I think we'll start to see deals being done after 1st July, whether out of contract players or with the management returning.
The main reason for some us seemingly getting a little anxious is the behaviour of other clubs in the transfer market. Let's just focus on what we're doing, there are a number of quality players available. I'm more than confident that Adkins already has his targets, as alluded by his interviews at the end of last season, and we will be conducting swift business in the coming weeks. DON'T PANIC PEOPLE
You think it panic now, wait until Maynard moves to Leicester and Sharp moves to someone else as well. It will be like we got relegated on here.
I trust our manager and chairman. if they think the squad is OK, then it's OK for me too. I don't think NA/NC will be rushed, and they won't overpay - that is a slippery slope. I would like to see2 - 3 players come in and our key players stay with us, but wouldn't be crying and moaning if we kept faith with what we have.
Nicola Cortese is the man with the plan, first we spent money on players not only to get us out of League one but also to keep us in the Championship. I expect that the strategy over the next two seasons will be the same to get us into the Premier League. There is absolutely no need to panic buy at this juncture, but NC is no fool, he will know that we will need to strengthen overall to be able to compete in the top league. It's all about building foundations and i fully expect to see at least three quality signings before the season starts.
We'd cope if there weren't signings in or out. I don't think we'd be pushing for the playoffs though. Promotion this season is a longshot whatever we do in the window with the competition stiff and others better prepared than we are. We shouldn't go out into the window splashing the cash assuming promotion is a given because it's not. We should be improving our team though. We need to make sure we have strentgh in depth to cover injuries, change games and keeping everyone fit. The players need to be able to last us a good few years and the players need to have the right attitude. We think of the 5 year plan and onwards.
Guys and gals.......very little speculation..........Either players in or players out. Nothing will be happening until after the players return. Traditionally we do not seem to do things untill the pre season is under way. In some cases not until the new season has actually started. So we have a while to wait yet.
On a side note, when did the three year plan to get to the premier league go, and be replaced with a five year plan? All seems a bit like soviet russia to me...
I look at it this way. NC and NA know what they are doing and I trust them. I am sure that they are trying to improve the squad. If nobody does get signed, it will be because the players that they wanted cost or demanded more money than they were judged to be worth, or had the wrong attitude. They will not buy players for the sake of it, and will prefer to develop our own talent. We have a good squad, but would benefit from a few good signings. I am not concerned in the least and would urge everyone to relax and enjoy the summer.
For all we know, and especially with the quiet operation that now goes on at St Mary's, we may have already agreed to sign some players once the window opens.
I would be slighty annoyed if we just kept to what we have. Last season we had more than enough to win that league, if it was not for our poor start we would have. I think with our current squad we would have a comftable mid table finish. I really do think we need 3-4 quality signings to really push us foward to the top six. I would prefer us to have new players in as soon as possible, dont know why we always seem to bring them in so late on. I really do think this a major factor in why we consistently have these slow start to the seasons.
I'm not at all concerned at the moment but if we start the season without any new signings I would be annoyed, mainly because we've had a 40% hike in ST prices.
TBF, thats probably partly due to season tickets being slightly underpriced last season. Since Cortese came into the club i'm almost certain expenditure has increased.
July 1st...Contracts run out, the players are returning on the monday and it's full steam ahead. Gobern and Puncheon to depart and signings announced to boost season ticket sales....lovely
I think the main reason people are a bit disappointed is because of the statement by NA himself. If he hadn't stated that he was after 3/4 players people would have expected less perhaps and not got so excited as to who might/ might not be signing. Therefore creating a disappointment when the early signings are not for us. I have to admit to being a bit frustrated as we had similar during the last window. I think most of us agree the saying "the early bird catches the worm" comes to mind when you see a lot of the top talent being snapped up by the likes of Leicester and co. There is no doubt they are showing intent just like we showed when the new owners took over. So over all while being a shade disappointed that one or two of the Saints fans targets weren't picked up. There is no doubt that we are going to have to be patient and just wait.
He may just want to see how the guys report back for training; check out those who come back on weight and having done a bit extra in preparation and those who have come back outside target weight/bmi/fat% etc. Me, I'd always come back to pre-season overweight and unfit - thought that was what pre-season was for!
The 5 year plan started from when Liebherr and Cortese arrived, the 3 year plan is from now. Whether the ultimate goal of that is establishing ourselves in the PL or jut going up, I'm less sure. My take on it is that it is a sustainable form of optimism - great if we do achieve, not damned if we don't. We have a plan for every eventuality. I think that's why Cortese spoke of a 5 year plan, to give us some breathing space.
