Dan Johnson

Very much how I saw it too. Although it was a loss, I think the performance was such that it doesnt really take away much momentum. Two home games, 4-6 points and we'll still be floating around the top 4 with a quarter of the season gone which will be impressive

I stand by initial reaction :-)

I think this years top 4 will be Chelsea Man City Arsenal Man Utd (Based on them out scoring teams) I think you can say that those 4 have the best squads, overall. I think the likes of Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham are trailing just behind those 4 Then you have us just behind those 3 clubs, but able to beat any of the above on our day depending on injuries etc Then the likes of Stoke, Hull, Swansea solid mid table teams who will give us a bloody good game Then you have the rest. I think we'll finish between 5th - 11th with a decent cup run, maybe even a cup win. I fancy us for the League Cup this year.

Genuinely Tadic over Lallana Gardos & Toby over lovern & chambers Pelle over Lambert Koeman over Poch I'm in dream land

Paul dickov Andri kanchelskis Ronni rosential Soon dublin

Its almost like a parallel universe where you get to see what this bored would be like if we'd have a bad start

Since Frazer arrived, Boruc has had an attitude problem and has been upsetting allot of people.

Me too.

Sack the board Wreck it ralf Uncle les Give cork a contract FFS We look just as good as last year if not better

Yep very happy

We normally don't hear if the deals have been completed until after the window closes. I'd say the fact that Gaston was allowed to leave means that the paperwork was complete for Mane. I suspect they're just waiting for confirmation from the premier league who probably have a backlog of paperwork to get through

To be fair when we were interested I read a few pieces by South American journalists saying that if you'd have said before the World Cup that someone would pay £16 Million for Rojo then you'd thought that person was mental

I'd choose the current squad over the squad that ended last season (with the exception of Lovern, was sorry to lose him) Lambert Vs Pelle I think Lambert was coming towards the end of his career, he'd certainly adapted his game to suit which shows what a clever footballer he is. At 33 he doesn't look like a natural athlete & while he certainly had worked on his conditioning\fitness during his time at Saints there's no telling how long he could continue performing at this level. Pelle by contrast looks a "young" 29 and you could see him playing into his late 30s, they're very similar in style but I think Pelle will prove to be technically better over time. I'm happy with this business Lallana Vs Tadic Lallana was class last season but he certainly had his flaws, his inability to complete 90 minutes, fading massively during the second half of games, he drifted inside leaving the left back exposed way to often and his shot was inconsistent, to often the soft grass cutter would let him down. Tadic seems to again be very similar, he has great work rate & is more physical than I expected. He has great vision, quick feet & doesn't look out of place in the prem. Considering the price Liverpool paid for lallana and what we paid for tadic, is there really a 14million different between lallana and tadic? I don't think so. Good business Shaw Vs Bertrand. I'll get hammered for this, but I don't see anything in Bertrand to suggest he is any worse than shaw, or that shaw is any better than Bertrand. Forgetting potential, Bertrand is the more accomplished player at this point in time. It may not be the case in the future but right now this is looking like a great bit of business Long Vs Osvaldo Obviously we are better off here, longs work rate is fantastic, he has pace, he has good technique. We shouldn't judge long on goals as I don't think he's that type of player, his runs make space and unsettle defenders allowing the midfielder runners to get into space. Lovern Vs Gardos I feel we're probably down here, but it's impossible to say. Chambers Vs AlderWeireld We're obviously getting a more accomplished player here than the one we've lost. One who has more experience at every level of football & has been involved with a team that reached the champions league final last year and a league winning side. The other signings, have added depth, I think Forster is a step up to Boruc too. Cant complain, considering we're still well in the black financially

****s me off, but then we all feed into it with our sky subscriptions etc. Its a disgusting amount of money really, the red tops show their moral outrage at the wages of bankers & MPs etc but footballers seem immune to it. I wonder how long & how far it'll go before the public become so disillusioned with their pay that we stop putting our money into the sport

Just found out as the deal is done and a work permit secured, the player can be registered with the Premier League after it closes.

I'm not sure to be honest, I would have thought so. They own his registration but cant get it ratified, it's not something the premier league can help with either according to the SSN Radio reports

Rojo to United still not been ratified by the Premier League & Man Utd having major issues with the 3rd party ownership. Looks like we did well to avoid this one, I know allot were giving the board stick for not getting this over the line quick enough! I wonder how those would have reacted had we signed him but couldn't register him.

I think when you look at Everton, they're the closest you can get to the top 4 without substantial backing. Potentially they have the quality to finish in the top 4, if the league has a season like last year, where there's no real stand out team then it's possible if they have a good season. They've not spent big money over the last 8-10 years, with the exception of Lukaku. They've bought really well and had good management, they've also benefited from good youth players over the years. Rooney, Rodwell, Baines, Stones, Barkley etc. They must be the closest thing to a blueprint we have.

Photo is of players in the new kit, I suspect he just hasn't had his taken yet

Agreed, I thought he gave their defence allot to think about, his running was pulling them all over the place

I like Koeman, he calls it as he sees it. I think its important at times for a manager to say when we play poorly, rather than sugar coat it or come up with some excuse.

Yes Pelle!!! So happy for him, he deserved that goal. Great work rate

I'd say after the World Cup & lack of pre-season 2 games in 3 days is probably too much.

Such a shame that every off season he has been involved with the national team and hasnt had a real rest. Olympics, Confederations Cup, World Cup. I think we'd see a different player if he had six weeks off and started pre-season on day 1

If we get Clasie & Alderweireld then i wouldnt be surprised to see a 10 million + Townsend bid accepted by Saints on Deadline day