Major revamp needed - but what are our priorities?

[SaintJackoInHurworth]

So, it is pretty obvious that significant changes are needed at Saints, but the reality is that even if Sports Republic are able to offer a little bit more money than we have had at our disposal in previous years, they won't be able to change everything in one go. So what are the priorities?

I think the first priority has got to be central defence. Salisu is dreadful! He has potential, but is prone to drift out of position and other errors. He needs time to get to Premier League standard. Bednarek is better but spends too much time covering for other defenders (especially Salisu) and his own form and confidence has suffered as a result. Stephens, Lyanco and Valery are also not up to much (although Valery has done better this season than previously). I believe we need one or even two decent central defenders with a bit of experience in the Premier League who can bring a bit of stability and can help the other CBs to improve. I would prioritise someone like James Tarkowski who has just got relegated with Burnley, but is a semi-decent centre back who we might, possibly, have some chance of buying.

Secondly, we also need a decent striker as none of our striking options have delivered anywhere near enough goals.

Thirdly, of course, we also need a keeper.

If we have any money after that lot, I would try again to find a decent creative/attacking midfield player/winger. Walcott has failed; Redmond has lost his way; Elyounoussi has had a better season but is still not great; Djenepo has failed to deliver and still looks like a headless chicken most of the time and Tella has not done enough to suggest he can make the role his own. Only Armstrong can be trusted to regularly deliver any quality.

Finally, though I doubt we will have enough money for this, we need to do something about developing a player who can cover for Romeu when he is injured or off-form. All of our other reserve central midfielders (Diallo and Smallbone) are better as cover for Ward-Prowse than for Romeu.

We can talk all we want about the manager - and he has definitely made mistakes - but until we get our squad sorted we can't really complain. What he does need however, is a decent assistant. So alongside up to six decent squad additions I would argue we also need to improve in that area.

[The Kraken]

Spine of the team.

Decent first choice keeper.

Leader of a centre back.

Strong centre midfielder.

Goal scoring striker.

We won’t get most/all of them, and we need other reinforcements, but that’s how I see it.

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, The Kraken said:

Spine of the team.

Decent first choice keeper.

Leader of a centre back.

Strong centre midfielder.

Goal scoring striker.

We won’t get most/all of them, and we need other reinforcements, but that’s how I see it.

What we will get, all of those positions  but players under 22 years of age. 
 

 

Edited 22 May, 2022 by AlexLaw76

[beatlesaint]

We need -

A new coaching staff or assistant manager at the very least, assuming RH is staying.

Team wise - a first choice keeper, two centre backs, if anyone is mug enough to buy them get rid of Bednarek and Stephens. 
A central midfield player who can put his foot in and dictate, Romeu did it when we had our great run of form. 
An atracking midfield player. 
Two strikers.

That would be my minimum but I’m not expecting anything like if I’m honest.

 

[S-Clarke]

Definite spine of the team upgrades required. Priorities are simple for me.

New GK

New CB

New CM

New ST

New Wide player.

Bonus additions - another new wide player, full back cover and another striker.

I don't have a problem with buying 'young players', but they should be the 'bonus additions' rather than the spine additions. The spine players need to be already established players who can step into our team from day 1. We need to move on from buying 'potential, that we can polish' to buying polished potential that we can make even better.

[The Kraken]

5 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

What we will get, all of those positions  but players under 22 years of age. 
 

 

Somewhat likely.  I see Alex McCarthy being number one, I think we might actually prioritise a centre back. Then a promising young midfielder from the Austrian league, and a young loan striker from a PL club such as Delap.

[Turkish]

Our priorities should be

Good experienced keeper

good experienced centre back leader

good defensive midfielder 

decent striker

creative attacking midfielder 

we will get players with a potential high future resale value

have you ever know a club who sign players solely for how much they can sell them for in two or three years time?

[S-Clarke]

6 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Our priorities should be

Good experienced keeper

good experienced centre back leader

good defensive midfielder 

decent striker

creative attacking midfielder 

we will get players with a potential high future resale value

have you ever know a club who sign players solely for how much they can sell them for in two or three years time?

I think most clubs sign players with the hope of getting a decent sell-on, but I agree that we do it to the extreme and openly admit that's what we're doing.

I found Semmens comments very depressing a few months ago.

''for us, it's not important about where we finish in the league, that's not what it's about for us, it's how we develop and how the players we've signed have improved''. Doesn't that kind of admit it's not about the fans and building a good side, it's all about developing players so we can get profit? Sad situation really. I hope things have changed now.

Edited 22 May, 2022 by S-Clarke

[MarkSFC]

Manager

Coaches 

2 x Gk

2 x CB

1 x DCM

2 x winger types 

1/2 x Strikers

[woodsaint1]

Its clear we're not sacking Ralph, so failing that he needs two new coaches to support him. Davis and Watson is honestly a pisstake for a PL team.

