Rate the newbies

We've had a few months to judge how our summer acquisitions went and I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts on our signings and a footnote as to who/what we still need come January.

My own thoughts:

Maarten Stekelenburg:
Ol' stekkers has been fantastic IMO and exactly what we need to challenge Forster and have as a back-up. I really hope we offer him a permanent contract as he is exactly what we need to keep the Jolly giant on his game and stop complacency

Cuco Martina:
So, i've not seen overly much of him but based on the level of improvement shown within a week or so of pre season i'd say he has the talent to succeed. Not ready for the big time but has looked capable when called upon so far.

Steven Caulker:
Seems alright i spose? I honestly have a hard time saying because he fluctuates so horribly. He could be Lundevam one game and Vergard Forren the next. Hasn't proved himself worthy of a permanent contract so far in any case.

Cedric Soares:
Our best signing IMO. While he may have the look of a creepy predator but he has in fact perfectly filled Clynes hole (pun very-much intended) and even though he occasionally struggles with defensive duties he's been a powerhouse in attack so all in all he's a true gem that just needs to step it up a little defensively and he can be one of our best players easily.

Virgyl van Dijk:
Amazing addition. Adds a genuine threat at set pieces and has adjusted to the vaunted EPL standards almost immediately. A true talent but i fear that he will get poached within 18 months as other clubs realize how good he is and hope to fill the gap in their own back line. A great player but i have a gut feeling he'll be wanting a transfer to 'greener pastures' as soon as he can.

Jordy Clasie:
Hard to tell atm. The boy has clear talent and i really hope he can transfer it to the EPL. I wish i could say more but i simply haven't seen enough.

Oriol Romeu:
Made the silly mistake of signing shortly after Morgan left leaving him with clown sized shoes to fill. IMO a very capable DM but not much more...a solid player and a great addition but not someone who will ever stir notice from the big boys (which may be a blessing)

Juanmi: Seems out of touch with the rest of the team. Has talent but seems to lack adaptability based on game time so far...might be a raw recruit and we're hoping for future greatness but to me he seems lacking at the moment.

Hopeful January signings: A new 2nd/3rd choice GK and someone who can unlock a defense and thread a pass when needed.

I would love to hear everyone elses thoughts so I've knocked up a quick template the y'all can C+P as a reply,

Summary of our summer signings:

Maarten Stekelenburg:
Cuco Martina:
Steven Caulker:
Cedric Soares:
Virgyl van Dijk:
Jordy Clasie:
Oriol Romeu:
Juanmi:

Hopeful January signings:

 

I'm not going to detail each player as I think you are pretty close to spot on.

The only one I think you are giving too much credit to is Caulker, even though you didn't give him much. I've seen him loose his man to many times, especially noticeable at corners, and I think we need a new backup CB in January.

 

Too early to judge really...

Apart from Van Dijk. I judge that to be an excellent signing.

Stek's done nothing wrong. The rest all have time to come good and show us what they can do.

 

An enigma for me is Cedric, his improvement has been immense, and he is really playing well. He also has a lot of potential, the thing that bothers me is, he doesn't look like a footballer, like playing isn't natural to him. He works very hard and has good end product, but it is all a bit mechanical rather than fluent. I wouldn't say he's as good as Clyne, but what a gem it was to find him. Although I think him having the potential to be our best player is a little OTT. At the moment, I'd say VVD has the most potential

 

Heard that Caulker's been red carded by every club in town due to violent behavior. I'd be surprised if we kept him on.

 

I don't have anything to add other than to say that I was impressed with the improvement in Juanmi against Villa.

 

He doesn't sound like our kind of player...you have to sing in a church choir to play for us. His recent court appearance wasn't even that long ago. I think we took him on in case the VVD deal fell through.

 

Maarten Stekelenburg: 8/10

Solid start - noticable in the game he missed how much better he is than the alternatives we have without Forster

Cuco Martina: 5/10

Never going to be a top signing - that wasn't what he was brought in for. Brought in to be coever across the defence - realistically at full back, and yet seems to be behind Yoshida in the rankings there.... hasn't looked bad but not bringing much to the squad right now

Steven Caulker: 5/10

Currently 4th choice CB behind Fonte, VVD, Yoshida....wonder where Gardos will fit in when he's back. Can only see Caulker's worth in cup games or if we swap to 3 at the back.

