On my return to The Ugly Inside last week, I felt it important that, three games into the new season, I offered a balanced perspective on the first few weeks of the campaign.
In addition to drawing on the indifferent start to last season, which saw two wins, two defeats and three draws in the opening seven games, I reviewed the club's dealings in the transfer market.
The signing of Sofiane Boufal has injected much-needed excitement and, although not yet proven in English football, the talent the player possesses and his long list of admirers gives hope that it won't take long to see what he will bring to the Premier League.
Added to the quality of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the ever-developing Nathan Redmond who, at 22, has ample time to meet his potential, we have a trio of exciting additions who are sure to play a significant part in the season.
However, I stipulated that, due to the lack of a strong, powerful, goalscoring replacement for Graziano Pelle, it would be a must to bring in a player who fitted the bill to complement these excellent recruits.
Looking at the current striking options of Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez, I was certainly of the opinion the club would bring a striker in before the deadline to fill what is a very obvious void.
Over the course of last season, top scorer Sadio Mane returned 15 goals in all competitions, Pelle 14 and Long 13. Austin managed one from two starts and five substitute appearances, while Rodriguez bagged three from six starts and 10 substitute appearances.
Not only do these statistics highlight the important roles played by Mane and Pelle, both of whom departed early in the summer, they also show the worryingly low number of appearances made by both Austin and Rodriguez.
Despite rumours of interest in FC Utrecht's Seb Haller, a France under-21 international who has scored 22 goals in 41 appearances for the Dutch side, nothing materialised and the 6ft 2in forward remained at the Stadion Galgenwaard.
Meanwhile, another striker heavily linked with a move to St Mary's, Italian international Simone Zaza, made a £5 million loan switch from Juventus to West Ham United.
The 6ft 1in forward returned 20 goals in 64 games for Sassuolo between 2013 and 2015 and five in 19 for The Old Lady in Serie A last term.
Although never openly linked with Saints, Manchester City's Wilfried Bony made a deadline day switch to Stoke City in what was possibly the deal of the day and I feel it necessary to include him.
While the Ivorian may have only notched six times in 36 appearances for City, he bagged 26 in 54 games for Swansea and, prior to that, 46 in 65 for Vitesse. He was, to me, an obvious choice — even if just for a single season.
The Potters also pulled off another excellent piece of business by recruiting Porto's Dutch international central defender Bruno Martins Indi — a player Saints had been linked with during Ronald Koeman's time in charge of the club.
As things stand, the club's options in the centre of defence remain limited, with Maya Yoshida the main senior candidate to replace Virgil Van Dijk or Jose Fonte in the event of injury or suspension. Is that good enough? I have my doubts.
Saints find themselves facing a gruelling period of six Europa League games on top of a demanding Premier League schedule and have failed to replace Pelle. At the same time, two clubs of a similar size and stature have scored major attacking coups with their transfer activity.
And that's without European football to contend with.
Will the club come to rue its decisions? I hope not.
In an ideal world, Austin will come good, Rodriguez will provide a fit and sharp alternative to the former QPR man, Long will continue in his rich form of last season and Boufal will burst onto the scene with a bang.
If Austin or Rodriguez suffer injuries however, or if Boufal's return to fitness fails to go to plan, Saints boss Claude Puel faces a dilemma.
With loan deals now made only within transfer windows, that leaves Saints in a difficult spot. Oh well, there's always club-less Emmanuel Adebayor to turn to should we fall on hard times!