Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Two Crucial Weeks In The Transfer Market
Two Crucial Weeks In The Transfer Market
Monday, 23rd Jul 2012 09:37

Nigel Adkins faces the possibly the most important fortnight in his managerial career as what he does in those 14 short days will shape the season for Saints.

So far most Saints fans would agree that the Club's dealings in the transfer market have been shrewd, three of the incoming players have been youngsters though with no experience of the Premier League and from that point of view have to be an unknown quantity for next season. The fourth Steven Davis does have Premier experience, but in truth it is less than a hundred starts in the Premier and the last of those was nearly five years ago before initially joining Rangers on loan in January 2008.

So at present the Saints squad is big on potential including the new signings and those at the club including Rickie Lambert, Tadanari Lee, Adam Lallana, Billy Sharp etc, but low on actual top flight experience, Davis isnt packed with it, but probably has more than the rest of the squad put together and a squad with less than 200 Premier games between it, is obviously not experienced enough.

So the coming fortnight will be crucial, Nigel Adkins now has to bring in 3 or 4 players who are not only of the standard required but have the experience to guide their colleagues through the Premier league.

First priority should be a central defender, or to be blunt two, our pairing last season was not good enough when the pressure was on, perhaps it was just that as a [pair they didnt gel and individually with the right partner they might be good enough, if thats the case then perhaps one good experienced centre half might be sufficient, as i type the name Scott Danns is believed to be in pole position to be the next man in the club, Danns is a good player, but in truth even his top flight experience is limited, 77 games over the last three seasons to be exact, skill and potential yes, but does he have the experience we need to be able to marshall a back four that will perhaps include three players alongside him with very few games at this level, Danny Fox likely to be the only man to have played in the Premier, the 14 outings he made for Burnley three seasons ago making him almost an expert on the division in this squad.

So a top knotch central defender is a must for Adkins and it seems that the other two positions he is looking at are a wide players for each side of the midfield, Jermaine Lens is rumoured as one of the incoming signings, again plenty of potential but little experience, very similar to Alex Buttner who now looks to be joining Hanover, although the initial problems have been sorted, Vitesse are now publicly saying the deal looks dead due to extra demands from Saints.

If Saints get their central defender & two widemen then, will the transfer dealings be over for the summer, I sincerely hope not, although the squad will be well covered in all areas, I still think it would lack a true leader, when Lawrie McMenemy built his teams he always had an experienced Captain at the heart of the squad, whether it was Alan Ball or Jimmy Case, Saints had and indeed every side needs someone who has been there and done it and can pass on the experience and I dont see that at present in any of our current players, new signings or possible signings, who we should go for Im not certain, but in my mind if he played centre half that would be a big plus.

Nigel Adkins is of course in a position he has never been in before, this time last year he had never had much money to spend on players before in his managerial career, of course he is not alone in his choices, Saints alledgedly operate a transfer committee in order to identify potential signings and Adkins is only part of that set up rather than being the sole decision maker on whom is bought in, incidentally I do agree with this style of set up, its operated on the continent and I believe will be the norm at most Prmiership clubs within the next few years as the dinosaurs like Harry Redknapp who oppose this type of system and demant autocracy for the manager die out.

But that being said its the manager who puts out the team and dictates the style it plays, so he should perhaps have the biggest say on that committee on who he wants in and whther they fit into his system, after all it is the manager who gets the credit or the blame for the results on the pitch and with a transfer committee if he is constantly overuled on signings or for some reason they dont happen, then he is not always in charge of his own destiny.   

              

Photo: Action Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



VeloSaint added 10:49 - Jul 23
Certainly agree we need a leader at the back. Davies I would assume is the player signed to lead us in the middle of the park, he may have <100 prem starts but he's been captain of Rangers for some while and I doubt very much we'll sign anyone else in midfield aside from a pacy wide man. Expect that and 1 or 2 central defenders to be it. Aside from Dann who I'm not convinced about its difficult to come up with experienced Prem defenders who we could realistically sign. The alternative is to look abroad but as you say that carries an even greater risk.

Also, lets not underestimate the experience in the team, it may lack top flight nous, but they've been together a while now. We lacked authority at the back last season, get that right and we'll have a decent looking squad.
0

SingaporeSaint added 11:37 - Jul 23
Good article and pretty much agree with all of it.. The central back 3 appears weak at this level, both to pace in behind and dealing with crosses. We will also be defending a lot more in the prem than we were in the championship too. The new formation used in recent friendies seems to be almost protecting this with 2 sitting midfielders, I think this will impact our ability to score goals with Lambert doing the hard yards on his own..

I think S Davis is the likely captain (captain of Rangers and his country is a decent pedigree) but we need either a C half or keeper to marshal and dictate things at the back. Dann is not this player - this was Samba at Blackburn and when he left they looked, well, leaderless. Maybe with Dann playing, one of the current 2 will be able to lead, if not then we need another C Half..

I think Buttner may be off as NA fancies Luke Shaw may well be strong enough to play next season..

Hope we get Lens - he looks quite a talent!
0

redandwhitedee added 11:39 - Jul 23
Its Scott Dann.. not Danns.
We do certainly need centre-back cover, but only 1 more is needed. Hoijveld, Seabourne and Stephens have looked comfortable in the Evian + Carouge games. Fonte though looks to be lacking a bit of self-belief.
Up-front, we still lack pace. Lambert looks even slower this year, his touch was very poor on Wed + Sat, and wasted yet another perfect free-kick position, blazing well over the bar on Saturday.

Nate Clyne came on in Right Midfield and looked fantastic.. incredible pace, great close control, looked a real threat. Richardson looks overweight and Butterfield solid - has played in the 'A-Team' on both Tour friendlies.

Puncheon, Guly, Lallana and Sharp look hungry and fit, but the main star for me last week was James Ward-Prowse. Is always on the move, clever football brain, and could really make an impact this year - a bit like Barry Bannan at Aston Villa.

Summary of the 2 Tour friendlies.. we still need..
- Striker with pace
- Left mid/winger (Shaw struggled to make an impact there in the Evian game), and the only alternatives Adkins used were Guly & Rodrigues.
- 1x Centre-back to play along-side Hoijveld or back-up to Fonte.
- maybe another goalkeeper ? - Gazanigga was not really tested but after a nervy start, looked more comfortable.


0

SingaporeSaint added 14:33 - Jul 23
I hope we know what we are doing with Dann as does appear we are in for him.. He has been relegated the last 2 years, he allegedly threatened to leave when Samba was sold, he hasnt been special at all when I have seen him.. Looking at some input from the Blackburn fans, he seems less popular at Ewood than the Venky's!

If we are going to spend this sort of money - Ron Vlaar from Feyenoord appears to be available, is a current international, one would think could settle in with Jos. Villa have been in for him but the deal has stalled...
0

patred added 19:05 - Jul 23
Vlaar deal fell through at Villa because of his wage demands.. and they pay more than us usually
0

SingaporeSaint added 10:00 - Jul 24
We had best keep looking for a C Half - I thought 3.5M was steep for Dann's recent record and performances and is not the 'leader' at the back we desire... 6M is being reported in the press - that is ridiculous..
0


You need to login in order to post your comments

Blogs 31 bloggers

Knees-up Mother Brown #22 by wessex_exile
Knees-up Mother Brown #18 by wessex_exile

Blackpool Polls

About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© FansNetwork 2024