Cedric Soares: 9/10

Fast becoming one of my favourite Saints players in the current squad. Happy ot get forward as often as possible, puts in a decent cross, not afraid to get hurt (see head wound against Leicester). Very pleased with this signing.

Virgyl van Dijk: 10/10

Had concerns at the level of step up from SPL to EPL - but he's been fantastic so far and I hope wins Player of the Month for October.

Jordy Clasie: 6.5/10

Ron clearly targetted him from well before the end of last season, so must see him as Morgan's replacement. Not his fault he's struggled ot get started, looked out of his depth against Leicester but was solid against Liverpool. Think he's going to get a Dennis Wise type reputation....always seems to be in the opposition's way!

Oriol Romeu: 6/10

Decent start - but too prone to a yellow card! Solid if unspectaculr player, but that's what he was signed to be. Main role will be against the bigger clubs when we need to play 2 DMs, or if Wanyama is injured (or suspended)

Juanmi: 6/10

Yet to be convinced that if we need a goal with 20 minutes to go that Juanmi is the player to bring on to unlock a defence. Does well when he plays for the U21s, but not yet in the faster, more physical first team games.

 

Maarten Stekelenburg:
All round sound keeper. I can only imagine that the poor team he had in front of him at Fulham dragged down his confidence. He's fine. I dare say he may even challenge Frazer on occasion. I'd certainly like to keep him.
Cuco Martina:
Yes, haven't seen much but what I have has shown me he's not a mug. He was bought as a quality filler and that's what he is. A squad player only at the moment, but I think he's capable of being better.
Steven Caulker:
Haven't seen much, but he's definitely uneven. Has little command of his territory and, for example, against Villa, VvD had to bail him out once or twice. He's got the best manager to work with for his deficiencies, but as of this moment I'd say see ya, at the end of the season. If he improves then that scenario possibly changes.
Cedric Soares:
Was bombing forward like a winger at first, but has calmed down and now knows better when to go and when not to. Can't fault his commitment, and he's visibly improved as he has adapted to the Saints style of play. Great signing and he's going to get a lot better still.
Virgil van Dijk:
Just wow really. He's little more than a nipper for a CB at 24, and yet has adapted to the Premier League already. Has a languid style of calm and order which spreads to the rest of the team. Better than that Belgian bloke already. Tackles well, good feet, quick when he wants to be, and a great goal threat from set pieces, either taking free-kicks or receiving them with headers. Absolute stonking bargain. Take the bun out Virgil and let's see that hair.!
Jordy Clasie:
Seen little but already seen enough to know he's a good signing. He's going to get better too as he adapts. Thought he might lack for size and strength, but he makes up for it by being fast and tigerish. Doesn't lack strength either.
Oriol Romeu:
He's doing Morgan's role and that's not quite natural for him at the moment. It took Schneiderlin 7 years to become the player he is today, and Oriol is 85% there. It'll come. I have confidence in him. Good signing.
Juanmi:
One for the future but he's already pretty good. Technically excellent, though as Koeman said, he lacks the physicality for the Premier League at the moment. Got the best managers and coaches to learn from, and already starting to put into practice the advice, because he was putting himself about a bit against Aston Villa.

Summer was another very good transfer window indeed for Saints. They keep telling everyone how they do it but nobody really seems to cotton on. Most of the others seem to buy players via a scattergun method or they purchase them to stop a rival doing it first. That's no way to employ the right player. I've got huge confidence in the Club these days. We need to clone Les Reed right now for when he starts thinking about retirement. Hopefully, that won't be for a long time

 

This sort of thing annoys me. Firstly, it's Vegard Forren. Secondly, Forren is definitely a better player than Caulker. I also hate to say it but Molde are still in the Europa league and tearing it up. They top Europa League group A (A strong group consisting of Celtic, Fenerbahce and Ajax) with 7 points in 3 games.

