SaintJackoInHurworth

Yes - absolutely - if Ankersen is involved we might get a rubbish(?) manager like the one he installed at Brentford. What a disaster that would be for all the moaners and Pompey fans who just come here to slag the club off. Come to think of it, let's recruit Brentford fans to protest against the management of Thomas Frank!

Not quite sure why there is such a lot of hate for the idea of appointing Kasper Hjulmand. He has a pretty good record: He managed to take a weak Danish international squad to the semi-finals of the European Championship. He took a previously little-known Danish Club from obscurity to winning the Danish Superleague (not unlike the success that Graham Potter had in Scandinavia before Swansea appointed him). He has a win record of around 42% which is pretty decent. Of course, there may be concerns that he flopped outside of Denmark when managing Mainz 05, but some of the best managers are those who have had setbacks and moved on through them to learn from their mistakes (e.g. Eddie Howe). Having said all of that, I would personally love it if we could appoint Edin Terzić, former manager of Dortmund, who has just about the best stats of any manager with experience of managing in a top European league and who is currently without a job. It is probably highly unlikely that we could attract him to come and manage us, but if we could that would be a major coup!

Personally, I believe we must sack Martin now, but I don't believe the board have the guts to do it. We haven't had leaders that decisive at board level since Cortese (love him or hate him) left. The board will probably dither for a few weeks just like Katerina Liebherr and her board did with Pellegrino. After all, they have created a friendly match in a couple of weeks time where one side is labelled the 'Russell Martin XI'. Also, they only gave him a new lucrative contract in the summer, so sacking him will not be cheap! If we do sack Martin (eventually), Potter is likely to be the favourite unless he has found a job elsewhere in the meantime. Who else is likely to be in the running? I would venture a guess that we will be linked with Danny Rohl, John Eustace, Carlos Calderon, Michael Carrick and probably also Chris Wilder. A left-field suggestion might be Michael Skubala from Lincoln because of his Man City and England youth coaching experience as well as the fact he is doing quite well at Lincoln City. And what tactics should they adopt? Whoever it is, I think they need to bring Bella-Kotchap in to play alongside Harwood-Bellis and need to think long and hard about how on earth we are going to get goals! Personally, introducing incisive pace into attack will help, so we need attacking players who can be responsive to that. For me that means we need Walker-Peters and Sugawara on either flank with Dibling and Amo-Ameyaw as wingers and probably Arma running through to break the lines and beat the offside trap to get on the end of telling balls from those four and Fernandes and Lallana. My line-up would be: Ramsdale, Sugawara, THB, ABK, KWP, Downes, Fernandes, Lallana, Dibling, Arma, SAA.

Martin got a lot more right today than he has for most matches this season. However, when it came to it he made one key error which cost us the game. That error was taking Fernandes off and replacing him with Aribo. Before that we were in control of midfield but after that the midfield opened up for them and we were under the cosh. The result was the equalising goal. In addition, it was also Aribo's failure to stand up in front of Morsy's shot that also caused the goal. If he had stood up (or not been on the pitch) the ball wouldn't have deflected off him and Ramsdale would have saved it. That's a double failure from one decision and it has cost us the win.

I don't want to say any of our players is crap, but I don't understand Russell Martin's determination to make Stephens his captain and pick him every game. Last season in the Championship he couldn't get into the side for much of the early part of the season. He has had a part to play in most of the goals we have conceded this season. He hasn't shown leadership - often being the player to fail to mark the opposition player I recognise that he has a good attitude, in contrast to Bella-Kotchap for example, but ABK is a far superior defender and surely there comes a time when we have to play our best players and not the worst ones? Aside from Bella-Kotchap, how must Wood and Edwards feel when they see Stephens selected every time while they can't even make the squad? I personally think it is high time that Stephens was dropped - from the squad, not just the starting line-up. What does anyone else think?

