Summer Transfer Window 2024

[Badger]

4 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

If you cant even read the words I wrote properly, I think we're done.

Yes, as you said earlier, let’s see how it pans out. 

[6ft8saint]

Surely it would be an idea to try TP as the CF or ST against Cardiff. Weirdly we paid 18m and he scored 15 goals last season. And won't cost us a penny. 

 

[saintant]

Just now, 6ft8saint said:

Surely it would be an idea to try TP as the CF or ST against Cardiff. Weirdly we paid 18m and he scored 15 goals last season. And won't cost us a penny. 

 

What and disrupt our silky, one-touch possession football - nobody is going to put up with that.

[6ft8saint]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

What and disrupt our silky, one-touch possession football - nobody is going to put up with that.

Did you watch the mancity game by mistake

[Toadhall Saint]

Loan/permanent after 20 games (bit weird)

http://sportwitness.co.uk/southampton-transfer-actually-a-loan-deal-clause-to-make-it-permanent-tied-in/

 

[OttawaSaint]

4 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

Loan/permanent after 20 games (bit weird)

http://sportwitness.co.uk/southampton-transfer-actually-a-loan-deal-clause-to-make-it-permanent-tied-in/

 

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

[Badger]

9 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

Nineteen game trial then. 

[woodsaint1]

25 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

Sensible more like, especially given his lack of games recently. I'd be more worried if we were paying 8-12m up front

[Nolan]

29 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

It's not worrying at all, it's insurance against injury. Which is what some users were saying was a problem a couple of days ago.

[Hopper]

Also means if we need to move in January we can. Hope it works out.

[sfc4prem]

46 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

I mean, it's a pretty sensible failsafe, surely?

[sadoldgit]

17 minutes ago, Nolan said:

It's not worrying at all, it's insurance against injury. Which is what some users were saying was a problem a couple of days ago.

What’s worrying is that the club, who are desperate for a decent keeper, are so worried about his fitness that they have set up this deal. Why not sign a keeper whose fitness you are confident about from the get go? Yes, it is a failsafe (unless he gets crocked after 21 games) but if they think he it a potential liability, why gamble with him when we desperately need a quality starter?

[sfc4prem]

4 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

What’s worrying is that the club, who are desperate for a decent keeper, are so worried about his fitness that they have set up this deal. Why not sign a keeper whose fitness you are confident about from the get go? Yes, it is a failsafe (unless he gets crocked after 21 games) but if they think he it a potential liability, why gamble with him when we desperately need a quality starter?

We don't have the cash?

[verlaine1979]

Could 4-3-1-2 work with what we have?

Back four picks itself, then Downes/Les/Mateus - Dibling (or new AM) - BBD/Archer

 

[Harry_SFC]

55 minutes ago, woodsaint1 said:

Sensible more like, especially given his lack of games recently. I'd be more worried if we were paying 8-12m up front

Agree. Sounds very sensible to me. 

I'd be much more worried about what we are going to do in regards to the attacking positions. 

[hypochondriac]

I think it's fair to say we've gone for the cheap options where possible with most of our signing this summer. Some of that is due to necessity granted but others it has been a choice. Could we have signed less and gone for a bit more quality? Maybe the team will prove me wrong but we simply don't look a threat up front at all and I'm not confident we have the quality to score enough goals. Fernandes really needs to be absolute top quality given the money we've shelled out on him. One of Archer or Bereton Diaz needs to hit the ground running and be productive. The keeper we sign has to play the vast majority of games and be prem quality immediately. Kwp needs to stay and play all year and finally we need to work out a midfield combination with the players we have to be successful which probably means dropping Smallbone and Aribo. Even then it's unlikely to be enough without another signing or two for our attack. The fact we are playing Edozie in the premier league is outrageous, as is the fact we have woods and Lumley on our bench and a bunch of attacking players with no history of success in this league. 

Edited 24 August, 2024 by hypochondriac

[davefizzy14]

2 hours ago, Saint Scott said:

 

I really cannot understand the thinking behind this, really dissapointing. Alcaraz is class and can score goals and create. We were lacking this today. Really wanted him to stay 😔

[hypochondriac]

The other point is that losing Alcaraz means we simply must sign an attacking player who will get us some goals this year. What is our plan B? It doesn't seem like we've employed any different tactics and we haven't had much of any goal threat over two games now. We need a difference maker. What we'd give for a Tadic, Mane, Pelle, Lambert, Jay Rod. Even the likes of a Boufal might shake things up a bit. 

[Tommy Mulgrew]

Another cheap option?  Or another one for Goztepe and the future?   Kevin Zefi, 19 year-old Irish midget support strike presently at Roma training with us to determine whether we want him.  Roma likely to allow him to move if we want him.  (Cannot seem to get the link pasted on here -it is sport witness article for anyone interested.)

Fiddling while Rome burns springs to mind.

 

[Turkish]

17 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

The other point is that losing Alcaraz means we simply must sign an attacking player who will get us some goals this year. What is our plan B? It doesn't seem like we've employed any different tactics and we haven't had much of any goal threat over two games now. We need a difference maker. What we'd give for a Tadic, Mane, Pelle, Lambert, Jay Rod. Even the likes of a Boufal might shake things up a bit. 