On the pitch (in order of priority) -

two CFs (we badly need goals and it is almost always the difference between relegation and survival),

a new GK (will make a world of difference to have somebody who inspires confidence to the defence and has good distribution),

two new CBs to compete with Salisu and not be squad fillers (although if we were offered a silly amount for Salisu, I would sell him - his hype has taken a big hit in the last few months),

a new no.10,

a new DCM to replace Romeu who will act as an able replacement,

a new winger,

 

[SaveloyMush]

7 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think most clubs sign players with the hope of getting a decent sell-on, but I agree that we do it to the extreme and openly admit that's what we're doing.

I found Semmens comments very depressing a few months ago.

''for us, it's not important about where we finish in the league, that's not what it's about for us, it's how we develop and how the players we've signed have improved''. Doesn't that kind of admit it's not about the fans and building a good side, it's all about developing players so we can get profit? Sad situation really. I hope things have changed now.

If Semmens did say that, I commend him for his honesty. A football club is a business and he is its CEO; as such, his responsibility is to ensure the ongoing security of the business and to act in the best interests of his bosses, the share-holders, who expect a return, otherwise they would not have invested. Admittedly, it's a pretty unusual business, one in which the interests of its customers (the fans) often are seen not to align with those of the share-holders (the owners). If they feel that the business is not giving them value for money, customers are free to select an alternative supplier, of course...

Except it's not like that, at least in the minds of loyal supporters. Except it is like that, exactly like that, in the business that is modern football.

[Teddeer]

51 minutes ago, SaintJackoInHurworth said:

So, it is pretty obvious that significant changes are needed at Saints, but the reality is that even if Sports Republic are able to offer a little bit more money than we have had at our disposal in previous years, they won't be able to change everything in one go. So what are the priorities?

I think the first priority has got to be central defence. Salisu is dreadful! He has potential, but is prone to drift out of position and other errors. He needs time to get to Premier League standard. Bednarek is better but spends too much time covering for other defenders (especially Salisu) and his own form and confidence has suffered as a result. Stephens, Lyanco and Valery are also not up to much (although Valery has done better this season than previously). I believe we need one or even two decent central defenders with a bit of experience in the Premier League who can bring a bit of stability and can help the other CBs to improve. I would prioritise someone like James Tarkowski who has just got relegated with Burnley, but is a semi-decent centre back who we might, possibly, have some chance of buying.

Secondly, we also need a decent striker as none of our striking options have delivered anywhere near enough goals.

Thirdly, of course, we also need a keeper.

If we have any money after that lot, I would try again to find a decent creative/attacking midfield player/winger. Walcott has failed; Redmond has lost his way; Elyounoussi has had a better season but is still not great; Djenepo has failed to deliver and still looks like a headless chicken most of the time and Tella has not done enough to suggest he can make the role his own. Only Armstrong can be trusted to regularly deliver any quality.

Finally, though I doubt we will have enough money for this, we need to do something about developing a player who can cover for Romeu when he is injured or off-form. All of our other reserve central midfielders (Diallo and Smallbone) are better as cover for Ward-Prowse than for Romeu.

We can talk all we want about the manager - and he has definitely made mistakes - but until we get our squad sorted we can't really complain. What he does need however, is a decent assistant. So alongside up to six decent squad additions I would argue we also need to improve in that area.

Chicken and egg though isn't it. If the manager isn't up to the job why let him choose which new players in which positions we prioritise. For me get a new manager in and then let him assess and overhaul the squad. 

Edited 22 May, 2022 by Teddeer

[Saint Matty 76]

Pretty much echoing everybody else but absolutely the following;

GK: Ideally somebody to come in immediately and be first choice, although it wouldn't at all surprise me for us to take a punt on a younger name and let them (quickly) overtake McCarthy. Similar to what Ramsdale did this year at Arsenal.

(B. Dragowski, G. Bazunu, N. Pope, D. Henderson)

CB: I hope to god we get rid of Bednarek, and partner Salisu with somebody dependable and experienced. I'm not devastated with Lyanco and Stephens as 3rd/4th choice, but would like to improve there as well if at all possible. This definitely feels like a position where I don't want us to take a punt on a younger player for a change, but it's obviously likely.

(J. Tarkowski, J. Worrall, J. Gomez)

DM: It's a bit depressing as based on how he's pushed on at PSV, Sangare would've been a perfect signing and one which we missed out on due to ridiculous PL ruling. We need somebody to push Romeu, and Diallo looks to be more of a rotation option for JWP rather than the more defensive spot. Kamara from Marseille would've been nice but he's just gone to Villa.