Forren scored against Celtic in the Europa League last time out in a 3-1 win. Played in the 1-1 against Ajax. The Whoscored man of the match in a 3-1 away win against Fenerbahce.

They won Tippeligaen in 2014 and won the Norwegian cup in 2013 and 2014. All with Forren as a regular starter. Despite finishing poorly in 2015, they did have the second strongest defence in the league.

The bloke has 27 appearances for Norway. He started (playing his usual full 90 mins) in Norway's 2-0 win over Croatia in September. There's no denying he's a good player. He didn't get chances for us and that was unfair. A complete piss take in fact and we let the player down as far as I'm concerned.

Compare this with Caulker's laughable career record (relegations) and mediocre performances and it's quite clear who the better player is.

Another player that got practically no chances was Iago Falque. Look where he is now. It makes a mockery of the fact we were so reluctant to play him in the Championship of all places. Now doing good for Roma, who top Serie A, and scored in their last Champions League game.

 

Slightly off tack, but picking up on something TSS said, a lot of clubs do seem to buy good players at random without a clear goal of what their club is. Curbishley remarked recently that a club will go after one manager and then, if they miss out, they go for an entirely different type of manager. Saints (or rather those in charge at the moment) have a plan and try to stick to it. You won't win with every player, but we are doing pretty well.

 

I don't think it was his footballing ability that kept him out of the team, more so his drinking ability. He didn't seem to settle here, was homesick and a drunk if rumours are to be believed. Falque was a strange one I agree, it's possible that he just didn't suit the more physical league.

 

I thought the main problem with Forren was that he couldn't settle....and some mention a drinking issue as well.

 

He got homesick, I'm pretty sure. It happens.

 

I can't find any details of him having drinking problem. I think that's complete nonsense personally. When I try to research that it seems the rumour started here with this post.

No suggestions of it anywhere else. As far as I understand he failed to impress Pochettino and couldn't break into the first team. Unless you actually let the player play then he can't prove himself. Forren even wanted to stay to prove himself. He initially rejected a loan move to Molde..

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892...nder-forren-rejects-molde-loan-return?ICID=OP

Pochettino got it badly wrong and let the player down. Simple as that as far as I'm concerned. From how he's performing at club and international level he'd have been a good option. He's also a left footed centre back, something we don't necessarily need but don't have.

 

He initially turned down a loan move to Molde to fight for his place.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892...nder-forren-rejects-molde-loan-return?ICID=OP

He left shortly after as we let him go back to Molde on a free transfer. It seems we decided to let him go on a free as Pochettino wasn't intending to play him at all.

 

Maarten Stekelenburg: 8/10
Cuco Martina: 3/10
Steven Caulker: 3.5/10
Cedric Soares: 8.5/10
Virgyl van Dijk: 9/10
Jordy Clasie: 6.5/10
Oriol Romeu: 6.5/10
Juanmi: 5/10

 

Stek getting some pretty high ratings I see. I'd have him way ahead of the current alternatives but some way behind Forster, who I think we all know to be held in very high regard by Ron.

Will be fascinating to see if we can hold on to both long term. We haven't had those sort of options between the sticks since Niemi and Jones.

 

Maarten Stekelenburg: 7 Been solid, if unspectacular. But he's definitely proven to be a good loan signing

Cuco Martina: N/A Anyone who gives him a rating is being very unfair as he's hardly played.

Steven Caulker: 5 Meh. May as well send him back to QPR. Not going to cut it here.

Cedric Soares: 8 An uncertain start but has really settled in well. He looks a terrific signing.

Virgil van Dijk: 10 WHAT A ****ING SIGNING!!!!!!!! He has been awesome so far. He just oozes class, great in the air and composed on the ball.

Jordy Clasie: 7 Unfortunate with his injuries but I have high hopes for him.

Oriol Romeu: 6.5 I liked this signing when it happened and he's been pretty good so far. Just needs to cut down on the yellow cards!

Juanmi: 6 Young and still needs to adapt to the PL and life in England. Too early to really judge him.

 

Fair enough. Admittedly, everything I'd heard was secondhand. Forren certainly seems to have sorted himself out. Perhaps he just needed that chance and also needed to mature a bit more.