Whilst some Saints supporters are claiming that the club have failed to recruit better quality to replace the departed strikers, no one is complaining that the loss of Victor Wanyama has been a problem.

When Victor Wanyama left for Tottenham Hotspur there was initially some concern amongst the Saints support that he would be hard to replace, the worry was not as widespread as that concerning the striking issue due to the fact that the general consensus was that although Wanyama had been a massive presence in the side when he wanted to perform, that apart from the end of the season he had mainly been out of the side through suspension or sulking and when you took out the three games he had departed early from with a red card being waived in his face, his contribution to the season was a lot less significant than it should have been.

But none the less he was a player that needed replacing and for all his qualities PIerre Emile Hojbjerg looked a different type of player than Wanyama, however despite being linked with several Wanyama type players, the season loomed without one being landed.

But up stepped a replacement from within the ranks, personally I always rated Oriol Romeu and it grated on me that despite some impressive displays in deputising for the Kenyan when he was indisposed due to suspension, when Wanyama returned he was straight back into the team at the expense of Romeu.

I found this very unfair and i fel it stank a bit of treating the Kenyan with kid gloves in the hope that he would sign a new deal.

This season though Romeu has been indispensable to the side, he does not have the physical presence of Wanyama, but what he lacks in muscle he more than makes up for in mobility, ball control, passing and a reading of the game that our former player did not have.

Indeed in the Ugly Inside player ratings this season Romeu has been man of the match on 2 of the 7 Premier League fixtures including the last game at Leicester where his dynamic style got Saints out of trouble on more than one occasion, when Virgil Van Dijk made his first error for Saints in living memory and dropped the ball short it was Romeu who got back and got in a tackle that prevented the Leicester player getting in a clear shot, it was Romeu again who blocked the follow up and Romeu again blocking the follow up to the follow up.

Whilst Wanyama was an immense player it is hard to imagine him reading the game and being mobile enough to make three challenges of this nature in such a short period.

But that has been Romeu's game all season, he has protected the back four and is perhaps the main reason that we have kept six successive clean sheets and why we allow our opponents so few opportunities on goal that are not of our own making through defensive errors.

In fact one of our two defeats came at Old Trafford when Romeu was forced off injured after 12 minutes, meaning of the six goals conceded in all competitions this season, Romeu was not on the pitch for two of them, add to that of the other four, two were penalties and it perhaps is no coincidence that we have conceded only two goals from open play with him on the pitch.

Of course there are others who have played a good part in our defensive record, but it cannot be denied that Romeu is a player who this season has stepped up to the plate and proved his worth, that is emphasised by the fact that there are few who would complain this team is any the weaker for the departure of Wanyama.

Hopefully Romeu will keep his good form going, if he does then he along with Virgil Van Dijk will be the main contenders for player of the year this season.

Photo: Action Images

GeordieSaint added 13:10 - Oct 4 To be fair, Victor was immense as Spurs took City apart. Sky gave him man of the match (I thought it was Son) and he bullied his way around keeping Dier on the bench. Shame we couldn't keep hold of Clyne he would have been well suited to this system and has not really been replaced in my opinion, although I do like both Cedric and Martina.
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dirk_doone added 13:11 - Oct 4 Why is the word 'sulking' used to describe Wanyama and Mane, who always gave 100% effort but not for players like Clasie, Targett and Ward-Prowse, who have often looked to be giving less than 100% and whose faces haven't looked any happier than those of the African players?
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ItchenNorth added 13:27 - Oct 4 Love Wanyama and still do. He was a beast, but sometimes it is better for the long term acquiring players with something to prove, as per Romeu. The likes of Wanyama, Mane, Lallana, Clyne for example were on their way up the football conveyor belt. Wanyama’s path forward from Celtic to Saints to Spurs is progression for a player in terms of a personal and professional challenge. VVD is on this path too and we just hope we can keep hold of him for another season or two. With Romeu though (and players like Bertrand) it was the other way around; Barcelona to Chelsea now Saints. That's not to be little Saints ambition or place in the pyramid, we are placed perfectly for both of these scenarios and regularly reap the benefits of this. But what we are seeing / getting with Romeu now is the quality that Barca and Chelsea identified but could not accommodate. If it wasn’t for VVW or Fonte at the club, we might be considering our new midfield general as captain material on present form.

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BoondockSaint added 13:28 - Oct 4 Spurs got him for the same reason we should have tried to keep him: most of the top teams don't like being pushed around in mid-field: Arsenal, City, the Scouse and it used to be Spuds. These teams like running up the score on little teams, but if they get pushed around a bit, they back off and can't be bothered making the effort to get the ball. OK, Vic wanted out, but we still need another big guy. It's the nature of that role that you will get suspensions-you have to have a guy to tag-team in and then by the time he has run up some yellows, the first guy is back. Yikes! Coming from a hockey background, you would think Kruger would know you need a least two hard nosed players to cover each others' suspensions.

