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Bale, Walcott, Chamberlain, Lallana all made it to the first team when we were in lower leagues and Shaw and Chambers when we were a lot further down the Premier League. We need to give young players opportunities, I can't understand why Reed was overlooked for the whole of last season as I have not seen him have a bad game for the first team. Stephens might not be on a par with VVD or Fonte but he might be up there with Yosida and Gardos if only he is given a chance, McCarthy possibly could push our current right backs in a year or so. I also really rate both Hesketh and McQueen. For me the key is, if they aren't going to feature for the first team they need to go to a higher standard of football than the lower leagues where they will get a chance to play so I would like to see all four, plus others go to Holland or Belgium as the Chelsea kids do. This will mean they play a much similar type of football as they would get in the Premier league and if they are successful will give the manager far more confidence to play them in the first team.

The best young players at our academy need to be playing at a higher level than the League 1 clubs they have been loaned to over the last couple of seasons. Young players will only learn so much at these lower league clubs and they need to be playing at a higher level, in a more skilled league if they are ever likely to break through into the Southampton first team (now that we can afford top end players) they have to be playing at a higher level than League 1. The Premier League as a collective signs few players from the lower leagues compared to the second tier of European Leagues such as the Netherlands, and Belgium and there is a reason for that. If next season the likes of McQueen, Hesketh,Seager, Stephens get the chance to play in one of these leagues which has a reputation for producing players for the Premier League then I could see them making the first team at Southampton in the future, if they return to the lower leagues I think that Koeman will continue to be reluctant to play them.

If players like Reed, Seager, Hesketh, McQueen, Target are not going to be involved with the first team they need to go out on loan and not to Championship or lower league teams, they need to go abroad and play in the top divisions of places like the Netherlands and Belgium, both leagues are well known for giving young players and chance and producing some very talented players. Most teams in these leagues will not have the money to sign a team of full internationals like most Premier League teams do so they have to give young players a chance. Our younger players need to be playing at a higher, more skilled level of football than what they would play in England. Chelsea do it with many of their best young players, three played against us in the Europa League, and those players are know better than our youngsters.

For me we need three signings. A centre back, somebody with real pace and a goal scorer. If Pelle breaks his leg at the weekend who plays up front and is a goal scoring threat? With Mane out of the team and JRod still not 100% where is the pace in the team? Fonte is struggling for form and without Toby we have no top class centre back. Virgil is the obvious choice for the centre back and I would like to see us go back for Austin. I have seen a bit of him and he is what the team needs. He can score goals, he shoots on sight and if anything happens to Pelle or we need a late goal he is ideal. It will also mean that Pelle isn't an automatic first choice and can't keep playing if he goes through a run of bad form like last season simply because there isn't anybody else. I would also love to see us go for Townsend. A pacey direct player who can play on either win. Without Mane we are so one paced and we cannot change to a more direct attacking set up. Defenders don't like going up against pace and this week we didn't have any. I also think that if our big overseas signings continue to fail to deliver we need to give a real chance to the talent we are famous for but has been overlooked so far this season, the youngsters such as Reed, McQueen and Seager.

Really hope that Reed plays in midfield and Toby replaces Yoshi in defence. Reed hasn't put a foot wrong that I can remember and Toby and Fonte is by far our strongest centre back pair.

Going back to the Academy and whether MP or Koeman has made more use of it, we shouldn't forget that Koeman has had more to play for this year. Every league game has been important and we are still playing for a European place in the league, he also put out the strongest teams possible in both cups. MP had less to play for in the league as from a long way out we were mid table team and he did field weaker teams in the cups. Also this year Gallagher had a bad injury for a lot of this season. His two goals in 20 games for the first team would be interesting to look at in minutes played per goal scored.

I don’t really think it is a week bench, more an inexperienced one. Certainly there is a lot of talent and potential that needs to be given a chance to impress in the likes of McQueen, Reed, Isgrove e.t.c. I haven’t seen the Sheffield game but on the radio commentary it sounded that Isgrove injected some life into the second half performance and I would like to see him start if Tadic is out. I also don’t see the idea of playing Toby in midfield as a good one. We always look a poorer side when he is not in defence so keep him there and give Reed is long awaited chance in midfield. If Pelle, Tadic and Davis are all out my team would be: Forster Clyne, Toby, Fonte, Targett Ward-Prowse, Reed, Bertrand Isgrove, Long, Mane Davies, Yoshida, Hesketh (if fit), McQueen, McCarthy, Mayuka, Seager

Would love to see Koeman use his contacts in Netherlands and get players like Gallagher over to play in the Dutch league. It would be more beneficial for the young players than playing in the Championship or league one where the football they will be playing probably won't be the style that we play.

