I'm still unsure as to why Yoshida isn't preferred to Jos when Fonte is out, do him and Lovren not work well together or something? It is a worry that we have started to make defensive mistakes as soon as one or two players are out and does suggest we need to strengthen though. Boruc is going to walk straight back into the team and so will Fonte. When Yoshida was injured Fonte took his opportunity and kept him out of the team. This is how it should be, a returning player should have to fight to get his place back, which ups everyone's performance levels. Boruc will know he is getting straight back into the team, so he won't have to. If someone can expect to walk straight back into the team then the player who replaced him isn't good enough. If we are to realise our lofty ambitions we really have to be able to replace like for like in levels of quality. So for me we do need to sign a keeper and CB in January.
They are both decent players. Hoolveld is usually very solid but his occasional lapses do seem to be costly more often than not. I still can't get over the fact he is so one-footed that he chose to swing his left foot at a ball which would more or less have hit his right.
He is very one-sided, though he can use his right foot. Over the years there have been many great players who made entire careers being very one-footed. Peculiarly, left-sided players are often extremely left-sided, whereas their naturally right-sided counterparts are less sided, and use their unnatural foot more. Perhaps someone can explain that one, because I'd be astonished if I'm alone in noticing that.
I'd say we should never break the bank for any player. Its seems the more we spend, the bigger the disappointment. Still have hopes for Osvaldo yet, but written off Ramirez. Lovren was an absolute bargain however and we should be aiming for those kind of deals. The way the team plays its all about how they play together and not having a high profile individual. A left winger would be the only real thing on my shopping list. Love Jay, but he's not a winger, he's a striker and should play there.
Completely un-transfer related, but I need to find a space to ask this, and since we're discussing CBs: is De Michelis the most error-strewn defender in the Premiership? I have not yet seen a City game where he doesn't bear responsibility for a goal. Is this a well-known trait of his? He would have slotted nicely into our back line last season!
Nigel Winterburn for Arsenal was a classic example of what you are saying. He would over-complicate the simplest of things to get the ball onto his left foot. And yet, he was an extremely good player. Having only ever played lower league stuff, I can't ever recall players at that level being so one-footed. It seems the better you are the more reliant you are on your best foot. I would expect that its a psychological thing as much as a physical one.
It confused me for a second, but I think what he is saying is that, when Artur returns, we will be fine until the summer.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned but I find it funny that even though our defence and keeper have had issues in the last few games, exposing our not so good cover, we have now regained the best defence in the league along with Everton!
My 2 cents: I would not classify CB as an area of need. Hooieveld isn't great but he's okay as a backup. But if we have plans to play in Europe we need depth. I believe Fonte and Hooiveld are both out of contract after next year, and they're not so good I'd feel like they need to be extended at their age/price. And it seems (although my view is quite likely skewed by FM where there are always scads of cheap, good CB's) like they don't cost that much. Hooiveld doesn't fit our style, and I think MP knows what he wants. So as a result, I could really see us making a move for a CB during any transfer window, really. I can see us in a situation of having say, 5-10 million pounds left over near the end of January which isn't enough for a premium attacker but might be enough for a starting CB so why not? GK is more important area for Saints, but that's not an easy position to fill. Hopefully Boruc is staying focused and in good condition during his injury and if so, I think I'd want to wait until summer where better players might be available and we will have had more time to weigh the options (plus give the new GK time to blend in even if they are initially a back up). Gazzaniga's going to get a good look even if not by choice, so maybe he can step up his game though I have to confess I have doubts. As far as breaking the bank goes, I would say that Saints don't really have a policy of doing so. "Breaking the bank" to me implies spending all your money on one player, and that player either gets you to the next level or you end up in serious trouble. When we got Ramirez, we also signed Jay Rodriguez, Cork, Clyne, and Davis that same summer. So even if Ramirez didn't work out, we still improved the team that year. Same with Osvaldo this summer. We spent a lot on Osvaldo, but we also got Wanyama and Lovren. Osvaldo and Ramirez were major, obviously significant acquisitions without a doubt. But I wouldn't say we "broke the bank" on either player. I'd kind of like to see the same pattern going forward. We make 3-4 major acquisitions a year, and sign 1-2 for the future. Sell maybe 2-3 players, and whatever shortfall there will be filled from the academy/previously purchased starlets.
So what are we thinking now?....I think that we all agree that a lack of depth in quality is costing us dearly so if we have to buy, why not push the boat out and improve the starting XI?...The team has been evolving since 2009, so why stop now?
I think that some of the opinions in this thread are already looking quite dated! At the moment, the answer to the OP's question is very clearly YES.
No. But, we probably should get someone like big Brad in from Spurs for a month & hope we don't have to play him at all because our main man will be back & raring to go by then. I've not enjoyed PG in goal, & once again it does not feel like his has benefited from the 1st team experience. Not all his fault mind, we have been rather unlucky with all the injury timings. If Victor Valdes turned up & found Fox & Hoover in front of him, he'd be pretty despondent.