(I. Sangare, Y. Etiki, S. Berge)

AM: They're all just terrible. Hopefully we're losing a few this year and the ones who've got loads of minutes this year will be less prominent, but Stu Armstrong is the only one who I'm happy to see start out of the list of wingers/attacking midfielders we currently have.

(B. Johnson, Tete, M. Cornet, M. Edwards)

ST: If we're persisting with 4-2-2-2, then I'm happy for Che to be one of our starting strikers. It's been a frustrating/bad year with Armstrong but I'm happy to have him around for another year as 3rd choice. I'd take Broja back on loan for another year, but I'm feeling that's a little unlikely at this point. It's probably the hardest position for us to get right, as we've seen the difference between having a player of Ings' quality and... not. 

(A. Broja, L. Delap, E. Dennis, M. Thuram, B. Embolo)

 

My main takeaway is that it's difficult to know which pot we're looking in, whether it's similar to beforehand or we're now capable of looking at players we've previously missed out on.

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, S-Clarke said:

I think most clubs sign players with the hope of getting a decent sell-on, but I agree that we do it to the extreme and openly admit that's what we're doing.

I found Semmens comments very depressing a few months ago.

''for us, it's not important about where we finish in the league, that's not what it's about for us, it's how we develop and how the players we've signed have improved''. Doesn't that kind of admit it's not about the fans and building a good side, it's all about developing players so we can get profit? Sad situation really. I hope things have changed now.

Exactly. They’ll be happy with 17th every season and selling a player or two for huge profit. That is Serbia leisure holdings model. Meet the new boss same as the old boss 

[SNSUN]

Squad next season:

 

New GK/McCarthy/New GK

 

KWP/Tino/Valery

 

Perraud/New LB/Small

 

New CB/Salisu/Lyanco/Bednarek/Stephens

 

JWP/New CM/Romeu/Diallo

 

New AM/New AM/Armstrong/A couple of the other crappos we currently own

 

New Striker/Adams/New Striker/Armstrong

 

So only the 9 new players then, 7 starters and a couple of back ups. Well that ain’t happening. At the very least we need a GK, a CB, an AM and a striker. All first choice. Basically a spine.

 

 

 

 

 

[Baird of the land]

1) GK (Please not a kid)

2) CDM (young replacement for Romeu)

3) Striker

4) If we can move on Bednarek ( then an experienced CB would be great)

5) If we can move on a couple of the 10's (then a young pacy 10 would be great)

6) Some sort of short term cover fullback

[Saint Garrett]

2 hours ago, The Kraken said:

Spine of the team.

Decent first choice keeper.

Leader of a centre back.

Strong centre midfielder.

Goal scoring striker.

We won’t get most/all of them, and we need other reinforcements, but that’s how I see it.

We can see it…

[EBS1980]

A change to the coaching set up, including a proper number 2.

A number 1 keeper

An older leader type centre back 

some form of creativity in the team

a forward

a change to our preferred playing style and a plan B

not much needed huh

[Chez]

 

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Exactly. They’ll be happy with 17th every season and selling a player or two for huge profit. That is Serbia leisure holdings model. Meet the new boss same as the old boss 

I guess we shall see over the next year or two, but this is what I am expecting.

[Harry_SFC]

To stay up next season I feel £100 million or so will need to be spent on the team. Will that happen? Very unlikely. 

As others have said, the spine of the team needs addressing big time. I think we also need at least one wide player and another full back on loan whilst Tino is out. 

We also need a whole new set of coaching staff. 

 

[Badger]

2 hours ago, Teddeer said:

Chicken and egg though isn't it. If the manager isn't up to the job why let him choose which new players in which positions we prioritise. For me get a new manager in and then let him assess and overhaul the squad. 

Problem with that is the timing. Ideally we should be shifting the deadwood as soon as we can, and bringing players in, not allowing a new manager a month to assess how poor the squad is for a month, then desperately looking around to see who is still available to bring in.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Pretty much echoing everybody else but absolutely the following;

GK: Ideally somebody to come in immediately and be first choice, although it wouldn't at all surprise me for us to take a punt on a younger name and let them (quickly) overtake McCarthy. Similar to what Ramsdale did this year at Arsenal.

(B. Dragowski, G. Bazunu, N. Pope, D. Henderson)

CB: I hope to god we get rid of Bednarek, and partner Salisu with somebody dependable and experienced. I'm not devastated with Lyanco and Stephens as 3rd/4th choice, but would like to improve there as well if at all possible. This definitely feels like a position where I don't want us to take a punt on a younger player for a change, but it's obviously likely.