Here is our squad now (with new signings in red) plus details of ages of under-21 players: Name Position Other Aaron Ramsdale GK Gavin Bazunu GK Alex McCarthy GK Joe Lumley GK Jan Bednarek CB Taylor Harwood-Bellis CB Armel Bella-Kotchap CB Ronnie Edwards CB Age 21 but counts as under-21 Nathan Wood CB Jack Stephens CB/FB Charlie Taylor CB/FB Kyle Walker-Peters FB Yukinari Sagawara FB James Bree FB Ryan Manning FB Juan Larios FB Age 20 Flynn Downes DM/CM Lesley Ugochukwu DM/CM Age 20 Will Smallbone CM/DM Mateus Fernandes CM/AM Age 20 Adam Lallana AM/Wing Tyler Dibling AM/RM Age 18 Joe Aribo AM Maxwel Cornet Winger Sam Amo-Ameyaw Winger Age 18 Kamaldeen Sulemana Winger Ryan Fraser Winger Sam Edozie Winger Age 21 but counts as under-21 Adam Armstrong Winger/Striker Ben Brereton-Diaz Winger/Striker Ross Stewart Striker Cameron Archer Striker Paul Onuachu Striker Probable/possible incomings not yet announced Noel Buck CM/DM Age 19 Rory MacLeod Striker Age 18 Obviously, the last two are probably under-21 squad players at this stage. This is a maximum size squad in terms of over-21 players with a squad of exactly 25 over-21s (assuming that Bazunu will be excluded from the squad until January). There is still potential for some players to leave to go to leagues where the transfer window remains open, e.g. Onuachu to Turkey

I thought the point of selling Alcaraz was to bring in money to cover some of the transfer costs and help us avoid getting into trouble over FFP? Bringing in another player as part payment seems strange - although I suppose it does mean we are not left short in the attacking midfield area. Nevertheless, presumably Hugo is a downgrade on Alcaraz, which leaves us weak in the AM position. Despite his recent improvements, Aribo is not great and Lallana has not really got the legs any more! True, Dibling shows promise in that position, but two promising young players as backup to Aribo is a bit worrying. I guess the difference is that Martin seems set to play a different system this season - playing Armstrong and BBD as a false nine duo doubling up as wingers, with a back five in a kind of flexible 5-3-2 line-up. However, presumably he will still want the option of switching to the more familiar dynamic 4-3-3 which he utilised for most of last season. Personally, if all of this is true, then I think it is a big shame as Alcaraz has huge potential and offers something a little different than other players. Also, whatever some people may feel about him not quite delivering everything they were hoping for, his stats are impressive, with nearly all of our wins at the start of last season coming when he started and very few wins being achieved without him until Stu Armstrong was fit.

So, where are Saints up to in terms of signing a keeper? We seem to have been linked with at least four candidates in the past couple of weeks and several others before that: Aaron Ramsdale - www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24450616.southampton-reportedly-weighing-up-move-aaron-ramsdale Sam Johnstone - www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24500418.southampton-reportedly-interested-crystal-palaces-sam-johnstone Vladyslav Krapyvtsov - www.footballfancast.com/southampton-ready-to-offer-contract-vladyslav-krapyvtsov-ahead-of-chelsea Jason Steele - www.givemesport.com/southampton-interested-in-brighton-goalkeeper-jason-steele Are we linked with anyone else (other than the guesses that Rui Patricio might go to Goztepe and then be loaned to Saints)? Is anything going to come of any of these links? I certainly hope we sign a keeper and if Lis is going back to Goztepe the club must be fairly confident that they will sign someone!

So, where are Saints up to in terms of signing a keeper? We seem to have been linked with at least four candidates in the past couple of weeks and several others before that: Aaron Ramsdale - www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24450616.southampton-reportedly-weighing-up-move-aaron-ramsdale Sam Johnstone - www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24500418.southampton-reportedly-interested-crystal-palaces-sam-johnstone Vladyslav Krapyvtsov - www.footballfancast.com/southampton-ready-to-offer-contract-vladyslav-krapyvtsov-ahead-of-chelsea Jason Steele - www.givemesport.com/southampton-interested-in-brighton-goalkeeper-jason-steele Are we linked with anyone else? Is anything going to come of any of these links? Let's hope so!

How come Jimmy-Jay Morgan is not listed there?

So, by saying that BBD is an improvement on Adams, you are saying that our attack is better than it was in our relegation season. IN ADDITION, we now have Stewart who, even though we haven't really seen what he is capable of yet, is almost certainly going to be an improvement on Mara AND we now have a confident Adam Armstrong playing in a system that is better suited to his ability and a manager that trusts him. I am not saying I wouldn't welcome another quality striking addition to the squad, but it cannot be a higher priority than improving our central midfield. Someone has said earlier that it is no point improving on our midfield if we haven't got anyone to finish attacks, well let me turn that on its head and point out that there is no point having 5 strikers (or 6 if Ballard doesn't go on loan) if they are just going to feed off scraps because our midfield are not able to create anything. After all, one of our biggest challenges of the last few years (as has been pointed out many times) is the poor quality of our final ball. So... yes, I would love a quality new striker, but more importantly I would love to see a central midfielder like Matt O'Riley or similar. In addition I would also love a tough tackling defensive midfielder of the quality of Romeu that will allow us to be more effective in breaking up opposition attacks thus reducing our goals conceded (and also allowing us to transform defence quickly into attack).

