There are some Saints supporters predicting doom & gloom for their team this season, but there are many comparisons to be drawn between our situation two years ago and the present and I think we are stronger overall now.

It is difficult to predict how the Southampton squad will look come the end of the transfer window, so far Aaron Ramsdale aside, most of the players who have moved on already in the transfer window will not be a big loss based on their contributions to the club, of course Jan Bednarek was a rock in our team of two seasons ago, but we are well covered in that department.

But if I compare the squads of 2023/24 and that likely to be in place for the majority of this campaign, I think we are no weaker than two years ago and I think overall we are stronger.

In the goalkeeping position we started the season with three goalkeepers, Gavin Bazunu, Alex McCarthy & Joe Lumley, with only Bazunu & McCarthy playing in the League, at the moment they are both at the club, the question to ask is whether Bazunu was good enough two years ago, the answer is yes, put bluntly a side does not go 23 League games unbeaten and with the best defence during those 23 games if it has a dodgy goalkeeper, I could also add that Bazunu's critics didn't just think that he was the worst keeper in the Championship but that Ryan Manning was the worst left back, so I repeat a team does not go 23 games unbeaten when it has 2 dodgy player in essentially the back 5 defenders including the keeper.

So in the goalkeeping department we are stronger than two years ago, Gavin Bazunu is more experienced and a better keeper than he was two seasons ago when he was still shellshocked from his Premier League season and perhaps more importantly he won't be exposed by a defence playing suicidal balls across his own penalty area.

In the defence we have perhaps the one area we are weaker in than two years ago and that is right back, love him or like him, but Kyle Walker-Peters was the best right back in the Championship end of he will be hard to replace, after his departure we still have James Bree as we did in 2023/24 and KWP's replacement from last term Yuri Sugawara, I think both can flourish at Championship level, but they are not as good as KWP.

In the centre of defence our two stalwarts were Jan Bednarek & Taylor Harwood Bellis, Bednarek is already gone, and there is a question mark over THB's future, although as it stands there have been few offers for him so far, but that could be because of his injury, that could prove good for Saints in the long term as with THB unlikely to play much before September, it could be that no one takes a chance on him to January.

They were a sterling back two, but we have plenty of options to replace them, Jack Stephens was there two years ago, Nathan Wood is a proven Championship defender as is Ronnie Edwards, Joshua Quarshie has looked big & strong in pre season and Joachim Kayi Sanda could well play a part, another key could be Charlie Taylor who has missed the past few games in pre season due to injury, but he captained the side when he played and that could bode well for the season.

If THB stays then we are stronger than 2023/24, if he doesn't then it is dependent on who we sign to replace him, but I think they feel that man is already at the club In Quarshie, he solves the issue of a lack of pace in the centre of defence and hopefully Will Still will solve the other problem of two years ago and that is hybrid roles being created for certain player(s)

The only thing that we haven't yet solves is the lack of leadership and organisation but that was missing in 2023/24.

So in the centre of the defence, it is looking stronger than two years ago, but whatever happens in the transfer window no worse.

At left back we are stronger, in 2023 we relied on Ryan Manning, switching KWP from right to left or Captain Jack's hybrid right back/central midfield roving role, now it is Ryan Manning and Welington, so we are stronger.

In the centre of midfield we could have Matteus Fernandes, but I am not banking on that, but with him gone we still have exactly the same players we relied on two years ago, Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone, Shea Charles & perhaps Joe Aribo will still be here, the only man missing is Stuart Armstrong.

He will be a miss, but after his season at Sheffield Wednesday Shea Charles is the man with the experience and more importantly the legs to step up to the plate.

Some sneer at this, they sneer at the likes of Will Smallbone, but he was just as vital to the promotion winning side as Stuart Armstrong, they played almost the same number of games, Armstrong 42, Smallbone 43, but Will started 35 to Armstrong's 33 and his 6 goals was one more than the Scotsman, it should also be noted that Armstrong was injured for the play offs and did not play whereas Smallbone did and was on the pitch for all but 1 minute of those 3 games and of course scored the opener in the home leg of the semi final against West Brom.