(J. Tarkowski, J. Worrall, J. Gomez)

DM: It's a bit depressing as based on how he's pushed on at PSV, Sangare would've been a perfect signing and one which we missed out on due to ridiculous PL ruling. We need somebody to push Romeu, and Diallo looks to be more of a rotation option for JWP rather than the more defensive spot. Kamara from Marseille would've been nice but he's just gone to Villa.

(I. Sangare, Y. Etiki, S. Berge)

AM: They're all just terrible. Hopefully we're losing a few this year and the ones who've got loads of minutes this year will be less prominent, but Stu Armstrong is the only one who I'm happy to see start out of the list of wingers/attacking midfielders we currently have.

(B. Johnson, Tete, M. Cornet, M. Edwards)

ST: If we're persisting with 4-2-2-2, then I'm happy for Che to be one of our starting strikers. It's been a frustrating/bad year with Armstrong but I'm happy to have him around for another year as 3rd choice. I'd take Broja back on loan for another year, but I'm feeling that's a little unlikely at this point. It's probably the hardest position for us to get right, as we've seen the difference between having a player of Ings' quality and... not. 

(A. Broja, L. Delap, E. Dennis, M. Thuram, B. Embolo)

 

My main takeaway is that it's difficult to know which pot we're looking in, whether it's similar to beforehand or we're now capable of looking at players we've previously missed out on.

Think we're all  on board in how drastic the surgery is needed and positions required, that is just about all of them.

The challenge for the club is identifying who to bring in as an upgrade over what we've got, and making it happen. As you suggest depends on which pot we're looking in and how much £ we have. Some (most) of your suggestions are probably outside of our means (Hope, Henderson), and the CB's , Worrall I think was mentioned at £10-12m last summer, so likely to be best part of £20m this, if Forest don't come up.

Having identified the player, sad truth is, we're not a particularly attractive option for the calibre of player we're likely to be looking at, and many will see us as a back up option holding out for a West Ham, Villa, or whoever. I don't know how high Ralph's stock is in Germany or Austria to make us attractive to players there, not that it's a market we've been active in during RH's time.

 

[Pamplemousse]

New Goalkeeper and new centre back absolutely are the priorities. After that an attacking flair player but sort the defence out first please.

[GGalpin]

Goalkeeper by an absolute mile. Look at the difference Jose Sa has made to Wolves. Know people don't like xG, but Wolves outperforming their xG against by 15 goals shows just how big he has been for them. Ranks 4th in the league for number of saves made but the 5th best defensive record too. 

A proper number one that we can rely on would make such a big difference, as would a good CB. 

After that it's probably an attacking midfielder to create chances, a striker to take them and then someone to cover at both full back positions.

An awful lot to do, really...

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, GGalpin said:

Goalkeeper by an absolute mile. Look at the difference Jose Sa has made to Wolves. Know people don't like xG, but Wolves outperforming their xG against by 15 goals shows just how big he has been for them. Ranks 4th in the league for number of saves made but the 5th best defensive record too. 

A proper number one that we can rely on would make such a big difference, as would a good CB. 

After that it's probably an attacking midfielder to create chances, a striker to take them and then someone to cover at both full back positions.

An awful lot to do, really...

People don’t like xg because it states the bleeding obvious. If you’ve got a good keeper and defenders you concede less. If you’ve got good creative players and strikers you score more. It’s not frigging rocket science but people think they’re geniuses because they quote an XG number like they’ve discovered a cure for cancer. 

[washsaint]

6 minutes ago, GGalpin said:

Goalkeeper by an absolute mile. Look at the difference Jose Sa has made to Wolves. Know people don't like xG, but Wolves outperforming their xG against by 15 goals shows just how big he has been for them. Ranks 4th in the league for number of saves made but the 5th best defensive record too. 

A proper number one that we can rely on would make such a big difference, as would a good CB. 

After that it's probably an attacking midfielder to create chances, a striker to take them and then someone to cover at both full back positions.

An awful lot to do, really...

Full backs is the one position we are OK at.  Tino/KWP at RB , Peraud/Small (who can hopefully kick on) at LB plus some of the youngsters coming through.

I keep seeing us linked with Delap from City as a loan - how about trying to grow our own, such as Olaigbe, Ballard, Pearce?

No doubt CB, GK, AMF, ST are all areas we need to strengthen.  Our team just does not create enough chances and creativity is non-existent.

Hopefully Long, Walcott, Redmond, Djnepo, Elyonoussi, Bednarek are all gone  in the summer.  What a ridiculous decision to give Walcott a 2 year contract.

[Turkish]

We should all just start supporting Man City, we are a pointless club

[S-Clarke]

Just now, washsaint said:

Full backs is the one position we are OK at.  Tino/KWP at RB , Peraud/Small (who can hopefully kick on) at LB plus some of the youngsters coming through.

