After a long spell on the sidelines, Watt View has returned to The Ugly Inside to give another perspective on all things Southampton FC.
The column may have been missing but I haven't and, following some extremely tough times after top flight relegation in 2005, everyone associated with the club has been lucky enough to enjoy much improvement and progression since.
I can't post my returning column without mentioning and paying tribute to the Liebherr family for the way in which they have transformed the club and overseen a new era and new philosophy.
The spine of the club is strong and, although we will encounter frustrations along the way, we would do well in those moments to reflect on the past three seasons and the good times we've experienced.
It's been a slow start this term and, in an ideal world, we'd be looking back on home wins against Watford and Sunderland. We're not, but we also have last season to think about; two defeats, three draws and two wins in the first seven games (August and September).
Of course this season is a different proposition - no Ronald Koeman, the loss of Victor Wanyama, Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane and a new manager with a different background and approach to his predecessor - but a sixth-place finish last season following a poor to average start gives cause and reason for calm.
The difference for me, though, is that coming into Ronald Koeman's first game in charge against Liverpool in 2014, the club had lost - most notably - Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Dejan Lovren but had signed Dusan Tadic, Ryan Bertrand and Pelle in July in good time for the start of the campaign.
Toby Alderweireld in the centre of defence and Sadio Mane, to provide a combination of attacking flair and goalscoring to complement Tadic and Pelle, followed at the start of September.
Of the three big names to depart in the summer, Claude Puel began the campaign with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to, in-part, fill the void vacated by Wanyama alongside Steven Davis and/or Oriol Romeu.
Nathan Redmond was recruited at the start of July in what was described as a move to replace Mane.
Although Redmond has returned a goal already and has all the potential to develop into a great English talent, I think any fan could be forgiven for having some concern over the notion of Redmond as a direct replacement for a player as established on the domestic and international stage as Mane.
But, following the unveiling yesterday of Sofiane Boufal, one the brightest young players in world football, we may now be in a position to talk of a replacement for the Senegalese international.
The 22-year-old Moroccan, signed for a fee believed to be in the region of £16m, has attracted the attentions of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Tottenham in recent months - if media reports are to be believed - having notched 11 goals and delivered some dazzling displays for Lille in Ligue 1.
Off the back of the exciting Europa League draw, Boufal's arrival has injected positivity around the club and, while he may be a few weeks away from match fitness, his signing has demonstrated at least a statement of intent for the club to attempt to maintain its progression.
Along with Hojbjerg, who quite clearly possess the quality to succeed at the top levels of the game, this leaves the club just one main signing away from replacing the big three in some form.
I say "in some form" as although Hojbjerg may not be like-for-like with Wanyama, his quality deserves mention as a more than adequate replacement for the loss of an influential member of the team.
The first three games of the season have shown that, not only has the team lacked creativity and pace in the attacking third, it has also suffered from the lack of a strong, powerful striker to pressurise defences and give the team a different option and threat.
Will Saints bring in this type of strikerbefore the transfer window closes this week? It seems a must. Will that man be Utrecht's France under-21 international Sebastien Haller? He may fit the bill for the club and manager.
If a signing occurs, then we find ourselves equipped with three players which will help to balance the losses of the summer.
If business had been tied up earlier then the club may have found itself in a stronger position performance-wise after the first three games. That didn't happen though, so we must look forward and envisage the possibilities.
With an exciting young talent to come in, a Europa League group stage campaign ahead and the potential of a further attacking signing before the close of the transfer, we can and should think positively.
It's great to be back with The Ugly Inside and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings on SFC with you over the course of what I hope will be another exciting campaign and one that again demonstrates the club's resolve following another summer of disruption.