I'd like to think that there were sufficient players coming through from the reserves to supplement the squad that remains in order to maintain the mentality that defined the team last season. It's probably true that we hit a glass ceiling last year as it is so difficult to break in to the top six.
The problem is for Saints is that loose any more players and those that have remained will start questioning why they should not leave as well. Schneiderlin seems to have been with us so long and been such a consistent talent that most fans would be gutted to see him leave especially as he is now making his mark on the international scene. Lovren is clearly our best central defender and I don't see anyone else holding that position in partnership with Fonte. We need to reinforce this position and can ill-afford losing a central defender. It's luck that Rodriguez is injured as I am sure he would also have been fodder for the tabloids.
With the current departures, we are going to need two new central defenders, a new left back with possible cover (not sure how good Targett is or whether the rumours about him are justified) , a creative midfielder and a new forward who I feel would be supplemented by Sam Gallacher.) On top of this, most Saints fans would have suggested that a new goalkeeper was the priority prior to the sale of Lallana, Shaw and Lambert. This equates to a minimum of about 6 new players which must be the largest addition to the squad in the close season for a while. On top of this, there are players like Gazzaniga, Hooiveld, Yoshida and Osvaldo who I would have expected to have moved on.
It does look like a substantial re-building job will be needed unless the fringe players from the reserves can be brought on. Watching the football at the moment, we could do worse than acquiring from Chilean players.