I keep seeing us linked with Delap from City as a loan - how about trying to grow our own, such as Olaigbe, Ballard, Pearce?

No doubt CB, GK, AMF, ST are all areas we need to strengthen.  Our team just does not create enough chances and creativity is non-existent.

Hopefully Long, Walcott, Redmond, Djnepo, Elyonoussi, Bednarek are all gone  in the summer.  What a ridiculous decision to give Walcott a 2 year contract.

We will almost certainly need to find a fullback, even if it's just a temp cover. Tino won't be seen again until the start of 2023 at the absolute earliest.

The Walcott deal last summer is the one thing which makes me doubt the likes of Crocker and co, I like to think they're more switched on than who came before...but that one deal makes me question them big time.

[Sideways Jim]

43 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

To stay up next season I feel £100 million or so will need to be spent on the team. Will that happen? Very unlikely. 

As others have said, the spine of the team needs addressing big time. I think we also need at least one wide player and another full back on loan whilst Tino is out. 

We also need a whole new set of coaching staff. 

 

Only way we spend near to 100m is by selling Jwp 😔

 

Pope and Tarkowski are players we should be looking at, even Nathan Collins looks better than what we have. 

 

Ball winning Midfielder and someone to create chances as we can't do that at the minute, someone similar to Tadic. 

 

Delap on loan and Divok origi id like see come in too. 

[GGalpin]

6 minutes ago, Turkish said:

People don’t like xg because it states the bleeding obvious. If you’ve got a good keeper and defenders you concede less. If you’ve got good creative players and strikers you score more. It’s not frigging rocket science but people think they’re geniuses because they quote an XG number like they’ve discovered a cure for cancer. 

Agree to a certain point - chucking xg numbers around isn't helpful at all, especially when it comes to isolated games when it doesn't take into account when goals are scored. Naturally a team will face more shots if they've taken the lead early and sat back to play on the break. 

I do think it has its uses - Brentford basing their recruitment models on it and the success they have had off that proves that. Be interesting to see if Wolves return to the norm next season whether the view on them being good defensively will change.

8 minutes ago, washsaint said:

Full backs is the one position we are OK at.  Tino/KWP at RB , Peraud/Small (who can hopefully kick on) at LB plus some of the youngsters coming through.

I keep seeing us linked with Delap from City as a loan - how about trying to grow our own, such as Olaigbe, Ballard, Pearce?

No doubt CB, GK, AMF, ST are all areas we need to strengthen.  Our team just does not create enough chances and creativity is non-existent.

Hopefully Long, Walcott, Redmond, Djnepo, Elyonoussi, Bednarek are all gone  in the summer.  What a ridiculous decision to give Walcott a 2 year contract.

I suspect Tino being out for the rest of the year and Small probably needing a loan to get game time will mean we go for someone who can cover both. Maybe Brandon Williams again if he's available. 

I'd like Delap from City personally as he's very highly rated, but I don't really see the point of it without an option to buy. You end up in a situation like we have with Broja where if he starts to do well the price goes way above what we could afford.

 

[West end Saints]

8 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

We will almost certainly need to find a fullback, even if it's just a temp cover. Tino won't be seen again until the start of 2023 at the absolute earliest.

The Walcott deal last summer is the one thing which makes me doubt the likes of Crocker and co, I like to think they're more switched on than who came before...but that one deal makes me question them big time.

I'd say it is not as much as a probem as other areas, at least we have two who are good enough for mid table.  We don't have a single attacking midfielder who is, and CB and CF doubtful. 

[GGalpin]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

We will almost certainly need to find a fullback, even if it's just a temp cover. Tino won't be seen again until the start of 2023 at the absolute earliest.

The Walcott deal last summer is the one thing which makes me doubt the likes of Crocker and co, I like to think they're more switched on than who came before...but that one deal makes me question them big time.

Only reason I could see for Walcott being given a new deal at the time was he was cover on both wings and upfront, so effectively covered 3 positions for the price of one. Had it been in the position we are now post takeover where money is supposedly more available I wonder if it would have been a different case.

Could probably put McCarthy getting a new contract over Forster in the same bracket too.

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, GGalpin said:

Only reason I could see for Walcott being given a new deal at the time was he was cover on both wings and upfront, so effectively covered 3 positions for the price of one. Had it been in the position we are now post takeover where money is supposedly more available I wonder if it would have been a different case.

Could probably put McCarthy getting a new contract over Forster in the same bracket too.

I can 'somewhat' understand the McCarthy deal. I don't think it was safe for us to lose every single goal keeper. Lewis, Willy, Forster, McCarthy. It leaves a lot to do.

As long as McCarthy is going to be backup, there is sense to keeping at least one of them around. Forster I think was offered a deal but didn't take it, certainly not on the reduced wage.

