It may have seemed an eternity but there are now just three short weeks to go before the 2013/14 Premier League season kicks off.

But if you think thats not long to go, the Championship and League 1 & 2 get underway a fortnight earlier with only seven days left before the opening live game from the football league next Friday evening.

But back to Saints and things are starting to hot up and fast after a tough worout against Schalke they fase Besiktas in the same stadium early Saturday evening before heading to Spain for the game against Celta Vigo, followed by the visit of Real Sociedad to St Mary's a week later.

But the real test is on August 17th when Saints tavel to West Brom and the clock is ticking down to that one with the time to land some much needed transfer targets running out.

Worryingly this transfer window seems to be panning out like the last two, especially last summer when direct comparisons can be drawn,  a couple of good early signings made followed by plenty of rumour and counter rumour but little activity and when you look at other clubs that is worrying, its all well being linked with every big name going, but as happened in the last transfer windows, if you chase players who are genuinely wanted by the likes of Spurs and Liverpool then when push comes to the shove they are going to go to what they perceive as the bigger clubs and we are going to be left with nothing.

At the start of the summer Mauricio Pochettino indicated that h would like to see all the transfer business done early preferably by the start of July, that deadline is well passed and indeed with every day we get nearer the big kick off giving the manager little time to assimilate a new signing into the squad, look at last summer, the players signed early whilst not the big names we were supposedly chasing, all had that hunger and potential that Saints looked for and that being the case were all succesful, the players signed with days to go in the transfer window arrived for well over the odds and have had varying degrees of success and that should be telling us something.

Indeed our transfer policy seems to be changing drastically, a year ago it was about signing good English players and bringing through youth, now it seems to be about luring big money players from abroad, those in charge of transfers dont seem willing or able to track down good players with potential preferring to pay big and hope that the reputation matches the fee, Norwich are a club we should be trying to replicate, at least in the short term, they have made a success out of this form of strategy and indeed the signing of Victor Wanyama could draw comparisons with our transfer strategy, two years ago both Saints and Celtic signed players from the Low Countries, Celtic signed Wanyama for £800,000 whilst Saints paid almost double that for Steve De Ridder, I dont think I need to say more.

So the next week or so will be crucial, with every day that clicks by without Saints making a signing it could cost us points in the coming season, in some respects our spell from hell start last term was actually a blessing, we got out of the way tough games againts Man City and Arsenal away, two games we would probably have lost at any point in the season, plus United at homeat a time when we were in disarray, the only downside being dropping three points at home to Wigan. This season we have no leeway, our first four games are all against sides who were around us in the league last season, ourselves, West Brom, Sunderland and West Ham are all sides who have aspirations of a top ten finish but neutral observers would all perhaps note that as much as one of those four could finish top ten, one of them could also be in a relegation struggle or relegated, the hard work never stops in the Premier, 14th last season counts for nothing now, there are 12 vital points against those sides we are seeking to finish above, another transfer window where we have to panic at the end of it could cost us a lot more than the start of last season where effectively we were just in the main losing games we would have lost anyway.

The clock is ticking in the Premier League you can never stand still and as many have found in the past you suddenly find out its ticking too fast.               

Photo: Action Images

Butty101 added 10:00 - Jul 26 Evolution not revolution.... Why do you want loads of signings that will upset the apple-cart. I think 1 more signing, possibly a striker should be good enough to get us a top 10 position. They will be stronger for last seasons experience and wont be starting in such a chaotic fashion. Retaining the likes of Shaw and Morgan are a massive boost. Since the advent of the premiership weve not been able to do this. The last summer window i think was a success, ultimately we got the bodies into keep us up.

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saintwizzler added 10:16 - Jul 26 We need more QUALITY signings as we don't have a big enough squad to cover. 1 maybe 2 quality players in should suffice. Hooper is no better than Sharp so well avoided.
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IanRC added 10:33 - Jul 26 Whilst I hope we do still want to be the leading academy bringing through a raft of young players it takes time to develop them. I think NC wants results quickly and hence may see big money signings as a temporary, if expensive, bridge. That said I agree that our scouting network should be doing better in identifying players on the verge of something special. Interesting to see NC quoted as saying he likes to act before there are 5 losses in a row, in view of the indifferent results at the end of last season does that mean Poch is on borrowed time ?

