qwertyell

The dreaded combination of porous in defence and anaemic in attack. It's not panic stations yet, but if Long's going to revert to type, then we're depending on two Championship forwards and the ghost of Jay Rodriguez to score our goals.

He also said Diego Costa kicking Kyle Naughton's face off with his acrobatic equaliser for Chelsea shouldn't have been penalised as dangerous play because "you carnt take take away from 'im". He's basically a sub-Robbie Savage drooling moron who "tells it like it is" in the same way as tramps bark at traffic after their first Special Brew of the day.

Had a bad knee injury but is back in training now, I believe.

Like Lallana's five year contract that made no difference whatsoever when he decided to move? We'll sell again next summer. I guarantee it.

Far from the disaster some would have you believe, but ultimately we haven't strengthened the team, at best we've been happy to pretty much stand still (and get overtaken); realistically, we're weaker today than we were when the season ended in May. It's hard to feel too chipper about that outcome. Especially when people were so affronted at Koeman's exit for more "ambitious" climes. Regardless of Everton's laughable attempts to appeal to quality players with odes to dugouts, Saints' limited ambition has been somewhat borne out in this window. The signings of Boufal, Hojbjerg and Redmond are decent business, in my opinion. Whether they're sufficient to replace the departed quality from the first XI remains to be seen. But even if they were to seamlessly pick up where the splitters left off, the team had shortcomings in defence and midfield last season that have remained unaddressed. And I can't see - no matter how hard I try - Charlie Austin, who wasn't good enough to play ahead of Pelle last season and looks out of shape and lost thus far, being anything other than a big downgrade in a key position. I doubt Italy would pick him to clean the bins let alone lead the line. I worry that we're going to be short on goals. As always, I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong, but I think we're in for a bumpy season and with unused money in the bank for strengthening, that seems like a self inflicted state of affairs, unfortunately.

Don't see many goals there. Sent from my VF-895N using Tapatalk

Yes, I'm far from convinced Austin isn't another Michael Ricketts: a lower league quality striker who had one freak season in the top flight. I'd love to be proven wrong, but he looks unfit, slow, and his all round general play is pretty shabby, to say the least. But like all strikers, maybe he just needs a goal or two to spark him into life.

Four points then. Doesn't exactly alter the crux of the post, but I'd hate for anyone's OCD to get triggered by my cavalier attitude to pedantry.

Although not to the extreme some have expressed their concerns, I don't think it's unreasonable for fans to feel a little deflated at the way the off-season/transfer window has panned out (so far). After finishing in their highest ever (Premier) league position - three points off a Champions League place - qualifying for the Europa Cup group stage, signing the most lucrative kit manufacturing and shirt sponsorship deals in the club's history, on top of the financial windfall of the biggest ever broadcasting contract kicking in, Saints have never been in a stronger position to build on their progress. And yet, far from strengthening the team and looking to push on, we've contrived to start the season in a weaker state. All the optimism built up over our storming second half of last season (second only to Leicester in points gained in 2016) has ebbed away, along with the manager, coaching staff, best attackers and midfield man mountain. I've no doubt the club know what they're doing and we'll possibly have a half decent season after everything has settled down again, but the dreamers among us had probably hoped we'd aspire to more.

Born in Paris, I think. Has a French passport anyhow. So, no.

So that's Rodriguez, Forster, Flanagan (twice), Clinton, Seager, Gardos, Slattery, Barnes, Pied in the last couple of years. Bad luck? Something wrong with the training/conditioning/pitches/boots/medical team? Seems an awful lot of major knee injuries in a short space of time.

Too injury prone. That's been the biggest stumbling block to his progression.

I think we've filled our quota of ex-Burnley strikers with dodgy knees. Ings hasn't proven he's fully back up to speed after his serious ACL injury. We'd be pretty desperate to be throwing money at him, IMHO.

Might not be the worst idea in the world (if - big if - Saints are recruiting more attacking talent). Rodriguez needs to play games and prove that he can still cut it at this level. The signs so far haven't been promising - his pace and mobility seem seriously compromised. At the moment he's at the back of the queue of our forward options.

Mane tore up the Austrian league, was an established full international and also starred in the Olympics. In no way is Redmond roughly at the same level (although I do think he's a promising player).

Unfortunately, Rodriguez isn't even worth a place on the bench these days and Ward-Prowse has no business starting games. In my opinion.

Maybe we can get Caulker back on loan - killing two birds with one stone as he can play up top too... Sent from my VF-895N using Tapatalk

No, but they didn't sell their best attacking players either.

Born in Portsmouth, cites David James as his hero... I think the odds were stacked against him from the start.

If memory serves, Sammy immediately tried to change their style of play, only to find a squad built by Allardyce that wasn't overly stocked with players who could pass the ball on the ground.

Good stuff. Always seemed a level headed chap (apart from getting sent off against Swansea having lost his head) and has learned the hard way that a football career's a lot more fun when you play every week. Future captain? Sent from my VF-895N using Tapatalk

So the answer to "who replaces Wanyama?" is the same as last season's "who replaces Schneiderlin?". No-one, really. Seems remarkable that we've merrily gone from a powerhouse axis of Schneiderlin and Wanyama to a Chelsea reserve and a little Dutch boy who can't play for more than an hour. Doesn't auger well for those of us hoping for Mane and Pelle to be replaced with quality...

Man United had midfielder Daley Blind as their 2nd CB...

Wouldn't be much of an endorsement of the fabled black box if we're signing our third right back in a year - having had plenty of time to prepare for Clyne's exit in the first place. I can only assume we're looking to cash in on Cedric if we're adding a bang average journeyman right back to the squad. Can't imagine anyone wants to buy Martina. Sent from my VF-895N using Tapatalk

That's all well and good, but he was supposedly clocking all kinds of impressive numbers last summer too and still looked a sad shadow of the player he was when he was actually required to play some competitive football. Fingers crossed that he does make a full recovery - it'd be a feel good story and a half. But the longer he struggles the less likely the chances of that glorious comeback becomes.