We should go back to the formation that was so successful for us 4-3-3. Foster Clyne Toby Fonte Targett (has played all the cup games so far and I can't remember him having too many problems) Davies Victor Morgan Mane Long Tadic The three in midfield should be able to own it against a lower division team, although I do get the point about risking both Morgan and Victor to suspension. If we only go with one of them Reed would be the best replacement in that role. On the bench Davis, Yoshida, Gadros, Reed (if not in first 11), Ward-Prowse, Isgrove, Seager or Mayuka or Hesketh Not sure of Hesketh's fitness for this one but in two cameo appearances last week he looks very promising. I likes Isgrove in pre season and think he would have featured more this season without the injury. With him on the bench it will give Mane something to think about and that the left wing position isn't his own. I want to see a forward on the bench but the under 21s have a big game on Monday and Seager may well play the full game and not be ready for Tuesday. Also I want to see more of Tadic back on the left and Mane on the right. Mane's left foot isn't good so lets see him taking on the full back with pace and putting in some decent crosses for Long. Yes I love the way we play but we do need to change things up when we aren't creating chances.

By the way, why is it we have such a terrible record of results in televised matches?

We have only lost three points, against the Champions who have almost unlimited player resources. We played poorly and City are said to have had their best game al season and yet until we went gung-ho in the last 12 minutes we were still in the game even with our front three not playing well. Lets not forget we have our own injury crises that the pundits always seem to forget about, Rodriquez, Ward-Prowse and Cork are all first team players and were all missing. We talk about the lack of depth of our squad but we also had Gallagher, Isgrove and McQueen missing, although not first team players from what I have seen of them this year they can all make a contribution and give the manager options when he needs an alternative. With all those players out we have had a bench in the last few weeks made up of three defenders, a keeper and a couple of defensive midfielders which doesn't give much option when we are chasing the game. As for me, today I would have brought on Reed to replace Morgan, by brining on a defender the Fonte/Toby partnership was broken up and we didn't have anybody who could move the ball forward quickly.

We have a lot of money to spend I make it 70 million plus by the time Chambers and Lovren leave, and getting on towards 100 million if Morgan goes. If Arsenal loan us two players as part of the deal for Chambers you can bet we will get a lot less than the 16 million which has been quoted. What we should remember is that to bring in replacements who are of a similar level to Shaw, Lallana, Chambers, Lambert will cost a serious amount in wages. I would suggest that we will have to pay their replacements at least three or four times what some of these players were earning. We brought in Osvaldo and Gaston as big signings and both are rumoured to be on 70K a week plus, I don't think our young players were earning anywhere near that amount. I also worry about the number of foreign players we are being linked with who have not played in such as tough league before, will they be up for it and perform to a level and show as much commitment, at least on the pitch, as our British players have?

I have been meaning to ask this question for a while. Why is the Saints Academy so good at producing players? Yes the first team gives young players a chance, unlike many other Premier League teams but so far every player who has come in from the Academy as been good enough to play in the first team, has the temperament to do so and doesn't look out of place. What is it that the Academy does in coaching players that makes it so successful compared to others? And will the sacking of Dodd and Williams affect this?

The thing is if we do sell two or three of our best players and fail to get as good replacements we start to backwards, if we keep the players who have performed we could still move forward. Our two biggest signings failed to perform last season. If Osvaldo and Ramirez had performed up to their playing reputations last year we could well have finished in the top six. The current team is a couple of players away from being a serious contender for breaking into the top 6. But if we lose two or three top players who are not replaced then we will be at best just another mid table team. The club could be on the verge of its best years since the 80s if only it can keep the team together. Of course this hasn't happened yet so we should wait and see but the recent performance of the club leadership is a concern.

We have invested 27 million in Ramirez and Osvaldo, and I would estimate that their combined wages are around 150K per week. If we could get some of that money back it could be reinvested and Lallana could be paid the rumoured 70K a week that Liverpool are offering.