saint-crinny

Just frustrating to watch as he has got the quality - the goals that he set up for Scotland recently showed that. Not sure if he can improve defensively though - time will tell as my feeling is we wont be signing a left back. He needs to step - although the same can be said for a lot of the players after the Wigan game, probably opened everyone's eyes to the challenge ahead.

Think Fonte is always liable to make a mistake and that gets brutally exposed in the Prem. Jos is less likely to make an error but is also worryingly slow - hopefully Yoshida has some pace and him and Jos might complement well. Fox is of equal concern as the centre back position if not more - he always takes too long, got away with it last year. He needs to sharpen up seriously quickly and he looks generally nervy. To get caught from the kick-off against Wigan was mental - he could quite easily have picked up an injury there too, and it would have been completely his fault. Would like him to come good as he can deliver a great cross, but does he know he is allowed to get past the midfield and whip in some of the dangerous balls that we know he can produce? A really hesitant display against Wigan, maybe he is lacking confidence after the error at City, which was woeful, but he was looking shaky in that game well before that. Hope he can step up, as i do think there could be a good Prem player, but at the moment missing out on Buttner looks a shame - bet he plays and belts one in on Sunday as well!

Dawson most likely for me - he did OK when he played in the Olympics didnt he? Scored in the shootout anyway, Can't see Fulham wanting to let Hangeland go, nor Stoke with Shawcross.

to be fair to Morgan, he has never played against that sort of quality before and he certainly wont be the only defensive midfielder to lose Silva this season. No doubt Morgan will need to up his game this season, but for me, he is one of our moat naturally talented players and i really think he will make the jump.

Lots of "let's batter them" chat on here - definitely wont be that straightforward for me, although i'd love to be proved wrong. Wigan have some good players, especially Moses if he is still there, and they were brilliant at the end of last season when they beat Liverpool, Arsenal and United to stay up. Would be delighted with any victory, but like everyone, certain that Ricky will start this one. Tricky decisions for Adkins though - i thought Guly did well against City and Punch worked quite nicely with Clyne at times, especially considering the opposition, which leads me to look at dropping JR, which i also dont think NA wants to do. Pretty sure Davis will start in the middle too. Team selection will be interesting for this one as it definitely sits in the "we need to win these kinds of games if we want to stay up" category - should give us a good insight into NA's thinking for the season ahead. Whatever the selection, i cannot wait for it to come round!

Or we could see how we get on against a talented Udinese side, reflect on it afterwards and decide that the outcome will have no bearing on the City result. Oh, and a new CB signing would also be marvellous

Sure he may well have been mentioned at points on this thread (and probably others) but as its 100+ pages long i dont know. Apologies if this has been done already.. Anyway - Caulker at Spurs might be a realistic option at CB. Great on loan at Swansea last year, looked the part at the Olympics, will still be a bit down the pecking order at Spurs with Vertonghen, Dawson, Kaboul etc. Big, strong, pacey, good on the ball - fits the bill and he is what we need IMO. Havent heard anything about this so nothing to it at all, just speculating about who we could move for in the CB position, but maybe a loan move for him would work for both parties.

Would be a good signing if true, always rated him. Strong runner with the ball down the left

Also describes himself as a Saints player in his profile: "Official Nathaniel Clyne Twitter page Professional Footballer playing for Southampton & England U21."

From what i have seen of Zaha, he is a real raw talent who should develop into a top player. Anyone who saw his performance in the first 45 of Palace's win against Man Utd in the Carlig Cup would be delighted if we snapped him up. Would be very happy with Clyne as well

Definite no from me, never go back and all that. But, no doubt that he is a much better player now than he was with us and has scored a few more goals for Newcastle in the Prem than i ever imagined he would. From recent interviews he also seems to have lost sort of the attitude as well.

Or does it mean that they have really high hopes for, preferred for him to be sent out on loan to get some game time rather than sitting on the bench? As it goes, he then did well enough to be considered and picked for the England squad (regardless of whether you think he is third best keeper in the country, which clearly, he isnt). If we signed him, you would hope that it would prove to be an excellent addition, possibly in the short term, but certainly looking further ahead

Will need an unbelievable season to get in i think - he was good for us last season, but his form was patchy at times and that was the Championship. I think he is a great player, and have high hopes for him this season, but think England is a bit beyond him. Agree about some of the comments in terms of other contenders - Lennon, Adam Johnson didnt even make the cut for the Euros, bizarely in my opinion considering Milner played every game (he is just so poor), and i would want both of them in my team at Saints ahead of Adam currently,

We dont have anyone near good enough to play down the right in the Prem - at times we really struggled there this season - so de Bruyne would hardly be pushing anyone out. The way i see it is that he is a talented youngster who would add a lot to the team - if Chelsea will let us take him, we'd be mad not too. And if it doesnt work out, we can send him back. We would be unlikely to sign someone as highly rated as him on a permanent deal.

What about the chance to view all our new European superstar signings before they join?

Hammond has played his part, but that's the reality of where we are now. He just isnt great technically - had the occasional really bad game in L1 in terms of passing ability, was exposed a fair bit more in the Championship, so really, the Prem would be a final step too far. Whole-hearted player, hope he gets a decent move. On a related note, Morgan's technique was second to none in the Champo and i'm genuinely excited to see how he performs in the Prem - really think he is going to shine.

No way of knowing i dont think. Depends on the opposition - cup games, are they in Europe etc

Shame for Blackpool as they played some great stuff today. Echo the sentiment about Ince, he would be the perfect answer to our need for a right winger. Superb

Totally irrational really - I just hate him. His stupid celebration drives me mental.

Great technqique from Nolan - he really is a horrible t*sser though

Good on Oxo getting into the squad, deserves it for some exciting performances this season. One of the few picks in the squad that raises the excitment level at all. As an aside, guys that sit around me at SMS were busy telling me what a poor move it was for him, too soon, better off staying here and learning his trade, won't get a game for two years...etc Spot on

Rose tinted specs maybe, but i always felt they are both pretty keen for Saints to slip up. I'm adding in Hinchcliffe into the mix as another northerner who always favoured the oppo. Now i think in more detail about this though - we pretty much lost most games on TV and those boys stuck the boot in, and i was always fuming about each game. The only ones we won, leeds apart, i was at anyway. Maybe i'm just a little bitter at them. No doubt that they all massively enjoyed the Boro defeat though, as it took it to a final day, cant blame that either i suppose. On to the PL and G-Nev on a Monday night anyway - here's hoping that Rickie can provide him with the opportunity for a Torres v Barca orgasm moment next season.

Just to add - i won't miss Beagrie or Goodman on Sky, morons.

RB - Cline (young and hungry) CB - Roger Johnson (back-to-back relegations isnt great, but he was doing really well at Brum the season before last and i still think he is a PL CB) RM - Kightly (just running himself back into some great form for Wolves after his injury lay-off) CM - Sigurdsson (Hopeful punt as i'm pretty certain he'll get a bigger move than us) ST - Zaha (pace and great feet, young and desperate for PL football, will only get better and have to think he would play well feeding off Rickie) If we got these five i would be absolutely delighted, three of them and we will have done well.

As fans, we would love to think that the renewals are rewarded with a prize freeze or whatever, but Cortese is all about the business so he 100% wouldnt do that. No complaints from me though - i've had a great time over the past three seasons in L1 and the Championship and not many of us were complaining when Cortese showed his business talents to get ludicrous money for Oxo, refused to pay silly money on wages etc