Posted this yesterday, updated now, don't think I've missed anyone out! In Shane Long (Hull City) £12M Dusan Tadic (FC Twente) £10.9M Sadio Mané (Red Bull Salzburg) £10M Fraser Forster (Celtic) £10M Graziano Pelle (Feyenoord) £8.8M Florin Gardos (Steaua Bucharest) £5.98M Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea) Loan Saphir Taider (Inter Milan) Loan Tony Alderweireld (Atlético Madrid) Loan Out Luke Shaw (Manchester United) £27M Adam Lallana (Liverpool) £25M Dejan Lovren (Liverpool) £20M Calum Chambers (Arsenal) £16M Rickie Lambert (Liverpool) £4M Tom Leggett (Aston Villa) Undisclosed Isaac Nehemie (Aston Villa) Undisclosed Billy Sharp (Leeds) Nominal Andy Robinson (Bolton Wanderers) Free Danny Fox (Nottingham Forest) Free Lee Barnard (Southend) Free Dani Osvaldo (Inter) Loan Jordan Turnbull (Swindon) Loan Jack Stephens (Swindon) Loan Jake Sinclair (Hibernian) Loan Gaston Ramirez (Hull City) Loan Jos Hooiveld (Norwich City) Loan Jamal Branker Released Matt Young Released Joe Curtis Released Guly do Prado Released Jonathan Forte Released Saphir Taider (Inter Milan) Released
I'm not sure our first 11 will be as strong as last season, but overall if the new players live up to the hype then I think the squad is deeper. What does excite me is that with a deeper squad we can field stronger teams in the cup competitions. A club of our stature can grow if the trophy cabinet has a purpose.
I'm looking forward to when we play teams with slower defences, and we can line up with a front four of... -------- Long -------- Jay Rod -------- Mane -------- Tadic --------
That is sexual. So happy with how things have gone (performances pending of course). Can't quite believe both Jay and Morgs are still Saints players, but things have changed, and a big part of that change was the board and RK putting their foot down, with good timing too. Toby, Tadic, even this Mané chap - never heard of him, but frankly they could have rounded things off by signing Su Pollard up front and I'd still be jumping up and down. Roll on next game. COYR!
Thats probably pretty accurate but fonte and alderweidel need to swap and tadic is clearly going to be playing RW. Jay rod is a LW anyway so that fits better. I Reckon Gardos and Alderwieder are going to be the partnership eventually though.
Isn't it nice that we have good players we are struggling to fit in...competition for places is essential. Means we will have stronger sides in the Cups. Good Boruc is still here...let's hope Ron can get him properly on side. He could yet play a lot of games...absolutely essential to have 2 good keepers.
The proof of the pudding etc... But is Toby likely to be £12 million worse than Lovren. What % is Tadic of a Lallana...85% or 110%. It is how they play together as a team. Look how Lovren is struggling a bit with new players beside him...I'm sure he will settle at Liverpool (damn the little viper), but it shows that sometimes it is the team as a whole that can make a player look excellent. Can't wait for the games to begin.
First time in my life I'm kinda glad there's an international break - it should give Ron time to work his magic with the new team on the training ground (through presumably half the new players will be buggering off too mind you).
Perhaps we have to accept that players come and go...the shock this season was the number of the starting eleven leaving. And also losing players we had an emotional attachment to. If we get a strong team, we will be able to handle it better.
I meant buggering off as in buggering off on the international break Fran - not even thinking about next summer yet!
Agree. He also made a lot more promises than the final one - all of which didn't materialise. Just because his final one - upon which his career and credibility may well have depended - came good, doesn't repair the balance sheet. Still think he generally carries an air of ineptitude.
I'm entirely convinced by Tadic already. He was an absolute nightmare for West Ham and Liverpool and was probably the best of a very poor bunch against WBA. Just needs to up his fitness a bit to avoid fading in the latter stages
I think a lot of people have bad experience with this management speak...bet we've all stood there at team meetings wanting to vomit. And being told we are negative because we are old enough that we've seen these 'new ideas' fail a couple of times before. Doesn't sit well especially with football fans...our jobs don't depend on agreeing with him. Think Kreuger has realised that less is more as far as fans are concerned. He may be excellent at some things...best he stays behind closed doors and does them.
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And some fans will accuse him of not coming out with news [remember NC..?]. As long as he satisfies most of the fanbase most of the time, that's as good as he's realistically going to get. I can put up with his management speak if, in his thousands of words, there are a few hundred which actually mean something real.
I think City's business was quite good actually. Tied everyone down on new contracts, brought in genuine competition for Hart, and strengthened in defence, so they don't look like a bunch of amateurs next time Kompany's injured.