[Turkish]

3 hours ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Pretty much echoing everybody else but absolutely the following;

GK: Ideally somebody to come in immediately and be first choice, although it wouldn't at all surprise me for us to take a punt on a younger name and let them (quickly) overtake McCarthy. Similar to what Ramsdale did this year at Arsenal.

(B. Dragowski, G. Bazunu, N. Pope, D. Henderson)

CB: I hope to god we get rid of Bednarek, and partner Salisu with somebody dependable and experienced. I'm not devastated with Lyanco and Stephens as 3rd/4th choice, but would like to improve there as well if at all possible. This definitely feels like a position where I don't want us to take a punt on a younger player for a change, but it's obviously likely.

(J. Tarkowski, J. Worrall, J. Gomez)

DM: It's a bit depressing as based on how he's pushed on at PSV, Sangare would've been a perfect signing and one which we missed out on due to ridiculous PL ruling. We need somebody to push Romeu, and Diallo looks to be more of a rotation option for JWP rather than the more defensive spot. Kamara from Marseille would've been nice but he's just gone to Villa.

(I. Sangare, Y. Etiki, S. Berge)

AM: They're all just terrible. Hopefully we're losing a few this year and the ones who've got loads of minutes this year will be less prominent, but Stu Armstrong is the only one who I'm happy to see start out of the list of wingers/attacking midfielders we currently have.

(B. Johnson, Tete, M. Cornet, M. Edwards)

ST: If we're persisting with 4-2-2-2, then I'm happy for Che to be one of our starting strikers. It's been a frustrating/bad year with Armstrong but I'm happy to have him around for another year as 3rd choice. I'd take Broja back on loan for another year, but I'm feeling that's a little unlikely at this point. It's probably the hardest position for us to get right, as we've seen the difference between having a player of Ings' quality and... not. 

(A. Broja, L. Delap, E. Dennis, M. Thuram, B. Embolo)

 

My main takeaway is that it's difficult to know which pot we're looking in, whether it's similar to beforehand or we're now capable of looking at players we've previously missed out on.

I guess the big question is if we as fans can all see it why don’t they?

[Saint Matty 76]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

I guess the big question is if we as fans can all see it why don’t they?

I guess you can put a lot of it down to owner limitations in recent years? I can’t imagine we were happy with our dealings over the past few windows, but we just didn’t have a choice until Gao had gone. It’s been very clear recently that we’ve had to sell to buy, even when we should have realistically had money in the bank.

If we have to sell to buy this Summer (with only one sellable asset in the club…) under the new ownership, then we won’t survive much longer in the league. 

[Chez]

9 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

The Walcott deal last summer is the one thing which makes me doubt the likes of Crocker and co, I like to think they're more switched on than who came before...but that one deal makes me question them big time.

He did a job the previous season and thus Ralph wanted him. If the first team manager wants him, then why is it Crockers fault for delivering him?

[Turkish]

6 hours ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

I guess you can put a lot of it down to owner limitations in recent years? I can’t imagine we were happy with our dealings over the past few windows, but we just didn’t have a choice until Gao had gone. It’s been very clear recently that we’ve had to sell to buy, even when we should have realistically had money in the bank.

If we have to sell to buy this Summer (with only one sellable asset in the club…) under the new ownership, then we won’t survive much longer in the league. 

I get we were hamstrung for years by Goa but we've lacked an experienced leader at centre back for 5 years. In that time we've signed Lyanco, Salisu, Hoedt, Vestergaard and Bednarek for £60m or so. You wouldn't call any of them a success some have been a disaster. Salisu has potential, Bednarek has been okay for what he cost but most agree he shouldn't be starting. You're not telling me in all that time there hasn't been a player available for £10m or less that would be exactly what we need to do that job. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing a handful of young players in let them devlop and sell for big money but when you ignore glaring errors in the squad because of an obsession with resale value then it's flawed

[saints-cris]

Boy, do we need to get to work this summer. Good teams have a good spine, and we do not. 

We need a new GK. McCarthy is not good enough, Forster is leaving. We never play a youth keeper, so an absolute clear cut #1 is needed.

CB, lets be honest, back in the day we had Fonte / VVD / Lovren (tosser) / Toby. All bloodygood defenders. We have no one on that level. Salisu could be one day but we're seemingly expecting a 22 year old kid to marshall a Premier League defence. It's not going to happen. Please, get a reliable, more experienced CB to partner him. Tarkowski fits the bill. Get rid of Bednerak, he simply has got worse and worse. Stephens wouldn't be here if he hadnt been here from a young age, but if he wants to stick around as a non-complaining 4th choice, fine. Lyanco whilst likeable, isn't very good really. Can live with him as 3rd choice.

