on the pitch at the same time that will take care of itself. Unfortunately, other than those two, we don't have any other fullback that can effectively bomb down the wings, so injuries/suspensions there will hurt us offensively down the line there.

I don't know if this exactly legitimizes the rumour, but it has officially hit the English papers. Southampton target Schalke ace to replace Schneiderlin after Manchester United move http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/595876/Southampton-Transfer-News-Leon-Goretzka-replace-Morgan-Schneiderlin

you know how they say geniuses act up in school because they are bored and can't be bothered with the simple, easy lessons being taught. maybe this is the case with Van Dijk There is such a thing as playing down to the level of your competition. Maybe he plays up so much because it is easier for him to recover back in Scottish League competition. If he is truly talented, with some simple coaching and maybe one or two painful lessons, he will pick up on the PL pace and skill level in the long run.

I thought we checked that box when we acquired Caulker on loan. I don't see any other PremLeague experienced CBs out there for the taking to be our starting CB.

why is this game even being played?

really nice long write up on NBCsports.com. They have always been very pro-Saints, particularly Joe Prince-Wright, the last few years and seem to always highlight "our story". After 12-year absence, Southampton wholeheartedly embrace European return http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/31/after-12-year-absence-southampton-wholeheartedly-embrace-european-return/#comments

I wasn't able to see the game in it's entirety or watch it live (where you can pick up on things the camera doesn't see), but it seems odd for those to slag off Clasie on one hand and then complain how we lost shape once he went off on the other. I always got the impression that Clasie does a lot of things most casual football fans either can't see or can't appreciate it. At least that was my takeaway from his Feyenoord days. Maybe he had an off game - understandable, as some other have noted the whirlwind of his last month. Or maybe he is doing the little things that in total is a major thing. We don't need two Wanyama's on the pitch. I think over the course of the season we are going to find they really Wanyama and Clasie compliment each other and the roles Koeman expects them to perform will pay dividends to the overall performance of the team.

not to be confused with SaintTex hook us Texans up with a smooth clear stream!

you think the club is headed toward spending £40 million more in the next month?

Is there a name for the phenomena where your first reaction to a potential signing is "hell no, you have to be kidding me" that slowly progress to "this may be the best signing of the summer window"? Seems to happen to me more than a few times over the years. Maybe it's part of being a fan. Or maybe I badly want it to be the case, that I find away to convince myself. But I got to say, the more I learn and dig into it, the better I feel about the move.

his crime is boorish predictability. It's the same schtick. It's similar to the post we can all expect from you after our first league win.

all of this. who out there is better Gazzaniga and is going to agree to join a team as essentially the 3rd string GK? If we had just finished signing two CBs and another DM, I might entertain the idea, but we have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

Chester is no slouch. He is probably Yoshida quality. I think if we could get him for closer to around £6.5m or £7m and bring in Van Dijk for around £12m that would be pretty good business. Especially since we have European games this season. I am less convinced we need another DM (although I wouldn't complain). If we are limiting ourselves to bringing in only two more players, I would rather it be two CBs than one CB and one DM.