This is where I think we are currently up to: Goalkeepers: Bazunu, McCarthy, Lumley, Lis - With Bazunu injured we ideally need a keeper and Lis or Lumley should therefore be loaned out. Right Backs: KWP, Sugawara, Bree - KWP and/or Bree may leave. Another player may be signed if KWP leaves. Centre Backs: Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Edwards, Wood, Bella-Kotchap, Stephens - We have plenty of options at CB! Bednarek could leave if he cannot be tied to a new contract. Bella-Kotchap's future may depend on getting him fit enough. He could be loaned out but may stay, though that could leave us with a lot of CBs! Left Backs: Taylor, Manning, Meghoma, Larios - If KWP stays he can also play at LB. Larios superfluous to our needs but injuries mean few clubs will be interested. Meghoma's contract up for renewal next year, so a sale seems a strong possibility. Seems unlikely we will sign anyone else. Defensive midfielders: Downes, Charles - Limited options in this position, so a purchase would seem likely/necessary, especially if Charles is loaned out to facilitate the purchase of O'Riley. Stephens or others may need to cover this position if we don't strengthen. Central Midfielders: Smallbone, Dibling - Seriously lacking in this position. Downes could cover here but is needed at CDM! The signing of O'Riley and/or other CM/CDM player(s) is essential. Attacking Midfielders: Alcaraz, Aribo, Lallana - I can't see us prioritising further additions here. If needed, some of our wingers or Dibling can also cover this position. Wingers: Armstrong, Edozie, Sulemana, Amo-Ameyaw - Despite having four players already in these two positions plus Brereton-Diaz who can also play here, we are being linked with a number of other players in these positions including Fraser. Could any of the current batch leave if we sign someone else? Centre Forwards: Stewart, Brereton-Diaz, Mara, Ballard - It seems we are still being linked with others. With Armstrong also likely to play as CF on occasions, Mara's options will surely become limited now, unless we have serious injury problems. You've got to think he will leave on loan at the very least. Meanwhile Ballard needs experience of first team football, so a loan seems likely.

Goalkeepers: Bazunu, McCarthy, Lumley, Lis With Bazunu injured we ideally need a keeper. Lis or Lumley would therefore be loaned out. Right Backs: KWP, Sugawara, Bree KWP and/or Bree may leave. Another player may be signed if KWP leaves. Centre Backs: Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Edwards, Wood, Bella-Kotchap, Stephens Bednarek could leave if he cannot be tied to a new contract. Bella-Kotchap's future may depend on getting him fit enough. He could be loaned out but may stay, though that would leave us with a lot of CBs! Left Backs: Taylor, Manning, Meghoma, Larios If KWP stays he can also play at LB. Larios seems superfluous to our needs but having been out for ages with injuries few clubs are likely to be interested. Meghoma has lots of promise but it seems unlikely he will get much opportunity and with his contract up for renewal next year a loan would seem unlikely, so a sale seems a strong possibility. Defensive midfielders: Downes, Charles, We have limited options in this position, so a purchase would seem likely, but Camara has opted to go elsewhere. Potentially O'Riley could cover this position, though I think he is more of a CM than a CDM. Charles may be loaned out to facilitate the purchase of O'Riley. We may need someone else or might use Stephens or other CB or CM in this position. Central Midfielders: Smallbone, Dibling We are seriously lacking in this position. Downes could cover here but with few options at CDM either it would still leave us short. The signing of O'Riley and/or other CM/CDM player(s) is essential. Attacking Midfielders: Alcaraz, Aribo, Lallana While some have argued this is another position where we have limited options, I can't see us prioritising further additions here, especially as some of our wingers can also cover this position, as can our CM players (especially Dibling and O'Riley if he signs). Wingers: Armstrong, Edozie, Sulemana, Amo-Ameyaw Despite having four players already in these two positions plus Brereton-Diaz who can also play here, we are being linked with a number of other players in these positions including wee man. Could that lead to Sulemana leaving? It remains to be seen! Of course, Armstrong is often used as a CF rather than winger, but that may change with the arrival of Brereton-Diaz. Centre Forwards: Stewart, Brereton-Diaz, Mara, Ballard With Armstrong also likely to play as CF on occasions, Mara's options will surely become limited now, unless we have serious injury problems. You've got to think he will leave on loan at the very least. Meanwhile Ballard needs experience of first team football, so a loan seems likely. He could have a blistering season in the EFL if he remains fit!

