SaintTex

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.

Count me as a constant worrier in regards to JRod, as well. I could be reading into it of course, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of joy on his face, even after scoring. A lot of it could be mental, as well. A 25 year old guy who has been in top physical form since he was a teenager, suddenly blows out a leg, on a seemingly harmless play, which causes him to be out 18 months. My confidence in my body and how it reacts would be shaken if that was me. in the back of my head, I might be constantly thinking.. is this the play or is this the slide or is this the jump, where that possibly happens again? It's got to wear on the mind. Plus, every little knock, which before he might blow off and say, no biggie, is now potentially amplified in his mind as something way worse.

anyone have some leads on a streaming option for the one Southampton fan in Texas?

If our LCB is Yoshida, I think we need more defensive midfield cover, so I would go with a 4-2-3-1 ---------------Forster--------------- Soares—Fonte--Yoshida--Bertrand -------Clasie------Wanyama------- ----Mane-------Tadic------JRod---- -----------------Pelle---------------- If our LCB is Van Dijk or equal, I think we have Wanyama as the sole DM, so I would go with a 4-1-3-2 ---------------Forster---------------- Soares—Fonte--Van Dijk--Bertrand --------------Wanyama-------------- --Mane--------Clasie---------Tadic-- ---------Pelle-----------JRod---------

yeah, Lallana should start worrying about how much playing time he is going to get this year. You figure there are some givens in the preferred Starting XI.. ----------Minelot------------- Clyne-Skrtel-Lovren-Moreno ----Milner-----Henderson---- Firmino---Coutinho---??? --------Benteke-------------- Henderson is the captain - he starts. the are paying Milner, Firmino and Benteke big bucks - they start. Coutinho was supposedly their best player last year - he starts. Leaves one slot for Sturridge, Ibe, Can, Lallana, Lucas, Allen, Origi, Markovic, Ings

I agree with this in a purely logical legal way. Why counter offer the Spurs offer to AM if legally/contractually the player is already ours? It's a mess and it really isn't Southampton or Spurs fault, Athletico Madrid screwed the pooch. Are we to believe they couldn't pay the 1.5m without selling Toby first? That isn't our problem. No one forced them to agree to the terms of the loan deal signed last summer. In a way, I can respect Spurs position and try to push through the signing as quickly as possible. The more entangled legally they are with Toby, the better their chances of keeping him are. I don't think Les or Ralph have really done anything wrong here. What were their options? Try to outbid the Spurs before the buy-out clause was cancelled?