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SaintNick added 13:25 - Jul 26 Of our 2 signings so far, 1 Lovren was in a position where we really needed, the 2nd Wanyama was in a position we don't need strengthening urgently, so I would say so far we haven't really covered the real problem area which is the flanks, im surprised that so many people are now crying out for a new striker, a big name signing would spell the end for Rickie, yes we could do with improvement but unless we improve the flanks we will struggle to get the ball into the box anyway

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Butty101 added 13:49 - Jul 26 I would assume a change of formation this season 4 3 2 1, that being the case we have jay,lallana, Ramirez and puncheon that can do that role behind the striker so not an urgent position to strengthen. I think rickie is going to be more and more an impact player, is record in the 2nd half of the season wasn't that great once you took away set plays.
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brady100 added 16:11 - Jul 26 I have to say, I've started to grow more and more edgy this week watching teams around us like Norwich and Swansea to name but two make a number of good quality and smart signings. Meanwhile we have signed just one CB (Not arguing with his quality) and by all accounts a very promising talent in Wanyama but in a position which was arguably boats our richest talent. If we are to live up to our grand claims of a top half finish or Europa League hopefuls, I still feel we are some way off achieving this given that in my opinion we should still be in the market for cover at LB/ RB, a prolific striker and an out and out wide man who can attack opposition fullbacks, hold their width and deliver good quality balls in. Now we are under pressure to land a big name player like Damaio/ Osvaldo as the perhaps equally as effective, cheaper options are being snapped up by our rivals (Hooper, Bony, Altidore etc) . In my opinion signing these players will help us convert our possession into goals which is something we struggled with when teams sat deeper and we often had no plan B, which resulted in us aimlessly lofting balls into the box towards Rickie. Time is running out, particularly with some very winnable games coming thick and fast from August.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 20:08 - Jul 26 Lovren and Wanyama should prove to be excellent signings but looking at the squad we are still lacking in certain areas if we genuinely want to push for the top 8. We have lots of centre backs but Yoshida, Hooiveld and Fonte are all suspect at this level. They're honest, hard-working players but ultimately limited in ability and I think we need better as its still our weakest position. We also need cover at right back. Calumn Chambers isn't the answer is he. He prefers to play in midfield. As for Damaio and Osvaldo, are we aiming too high? If we spend all summer chasing them and not getting them then we're not going to score the goals and convert the chances next season, and we'll be lucky to finish mid-table. Last season we dominated lots of games but didn't score the goals we deserved. A quality striker is what we need to get top 8 or even top half, but Saints are taking a risk at aiming for Champions League quality strikers who would need to buy into our ambitions to consider a move. We could easily run out of time and end up making a panic buy like Mayuka. brady100 makes some great points, like our rivals Swansea and Norwich seem to have bought well in getting Bony, Hooper and Van Wolfswinkel. I think any of those strikers would score 15+ goals for us. The key for next season will be turning possession and midfield dominance into goals. Ramirez and Lallana will need to have much better season's and we need at least three players to hit double figures for goals. C'mon Mr Cortese, stop wasting time talking to the Daily Mail and spying on the squad and get some more big deals done!!

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davepid added 20:33 - Jul 26 Yoshida- I still think he was a reasonable buy. If Nic gave him 7/10for the season that is a respectabl rating and we shouldnt be putting him down. I reckon he will get better - Fonte and Hoo are not- theyve done a great job for us but this is their peak.
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 21:02 - Jul 26 I'm far from convinced about Yoshida. He did improve massively last season from abysmal to mostly all good, but he still had lapses and made bad decisions too often for me to be comfortable with him. OK he's only 24 and will probably continue to improve but we won't finish top 8 with him at the back. He can be good for the majority but then do something bizzare or rash. He's not great when the pressures on and you need a calm head to get a challenge in or clear the ball. I watched him at the Confeds cup and he got shown up on numerous occasions. OK he was playing against the best in the world but its no different in the Prem.

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ExiledSupporter added 23:33 - Jul 26 As has been noted with increasing frequency over the last 18 mths or so our transfer policy exhibits little consistency, a tendency to chase far fetched marquee signings that perhaps no great skill is required in identifying in the first place, hurried and ill considered panic buying and an accumulation of misfit players who we seem unable to flog to anyone else. We don't do the tough things well (identifying good young talent at 'value for money' prices) and we do the easy things badly (overbidding for well publicised players who are ultimately beyond our reach) while we neglect priorities that are obvious to most observers other than those responsible for recruitment. This sort of behaviour can only end in disaster, sooner or later...

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richardmdcooper added 03:04 - Jul 29 Good article and decent points raised. I agree with exiled completely though and every transfer window that passes, I have less faith in our ability in the transfer market- the liebherr money has masked a lot of our overpaying for players but surely that will only last so long..
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Kiwifiedpom1 added 22:00 - Jul 29 We all like to consider our own opinions paramount but the fact is there's only one that counts. We can speculate all we like but it will make no difference to what actually happens. Be patient the powers that be are in sole charge and though opportunities will be missed, mistakes made, the end result will be favourable Their record, so far, has been pretty good, Cortese in the short time he has been Chairman, in rebuilding infrastructure, team rebuilding and management.

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