I'm not at all convinced we would go with the line-up you have suggested - at least not in the longer term. I personally think it will be more like this: GK: McCarthy or New Keeper Back three: THB, Bednarek, ABK/Edwards Wing-backs: KWP/Sugawara & Taylor CDM: Downes CM: Smallbone AM/wingers: AA & Alcaraz/Edozie - depending on whether he goes for 2 wingers or 2 AMs. CF: Stewart I think Bednarek will keep his place for his experience, with Wood and Stephens as the deputies for him and THB. In terms of purchases, I think there are possibly 3 priorities: Cover for Downes Cover for Smallbone Cover for Stewart

I think we are doing pretty well in the transfer market so far. I also think some people seem to have missed some significant signings we have made or have just decided that Everton or Forest cast-offs would be better than up-and-coming talent!! Of course, I accept that we have got to ensure our squad has some balance between experience and youth but let's be realistic about what the club are going to be able to achieve! I think our defence is pretty sorted now - Edwards looks like a real talent and could form a great future partnership with Harwood-Bellis. With Wood also signed in addition to Bednarek, Stephens and Bella-Kotchap, we have now got 6 first team centre backs on the books. We are not going to sign another!! At right back we now have Sugawara in addition to Walker-Peters and Bree; at left back we have Taylor, Manning, Meghoma and Larios. So, unless Kyle leaves and it is felt we need better back-up than Bree at right back then I can't see us signing another full back either. In other positions I can definitely see that we need to sign more and I am fairly confident that we will... We definitely need to improve at least two of the various central midfield positions in addition to signing Downes. There seems to be some confusion about what these roles are. I know it is not as simple as this, but it can be kind of simplified as: CDM - Central Defensive Midfield - the role that has down the last few years been filled by Wanyama, Romeu, Lavia and last season by Downes and Charles. Often club will play two players in a cross between this role and the CM role, though one is usually tasked with being the main player to sit in front of the defence. CM - Central Midfield - slightly more advanced than the CDM role - sometimes covering that role, but also advancing up-field more. Sometimes described as box-to-box, depending on the particular tactics employed by a manager. This is the role that has been filled by Hojbjerg and then Ward-Prowse (until he was forced to drop into the CDM role when Romeu was sold). Last season it was Smallbone who filled the role, but I feel we have never adequately provided cover for this role. When Alcaraz was first bought, Hassenhuttl seemed to want him in that role, but it became clear that he was better in the AM role. Aribo filled in here last year, but he is not really a CM either. We definitely need to strengthen in this position. AM - Attacking Midfield - In the centre, but in a more attacking role - the role filled by Stu Armstrong, Alcaraz, Aribo, Lallana and sometimes by Adam Armstrong. It is a role that can also be filled by some of our strikers and wingers. Unless we sell Alcaraz I cant see us buying anyone else in this role, but who knows? Beyond those positions I think we have a fair few wingers or attacking wide midfielders (Adam Armstrong, Edozie, Sulemana, Amo-Ameyaw and Dibling) so, other than Fraser it remains to be seen if we can afford to strengthen in these areas. Nevertheless, some of those players are quite young and inexperienced and there have been a few links to others so maybe we will. It is certainly an area where we have spent lots yet have struggled to recruit players of sufficient quality. Finally, there is (understandably) a lot of clamour for a centre forward. We currently have Stewart, Che (if he stays), Arma (if played here rather than on the wing), Mara and Ballard. Mara is poor and is another who would benefit from playing as an AM rather than as a striker. Ballard could be amazing, but sadly I don't think Martin feels he is ready for first team selection yet. So, assuming Che is leaving and Arma is played on the wing, it would seem likely that we need to strengthen here. However, it is a position where we have struggled to recruit players of suitable quality. As for goalkeeper, with Bazunu out for most of the season, we have McCarthy, Lumley and Lis, but presumably Lis will go back out on loan so we will have to sign someone - even if only on loan. If the links to Ramsdale are true that would be amazing! I doubt they are though!