As many know in the Premiership you can only name a 25 man squad, at present we almost have that number in our first team squad, so who wont make the cut next season.

Its not quite correct that you can only name 25, you can also play home grown youngsters under a certain age, meaning the likes of Jamie Ward Prowse wont need to take up a squad place but can still play, however Saints are still very close to the limit at present with 23 players who can be considered first team members, as it stands we can add two more to that number and with only Kelvin Davis on the books with experience one of them would need to be a keeper. Likewise in the central defensive position we only have three players and non of them have any real top flight experience at a good level.

So if Saints are to make some key signings they need to offload a few players or face having to pay them for sitting around and doing nothing, a look at the suad though shows there is scope and i feel the following are most likely to be shipped out either permanently or on loan.

In no particular order.

Lee Barnard, with five players already in front of him, including Guly for a spot up front following his problems last season, its hard to see Lee getting into the squad, but like many in this list the problem is that he is on a longish term contract and his wages will have increased with promotion clauses, this means that financially he would have to take a big drop, so its far more likely he will be put out on a season long loan as per Aaron Martin.

Ryan Dickson, Ryan has already gone public about his problem, on good money following promotion, and with the Club unwilling to negotiate on a pay off cant afford to miss out on a pay day, so again probably a season long loan for Ryan.

Joanthan Fonte, same problem as the previous two, didnt play much of a part last term and unlikely to this, 2 1/2 years left on contract so another where a loan period is more probable that a transfer unless the club relent and look to do deals.

Jason Puncheon, although one of the few in the squad with premier League experience, after coming back into the fold was still given the cold shoulder so it looks like he might want away, however with only one year left on his contract the question is will he sit tight on decent money or are we now at a stage where both parties will say enough is enough and agree parting terms.

Danny Butterfield, showed at the end of last season he is a decent player and that might be enough to earn him a squad place due to his experience and versatility.

Frazer Richardson, will Nigel Adkins feel happy with him at right back, certainly Frazer offered more going forward than defending, but we do need to shore up the defence, I cant see both Butterfield & Richardson in the squad, one will have to move on and i can see a new right back coming in next season with one or the other as cover.

Dan Seabourne, of course there is sympathy for Dan after his troubles last season, but Saints cant afford sentiment and the truth is that as a player he has never really cut it at St Mary's even in League 1, another for whom a loan spell will probably be the answer probably leading to a permanent deal in the January transfer window.

Dan Harding, I am sure to be accused of bias here, but the fact is Dan ceased to be a first team regular upon the arrival of Danny Fox, making only 12 starts, over half of which were before Fox made his full debut, since September he has been a squad player, but is he good enough for the premiership, probably not, however a three year deal last September looks a bit of a folly now we have been promoted, higher wages at St Mary's than he can get elsewhere mean another for whom a loan spell is far more likely than a permanent move.

Dean Hammond, again a harsh one, but Saints do need to improve that midfield area and they have plenty of options but little genuine Premier class, it could be that Dean suffers because of that and finds himself out in the cold.

Steve De Ridder, again I will be accused here, but the facts speak for themselves, Steeeeeve only started five league games last season and for a player who came at a significant fee and with such high hopes thats not enough, yes he played 27 times as sub but a fair proportion of them were a few minutes at the end to run the clock down, if Saints can offload him I think they will, but again with two years left on a contract its hard to see how he will be able to afford to give up his increased wages. 

So there are ten players who to be blunt with the exception of perhaps Hammond will struggle to get a regular game next season and in the case of perhaps half even one game should they stay, Saints job now is to move them  along in order to free up space for new signings, dont forget though its not just about game time but wages, all of them will be on increased money and moving them wont be easy because of that, but you also have to bear in mind that money used to pay their wages is money that could be used to pay someone elses, I feel we need to initially move on through transfer or loan about five of them, that would free up enough spaces in the squad to bring in new players, obvious ones are Dickson, Barnard Forte & Seaborne who didnt play much and are in positions we have cover in aside from then, Puncheon would be perhaps ideally next, but I do feel that one of the so called bigger names will also go, perhaps not now but in the January window as we look to strengthen further.     

Photo: Action Images

darkangelv2 added 11:08 - Jun 27 Haha, another article of 'facts'. If you think Richardson needs to be replaced due to defending reasons, the 'fact' is Danny Fox would need replacing for the same.
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SaintNick added 11:24 - Jun 27 Why do people feel the need to criticise my opinion on one player by pointing to the faults of another, some people nailed their colours to the Dan Harding mast so firmly, they cant bear to discuss things rationally. Tell me why you think im wrong on Harding or for that matter any of the other players on here using examples of their play not someone elses, also it just makes it sound petty when individual words like "Facts" are used as some sort of statement. Fact is in the case of Harding though is that approx 6 starts in the last 39 games make him a squad player in anybodys book

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ExiledSupporter added 11:35 - Jun 27 These are fair points and reveal a bit of a mess we have got ourselves into with some of the signings made clearly mistakes(okay we didn't really expect to have a second promotion run at the start of last season) I'm thinking particularly of Forte and De Ridder here. With hindsight would we not have been wiser to increase their wages only if named in the promoted squad of 25, rather than automatically - do we really know if this is the case? Getting them out on loan may entail subsidising some part of their wages next seqason. Perhaps we should have put them on the available for transfer list by now - perhaps we have? Lots of imponderables, not sure how we are going to be able to resolve some of these issues in a way that doesn't hold us back next season