Full backs, no issues at all.

CM, Another please. JWP has been great, Romeu too and Diallo in spells but i think we need a Romeu type, as when he's not there we're all over the place. JWP/Diallo combo doesn't work at all. 

Wingers. A whole load of them, and none are particularly good. If possible, get rid of Redmond, Djenepo and Walcott. Armstrong is our best one, Moi can cover his role but we need someone else who can go pose an attacking threat and score. Tella could do with regular game time, a loan maybe.

Strikers, press the rest button. Long and Broja are off. We're left with Armstrong who has not done well, and Adams who is patchy. Those two will not score enough. We need 2x strikers, and better than what we have.

So, 1x GK, 1x CB, 1x CM, 2x AM, 2x STR.. not much to ask...😐

[Toussaint]

I've lost track of who does what, who's job is it to identify and secure targets? 

[nta786]

3 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

I've lost track of who does what, who's job is it to identify and secure targets? 

Isn't it Martin Glover? But I think Leicester want him and I'm not sure on the latest updates as to whether he will serve his notice period with us or if he will move to Leicester asap.

[Saint Matty 76]

37 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I get we were hamstrung for years by Goa but we've lacked an experienced leader at centre back for 5 years. In that time we've signed Lyanco, Salisu, Hoedt, Vestergaard and Bednarek for £60m or so. You wouldn't call any of them a success some have been a disaster. Salisu has potential, Bednarek has been okay for what he cost but most agree he shouldn't be starting. You're not telling me in all that time there hasn't been a player available for £10m or less that would be exactly what we need to do that job. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing a handful of young players in let them devlop and sell for big money but when you ignore glaring errors in the squad because of an obsession with resale value then it's flawed

Ah, wasn’t sure which part your comment was aimed at.

Fully agree with you. 

[Piran]

It really has been a depressing, 'orrible end to the season. One might almost say 'pony'. Something will hopefully be done this summer, but I wonder what the concensus on here would be if the following scenario had played out:

Saints won their 3 of their last 5 games and drew the other two, to finish the season on 40 points, finishing 5 points above the drop zone, and were only knocked out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage by one of the world's best teams. Would all the Saintsweb doom-and-gloom merchants view things differently?

I, too, am puzzled by the drop-off in performance, but must say that earlier in the season was thrilled by some of the performances and results, by the same manager, same set of players and same coaching staff. And if anyone else was as lucky as I was, to be treated to a seat at the Spurs stadium, amongst the Spurs season ticket holders when we won there in February, they wouldn't be describing Elyonoussi as 'shite', or 'useless'!

One more thing: Please, no more mentions of Brandon Williams in a thread entitled 'Major Revamp'. He really isn't...

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

In a perfect world, we'd keep JWP, KWP, Tino, Perraud and maybe Stu Armstrong, Salisu and Adams. Beyond that, get rid of the lot and do a complete re-build. Obviously, that's not practical or likely but that's my 'Carlsberg' answer to the question. Incoming, I'd love us to see a return the McMenemy ways of picking up a few talented players towards the end of their playing days with a couple of years left in them to complement youngsters either not getting a game at the big clubs or those coming through the youth team. And if we could attract the odd David Armstrong-style pro in his prime every now and again, great. It's blindingly obvious we have no experienced pros to guide us through tricky games/periods and just flounder at the first sign of any pressure.

[Doctoroncall]

15 hours ago, Turkish said:

We should all just start supporting Man City, we are a pointless club

The clubs below the super league six are pointless now. This is the reality of modern football, all we can hope for is a cup run (Leicester), a wealthy benefactor (Newcastle) or a golden crop of players to get the team winning for a season. 
 

Reality for Saints is to try and be the best of the rest but currently there are so many parts of the club that are not providing anything to the first team or success to the club. 

[Daft Kerplunk]

The problem with the club’s approach is that it impacts the overall mentality of the players and, and the fans. 
 

Bringing in talented youngsters is an absolutely fine approach but you need more of them because they will get knocks, go through patches of bad form and have their head turned easily. They also need bloody good coaching, and some competent experienced pros alongside them when on the pitch to help them through when things get tough. 
 

There are two things there that can be addressed. Better coaching. Regardless of whether Ralph stays or not, the coaches are absolutely not good enough if the mission is to develop players with high resale value. And that’s not just a fans view, but coaches too. If Ralph wants yes men then he just needs to be told that for the Southampton way to work, exceptional coaches need to be part of the back room staff. Otherwise it’s a waste of time.

Signing experienced players would truly help the young players (probably the manager too) and therefore the resale value has to overlooked, and the value of the player’s experience to help development included as part of the equation that looks to raise money. Any young player in this team looks lost when things don’t go well and the senior players we have look the same too and just don’t have what it takes to lead. The current model overlooks the importance of mentoring and quality input, as well as playing experience in general. 
 

