I have been under-whelmed by Juanmi by what I have seen. It seems odd that he was bought whilst we have yet to off-load Ramirez. The new addition all seem to be squad players although I am hoping that Classie will prove his worth when he is fit. It is perplexing when players like Harrison Reed have been produced through the youth system, look the part when they play and then find themselves down the pecking order to the likes of Juanmi.
I tend to agree that we appear to have been buying squad players but there again we haven't spent much compared to many other lower clubs like Villa, Palace, Stoke etc. You get what you pay for generally speaking in life (& I know that certainly isn't always the case in football)
We needed squad depth, and needed some new starters i.e. Van Dijk, Clasie. When Van Dijk is eventually in that'll be 8 new players. We were never going to spend 8-10 million on each player. Which is what I think some people don't realise/forget.
And players cost more than their transfer fee with wages and other ancillary costs. Pelle's hair gel doesn't come cheap.
I think it would have been prudent to look for a comparable match for the three, talented players who were sold and to try and acquire new additions who were as near a good a match as possible. We could have added a few squad players to supplement the European competition and maybe gradually introduced the reserve players who can step up. I'm not too convinced with the idea of adding players who don't really improve the squad. I think Classie will come good and the two right backs Martina and Soares may be ok. Romeu has a good shot on him bit faded in the last game. Juanmi doesn't look at good as Ramirez , in my opinion and I think that the Uruguay international flattered to deceive. On recent appearances, it would also have to be said that Ward-Prowse is beginning to look like our most improved player so far and I would pick him every time after Juanmi. I'd be more pleased to see the additional of a less flash but reliable English players added to the squad. There must be others like Caulker who could fit in well. As I said earlier, I'd love to see Harrison Reed have more of a shout.
Ian - what have you based your judgement of Juanmi on? I also don't think we signed Romeu for having a good shot on him.
It's not necessarily about being happy, I haven't seen any step forward this season, quite the opposite and feel our spending compared with many others has been restricted th what we have bought in from sales of our star players. Disappointed rather than unhappy about a sudden lack of ambition
DL - why is it sudden lack of ambition? Last June and July this forum was awash with people accusing the club of a sudden lack of ambition. I genuinely don't understand it, just because we haven't spent 10-12m on a player yet. Other teams spending the money doesn't mean they are more ambitious than us. Look at Spuds, they are now selling off the overpriced **** they bought two years ago - maybe we spend wisely.. As it happens I think Beefy's comment was more about Ian's comments on Juanmi, as in some people aren't happy and they're judging him on 20 minutes football. I am convinced that no-one would be saying a word if our first three games had been win - draw - win. It's just the impatience and high expectations of fans. It is also important to remember that even if there is no step forward, it doesn't mean there isn't a plan that means we need to have one step sideways to make two or three forwards.
Some fans equate 'not doing it my way' as lack of ambition. Saints have the same desire to do well as most fans, but their method and timing may be different. As fans, we want it now, whereas the board are running a business with responsibilities and dire consequences if it goes wrong. No one at board level has made a decision to go for long term mediocrity.
I think the issue is that living within our means DOES mean a lack of ambition to the people who count: the players. They can compare us to those clubs who are not living within their means, and compare their potential for income and silverware, and find us lacking. Our aim is a noble one, but it would be illogical to suggest our ambition is where it was when Cortese was here. That's why all his signings want out. They were promised Champions League! Now we're promising the occasional foray into Europa. It's not quite as appealing.
I don't know where you got that from but, no we're not. The stated aim is that Saints are still pushing to be regular members of the Champions League. But, if there is any difference, they want to do it on firmer foundations, so the time scale is longer.
I've not heard anyone from the Board say we're aiming for occasional forays into Europe. This is you as a fan, doing what Fran mentioned a few posts up.
I would actually go further and say that Saints stated realistic aims are actually higher than most fans are prepared to believe is possible. I'm forever reading on this forum about the hopes of fans for Saints future, and to be honest, we're a pretty damn cautious lot, on the whole. That may well be a hangover from the pre-2009 club, but this is the post-2009 club and the two versions are as different as chalk and cheese, in terms of ambition. If our hopes can't be at least as high as Saints stated aims then we are a pretty poor crowd of supporters, imo. However, there will be bumps along the way. But worry not.
Disagree with that entirely, I got slated loads last season for saying we would never finish in the top 4 and that Merson would probably be close to being right with his prediction. Nothing wrong with showing ambition but the problem that presents is expectations get unrealistic and now people EXPECT us to challenge Spurs/Liverpool - which isn't really our level if we're honest and it has lead to people being ****ty over a slow start to the season.
What so because I think that CL is unrealistic for us (it is btw, all evidence points to this) it means I'm not a supporter ? I'll support no matter what, I did when we were in League 1 and I would if we ever (god forbid) went down again. Just because I am realistic in my expectations of the club and I know roughly where we are at it doesn't make me any less of a supporter than anyone.
