Toon Saint

Aside from the merits of Guly and the fact that we have yet to see Forren play, can't we put the whole Ramirez thing to bed already? Easily the most gifted player in the squad, and despite his fitness levels and inconsistency, he had a far more productive season than our captain who seems to attract little to no criticism.

I love how @andrew_halford is first on the scene. Probably the dopiest fan using the #saintsfc timeline.

No, I'd be disappointed with his use of four extra limbs. One could at least be used to tickle agents while negotiating with players.

Yep, agree that it's premature. We have also moved to strengthen our priority area first, which cannot be said for the mayhem of the last transfer window. The 'cheque-book waving' he alluded to yesterday doesn't really sound like the Cortese approach to negotiations either.

A fairly scathing view of Cortese's dealings from Alan Nixon: Alan Nixon ‏@reluctantnicko 7m @tcumner1986 The Don wanted cash and control. He got it. He has not delivered. Discuss...

Aye, agreed. Though I'm not convinced that defenders are what Stoke necessarily need, being pretty solid back there anyway. It will be interesting to see how Stoke fare with Hughes next season - he does seem to be a manager that operates much better under financial constraints (Blackburn, Fulham) I also see Swansea have snapped up Pozuelo from Real Betis. I confess to knowing nothing about him, but they seem to be snapping a fair few players up from the Spanish League at good prices. Time will tell whether they are good buys or not, but I thought that we would be making more inroads into the Spanish market given Poch's contacts and the value for money to be had there. His interview with the BBC towards the end of last season seemed to suggest that two were as good as sewn up, so wondering what has happened to these targets (I doubt that Lovren was one of them). Hopefully we'll have some joy this week.

When I lived in Liverpool, I used to work with a guy who was/is very good friends with him. He told me about the transfer before Saints announced it, but couldn't quite believe it as he reckoned Molyneux was Sunday league level at best. Big reputation for going out on the lash and poor discipline. Seemingly happy to waste his career away in the reserves while picking up a handsome pay cheque.

1) A bit of a myth circulating on this thread that you need to abandon tradition in order to achieve success, or that Cortese's 'controversial' decision to get rid of the stripes will somehow be vindicated in the long term. In terms of performance on the football pitch, a kit with stripes or without stripes will make absolutely no difference, and we should not defend Cortese's decision on the proviso that it will make us a better football club. Too many examples in the Premier League of successful clubs that have not felt the need to abandon their home kit in order to 'progress'. 2) In terms of branding, Turkish makes some good (if sarcastic) points on Cortese' re-creating the club in his own image. I'd ask though, is this is a cohesive branding strategy? Four drastic kit changes in the last four years suggests a bit of a muddled approach. If we are trying to differentiate ourselves as an identifiable brand, then why use what is pretty much a template design? Is this bold and confident or just homogenous and bland? I'd argue the latter. 3) The assertion that 'if you don't like the kit then don't buy it' (given more on Twitter than SWF to be fair) is so glib and short-sighted its untrue. As if we do not have to still support the team that wears it, as if we have to suck up every change to the club's identity purely on the basis of Cortese's masterplan, as if our love for the club (and the history and traditions involved) can be reduced to a purely financial abstraction that suggests unless we buy the product we have no right to comment. I have a lot of respect for Cortese and what he has done for the club, but my loyalty will always be to the club first and him second.

Carlton Palmer

Any more information on the player IN, Glasgow? Is it someone we have been linked with previously or one that's slipped under the radar? Position? Ta.

Third-party ownership + Damiao's loyalty to Internacional / Cortese's crusade against football agents = impending transfer saga

Great passing ability, but zero pace, doesn't press, and plays the ball from way too deep. Don't think he would be a natural fit for us at all.

Just a prediction, but I can see Wanyama rocking up at Man Utd. Similar thing happened with Buttner transfer and I wonder whether the club have intimated to the agent that they will bid once Moyes is installed as manager. DM is position that needs strengthening for Man Utd, and with them bidding for Baines already I can't see Moyea raiding Everton once more due to politics involved. At £24m Fellaini's release clause is about double what they would pay for Wanyama, who has the advantage of being younger with higher sell-on value. Only a thought but the current limbo/impasse suggests Wanyama's agents are aware of bigger interest.

You make an excellent point, he'll provide added CB cover to boot. Of all the players we have been linked with, he's definitely the one I'm most excited about. A Banega/Wanyama combo should also improve our success with corners considerably.

Given that they are completely different types of midfielders, I can only assume we are going in for both Wanyama and Banega. Would give us incredible depth in midfield if we sign the two of them, Wanyama is an absolute powerhouse and Banega can provide the intricacy lacking towards the end of last season. Not really concerned what this potentially does for Cork of JWP's prospects either, as many seem to be fretting about. They will get plenty of game time regardless of whether first choice or not, especially as we tend to play with three central midfielders in a quite fluid system anyway. Strength in depth is key for European aspirations and progress in cup competitions next season.

Same article also says that MoPo played against Banega 'a few years ago'. Given he retired in 2006, and Banega didn't feature in the Boca side until 2007 I'd say that is highly unlikely.

Yep, I just found it mildly irritating given the nature of that defeat.

I sat next to him at the home game against Man Utd (bar the thin partition between media and fans) and he was fist-pumping every time Utd scored.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2311539/How-Premier-League-table-look-players-English.html We'd have been top of the Premier League had we only counted English goalscorers last season.

Aye, agreed. The ultimate benchmark of intelligence, of course, is being able to recite poetry off-the-cuff in press conferences.

Don't think I mentioned anything about qualifications equaling intelligence, chap. I'm pretty sure it doesn't require a degree to read Dostoevsky or any classic literature. Reeks of inverse-snobbery your end.

Morgan reads Dostoevsky and Albert Camus, while JWP has interests in Fauvism and fine-art restoration.

Well the AC Milan link is just media speculation and I think he won his third or fourth cap tonight against the mighty Haiti. Yes, great that he is even being picked for the Azzurri but not convinced that is proof enough of him being the perfect fit for our defence. Just my tuppence worth, brah.

Individual mistakes cost us badly last year. I remember Gary Nev's analysis of our defence showing that collectively our positioning and shape was actually very good, but we were let down repeatedly by individual gaffes especially during the first third of the season. Given Astori's (seeming) propensity for the odd blooper, just thinking we might want a defender who can remain switched on for the whole ninety minutes. He'll probably prove me entirely wrong.

I was referring to this article that I mentioned previous to the game today (see above), which highlights Astori and Hoovield as the top 2 error-prone defenders in the top 5 European leagues. http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/i8p0b6r00u69gbekopyj6g/Show/Player-Focus-Error-Prone-Outfielders Decent concentration levels surely a must for any prospective CB.