We are definitely in danger of going down next season if nothing is done to stop the decline, and one look at our playing and coaching staff shows that we will struggle.  
 

If the club really sees it’s future only as somewhere to attract and develop talent for maximum resale, staying in the league with some quality behind the scenes and on the pitch means this might be done in the Premier League and that’s the only place the model really works. 
 

Get it wrong again, and we are screwed. 

[Puddings and Monkeys]

5 minutes ago, Daft Kerplunk said:

The problem with the club’s approach is that it impacts the overall mentality of the players and, and the fans. 
 

Bringing in talented youngsters is an absolutely fine approach but you need more of them because they will get knocks, go through patches of bad form and have their head turned easily. They also need bloody good coaching, and some competent experienced pros alongside them when on the pitch to help them through when things get tough. 
 

There are two things there that can be addressed. Better coaching. Regardless of whether Ralph stays or not, the coaches are absolutely not good enough if the mission is to develop players with high resale value. And that’s not just a fans view, but coaches too. If Ralph wants yes men then he just needs to be told that for the Southampton way to work, exceptional coaches need to be part of the back room staff. Otherwise it’s a waste of time.

Signing experienced players would truly help the young players (probably the manager too) and therefore the resale value has to overlooked, and the value of the player’s experience to help development included as part of the equation that looks to raise money. Any young player in this team looks lost when things don’t go well and the senior players we have look the same too and just don’t have what it takes to lead. The current model overlooks the importance of mentoring and quality input, as well as playing experience in general. 
 

We are definitely in danger of going down next season if nothing is done to stop the decline, and one look at our playing and coaching staff shows that we will struggle.  
 

If the club really sees it’s future only as somewhere to attract and develop talent for maximum resale, staying in the league with some quality behind the scenes and on the pitch means this might be done in the Premier League and that’s the only place the model really works. 
 

Get it wrong again, and we are screwed. 

Ralph has already said that there needs to be some experienced (older) players brought in next year.

He also said (when questioned) that all aspects of the coaching setup would be looked at as well for the benefit of the club.

Both things you mention are very likely to happen over the next couple of months I think.

I think it will be a very exciting summer.

[davefizzy14]

27 minutes ago, Puddings and Monkeys said:

Ralph has already said that there needs to be some experienced (older) players brought in next year.

He also said (when questioned) that all aspects of the coaching setup would be looked at as well for the benefit of the club.

Both things you mention are very likely to happen over the next couple of months I think.

I think it will be a very exciting summer.

Yes fingers crossed on this we need some big changes in the summer. 

[ally_uk]

New Gk someone who can actually distribute the ball better and start off attacks. 

New Central Defender someone with experience and can lead and hit the ground running.  ( Tarkowski )

Fulback position maybe okay? Could get Brandon Williams on loan for cover. 

New Def Mid to understudy Romeu. A unit that can break up play someone not lightweight and a good passer to connect the attacks.

Two Wingers  Dwight Mcneil and someone else Tete? Look for some creativity someone in the mould of Tadic.  If forest don't come up then go in for Johnnson or that lad at Hull.

Strikers:  Broja and Long out 

We can't afford to cut corners here! I would try and get a targetman similar mould to Pelle. And Delap on loan. 

( think we need some height in the team ) 

 

 

[Teddeer]

2 hours ago, ally_uk said:

New Gk someone who can actually distribute the ball better and start off attacks. 

New Central Defender someone with experience and can lead and hit the ground running.  ( Tarkowski )

Fulback position maybe okay? Could get Brandon Williams on loan for cover. 

New Def Mid to understudy Romeu. A unit that can break up play someone not lightweight and a good passer to connect the attacks.

Two Wingers  Dwight Mcneil and someone else Tete? Look for some creativity someone in the mould of Tadic.  If forest don't come up then go in for Johnnson or that lad at Hull.

Strikers:  Broja and Long out 

We can't afford to cut corners here! I would try and get a targetman similar mould to Pelle. And Delap on loan. 

( think we need some height in the team ) 

 

 

I think we need height plus some more fast, powerful, athletic players. It seems to me we are mainly a bunch of slow weaklings which is why we are so easy to overpower.

[ally_uk]

For height how about William Troost-Ekong at Watford. 

Moussa Sissoko on a free? 

Controversial I have always rated and liked Jack Cork think he is a tidy no nonsense footballer much better than the shit we have in midfield. 

Emanuel Dennis could do a job?  10 goals and 6 assists last season. 

Maxwel Cornet touted as having a 17 million release clause. Could we shift Walcot, Redmond and get him?

Or go for Dwight Mcneil? 

John Swift at Reading.