The object of this lesson was not to run down Stuart Armstrong's contribution, but point out that Will Smallbone might not have cut it in the Premier League, but at Championship level he is a proven player and should not be written off just yet.

If Fernandes does leave Saints feel that they have his replacement at the club in Kuryu Matsuki, so in the centre of the park we are stronger than we were two years ago.

Out wide we still have Ryan Fraser who has looked good in pre season and we of course have Jay Robinson who looks a find but is of yet unproven, so we have the quality out wide but not yet the quantity. Potentially it is stronger but we are already looking to strengthen here, so this area will definitely be stronger, the task is to find someone better than Sam Edozie

Up front in 2023/24 we relied on Adam Armstrong & Che Adams, who both made significant contributions, after that it was Sekou Mara who was mainly off the bench.

Now we have a plethora of options, Adam Armstrong is still here, so it is just Adams to replace, that man could be new signing Damion Downs, Cameron Archer or Ross Stewart,
that is a formidable forward line and i'm not including Ben Brereton Diaz who I do expect to leave.

Even if it is just Armstrong, Downs & Archer that is probably the most potent strike force in the Championship.

So as it stands even assuming that Matteus Fernandes, Tyler Dibling & Taylor Harwood Bellis do leave, we still have a formidable squad and that is without buying anyone in, which we most certainly will do with the money we have in the kitty already, let alone the £85 million or so that these three would bring in.

So Southampton supporters have every reason to be optimistic for the coming season, yes some of these players did not perform in the Premier League last season, but we are not in that League any more, we need Championship proven players and in the likes of Nathan Wood, Ronnie Edwards, Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone, Shea Charles, Ryan Fraser, Adam Armstrong & Cameron Archer we have the foundation of a squad proven at this level, not just for us but other clubs.

We have something to build on and we will build on it, the bookies think we are one of the favourites and there is a reason for that and that is they see the quality we have when compared not with Liverpool, Chelsea or even Brighton as many seem to base their opinions of our players on, but how good they are compared to the players of Blackburn, Preston, West Brom, Coventry and the rest of the teams that made up the Championship last season.

This can be a very good season, yet in our recent online poll 44% thought we would finish between 7th & 16th and 12% lower than that, that does not seem to reflect the record numbers that have bought season tickets, why are some so critical.

We have had a terrible few years, some of our supporters cannot seem to let that go, they cannot move on and look forward with some hope and optimism.

Most Saints supporters have already shown their faith by putting their hands in their pockets for season tickets and also tickets on the day with St Mary's sold out, this faith might not turn out to be well founded, but that is the point of football, most fans know before the season go into it with little more than hope, but they enjoy that hope whilst it lasts.

They don't write off players or for that matter the season before a ball is kicked, where is the enjoyment gained from that and lets face it we support football teams not for out and out success, but enjoyment, that doesn't mean trophies for most clubs, but for those occasions that we come near or days like we had at Wembley in May 2025.

All Photos Via Reuters

davidargyll added 11:14 - Aug 4 Well said! It is always easier to talk a team down, if only because, if it doesnt turn out so good, those doomsters can smugly say “I told you so!” But if we really are (considerably?) above the Championship average in terms of ability. then we have every reason to be optimistic. After all to draw with Brighton has to be quite a feather in our cap, especially as there have been mutterings that the Seagulls should have been much better than they were, after having won all their previous friendlies. On another note, it will be interesting to see whether the Wrexham way of spending money - low price acquisitions but only good for a season or two at most - or ours, of spending more on better younger players, proves to be the better.

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saint901 added 11:37 - Aug 4 The time to consider whether we are contenders in the Champ or just survivors will perhaps be ten games in. I am of the view that the squad last season struggled with RM's "way of playing" and in particular his seeming revenge if players dared not play that way or criticise him. Ruling by fear is never good. I really hope that the new manager has managed to clear the player's heads of such nonsense and instead drilled in a new ethos because without it, we are survivors only. I also see strong competition. Wrexham have - as is said above - a policy of buying experience that lasts one or two seasons. I think Leicester are in decline. Ipswich have lost some key players. There is however plenty of good teams in this league. I expect more departures however and whilst Everton is not a good destination for Dibling, a decent offer from a decent team will see him go. Arguably he was disengaged int he last ten games or so, and therefore may not be missed but his quality is what we need.

