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Big summer?

onthemarch

By onthemarch,
in The Saints

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tajjuk

tajjuk

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Certainly agree it's a big summer. I'd like to see as few outs as possible, probably only Wanyama.

 

Then hopefully 2-3 quality signings in, don't think we need to spend £30 million a player, Leicester, Spurs, and ourselves have shown that. We just have to do our homework, get players that buy into the team and fit what we are after.

 

Add in signing up Koeman for another couple of years and hopefully a full undisprupted pre-season for the likes of Jay Rod, Austin, Forster etc. and we'll have the basis of a very solid squad. After this season who know's what will happen next year, 'buying success' just doesn't seem to be having the impact it did a few years ago. Not just form this season but Liverpool and Man Utds continued under performance over the last few years despite big signings.

 

At a guess, the spread of wealth in the league means the overall quality of the teams is much closer than in previous years, there are as many easy games now (shown by the amount of away wins) and that means that team spirit, fitness, work rate, good management, correct tactics are playing a bigger role than used to compared to just having the better players.

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The9

The9

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Us being 7th this season says more about the strength of the league than it does about us. Don't think anyone would argue that the side we had in 13/14 was significantly better than the one we have now. We might have been 9th when Cortese left, but that side had so much more potential. The injury crisis we had in December that season basically finished us, but we were only one or two players away from have a really really good side. Nobody would have left in the summer of 2014 if he was still there, and we'd have probably strengthened further. The big names might have wanted out a year later, but who knows how much further along we would have been by then?

 

Reed and co did good business prior to last season, but do think part of the reason we did so well was because of the foundations that were put in place beforehand. Everything was geared towards the long-term. Think the new board have done well to stabilise things and we're on a really sound financial footing, but don't see much room for growth in the current team. Our business since Paul Mitchell left has been poor.

 

With that in mind I would like to see a greater emphasis placed on bringing in young talent with potential. Also think Koeman should have less influence in who we bring in, especially considering he'll probably be gone within the next 18 months. Although we have done alright signing RK's mates, think we're limiting ourselves by not looking at a wider range of options.

 

I'd argue there's not much in it, and we're much better off when a couple of players get injured.

 

The "potential" in Lambert and Lovren has been nicely shown since.

 

All teams get injury crises which affect how successful they are (except Leicester, apparently) compared to where they'd be with their best team on every occasion. Cortese's "plan" was unsustainable as it didn't account for the numerous occasions we had to field non-top 6 standard players, and the fact Leicester doing as well as they have is STILL a surprise shows just how often the "only the first XI matter" approach is successful in England. The last time before that was probably Villa using as few players as they did (I think it was 14) in 1981, when football was VERY different - one sub instead of 3 and advances in sports science have created a massive change in tempo across the 90 minutes for a start.

 

Your Paul Mitchell point is fair enough, though is our business really "poor" if we're where we were last season now despite losing our best two players in Schneiderlin and Alderweireld?

 

I'm fairly sure everyone we've bought in the past few years has been with the emphasis on young talent with potential, and from a vast array of possible choices. The manager is the one who picks the team and no matter how much statistical evidence there is, there's no substitute for knowing or having worked with a player in assessing how well they will fit, so I don't have any problem with his level of influence either.

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cobbysouth

cobbysouth

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Buying Pl proven players is going to be nigh on impossible with the increase in money in the PL. Even mid table sides will be able to offer obscene wages and PL clubs will only sell to rival PL teams for massively over inflated prices. Most teams will look else where in the world for players IMO.

 

Great news, suppose Mané and Wanyama won't be going then.

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The9

The9

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He was a complete **** when he said this, and it was said full of smugness because he thought he was the greatest thing since bread came sliced and he was going to go on and take the Dippers to glory.

It was nothing but a stab at the club and a way to deflect criticism from the players he signed for the manner in which he went about signing them.

 

And he's still a complete ****, but at least he got his.

 

And again, we DID challenge for a top four spot last season. Up until Jan/Feb if I recall correctly. But we simply were not good enough for various reasons to see the job done.

 

We were third on 10th February 2015 and the last time we were within 2 points of 3rd was 3rd March 2015. We were 6 points off 4th by the end of March as our results went DLLWDW, whilst Arsenal won 6 straight, Man City and Liverpool both won 5/6, Chelsea won 4 and drew 2, and Man U won 4/6. Even then we were only a point off 5th and ahead of Spurs.

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doddisalegend

doddisalegend

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Great news, suppose Mané and Wanyama won't be going then.

 

yes looks like we will be stuck with both useless feckers....

 

In fairness I'm not saying no one will go but I doubt there will be much player movement between rival PL clubs next summer. Sure the big boys might get a couple but even then they are going to have to pay heavily to get a player. I'm sure I read somewhere all the PL teams will be in the top 50 richest clubs in world next season even Bournemouth there is going to come a point were money won't be a driving factor for PL clubs when it comes to selling players.

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CB Fry

CB Fry

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Posted (edited)
We were third on 10th February 2015 and the last time we were within 2 points of 3rd was 3rd March 2015. We were 6 points off 4th by the end of March as our results went DLLWDW, whilst Arsenal won 6 straight, Man City and Liverpool both won 5/6, Chelsea won 4 and drew 2, and Man U won 4/6. Even then we were only a point off 5th and ahead of Spurs.

 

 

Yes, yes, yes but you are missing the forum experts view. When we were bimbling around ninth/eighth place for the entire season with a threadbare squad we were apparently "pulsating with ambition".

 

When we actually were challenging for fourth right up until the last weeks of the season, and challenging for sixth on the last day, we apparently were being run by people whose are lying to us about the ambition of the club and we can't "inherently believe the words coming out of their mouths".

 

You couldn't make up the delusion, you really, really couldn't.

Edited by CB Fry
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Mattio

Mattio

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I really can't see Wanyama, Mane or Pelle staying this summer, also a bit worried someone will come in with stupid offers for Van Dijk or Forster then we're probably in a worse state than we were 2 summers ago.

 

This will be a key summer in terms of holding on to what we have and building on it rather than losing players and replacing them with equivilent or worse players.

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Matthew Le God

Matthew Le God

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Posted
If I'm daydreaming:

 

Out:

Victor Wanyama

Sadio Mane

Juanmi

Maarten Stekelenburg

 

In:

Georginio Wijnaldum

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Hakim Ziyech

Bruno Martins Indi

Troy Deeney

Marz Sels

 

+ longer/better contracts for the Koemans, Forster, Pelle, Romeu and Long.

 

You haven't listed a player who plays in the same role as Wanyama. If Wanyama is sold its hard to see him not being directly replaced with another first choice defensive midfielder.

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