Turdic was fucking shit, he slowed us down

mane should go back where he came from

pellend hibernated between October and april

lambert was a lazy cunt who need to run more

jay rod was a crock would was never up to it

as for boufal he played like he was looking at himself in the mirror

 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Turdic was fucking shit, he slowed us down

mane should go back where he came from

pellend hibernated between October and april

lambert was a lazy cunt who need to run more

jay rod was a crock would was never up to it

as for boufal he played like he was looking at himself in the mirror

 

And yet all of them were more successful prem players than these are. 

Edited 24 August, 2024 by hypochondriac

[SNSUN]

49 minutes ago, verlaine1979 said:

Could 4-3-1-2 work with what we have?

Back four picks itself, then Downes/Les/Mateus - Dibling (or new AM) - BBD/Archer

 

Player wise yes. Manager wise no.

4-3-3 is fine with they players we have, we just have to get the new lads up to speed and fast... and hope Russ stops playing 3 CBs when it's not required. (TBF If I'm being honest, I've never been a fan of 3 CBs. If 2 CBs can't do a good enough job then you haven't got the right CBs! 3 CBs blunts the attack as you're either having to leave out a midfielder or an attacker and hope that your wing backs are good enough.)

[hypochondriac]

Last week we still had some faint hope of signing Ramsdale, O'riley and Clarke. Now we aren't signing any of them. I'm not saying that any of them were realistically going to sign for us but those are the level of signings we need to stay up. We've gone for a level below that and so it's not a surprise to see us really struggle. 

[Give it to Ron]

1 hour ago, verlaine1979 said:

Could 4-3-1-2 work with what we have?

Back four picks itself, then Downes/Les/Mateus - Dibling (or new AM) - BBD/Archer

 

The 2 up front can’t be 50 yards apart then it may work.

[trousers]

4 hours ago, davefizzy14 said:

I think its fair to say we need a focal point upfront after today.

We've known that way before today...

[disconnect]

1 hour ago, verlaine1979 said:

Could 4-3-1-2 work with what we have?

Back four picks itself, then Downes/Les/Mateus - Dibling (or new AM) - BBD/Archer

 

We all think the back four picks itself, but Martin will find a space for Stephens…!

[ErwinK1961]

21 minutes ago, disconnect said:

We all think the back four picks itself, but Martin will find a space for Stephens…!

Is this the same back four that a lot of people were complaining about last year when we were leaking goals, but looked infinitely better when we switched to a back five for the playoffs?

[Lighthouse]

13 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Is this the same back four that a lot of people were complaining about last year when we were leaking goals, but looked infinitely better when we switched to a back five for the playoffs?

That's far too small a sample size to say we looked infinitely better. We had plenty of thumping wins with four at the back last season.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, davefizzy14 said:

I really cannot understand the thinking behind this, really dissapointing. Alcaraz is class and can score goals and create. We were lacking this today. Really wanted him to stay 😔

He doesn't make enough five yard passes sideways and backwards so unfortunately Russ deems him not good enough.

[woodsaint1]

Completely understand the need for 3 CBs; last weekend being the perfect example of a game where it seemed obvious. We'll also likely deploy it away to City, Liverpool, Arsenal etc. But when we're at home against sides like Forest, we need to have the confidence and the conviction to play 2 CBs, especially if Les and Downes is our likely best pairing in front of them.

                        Bijlow

Suga        THB       Bednarek      KWP

                Downes      Les

AA    Dibling/Fernandes/Aribo    BBD

                   New Striker

To me that would be a pretty strong side, and depending on the striker, one which is easily capable of staying up. We also have the likes of Archer, Stewart (when fit), Sulemana, Lallana and Wee Man (when he signs) who could all make an impact off the bench.

[Dellyears]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

We've known that way before today...

I thought we had solved the striker issue by signing both Archer and BD. We haven't.
Its not their fault, the whole team seems afraid to attack as if it would be naughty to run forward.
Tedious and frustrating to watch, and so disappointing.

[Lighthouse]

32 minutes ago, saintant said:

He doesn't make enough five yard passes sideways and backwards so unfortunately Russ deems him not good enough.

People keep saying this sarcastically but did you actually what him play last season? He was just a passenger in too many games and gets caught in possession far too much. Russ has many faults as a manager but Alcaraz’s shortcomings are not something we should be pinning on him.

[Convict Colony]

4 hours ago, OttawaSaint said:

Worrying. Could mean we are not sure if he'll not get crocked right away. 

If he played straight away 20 games from now on it would take him to end Jan before the perm contract clause kicked in, but say he took a couple of games its mid feb.

Baz is expected back i guess around march so it would not surprise me for us to stop him making it to 20 games so the perm clause doesnt kick in regardless of how we are performing in the league unless the plan is to ditch mccarthy which would make sense.

