I gave them an 8. I didn't think it was necessary to sell Chambers. I think we paid too much for Long. And I rate Mane as neutral as I think he is a big risk and we don't know what we'll get. But 8 is probably as high as anyone can realistically achieve. 10 would require my unabashed enthusiasm for every single move. Basically, they weren't perfect. I also ignored the turmoil, as even if you blame the board for dissatisfaction, Cortese had already left and there was no chance of keeping MP once the Tottenham job opened up. And Lallana and Lovren had their minds made up probably before that but certainly after MP was gone. The only control they had during the window was to either risk retaining those players or sell them for what were very good prices. I don't know KL's intent as far as selling the club, but I'd argue that the way transfers were done helped the club either way. The loans with option to buy are nice because if the club is sold the owner is not tied down with long-term commitments. They can choose whether to re-sign those players or start fresh and remake the club in their own vision. And of course KL has that same option if she retains it. We made at least one fantastic signing in Alderweireld. Whether he works out or not in hindsight, it's quite a coup to be able to get a player of his caliber and at a nice price. I'd say the same for Koeman. Those are wins for me regardless of what happens. Tadic looks like a great purchase so far, and Bertand looks like a good loan. Strikers are the hardest to get, so while Pelle is no Falcao or Suarez he's still not bad for a club of our stature. Would have liked to have done a little better, not sure it was realistic. And I like Forster. If Boruc stays for a bit as backup that's a win but even if Boruc leaves he did need to be replaced soon and hopefully by someone younger and we had the money so why not now?
I also put an 8. It wouldn't be an 8 if we were Man City, but on the other hand it would be a 10 if we were Burnley. All the incoming were decent to quality signings...we may have overpaid for some, but that is the price you pay when you are known to be in funds and you are in urgent need of players. In the end, price doesn't matter if the player works out. Loans were never our way, but have the dual advantage of trying out a player without commitment and encouraging a player to come who might not otherwise consider us. I could have put a 7, but increased it to 8 because I trust Koeman.
I think they've done a grand job under difficult circumstances. In my mind, recruiting Ron is part of this window too. They've rebuilt a squad that had been taken apart and they've done it relatively prudently. Any time someone says 12m for Long, I'll just think 22m for Lallana. Three months ago things looked awful; today it looks like we've got a decent squad. As soon as someone has a bad game, people will be moaning about not being the same as last season and I'll think that'll be a poor show. No player is guaranteed to be a success; crikey, we moaned enough about Shaw's poor final ball and lambert's off days last season and some even were saying that Lovren wasn't the same when he came back from injury. Some people will just expect perfection. The club have done a pretty good job and I have moved on from those who left and I am excited about the new chapter. COYR
I think we've had a wonderful few years in which we invested so much passion for the club that it came as a nasty shock to find out that players didn't have the attachment to Southampton that we had. It was like a romance ending in infidelity...giving us all a horrid empty feeling. We are now more realistic in what we expect from players...we will be happy if they do their best whilst they are here, but anyone can be replaced...not necessarily one for one, but overall the loss of any player can be overcome.
I feel we have improved from last season, better manager, better Gk, better Defence, better Midfield and better Forwards. We have options to cover injury, options to suit different opposition and options to change it during the game if it's not working. I for one am happy!
I gave an 8. Kept hold of Morgan, and have found excellent replacements for Lovren, Lallana and Shaw.
I voted 5 based on the the first 3 games of the season, a good performance at liverpool, a bad result at home to west brom and a excellent away win at west ham, my rating is open to go up or down based on how the new arrivals perform.
Has to be a 10. Cleared out the rotten apples, and gave Rickie, who was never going to be central to our plans this season, his dream move. Shaw was promised his move last year, and Chambers had a release clause so we couldn't keep him however much we wanted to. We have also removed all of the players who were never going to play in the Prem but who were a drain on the wage bill. In return, we have made some interesting signings and given Ron the chance to build his own team. Tadic, Alderweireld, and Mané were among the best in the leagues they have come from, and Forster is (probably) an upgrade on Boruc. Gardos might turn out to be the pick of the bunch, while Bertrand seems an adequate replacement for Shaw. It remains to be seen if Koeman can get the best out of Pellè and Long but the evidence so far is pointing that way. On top of all that, we still have £30 m left to bolster wages and top up in January. And we kept Morgan and Jay Rod. I'm very happy.
Did you have last season's team on a 5 after three games last season??? Last season we won, drew, lost... a declining performance maybe. This season, we lost, drew, won ...
Brilliant... and I thought I was a happy clapper!! I admire your positivity Chilco and I feel ashamed of my 8
All i'm saying is how can people give our transfer dealings above a 5 after 3 games when we've sold our 5 best players and the only players we've bought in with prem experience are Long and Bertrand. Yes i agree on paper the window looks to have been a good one but cosidering i had never heard of most the players we bought (as i don't play fm ) then i will reserve judgement.
Yeah I'm struggling to see how anyone can give more than a 5/6 tops. The aim of transfer windows is to strengthen your side. If you had said to a Saints fan after the Man Utd game last season "This is going to be your squad come September 1st" and showed them what we have now I don't thnik anyone would say it looked stronger. The reason people are so happy is because of the turbulent time we had in the middle of the window where everyone was leaving, we were the hub of a load of jokes from other fans and we have gone and signed some players to shut a lot of these people up. The 2 "known" quantities in the PL we have signed are Long and Bertrand, great. The others could all go one way or the other so not sure how people can rank it anywhere but average at this current time.
Right, this is my opinion of how the players we bought compared to the ones that left: Bertrand = Shaw. Shaw may have more potential but at the moment they're about at the same level. Alderweireld = Lovren. Both very good defenders. Tadic < Lallana. Only because Tadic is unproven in a strong league. He got far more assists that Lallana last season. He could be just as good if not better. Pelle > Lambert. Lambert's on the decline now and Pelle is just as good as Lambert in the air, and has also shown some good link up play. Chambers is probably the only big loss as he has great potential.