I have the feeling its a case of right type of player, wrong position, one year too late.
Graeme Murty has put pen to paper on a one year deal with Saints after being released by Reading.
Murty has looked half decent in the pre season games he has played and almost certainly is the type of player that Saints can use, however the problem is in Lloyd James we had a decent right back. What we dont want to now see is James shunted into midfield to accomodate him, we saw enough of this sort of thing last season.
Of course Murty will bring experience to the back four, but the way things are shaping up things will have turned full circle from last year, back then we had no experience, this year we look like having bucketloads, add Murty to a proposed signing of Radhi Jaidi plus Chris Perry and Dan Harding and you will have a defensive line with an average age of around 32-33, big on experience short on pace.
So whilst Murty will add some things to the squad, I have a feeling that we might well have been better sticking with Lloyd James at right back, although of course there is the option to play him wide right in midfield.
How we needed a signing the quality of Murty this time last year, in truth it might have been the difference between staying up and relegation, however we all now know that last season wasnt some bizarre experiment in youth but a financial neccessity due to the fact that we had no money.
Of course this season we have money and thats probably why we are adding Murty to the squad, although his wages wont be massive they are probably bigger than most in the team and he is a luxury we can now afford.
What fans really want to see come in though is a big strong central defender, hopefully that will be Jaidi, he certainly seems to tick all the boxes and also a big striker.
So welcome Graeme Murty, Im sure he will be an asset at the club.