It was a stressful day for Saints supporters but by the end of it it looked like the club did all the business it wanted to including outward bound as well as inward.

At the head of any organisation you need a cool head and that has been the case over the past couple of months as Ronald Koeman has slowly but surely got on with the job of rebuilding the Saints squad whilst a large proportion of the supporters base panicked.

But Koeman kept his head an concentrated on what he needed to do to make sure Saints didn't just have a squad, but they had a competitive squad with quality in all areas, the two additions on deadline day seem to do just that, but before they were announced it was not just about getting people in but shipping people out.

Biggest surprise going out of the door was Gaston Ramirez, I have to confess I thought that the player might just flourish under Koeman, but perhaps it was not just about whether the player might play a role but about money, Saints are loaded when it comes to cash from transfers, but they are still way behind when it comes to commercial income etc, that is being worked on, but the fact is Ramirez like Osvaldo was being paid a lot of money and that in the new climate of financial fair play might start to become a problem, under Pochettino who was happy working with a core of 15 players we could probably cope, but with so many incoming quality players and the attendant wages, it was probably a good thing to get Gaston and at least part of his wages off the book, I say part because Im sure Hull won't be stumping up all of them.

Also out was Jos Hooiveld and again this was probably the right thing for not only the club, but the player also, last season Hooiveld played only 3 games in the Premier league the last of them in December, with two new central defenders incoming, he was not going to get anywhere near the first team barring a catastrophic injury list, effectively he has left the club in that his contract will be up at the end of the season, im sure he like others will have reaped the rewards for promotion to the Premier league and this stops them going elsewhere, this is fitting reward to Hooiveld who gave good service, he wasn't my favourite player but he did play his part, so good luck to him at Norwich City.

Other departures were from the academy ranks, Jake Sinclair is about to turn 20, he is struggling to make a breakthrough and the route ahead of him is filled with quality and experienced players, he is at the stage that he needs to play first team football, Hibernian will hopefully give him that and he will return hopefully a better player.

Likewise Jack Stephens, he has returned to Swindon Town where he spent time on loan last season, again his path is blocked, but time at the County Ground will continue his education and perhaps he will be nearer a first team game at Saints next season.

Coming in where the two players that Koeman seemed to want Toby Alderweireld will add strength to the centre of defence and for the first time in a while we actually have true competition there, Sadio Mane can play as a winger but also as an out and out striker, again he adds competition for places and has a great goal scoring record, when Jay Rodriguez returns we will have a lot more firepower than we had last season.

What these two add though is versatility to the squad again something we have lacked since returning to the Premier, we have a plan B and a C, D.

The squad is now leaner but with more quality and I wouldnt be surprised to see a few more youngsters go out during the season to gain experience.

Ronald Koeman spoke of the club needing to be judged after the transfer window shut on September 1st, we can now do that and although it is still a work in progress I would say as a squad we are now stronger than last year and we have a springboard to move forward again.

Photo: Action Images

brady100 added 10:10 - Sep 2 Great business done, the only disappointment I have is the loan of Ramirez to a rival club in Hull. Believe we could still be short of goal scoring midfielders if Tadic or Mane pick up an injury. Gaston had looked a different player this year, and considering we are still reportedly paying the majority of his wages it would have made sense to keep him. That said there comes a time when a player needs to play and that is something that again could not be guaranteed for him. An ideal scenario would be Ramirez gets some good game time and really adapts to the PL before returning to us next season. Sadly I think the loan contains an option to buy at significantly lower value than the 12 million we paid Bologna.

-2

BaselSaint added 10:28 - Sep 2 I can`t blame supporters for having various levels of abject fear, so some do panic. I still suffer trauma from when we needed an excellent signing to make a statement that we were a club moving forward and we signed David Prutton. This type of thing can affect you :)
0

SaintNick added 10:45 - Sep 2 The problem is that the £12 million we paid Bologna was significantly overpriced to start with,
3

brady100 added 11:17 - Sep 2 Agreed, this in addition to his inflated wages should have been a reason to back our invesment... unless Hull paid his wages in full. Will be a shame if Gaston puts in some good performances, particularly for a team we will be competing with.
0

StRipper added 12:42 - Sep 2 There is no option for Hull to buy Gaston.
0

Zambucco added 16:42 - Sep 2 I would liked to have seen Jack Stevens stay and given a run. But as you say Nick there are few in front of him, so games would have been in short supply. Yes next season, Fonte a year older, Yoshida will have made his mind up if he's going to stop making silly mistakes. Am I right in saying it is only for 6 months? If so then my thought are RK is giving Yoshida that time to impress, if not he's out and Jack is back!

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Portsmouth Polls