Pre season training is only a week away and the transfer market is about to hot up, but we dont want a repeat of last year.

Last summer Saints got the summer window off to a good start, Jay Rodriguez, Steve Davis, Nathanial Clyne & Paulo Gazzaniga were all done and dusted by mid July & all played a part in the season, the three outfield players to a good degree although Gazzaniga was to a lesser extent.

However from then on our transfer targets seemed to be well documented in the media and high prices were being quoted, but we just couldnt seem to land them, to the layman it seemed dutch auctions were being conducted in public by the players club or agent and time and time again we seemed to be unable to agree terms.

Our first four signings were as mentioned in place by mid July, yet it would be 29th August on the eve of the window closing before we would make another signing, in the space of two days three players came in quickly and the bst part of £20 million pounds was spent in transfer fees, I think most would agree that we didnt really get value for that money, Mayuka started one game and when his sub appearances were added just about squeezed two hours on the pitch, Ramirez showed flashes of brilliance, but seemed unable to adapt to the pace of the game in the Premier League and under Pochettino played less than a third of the time on the pitch he could of, only Yoshida made a significant contribution and even with him the jury is still out with doubts remaining about his concentration lapses and positional sense.

Last summer seemed to be about splashing the cash and making a statement, in hindsight it wasnt about concentrating on getting the right players in the right areas.

It was hoped that lessons might have been learned and initially it seems that they might have been, in that Dejan Lovren certainly seems to have on paper at least all the attributes we need, however when I see Saints chasing Wanyama from Celtic for £12.5 million alarm bells start ringing again, of course we want quality players, but Wanyama is a defensive midfielder and arguably that is our strongest area with Morgan Schneiderlin and Jack Cork both having better seasons than most, with the nes that Cardiff are likely to hijack the deal, that seems to say here is a player who will go to the highest bidder wages wise not for footballing reasons.

This is an important season for Saints, the second season in the Premier is often tougher than the first and often a team that has survived its debut season after promotion finds that in the second year its much tougher and they end up relegated, QPR showed that its easy to spend big money on players and pay them big wages, but it doesnt mean you get the calibre of player that you should be getting.

Getting our transfer strategy right is very important, if we want proof of that look at two players who arrived in the UK from the Low countries in July 2011, one Steve De Ridder was signed for £1.5 million and another Victor Wanyama was signed by Celtic for  slightly less at £1 million, look at their values now, it not about what you pay for a player but about getting it right and signing the right players in the right positions and who can do the job you want them to do.

Our transfer record last summer and indeed in January could quite easily have cost us our place in the Premier league, in the end it didn, but that doesnt mean we should be complacent, if we take our eyes off what we need to achieve then we will soon find ourselves back in the Championship.

Photo: Action Images

slynch added 10:17 - Jun 24 "Wanyama is a defensive midfielder and arguably that is our strongest area with Morgan Schneiderlin and Jack Cork both having better seasons"... looks like someone high up, is arguing with you?
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chalks82 added 10:28 - Jun 24 It seems Saints are happy to match the asking price for players but will not be dictated too by agents who probably want signing on fees, massive wages as well as assurances about playing time. Unfortunately Saints can't control what comes out of these players mouths. I'm happy that we are bidding for these players who would all strengthen Saints, but I'm also happy that we appear to be weeding out those that only want the money.

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derbydog added 10:57 - Jun 24 This all puzzles me. If we are going to use the academy players, and have (as the club has said) about half the team home-grown, why are we looking to buy expensive foreign imports? How can James Ward Prowse, already behind Spiderman, Cork and Davis, get into the team if we sign another ready-made central midfielder? He was one of the better players in the England U20 game last night. And if we rate our next best youth player (would that be Chambers?), how is he going to get a game behind five big money centre halves already on the books and apparently another one being sought? We need cover at full back, I would agree, but not at the expense of the one and a half home grown players already in situ (I think Saints can claim half the credit for Clyne's progress.) We need Ricky cover too, but not by signing a mercenary who will squeeze Ricky out if only to justify the large price tag. BTW, I enjoy reading your thoughts NIck but I do wish you would read them before you publish them. Your writings are so full of typos, they are sometimes painful to read. (winge over)

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SaintNick added 11:27 - Jun 24 Thanks derbydog, point taken and some very good points about blocking up the progress route, by the way did you mean "Whinge" ;-)
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slynch added 11:43 - Jun 24 derbydog: There seems to be some misconception of what Adkins said about bringing young players thru. I think he said the aim was to bring "half the Academy players into the first team"; which is different to having half the first team made up with Academy players. I suppose they won't play at the same time and often in lesser matches but half of them would get first team experience. That's what I remember hearing, others may know better.

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Whatsforpud added 12:47 - Jun 24 Nick - good headline! Chalks82 makes a good point about assurances of playing time. Any footballer should know, or be told, that they are joining a squad, not a team. The chairman should make no deals re guarantees as it undermines the manager's ability to pick the best team from his squad. For every club at this time of the year, there is enormous pressure from agents, media and fans, to spend. Let's not spend just for the sake of it. It can cause unrest on the bench.

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Fordy added 16:35 - Jun 24 If we sign Wanyama it makes a certain amount of sense to me. One area we lacked last year was when we played the more physical sides such as West Ham, Stoke, West Brom, QPR. Morgan, Cork, JWP and Davis are all good players but none of them are particularly physical. I think MP might be after someone to do a bit of bullying in midfield.
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GeordieSaint added 12:03 - Jun 25 I have been a long term reader of this site but never commented before. It makes me laugh to hear people complaining about no loyalty in football and players just moving for the money. Look at the way Saints treated Nigel. If a player was thinking about joining Saints he should consider that. That is loyalty from the club, to be discraded and then try and cheat him out of his settlement. Why should a player think the club would treat them any differently? Football is a ruthless business and players can't be judged for looking after number one.

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