The Southampton squad has had five signings so far in the transfer window and all of them have their merits, but none of the five have what is needed from the three key signings that need to be made.
In simple terms our five new signings so far fall into two categories, Adam Lallana & Charlie Taylor are experienced in the Premier League, but with the former already turned 36 and the latter two months off his 31st Birthday, neither are at the peak of their powers.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis was of course a roaring success in last season's promotion winning side, but in terms of experience he and our two brand new signings Nathan Wood from Swansea City & Ronnie Edwards from Peterborough United all have in common that they are in their early 20's and have good experience, but that is all in the Championship and not the Premier League.
Russell Martin is building a squad that is very British based and also focused on youth, but as was shown last year, a balance has to be struck, if the team is to keep it's shape, last season saw the team collapse due to a lack of leadership on too many occasions to be comfortable, if the likes of relegated Birmingham City and Rotherham could have us all at sixes and sevens then what are Manchester City & Liverpool going to do.
So the manager has to fill 3 key positions with those that can organise and lead and to be blunt have a couple of hundred Premier League games or more to their name.
Those key positions are Goalkeeper, Central midfield and Striker, I could also throw in a central defender, but with 3 new signings in that position and Jan Bednarek & Jack Stephens already at the club, I can't see us bringing in a fifth, although perhaps someone in the mode of Lallana could do a job, a cool head to bring on in the closing stages.
So in goal we know Alex McCarthy is a good back up, but not the answer either in his ability to put in a whole season or his ability to play with the ball at it's feet, Jason Steele of Brighton is now linked, but is he the man ? I would say not, he is about to turn 34, but has barely played in 6 seasons, just 33 Premier League games since joining the Seagulls in 2018 and aside from that he has not had a full season since 2016/17 when he played in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers, so his profile doesn't fit what we need in a keeper, apart from the fact he can play from the back.
What is crucial if we are to avoid the situation last season, is an experienced solid keeper in goal, around the age of 30 with significant Premier League experience, there are a few out there.
Likewise central midfield. after losing Stuart Armstrong, we have little Premier League experience in any of our other options and that is assuming that we do sign Flynn Downes.
Older fans will remember how Lawrie McMenemy brought first Alan Ball to run the midfield, not with his legs but with his head and then Jimmy Case, more recently Steven Davis was a player who just calmly got on with the job.
Up front as it stands we are woefully short, Adam Armstrong was prolific in the Championship last season and I think now the fans have seen what he can do they will cut him more slack than in his first two years at the club.
But I don't think he is going to get anywhere near 20 goals in the Premier League, he will bring work rate and he will bring an ability to create chances for others, but perhaps not the goals he did last season, he will be a good partner for an experienced central striker and this is the final key position we need to fill.
Danny Ings seems to be favourite to join the club and i have no problem in that, he has has not flourished since leaving St Mary's 3 years ago, but in his first season at Villa he scored 7 goals, the same number as his debut season on loan at St Mary's and in his second before leaving in the January he had 6 goals in 18 games, any striker outside of the big 7 who gets into double figures is doing well, he was on course to do that before joining West Ham where he netted another 2 to give him 8 goals from 35 games, not brilliant but a shade off double figures.
Last season he was the forgotten man, very few minutes and very few chances to give him a single goal.
He needs to stop trying to squeeze the last few quid out of the Hammers to leave and concentrate on resurrecting his career for a final swansong at St Mary's.
Make these 3 key signings and given the squad that remains from last season, our signings so far and indeed maybe another arrival or two on top and we have the foundations to battle into mid table and lets be realistic here that is our target for the season.
That doesn't show a lack of ambition, it shows a realistic approach, the Premier League is a lot different to the one we joined 12 years ago, even the one we finished 6th in back in 2016, it is one of polar opposites, the have and have nots and we are a have not whether we like it or not.
So we are now in the most important time of the season for Russell Martin and it hasn't even started yet, but the signings that the manager makes in the next 7 weeks will shape how the season pans out, it will indicate whether Martin has a grip on the reality of the situation or whether he is of the mind that we can take on the masters of possession football such as Liverpool or the masters of pressing football by tippy tappy football which quite frankly could be disastrous.