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JimmySteal added 11:39 - Jun 27 So are you saying that Guly's a definite next season?
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Jesus_02 added 11:46 - Jun 27 I am confident that we will be watching the majority of those mentioned above try to raise their game in the Premier League. We have arrived one or two years before the business is ready. Its going to be a long hard season and if we go down it will be tougher still. Together we stand
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legod7 added 11:58 - Jun 27 There are some players that would play better in the Premiership. Schneiderlin & Lallana spring to mind straight away. Perhaps de Ridder & Puncheon with their style of play will find it more to their liking
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darkangelv2 added 12:08 - Jun 27 Nick, I don't think you're wrong on Harding being behind Fox. But Richardson has played better as a defender IN MY OPINION than Fox. Focussing on forward play (as you seem to for our full backs for some reason) Richardson's contribution is proportionately greater than Fox when you focus on open play rather than set pieces. Both our full backs' weaknesses are set for massive exposure in the prem and it's going to be plain uncomfortable to watch. Just a thought - why would we loan out our only back up for left back? As for being petty - yeah, i'm bored of pre-season and want to get to St Marys again so i can cheer the players i like and boo those i don't (sic).

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Whatsforpud added 12:19 - Jun 27 At right back, do we keep Richardson as a better attacker, or Butterfield as a better defender (if that is what they are), and get one other in? Likewise, if both Dickson and Harding go out, we would need another left back - to play, or cover for Fox. That is as well as Goalkeeper cover, and maybe an attacking midfielder. A lot of work to be done behind the scenes.

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SaintNick added 13:17 - Jun 27 Isnt Ben Reeves also a left back, he could cover for Harding, I just dont think Harding is up to the premiership, better to ship him out and look elsewhere, if Reeves isnt the answer then get in someone on the cheap who is good enough
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1teeminants added 14:12 - Jun 27 Nick all those players you mentioned i agree with you on all of them except Richardson who i believe is a quality player and is someone we will need to provide quality assists next season. what about Luke Shaw as cover for right back ? he has had raving reviews and been watched by many prem scouts and if youre good enough your old enough. Hammond, Barnard ,Puncheon, De ridder, Butterfield, Harding are just not premiership stadard, simple as that.

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SaintNick added 15:08 - Jun 27 I like richardson going forward, but he is a bit too suceptible when on the back foot for my liking, Jack Stephens the lad from Plymouth is earmarked as the next right back i think
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Fordy added 16:04 - Jun 27 I agree with most of what you have written. However, I don't think NA will make quite that many changes. At the moment with Martin gone and Bart gone the two main priorities are CB and GK. Add to that the rumours of CM and we already have three players we must be looking for. I don't think NA will add to that both full-backs. Remember, Butterfield signed a new deal last year when it looked like we would get promoted so NA clearly sees him as able to cut it in the Prem. I would expect to see a new GK, CB, CM, RM and maybe back up for AL. I just can't see too much happening at full back.

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geezershoong added 16:25 - Jun 27 It's a bit harsh to earmark F Richardson because you feel he's good going forward but susceptible in defence, I'm sure other PL that perhaps are not in the top half have the same 'problem'.
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Del_Bianco added 21:24 - Jun 27 We are victim of our own success as far as players are concearned. In L1 we signed a lot of players good enough for the championship but not the premier league. We are now stuck with the likes of Harding, Dickson,Seaborne and Forte as no one really expected promotion for at least another season and they all have a year or two to run on their now lucrative contracts. We are either going to have to loan them or come to some sort of deal to let them leave, although this seems unlikely if Dicksons situation is anything to go by. And I wouldn't expect any major signings in the full back positions as it seems Shaw and Stephens are going to be groomed for those positions. Spot on assessment to be fair though Nick.

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Vectis1971 added 23:05 - Jun 27 I see a new GK, CB (possibly 2), RM (who can probably also play down the left) and perhaps a CM. That's 5 players at best. Unless good offers (or loans) are forthcoming for Barnard and puncheon then I wouldnt be surprised to see them included in the 25. As for the full backs - doesn't really matter what we think. Adkins rates them. End of. However, given Adkins' very public liking of players who can play in more than one position I wouldn't be surprised if the CB(s) we sign can also play as full backs. Hello btw. :)

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SaintNick added 10:42 - Jun 28 good points vectis and welcome
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JimmySteal added 11:27 - Jun 28 Good point Del Bianco. When are we going to see Jack Stephens and Luke Shaw? (Shaw especially)
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bstokesaint added 12:20 - Jun 28 I'd agree with the majority of the non-Prem players, with the exception of Frazer. He was brilliant for us last season. Lambert would miss him massively if he wasn't involved. If I was playing I'd miss him massively too! Let's face it some of those crosses are on a plate, and more consistent that Fox's crosses. I also think SdR might be able to adapt to the EPL. He nearly always creates something when he comes on as a sub. He needs to learn to adapt though to produce for a full game.

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SaintNick added 15:01 - Jun 28 I think thats the myth about De Ridder "he nearly always creates something" the factsdont back that up, he runs about a lot but doesnt put in anything meaning ful as the assists totals show
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darkangelv2 added 08:39 - Jun 29 The youngsters Shaw and Stephens are still some way off from what i've heard. Would be surprised if they made it into the first team before a season on loan first.
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JimmySteal added 09:22 - Jun 29 I suppose all this talk of shedding fringe players is all well and good but ....is it me? We're already back in training and apart from Rodriguez we've signed nobody.
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