Kings Chase Saint

I think in Jones defence he has had most of our best players not fully fit. Lavia, KWP, Bella Kotchap, Stu Armstrong & Tino (6 key players not fully fit) and if Orsic and another striker get up to speed in the Prem we could have a strong team. I think managers often need a bit of luck. Eddie Howe when he got relegated with Bournemouth was someone we wouldn't have wanted and his stock was low. Now he's being touted as the next England Manager and transformed the Magpies. Potter has done the same at Chelsea in reverse. I think if we can keep our best players fit and the 6 I've quoted in my view are our best players apart from JWP then we can do well. The criticism I would have of Jones is that it was clear after the Liverpool game that 4 at the back worked far better and it's something most can see so I hope he has got the message now!

Maitland-Niles joins Southampton on loan Arsenal midfielder Ainlsey Maitland-Niles has joined Southampton on loan for the season with an option to buy.

Apparently we fielded the youngest Premier League starting line-up named by any club since May 2017, with an average age of 23 years and 238 days. It's really encouraging to get a result like this when many of these players will only get better.

With 5 subs this year, break for world cup and new energy with Baz, ABK, Lavia, Aribo & Mara I can see the intense press working better this year and they shouldn't flag in the 2nd half of the season as they have done in recent years. For me individually we are much better than last year but it's not translating into improved overall performances yet. Baz & ABK improve defence, Lavia gives us a much needed extra option in mid-field and looks really good. Aribo gives us an extra attacking midfielder and is clearly class. Mara is showing good signs after such a short time. Get a system they can all feel comfortable with. I think if you do away with 3 central defenders we need Lavia, JWP & Romeo in midfield together. I think with these players 4-3-3 works best as even last season we were getting over-run in midfield. I would go with. BAZUNU KWP --- ABK --- SALISU --- PERRAUD JWP --- LAVIA --- ROMEO ARIBO --- MARA --- ARMSTRONG S

I think we need to be more upbeat. The reality is with many of the competition around us have in most cases lost their best players. Leeds - Raphina, Phillips, Brentford - Erickson, Everton - Richarlison, Brighton - Bissouma, Cucurella, Palace - Galagher (though he was a loan). I'm sure many on this forum would have a meltdown if we'd sold JPW & KWP which is the equivalent of what Leeds have done. I think we can start competing with the likes of Leicester who are losing Fofana and possibly Tielemans, plus carrying our rejects. Beyond Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Man U, West Ham & possibly Newcastle I think we're potentially as good as any beyond them.

I think there are 3 key points that could potentially mean we last the season better than we have recently due to our intense pressing style. 1 - There are 5 subs allowed this year, 2 - There's effectively a mid-season break this year with the World Up & 3 - We have greater competition with the new purchases which means for instance with Lavia coming in, it's not all on JWP & Romeu in centre mid. We have only lost Forster & Long, with £50m incoming and Aribo, Bazunu, Lavia & "Ketchup" all seem to have settled in well. Sure it's early to say and it's a risk with the younger ones, but if they are hungry and with potential I would see them as much better alternatives than those at the end of their careers or on the way down.

Agree. From City's point of view it doesn't make much sense to release Lavia if they haven't sealed Phillips as an incoming move.

Maybe I'm a bit behind the times but I always used to think the clubs agreed to fee / sell on clauses etc before the club get permission to discuss salary / contracts with the player. I guess with the way agents are now that's all gone out the window !

It will be intersting how brave we are when Tino is fit. That could be Bazunu - 20, Tino - 19, ABK - 20, Sali - 23, KWP - 25 or Perraud 24. Interestingly many of the Liverpool team are 30+ now including Salah, Thiago, Van Dijk, Henderson, Milner and Mane who's now going.

It's going to be really interesting this window to see how much the owners are prepared to shell out as I was under the impression that "breaking even" on transfers was what we did in the past, ie getting £75m for Van Dijk and £30m for Ings and then progressively getting players in. With Bazuna up to £15m, Svanberg (if rumours are believed) £9m, a centre back will probably be a similar price to what we might get for Bednarek. Then there is a decent striker, unless we get a loan for Delap. Interesting times !

Ings was struggling to get through 90 mins before he left us so getting him at £15m plus (which I suspect will be the asking price) then it's not worth it. Better getting Liam Delap on loan from City.

I agree. Those making the comparison with Gunn are wrong on this. It's like comparing Hoedt and Van Dijk who came to Saints at similar ages and are Dutch but had vastly different outcomes. This guy looks much more agile than any keeper we've had since Niemi and seems good with the ball at his feet and has a good temperament. He's already seen as one of the best young keepers in Europe and not many play for their national teams at 20.

I thought we could have gone with Johnstone and Bazunu to replace Forster and McCarthy. With the likes of Henderson, Pope & Johnstone all looking for clubs and the likes of City, United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs all have settled No.1's it will be interesting to see what happens. I guess Newcastle & West Ham will be destinations for 2 of the 3 but Saints should be in there as it's the key position that needs sorting.

I can see Delap coming on loan from City plus at least one other permanent striker signing. Don't think Broja will be back and Long / Walcott will be on their way.

Joe Gomez looks a good option and let Bednarek go to Napoli.