[SteveGc]

Stayed up till 3 am here in Aus. Don’t know where to start with that especially first half. KWP took that shot out of frustration as no one else would move or do anything, we need him badly to stay. Russ talks about the guys scoring in training, not sure I believe it lol. Looked like statues bereft of ideas. Well get ripped apart  playing suicide football sooner or later, so many mistakes that were let off. Woken up pissed off and tired at least it 30 degrees already lol. How were the fan zones after the game after that lol

Edited 25 August, 2024 by SteveGc

[Dark Munster]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

That's far too small a sample size to say we looked infinitely better. We had plenty of thumping wins with four at the back last season.

Against crap teams. Unfortunately there are not many of them in the PL.

[SaintNewForest]

6 hours ago, Dark Munster said:

Against crap teams. Unfortunately there are not many of them in the PL.

There are, but unfortunately we can't play ourselves. 

[Lighthouse]

8 hours ago, Dark Munster said:

Against crap teams. Unfortunately there are not many of them in the PL.

But just moving players back into defence isn't a solution to that, you just end up short in midfield and attack, like we are now.

[Wiggles31]

Team looks like we didn’t need both Archer or Diaz. Really liking a winger. Elanga showed us exactly what we were lacking. Edozie is nowhere near good enough at this level. Still need a CF. Think I’d take Ings on loan now after that. 

[beatlesaint]

7 minutes ago, Wiggles31 said:

Team looks like we didn’t need both Archer or Diaz. Really liking a winger. Elanga showed us exactly what we were lacking. Edozie is nowhere near good enough at this level. Still need a CF. Think I’d take Ings on loan now after that. 

Edozie should really be following Charles out on the loan route. A full Championship season could be the making of him.

[Bakovnetski]

Based on yesterday, unfortunately, Smallbone needs to be a bench player at this level. I like him but he unless he stops hiding on the pitch he wont survive.

[Katalinic]

1 minute ago, beatlesaint said:

Edozie should really be following Charles out on the loan route. A full Championship season could be the making of him.

It wasn't last year. Zero end product.

[beatlesaint]

Just now, Katalinic said:

It wasn't last year. Zero end product.

For one he didnt play anywhere near the full season, secondly he's a year older so presumably would have learnt a little more and thirdly he might just play in a team thats encouraged to run at the defence.

[Katalinic]

1 minute ago, beatlesaint said:

For one he didnt play anywhere near the full season, secondly he's a year older so presumably would have learnt a little more and thirdly he might just play in a team thats encouraged to run at the defence.

You reckon? I wouldn't hold your breath 😂

[beatlesaint]

2 minutes ago, Katalinic said:

You reckon? I wouldn't hold your breath 😂

Well this is exactly why he needs to go out on loan, we aren't finding out in the Premier League thats for sure.

[saintant]

12 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

I think it's fair to say we've gone for the cheap options where possible with most of our signing this summer. Some of that is due to necessity granted but others it has been a choice. Could we have signed less and gone for a bit more quality? Maybe the team will prove me wrong but we simply don't look a threat up front at all and I'm not confident we have the quality to score enough goals. Fernandes really needs to be absolute top quality given the money we've shelled out on him. One of Archer or Bereton Diaz needs to hit the ground running and be productive. The keeper we sign has to play the vast majority of games and be prem quality immediately. Kwp needs to stay and play all year and finally we need to work out a midfield combination with the players we have to be successful which probably means dropping Smallbone and Aribo. Even then it's unlikely to be enough without another signing or two for our attack. The fact we are playing Edozie in the premier league is outrageous, as is the fact we have woods and Lumley on our bench and a bunch of attacking players with no history of success in this league. 

I'm convinced the squad we have with the addition of a decent striker and maybe a creative midfielder would be good enough - the biggest problem we have is RM's insistence on playing his way which won't ever work in the Premier League unless he is given a war chest of circa £400 million.

[Saint NL]

As mad as it seems, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to try sell Adam Armstrong to one of the championship promotion hopefuls. Get a bit of money in and try to sign someone who can score 6-8 PL goals. As much as I like AA, it's clear he cannot cut it at this level.

 

Of course this leaves us with a problem if we go down, because we'd be looking to buy him back and guarantee 15+ championship goals 😂

[benali-shorts]

On yesterday's showing, only KWP and Downes are PL standard. We've done remarkably well to not sign anyone this window who is a definite starter in their position and who improves the team. Here's hoping Fernandes and Ugochukwu are good enough to start asap (big ask for 20 year olds). 

 

 

[saintwbu]

4 minutes ago, benali-shorts said:

On yesterday's showing, only KWP and Downes are PL standard. We've done remarkably well to not sign anyone this window who is a definite starter in their position and who improves the team. Here's hoping Fernandes and Ugochukwu are good enough to start asap (big ask for 20 year olds). 

 

 

Sugawara..

[Matthew Le God]

19 minutes ago, benali-shorts said:

On yesterday's showing, only KWP and Downes are PL standard.

Add Sugawara, Bednarek, Brereton Diaz, Harwood-Bellis, Fernandes & Dibling

Edited 25 August, 2024 by Matthew Le God

[egg]

7 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Add Sugawara, Bednarek, Brereton Diaz, Harwood-Bellis, Fernandes & Dibling

Yes, just - Bednarek, BBD. 

Looks likely - Sugar. 

The others , not yet proven, and on yesterday's showing, THB may find this a tough season.