Saints supporters have been demanding an experienced central defender and the failure to sign one has led some fans to think there is an age based transfer policy in place, however it seems that this is not the case.

I have been very vocal since January 2017 that we need to sign an experienced central defender, one with a proven track record at the highest level, but more importantly a leader of men, but every year my plea's go unheeded and we sign either youngsters or stick with what we have.

Conor Coady who is being allowed to leave Wolves is a prime example of the type of player that we need, when i read he has gone to Everton on loan I was extremely disappointed to say the least.

But it seems that perhaps the Saints hierarchy have now realised that if you want to sign youngsters and see them reach their potential you need players around them to help them do that.

Everton landed Coady, but according to media reports they had to fend off a late bid from Saints who now seemingly want an experienced defender to anchor the back four (At Last !!!!)

To be truthful Saints were always going to be on a loser on this one, Coady hails from Merseyside and in terms of geography the odds were always going to be tipped in favour of a club North of Wolverhampton than one South, given his family connections.

But for Saints fans it is good news, it suggests that we are now looking in the marketplace for experience at the back, Conor Coady would have been nice but was not to be, but there are other options out there, Saints came out of the blue on this one so hopefully will pull one out of the bag in the next 3 weeks, hopefully sooner.

Photo: Action Images

wessexman added 09:45 - Aug 9 You simply despair. You do wonder what the thinking is at Saints HQ and Ralph. Let us hope it is not too late.
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Colburn added 09:46 - Aug 9 Last minute sums it up, could have gone for him 6 weeks ago. Didn't realise you've been banging on about this for the last 5 years Nick, thanks for letting us all know, hahaha. So we need a CB, cover at full back, an attacking midfielder and 1 or 2 strikers. Can't see it happening, we are picking up some good deals with promising youngsters but I don't see a team being built. We are the last choice for most players and who can blame them when we show zero ambition and lay our cards on the table time after time.

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onetowatch added 09:55 - Aug 9 Phil Jones, Ben Mee......???
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saintmark1976 added 10:05 - Aug 9 “ But for Saints fans it is good news”. Sorry Nick, but how is good news when yet again we fail to sign a player with previous Premiership experience but one of our rivals does? As for suggesting he wouldn’t come to us for geographical reasons. On that basis no player would ever join a club which wasn’t in his home town or within half an hours travelling time. No, the reason he hasn’t come to us is because as Colburn suggests our management have once again been totally negligent and utterly inept.

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Saint4Life247 added 10:41 - Aug 9 Unbelievable... I read earlier that Wolves are now keen on McCarthy...smh. We could have easily negotiated a deal with the two players and everyone would have been happy. As previously said this should have been sorted weeks ago. Tarkowski is another, how many players do we have that Burnley would have wanted? We could have unloaded deadwood and welcomed some much needed experience well in advance of pre-season..... and that is just the defence..... I give up on this club sometimes, i really do

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wrathoftazz added 10:48 - Aug 9 RALPH HASNT GOT A SCOOBY. Why would any player want to sign under Ralph unless a youngster who knows they can move on! If I was an experienced player, watching Ralph and his always playing out of position, dodgy tatics and inability to adapt, I'd stay as far away as possible. Look at Walcot... he's not a bad player but done nothing, so, was that on him or simply Raplh? Why did we spend that money, after getting other deadwood off the books? Or why did we offer McCarthy a new contract (even if under old owners as Ralph would have had to agree), he's by far the WORST between the sticks and at 50k a week, that's just BS. The ROT starts with Ralph and ends with championship football. Grow a set of balls and sack the gut

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JoeEgg added 11:07 - Aug 9 Have to agree with all the posters - well except Nick that is! This is good news!? I worry that few skilfull experienced defenders or strikers are going to want to commit themselves to Saints with the current management, team selections and TACTICS? We have had months to find the players we really need and haven't made any progress neither in disposing of those players we no longer need. And Nick claims we have a stronger squad than last year! With the current Brighton or Forest managers we could have taken a great step forward into the new season. I cant see anything positive coming our way while we stick with Ralph. I have a feeling that we might struggle to get points from the Leeds match - and Ralph could soon be on course to be the first manager of the season to face the chop.

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SWH1748 added 11:24 - Aug 9 Sorry wrathoftazz Walcott has not been a good player for years, did sweet fa at Everton and should never of been given a contract, after the loan, which was worth a punt but did not work, he should of been sent packing. Can’t disagree with the rest though.
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Peterx added 11:33 - Aug 9 Coady / Mee / Tarkowski would all have been great signings. This will be controversial but our defence got worse in my opinion when we lost Vesty and Bertrand, maybe we should go back in with a cheeky bid for Vesty who would be a known quantity.
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Block8 added 12:17 - Aug 9 There was no way he was coming here so don't think this was at all a serious bid, if ever there was one! We've become a bit like the Titanic, moving along with a big leak, getting lower and lower and trying to find lifeboats that are already taken. With the few left being too far away to benefit us!
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sledger added 13:07 - Aug 9 Vestagard,we luckily got our money back on him,dont spoil it by taking him back he was part of an earlier crap defence
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ItchenNorth added 13:56 - Aug 9 I find it hard to believe that the transfer policy is led by Ralph as suggested by some. Managers these days are given players to work with. Only the top elite clubs with more money that they know what to do with, can afford to be led by their managers transfer targets alone.
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SanMarco added 15:40 - Aug 9 He means its good news that at least we are looking. Perhaps we could have started looking in June? July? No we wait until a week from mid-August. I have no confidence that the people 'in charge' have any real idea what they are doing, and that obviously includes Ralph, whose capacity for being taken by surprise by the totally obvious is staggering...
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AmericanSaint added 15:41 - Aug 9 This just shows how bad our backroom has been for years. Nick, sorry but you are wrong on this one as as Coady would have come to us if we paid well and made it a permanent transfer and not a loan. He has 3 good years left and we "think" his age is not a good fit. We (RH and his staff) need to change their stupid ideas of only young talent. We need seasoned players to help the young kids grow. It's that simple.

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CautiousOptimist added 15:50 - Aug 9 I agree with Nick - it has to be a positive sign that the club are looking at the kind of player pretty much everyone can see that we need. As for the last minute timing, maybe it’s just to do with realising a loan deal was on the cards , or maybe the coaching staff are having a bit of input, but I don’t think the club operate on a shoot from the hip basis and (hopefully) if they were looking at Coady they’ll have some others in mind too. Also agree with ItchenNorth - Ralph works with the players he’s given. Saints have got a very clear transfer policy and the manager has to fall into line with that. Ralph really does seem to care about the club, and that counts for a lot with me. It’s a rollercoaster. Sometimes exciting, sometimes downright scary.

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Monksway added 18:54 - Aug 9 In buying young unproven potential you rarely seriously improve the first team. It's hit and hope... A bit like our strikers.
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NewburySaint added 13:24 - Aug 10 I don't for 1 minute "buy" that we ever interested in Coady - if the story is true it was probably a line leaked by the club to the media to appease an ever more disgruntled fanbase.
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