Undoubtedly Saints squad in the first half of last season was stronger than in the second half partly due to injuries sustained and the loss of a key player, that should not be the case this coming term.

If I look back over last season the fact was that we had a team rather than a squad and when injuries kicked in from December onwards although we still could put out a decent side we had few real options off the bench.

Perhaps the biggest single factor was the injury to Jack Cork and his subsequent transfer to Swansea City, it was not that Cork was the best player in the squad, he was far from that, but he offered a versatility in midfield that we lacked when he was not available, as good as Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin were (and they were good) there were some games that you would not really want to play them together because you did not want to defensive midfielders in the side, in the first half of the season Ronald Koeman often alternated Cork for one of them for his ability to move the ball faster and catch teams on the back foot, put bluntly he did not have that option after Cork left and that showed in results where we would dominate games but unable to break down sides.

Now however Ronald Koeman has built a squad rather than a team and although ys the loss of Morgan Schneiderlin, Toby Alderweireld and Nathaniel Clyne might cost us a point or two, the increased strength of the squad should more than compensate for that.

Now Ronald Koeman can put out two teams that can compete in the Premier League, he has two experienced players in every position and given the versatility of most it could be said more than that, indeed just about the only player apart from the goalkeepers unable to play more than one role is Graziano Pelle.

But it is not just about quantity or even quality which we also have, but options.

In defence we have options along the back four and the arrival of one more central defender will strengthen that further.

In the centre of midfield we also have more ptions and the arrival of Oriol Romeu means that Koeman is back to the situaion a year ago where he can play two dedicated defensive midfielders in Romeu and Wanyama or put in Clasie who can move the ball faster.

In attacking mode I would say that outside of the top four we have the best attack in the division, Pelle, Long, Mane, Rodriguez & Juanmi all have goals in them and all have differing qualities to give the manager not only the opportunity to change things, but he ability to rest players, a big problem attacking wise last year was that we only had three real attackers and after the New Year with Mane firstly injured and then away with his country for the African tournament and Shane Long injured it meant that Pelle had to soldier on when he was dead on his feet after running his heart out in the first half of the season. That will hopefully not be the case this year.

Perhaps the one area that will lose out though will be the youth, however there is mitigating circumstances, one journalist has already suggested that Saints are abandoning their youth policy for the sake of buying in foreign players, that is far from the case, the fact is that we would have kept our home grown talent given the choice, circumstance in the past 15 months has forced our hand.

We still have youth coming through, but the fact is they are not quite ready yet, James Ward Prowse and Harrison Reed are already part of the set up and Matt Targett is joining them, however those behind them need a little bit more experience, there problem and indeed ours is that we have had too many break through at 17 and that puts expectation on those following, the reality is that most players don't make a complete breakthrough till age 20 and that is good for their career long term.

So necessity has meant the need to buy in Premiership players now and give the likes of Jake Hesketh , Lloyd Isgrove, Sam Gallagher, Sam McQueen, Ryan Seager etc time to develop, not all will go on to make it at St Mary's , but some will having been given the chance to gain experience before being plunged into situations they are not ready for, there are several names I could mention from the near past who might have had a better career not just at Saints but elsewhere had their confidence not been destroyed by needing to be thrown into a struggling side.

But in conclusion Saints are now better prepared than at ny time in their history t tak on the rigours of a top flight campaign, we have built a squad that can achieve things and are not reliant on less than a dozen players or even one man any more.

Photo: Action Images

Zambucco added 11:00 - Aug 14 Case in point regarding the youth situation, Jack Cork a good example of being given a chance at young age, but had to do the rounds, until age and experience gave him his big break. I have my favourites among the youngsters, unfortunately my choices are either loaned out or not given a chance to shine, Sam McQueen, Jack Stephens, Jordan Turnbull. Whereas I'm still to be convinced about JWP, Reed and Isgrove. It's only my opinion. We can't look to the academy to churn out, Bales, Walcotts, Oxes on a regular basis, but those who don't quite make it to the Saints level will still make great lower Prem players. Giving us a nice regular income, which is what we are about nowadays. But then so are Barca! But all bodes well for the future my friends, I hope your my friends, please be my friends!!! COYR!

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halftimeorange added 14:29 - Aug 14 Marcus Barnes is the youngster to watch out for. I think that Isgrove, Seager and McQueen will all be on their way out before too long. JWP isn't performing either. Gazzaniga was not good in the U-21 game against Man City the other night and he's looking like another who should find employment elsewhere.
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michaeljoycetf added 11:26 - Aug 15 ''A stronger squad should mean more points'' Providing of course that our opponents havn't strengthened their squads also. I am not at all sure that we are a stronger side than last season, I'm yet to be convinced that the replacements we bought for the out going Morgan,Toby, or Nathaniel Clyne are in the same class. We always seem to be looking for a bargain. It sometimes pays off and its great when it does but not always. We must learn the lesson that as in most walks of life you only get what you pay for. We can afford to compete with the likes of Spurs and Liverpool in the transfer market and lash out 20 or 25 m on top players but we don't. Is that because we are shrewd or because we are unable to shrug off the 'small' team tight budget mentality ?

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IWOZTHERE added 11:42 - Aug 15 As the pace and pressure in the game increases, so do the injuries and squad sizes. A couple of years ago, we were just happy to survive in the Premier, with the help of youngsters who, as you rightly said, were probably blooded a little early. Now, we are financially able to fund our higher expectations by buying players of proven quality and the future looks good! Inevitably this will mean fewer opportunities for our young hopefuls and I just hope that in the longer term it doesn't affect the reputation of the academy and make us less attractive to undiscovered talent. In the meantime 'stuff it!'...... One more centre back, get over the injuries, and let's frighten the crap out of the so-called top teams again. Enjoy the ride!

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