Countdown...

[OldNick]

Don't know about you but I go to St Marys (and before that, The Dell) to support the team and have done so through many ups and downs for 50+ years.

 

If you only come to see certain players and want to quit when things aren't to your liking, then you're no great loss.

for me having my hopes raised for the last few years and seeing the club being driven on by NC, gave me a hope and expectation. NC has been removed and it seems to me that we have a mealy mouthed weak leadership follow on from that.

i have not been following Saints for over 50years but I have been for over 45 . In that time I was used to failure and disappointment, but the last few years had given me a new confidence.

I still can't get my head around how we seem to be holding back getting fresh players in. I hope e club have some aces up their sleeves but we all know what happens if you have to play catch up. The PL is a harsh league and we have a rookie manager (PL terms) and potentially a rookie side.

[NickG]

1. Shaw replacement

2. Osvaldo replacement

3. Guly replacement

4. Another striker as J Rod is out and Gallagher not ready

5. Goalkeeper to challenge Boruc for No 1 shirt

6. Lovren replacement

7. Schneiderlin replacement

I really do believe this is a minimum requirement if we want to finish anywhere near 8th. You've only got to look at the pre-season squad to realise how small and inexperienced it is. Not sure what you mean by those who won't get a game, we could have lost 5 first team players by the end of the window. And we can't rely on the like of Gallagher, Reed, Targett etc. Despite some people believing every young player we have will be good enough like Shaw, it just isn't going to happen

Guly played 73 minutes last season, if you add his involvement to Osvaldo's and JayRod's you pretty much make one player.

Sounds like there is some real quality moving up.

JayRod has already said he expects to miss less than 15 games.

 

So, assuming Targett is new LB, other departures already replaced - do we really need 5 just to stay where we are?

Is it really impossible for Koeman to get the same out of players? We were pretty unlucky with serious injuries to key players and weak squad finished 8th?!

 

I would say even if Lovren and Schneiderlin go we would only be a signing or two off last season - if Koeman works out.

 

If the rest stay,

Boruc

Clyne Lovren Fonte Targett

Wanyama Schneiderlin

JayRod Ramirez Tadic

Pelle

 

Davies

Chambers Yoshida jos Clyne

Cork reed

Davis JWP Mayuka

Gallagher

 

Not a strong side, if all at together, but good enough to stay up / provide good cover.

 

I think signings are more getting good players in rather than panic replacements

 

I was very impressed with Reed last season and clips this season -if he is going to be top player do we have room for-

Schneiderlin

Wanyama

JWP

Reed

Davis

Ramirez

Cork

Tadic?

[Saint_Tony]

So we are going to assume Targett is the next Shaw and will definitely be good enough to be our first choice left back? So who will be back up?

[S-Clarke]

So we are going to assume Targett is the next Shaw and will definitely be good enough to be our first choice left back? So who will be back up?

 

Clyne probably, as per last season. As I've said, LB is not seen as a priority by the club at all. They are all very excited by Targett, and maybe we should all be as well!

 

At least we'll get 6 months to a year out of him before Liverhampton sign him.

[Lighthouse]

I can't see Targett as first choice LB. Not even close, he has yet to make a Prem appearance even as a sub.

 

Remember last summer when everyone thought Isgrove was going to be a regular, after an impressive preseason tour. I think this is a similar situation and it's wishful thinking to expect Targett to be ready just like that.

 

If he starts at Anfield I will eat my hat. Not my Mclaren baseball cap, I just bought that. I've got an old beanie I used to use for skiing, I could marinade that in some sort of stroganoff and eat that.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, we need a LB.

[TwoPints]

1. Shaw replacement

2. Osvaldo replacement

3. Guly replacement

4. Another striker as J Rod is out and Gallagher not ready

5. Goalkeeper to challenge Boruc for No 1 shirt

6. Lovren replacement

7. Schneiderlin replacement

I really do believe this is a minimum requirement if we want to finish anywhere near 8th. You've only got to look at the pre-season squad to realise how small and inexperienced it is. Not sure what you mean by those who won't get a game, we could have lost 5 first team players by the end of the window. And we can't rely on the like of Gallagher, Reed, Targett etc. Despite some people believing every young player we have will be good enough like Shaw, it just isn't going to happen

A Guly replacement... essential? Really? I'm sure we could get by without replacing someone who played so few minutes last season as to make no difference to our season whatsoever.

[Saint_Tony]

A Guly replacement... essential? Really? I'm sure we could get by without replacing someone who played so few minutes last season as to make no difference to our season whatsoever.

I meant more an attacking squad player to bring off of the bench, something we lacked last year (other than Guly)

[TwoPints]

I meant more an attacking squad player to bring off of the bench, something we lacked last year (other than Guly)

So more of a 'nice to have' than someone essential for us to finish 8th as we managed to finish 8th without this attacking squad player last year.

 

By the way the 'attacking squad player' would be the sort of person I mean that wouldn't get a game. We're not going to get high quality players coming here to sit on the bench, we're not Liverpool after all

[sadoldgit]

for me having my hopes raised for the last few years and seeing the club being driven on by NC, gave me a hope and expectation. NC has been removed and it seems to me that we have a mealy mouthed weak leadership follow on from that.

i have not been following Saints for over 50years but I have been for over 45 . In that time I was used to failure and disappointment, but the last few years had given me a new confidence.

I still can't get my head around how we seem to be holding back getting fresh players in. I hope e club have some aces up their sleeves but we all know what happens if you have to play catch up. The PL is a harsh league and we have a rookie manager (PL terms) and potentially a rookie side.

 

Cortese was not removed. He lft of his own free will. The people in charge now have employed one of the biggest names in football to manage our football club. We are brining more players into the club and could potentially end up with a stronger squad than last year. Not sure what you mean about holding back? Deals get done when they get done. I wasnt aware that we has planned to leave it all to the last minute. Why not wait and see how things pan out before you throw yourself off the roof?

[CB Fry]

for me having my hopes raised for the last few years and seeing the club being driven on by NC, gave me a hope and expectation. NC has been removed and it seems to me that we have a mealy mouthed weak leadership follow on from that.

i have not been following Saints for over 50years but I have been for over 45 . In that time I was used to failure and disappointment, but the last few years had given me a new confidence.

I still can't get my head around how we seem to be holding back getting fresh players in. I hope e club have some aces up their sleeves but we all know what happens if you have to play catch up. The PL is a harsh league and we have a rookie manager (PL terms) and potentially a rookie side.

 

In the last few years we finished 7th then 2nd in the third tier, then 2nd in the second tier, then fourteenth in the top tier.

 

When Cortese quit on us (he was not removed) we were all of ninth in the top tier. Ninth.

 

Basically we've been higher those spots plenty of times in our history. Even in the Lowe era we were fourth at Christmas once. Dave Jones and Paul Sturrock steered us to 12th.

 

You getting carried away with "hope and expectation" on the back of a flurry of pretty mediocre (in the wider scheme of English football) league finishes is your problem.

 

Nothing we'd achieved in the last five years suggested we were ever going to break into the highest echelons of the game, so not really sure what you were expecting or where your "new confidence" was based on.

 

I, for one, am supporting our new manager and whoever we bring in. Let's have a solid season in the league but go for it in the cups.