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Monksway added 12:59 - Aug 4 The first five games until the window shuts will be interesting. If Still can manage the chaos, pick up points, progress in the cup and re-build a bit of confidence he will have done really well. During this time he will be continuing to work out a realistic competitive squad going forward and Nick's confidence will be well founded. Either way it's a new start and the season ticket sales are really positive.

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UgandaSaint added 13:14 - Aug 4 Your point about Bazunu and Manning not being too bad because Saints went 23 league games unbeaten has some validity, but don't forget that the best defence for that period was mainly due to Stephens being injured. Can we rely on him to get injured again?
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Kingsland34 added 14:09 - Aug 4 We all hope we are strong and competitive this coming season, however your comments ignore the bald truth. That is that in 23/24 we still had a residue of skilful and experienced Premiership players, that were also augmented by some Premiership class loanees ( Brooks and Rothwell). Apart from Fernandes we now have no one of that calibre. SR policies have seen us decline from middle order Premiership standard to an uncertain Championship class.

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halftimeorange added 14:12 - Aug 4 I don't see any point in speculating over what sort of season we'll have. It wouldn't surprise me if we get off to a sluggish start as RM's strategy was so indoctrinated that there are still players who are struggling with Still's changes. One mustn't forget that our Championship promotion side was also aided by a couple of shrewd loan signings from Bournemouth and it remains to be seen whether we can unload dead wood to other clubs or cancel a few contracts before we get anybody in. On the subject of Stuart Armstong, he was a gifted player and a true playmaker, something we haven't obviously replaced in our warm-ups thus far. If we lose Fernandes we definitely need to find someone to unlock defences.

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Bowlercow added 14:36 - Aug 4 I'm always optimistic at this time of year.I believe THB will stay and hope that the price Saints will demand for Fernandez will mean he stays as well Dibling to Everton looks like a done deal but even without him I think we are better than just OK New young blood like Jay,Moses and Sanda give us an assured future Will Still is here as a stepping stone but to take that step he has to be successful Enjoy him while he's here Top half definitely Top 6 probably Top 2 maybe

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underweststand added 14:44 - Aug 4 Over a period of 50 years or more, I 've made it a rule of never taking a serious look at the League tables until after game 7 or 8. Lucky goals, a VSR gift once in a while, one or two good displays and some indifferent results all play a part, but by then we can look at starting line-ups and see the gaps that need to be filled on the last day. Few of the "old brigade" that Will inherited have shown up better any than they were before, whilst those youngbloods who got game time did well in their limited minutes. By the end of the month we should have sorted the "wheat from the chaff" and Will Small will have some semblance of an acceptable squad. With the " slo-mo RM possession formation" now a forgettable page in the club's history, we can look forward to some good attacking football, and even if we concede goals, can end every game with one point ..or more ..than the opposition, with the given knowledge that most promoted clubs need to score upwards of 90 goals in order to get promotion.

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SaintNick added 18:08 - Aug 4 Kingsland 34 it should be noted that Brooks & Rothwell were more fringe Premier League quality players than true Premier League class, hence they were loaned out to Saints in the Championship. Rothwell has a grand total of 31 Premier League games to his name, only 15 of them in the starting line up and spent last season on loan with Leeds, now he is at Rangers
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kristianJ added 10:14 - Aug 6 You make some fair points. We definitely look like we have a lot of depth up front and at centre back. I also think that Charles and Downes are excellent defensive midfielders at this level. However we won’t be able to play all those strikers and we look weak at full back and out wide (hopefully Robinson is given game time). It will also be a punt relying on Bazunu as our number 1 keeper. I’d be very surprised if Dibling and Fernandes don’t both leave so we will need another creative player to come in to replace them. How we spend this money will be key. If you look at Ipswich and Leicester’s first teams I think that they are stronger than ours and I fancy B’ham to do well as they have bought well and have momentum. Therefore I reckon the play off is perhaps where we will end up after a sluggish start as Will Still tries to work out his first XI with all the comings and goings.

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