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SaintNick added 15:09 - Oct 4 I have never claimed that Mane ever gave less that 100%, yes he appeared to sulk at some points, but I never ever claimed he was not trying. Wanyama is different, he was not the same player for a long while after Spurs tapped him up in August last season, he perhaps might have gave 100% but his heart wasnt in it and on three occasions he needlessly got himself sent off making tackles that had come from his own miscontrol of the ball in areas he did not need to dive in. He undoubtably helped us surge to sixth in the final weeks of the season and showed us what he can do when he puts his mind to it, sadly he was also showing what we might have achieved if he had not been suspended for so many games and indifferent in a whole lot more. As for Targett, Clasie and JWP, I again have never felt that they have given anything less than 100% , Targett is still learning the game, Clasie had a lot of injury issues last season and JWP although not quite having become the player that we hoped he might is still a good squad member

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pintsizedsaint added 17:52 - Oct 4 I told you so! I still maintain that Wanyama, whilst a good solid disrupter, is not as valuable as someone who has similar (but not the same) physical presence but can also play killer passes and transition defence into attack. Romeu is that person. Don't get me wrong; Wanyama is a great asset to any club, but he offers less in terms of all round play. What surprised me more this weekend is that Man City didn't tactically prepare for having Wanyama doing his enforcer role. And Hojbjerg is clearly Morgan's replacement. And a half decent one at that too! Remember all the comments about us missing the likes of Morgan and Wanyama and Clyne etc? That we wouldn't replace their quality? Seems like we can trust SFC a little more than we have in the past...

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Bettwsresident added 17:59 - Oct 4 That tackle/block/block/celebrate will live long in memory. He was good last year has been immense this year. In OR and Hojberg we have one of the best midfield 2 and on a par with the Spiderman and big Vic combo in 14/15.
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IWOZTHERE added 18:28 - Oct 4 I thought this was supposed to be about the 'plusses' of Romeu. I thought he had an incredible game on Sunday. Last year when VW looked to be on his way, I thought OR deserved his place on merit? I reckon the main reason VW came back in was to keep him in the shop window?
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Consigliere added 20:26 - Oct 4 Is it just me or is anyone else reminded of Bela Lugosi in the role of Nosferatu the Undead whenever I see OR? Just me then. Still I glad he frightens the livin' bejesus out of the opposition. Great bloke, great player, more useful than Wanyama with his ill-discipline.
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Alehouse added 21:33 - Oct 4 I agree with Dirk_Doons observation that we should not accuse our African players of sulking. Personally my criticism of VW was that he couldn't move the ball forward. Mane was a great asset, someone who can turn a game, but was inconsistent. My issue with Ward Prowse is not that he doesn't give 100%, but that his 100% is not good enough. The same applies to a Clasie. Targett shows flashes of potential but needs to go down the line much more often. I think that is to do with confidence and perhaps a lack of pace.

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helpineedsomebody added 12:50 - Oct 5 wanyama back to playing the system he loves & knows he will become world class player now under mr koemans system he never played any where near his abilty/ just did enough each game . for me mane is world class you build teams around him sadly the club now is run just how rupert lowe would run it /we dont have the money or as the club says we have to live with in our means a little bit more investment by the owner / upgrade the stadium / reduce ticket prices for the fans why becouse she has been given something . i can understand why she is care full becouse of the club wasting millions on 2 players

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TimSaint added 17:36 - Oct 5 Of course Wanyama had a sulk - why do you think he didn't play away at Midtjylland and the following home game against Norwich ? Injured - no, it was because he was not in the right frame of mind after not getting his move - in other words he had a sulk. On top of that, he was red carded 3 times for stupid tackles, which not only left his team mates struggling on with 10 men for the rest of those games, but in addition to that, he must have served 9 games of suspension - so couldn't exactly give 100% in those games could he - which equates to over a quarter of the season. Yes, he is an undoubted talent and we will miss him for the odd game where he has been immense in the past, but we have recruited well to replace him and we cannot change things, so let's support the players we have on the pitch.

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TeamCortese added 15:54 - Oct 7 Nick you're deluded! Wanyama has barely started at Spurs this season and he's already keeping Eric Dier out the of Tottenham squad. This is the same Eric Dier that's a shoe-in for the England Squad. http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/wanyama-vs-dier-spurs-would-have-won-the-l Romeu has been consistent but he's definitely doesn't have the same presence that Wanyama had--especially against better opposition. If he puts in performances like Wanyama did against Liverpool and Arsenal last season then you have a point. Wanyama played his best football for Saints with Morgan Schneiderlin. A more relevant question should be about what JWP and Davis are bringing to squad? I can see what Hojberg and Romeu bring to the squad but I can't see that with JWP and Davis, not to mention Clasie. With the opportunities we've had Davis should be more involved in the attacking third in terms of goals and assists. If JWP is as good as people make him out to be then he should at the very least be keeping Davis out of the squad.

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SaintBrock added 10:27 - Oct 10 Of course we have all known all along that Oriol Romeu would be our next great star just like when Morgan came here as a Lowe protege. Hindsight is a marvellous thing to have and most posters on here including me have tin abundance. The truth is that Morgan suffered two or three years of continuous abuse on fan-sites and by match day supporters before he really came good (mainly one suspects because he WAS a Lowe protege) and few have had a good word to say about Oriol during the time he has been with us.

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SaintBrock added 10:28 - Oct 10 'accepted' not 'good' - line 3, second paragraph.
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