Meltdown at Southampton? Can we have one every year?
Article by e-Southampton's Sam WilkesClick here to follow e-Southampton on Twitter!
Midnight on holiday and I am sat in the dark pressing refresh on my generic tablet device trying to see if Saints have managed to sign anyone on Transfer Deadline Day.
For the last three hours Toby Alderweireld and Sadio Mane have been within touching distance of signing but as minutes tick by, the only news is the club's most glamorous player, Gaston Ramirez, has gone to the least glamorous location of Hull on loan.
Reports begin to come through from Belgian newspapers and twitter "in-the-know" accounts that the deal for Alderweireld has gone through but still nothing from the club. Is there a problem?
Checking in with Sky Sports News, Jim White is shouting at the camera that Falcao is on his way to Manchester United and Danny Welbeck is off to Arsenal.
To make it seem more urgent, he checks his phone to confirm that they still haven't had official confirmation.
BREAKING NEWS! My heart leaps, finally some Saints news? No. Crossing live to Carrington, the SSN reporter confirms that they have still not received official confirmation but it is likely to happen. Back to twitter then.
Southampton fans around the world are by now getting impatient and rumours are beginning to circulate that both of the deals have been hijacked at the very last minute.
To make things worse, the club's media team seemed to be enjoying the collective anxiety, tweeting a teaser picture of somebody signing a contract but obscuring the face. Luckily this was short-lived and the next official tweet contained the words we all wanted to see: CONFIRMED.
Via the classic "holding up the shirt" picture taken in almost pitch-black at Staplewood, the Belgian World Cup defender had joined initially on a year-long loan.
Tricky winger (judging by YouTube) and midfield goal-scorer (judging by the stats) Sadio Mane soon follows on a four year contract for £10 million. What a day.
Alderweireld especially is almost a marquee signing in terms of defenders.
For the club to persuade him that there is still a project in place and for him to leave the current La Liga champions and Champion's League runners up shows the real extent of Ronald Koeman's ability to attract star names.
So as the dust settled on the summer "meltdown", "exodus" and "crisis" at St Mary's, it seems like a good time to take stock of the club's position.
The best deals of transfer window are arguably the ones that didn't get away.
Keeping holding of Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez not only kept important continuity and strength within the team, it was the sign to other clubs that we sell who we want, not whoever wants to go.
If Ronald Koeman ever gives up being a football manager, he should consider a career as a peace negotiator after the way he dealt with the Schneiderlin situation.
Not only persuading him to stay, but also to get 2 goals out of the midfielder already equalling his Premier League tally from last season.
Through the rest of the team, Koeman and Les Reed have identified positions that needed strengthening or replacing and moved well to do so.
Artur Boruc wasn't the weakest link in the team but definitely failed to provide the consistency and confidence that a top 'keeper needs to instil in the defence in front of him.
Signing England's number 3 keeper Fraser Forster shows real intent to move to the next level.
Graziano Pelle has big boots to fill but has started well in a new league and a brand new team.
His first Premier League goal against West Ham will have lifted some of the pressure that comes from replacing Rickie Lambert.
Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand already look to have settled into a good partnership on the left, replacing Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw respectively.
With Shane Long and Mane, our attacking strength is a lot better than it was a couple of weeks ago against West Brom.
Whilst all media talk of relegation was a long way wide of the mark, pushing on from our achievement last year mean we needed to replace the goalscoring and creative talents of Lallana, Lambert and the injured Rodriguez.
Although unproven, the potential is there to be seen.
Add into that the genuine competition for defensive places between Fonte, Gardos and Alderweireld all managed by an expert defender and we should be safe at the back.
The problem this year could lie in the midfield. Not the personnel but how to fit them into the team and keep them all happy.
Victor Wanyama, James Ward-Prowse and Schneiderlin seem to be the first choice. That leaves Steven Davis, Jack Cork and Harrison Reed all battling for places (presuming Long or Mane will take the right side previously occupied by Davis).
Is Morgan in for the long term? Can JWP step up to the Premier League level? Will the others stay around if only as squad members?
If these are the "problems" that we are facing after potentially one of the toughest summers since relegation and administration, I'll settle for that.
© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
No comments: