At the start of January no one would have predicted the turmoil that was going to happen during this month.

Its fair to say that most Saints fans expected a few arrivals during the month of January, what they didnt expect was most of those arrivals to be Maurricio Pochettino and his coaching staff and popular manager Nigel Adkins to be gone.

The message boards across the Saints internet world were for once all in agreement over the final months of 2012, that Saints needed to strengthen in the window, what we didnt want to see again was a repeat of the summer window where we chased virtually unknown names for big money in positions that we already had strength and depth in, what we actually got was a carbon copy of the summer window.

It was to be hoped that Saints would copy Liverpool, like us the Merseyside club had left themselves woefully short in key areas, the signing of Sturridge on virtually the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve showed they had been pro active in the weeks leading up to the transfer window opening and had identified their targets early, Saints fans hoped that Saints would be this proactive.

What we wanted was Premier quality and preferably experienced players, what we got was the same old same old of supposedly marque signings who it was quite obvious to the outsider were using Saints as leverage for either a new contract at their current club or more money in another one, whether the change of manager that was clearly done and dusted before the New Year had even been rung in was affecting our ability to attract players is another matter, Forren has already confirmed in interviews that he never met Nigel Adkins and he was indeed well aware of the incoming manager long before Nigel Adkins knew he would be sacked, how muchj this affected us will never be known, all we do know is that key areas were not addressed and it was not for the lack of trying, all be it in the wrong areas, if Nigel Adkins had been privy to these transfer dealings then as manager he would have known the areas that needed addressing, Maurricio Pochettino for all his studying of the squad would not, im sure he would now so perhaps given that we were always going to appoint him, perhaps the biggest error will turn out to be not so much sacking Nigel Adkins mid January, but not doing it in Dcember to give Pochettino time to assess the squad.

Even the player we bought in is an unknown quantity, he may turn out to be the best central defender that we ever have, but our problem is now and not next year, on Saturday at least one of the goals was down to a total lack of concentration in central defence giving their man a free header, would a new central defender have not caught out like that, of course football is all ifs and buts, but 8 years ago this very week Saints conceded a sloppy late goal against Everton at home in a 2-2 draw, if we hadnt let that in then we wouldnt have gone down.

That blast from the past shows that in the Premier the margin for error is very very fine, as it stands our new signing hasnt played in over two months and by his own admission is only at 80% fitness and not ready to play in the Premier, this is nearly three weeks after he signed, if he doesnt play against City then he will have been on the books over five weeks before he gets his chance to play and in that time we will have played four games, we have conceded sloppy goals in two of the three played so far, how many would a couple of good signings prevented ?

If we werent hanging on to sack Nigel Adkins we would probably have been able to get Forren in a fortnight earlier than we did, surely 3-4 weeks training would have seen him match fit.

So perhaps the conclusion after yet another disapointing transfer window is that if Nigel Adkins was going to be sacked and from the comments from both Vegard Forren and Maurricio Pochettino he clearly was lined up for the bullet long before he got it, then doing it in the middle of the transfer window was not the time to do it, if he had stayed for another two weeks then perhaps we would have made a couple of decent signings who would already been in the side, but conversly if we had done it two weeks earlier then it gave us the chancefor the new man to perhaps identify the areas that he needed and the targets etc and more to the point in either case the manager could have been involved in the transfer process in speaking to the player, after all money is discussed by agents but what really convinces a player is what plans the manager has for him, instead we had to sneak around whispering to players about a potential new manager, trying not to let it sneak out.

I have high hopes for our new manager, I think it was wrong that Nigel Adkins was sacked, I still think had he been allowed to continue and more importantly been involved in the transfer process we might just have a couple of more points than e currently have and that could prove crucial, however Im not going to dismiss Pochettino just because he isnt Adkins, so far he seems to know what he is doing tactically and is getting the team playing a high tempo game, however I worry that he hasnt got the right tools to work with squad wise and what matter is chasing 17th place this season and not sixth next         

Photo: Action Images

StSaint added 11:39 - Feb 6 Our squad has shown that we are more than capable of competing at this level, so should we really be splashing more money when our income is relatively modest by prem standards?
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LondonSaint added 11:41 - Feb 6 Always nice to read your articles! You're right about Forren's match fitness - it is a bit strange. As for keeper I think most fans are happy with Boruc for the time being? The non-purchase of a winger is a bit odd with De Ridder going out on loan. Also don't forget the fact that we ARE Southampton, not Liverpool - they are a far more attractive club to play for with more funds available. But I don't think it's as doom and gloom as you make out? I am cautiously optimistic and looking forward to the remainder of the season. After Man City the fixture list looks pretty good, survival is certainly achievable! p.s. I seem to remember Crouch being most open for blame against Everton in 2005 when he shot instead of running into the corner... Margin for error very fine yes but it happens to players in every position at every club in the country (just look at Reina last week for example!) - let's not be too hard on the lads, we've got the squad to stay up.

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SaintNick added 11:53 - Feb 6 I wasnt being hard just pragmatic, we are only as good as our points total and position and at this moment its hovering just above relegation, I appreciate we arent liverpool, but for instance Matt Upson has gone on loan from Stoke to Brighton, would he be better than hooiveld he certainly has the experience
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slynch added 11:54 - Feb 6 The funds available for improving the team this window were mainly spent on better training facilities and a better manager.
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SaintNick added 12:06 - Feb 6 well we dont seem to be getting any nearer to the taining facilities and this wasnt the most in demand manager in football so thats not much of a lay out, but all of those things mean nothing if we get relegated, concentrate on staying up this season before we start to talk about next
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Pecky3 added 12:06 - Feb 6 I totally agree Nick with this article. Like you I am worried that we give away too many points from winning positions. Someone like Upson with Premier experience would have been a great addition. I just cannot understand why signings in key areas were not made! I sincerely hope I am wrong but I do fear the worst and if that happened where does that leave Cortese's 5-year plan!

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SaintJez added 12:37 - Feb 6 Forren seems to be the strangest signing for me. At centre back, you barely need to be "match fit" to play. It's not a high tempo position and there have been countless examples of great centre halves who were rarely match fit their entire careers! Paul McGrath and Ryan Nelson are 2 that immediately spring to mind. So why on earth has Forren not even made the matchday squad when clearly we are short of players at the back? I assume he's injured and Saints' strange love affair with giving no information to the outside world is keeping it all under wraps. I really wish we would be a bit more open as a club..

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SaintNick added 13:31 - Feb 6 I think you are spot on here Jez
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stmichael added 14:39 - Feb 6 Very pleased we didnt spunk money on mercenary footballers like our rivals. Goalkeeping and central defensve positions were taken care of one way or another and we are perfectly strong enough in ALL departments to stay up. If we dont it will be done to bad management.
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ExiledSupporter added 18:43 - Feb 6 Well done Nick, a thoughtful and incisive article which shows no trace of the complacency and illogicality of some of the responses published above. I do not think that the left and right hand of the club have been coordinated in their actions since the beginning of the Championship season. Since Nigel seems to have been deliberately sidelined in terms of transfer targets and the gap between his formations/tactics and players made available to him has been quite wide, the next question is how long before MP finds himself in the same position or has it already been made clear to him that he will not have a leading role in this aspect of management? Can anyone throw more light on the role filled by Les Reed, I rather suspect that this is the key to the mystery about our transfer targeting?

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SaintNick added 21:54 - Feb 6 Stmichael if we dont stay up then will it be the managers fault or the person that sacked the old one and selected him ? If you think we are perfectly strong enough in all departments then you havent seen the wigan game nor the performances of our right winger in the last two games
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Jesus_02 added 21:58 - Feb 6 OSorry to disagree, I don't think I am being complacent in being happy as a saints fan at the moment but I think we have done as well as could be expected. The squad has evolved at what I consider to be the fastest possible rate. If we just purchased 10 players that hasd premiership experience we would have most likely ended up with average prem players that had little or no team spirit or motivation.In otherwords we would have ended up like QPR. If Upson would have seriously improved the squad he would not be playing for Brighton. With regard to NA being sidelined in terms of transfers, its a bit of a nonsence really. Why have a professional scouting network if you want to employ someone to manage like fthey are playing Championship manager!

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big_buddaH added 22:19 - Feb 6 I am more happy with the squad and transfer activity than some posters on here. We have spent over 30M on Boruc, Gazza, Clyne, Yoshida, Forren, Davis, Ramirez, J-Rod, and Mayuka. So that includes 2 centre backs, 2 GKs, and 2 forwards, which are the main areas slated that needed improvement. I think Boruc is now proving to be adequate, and hopefully a fit Fonte and Forren will strengthen the back four. There is only so much money to spend, and we have spent more than many other mid- to lower- PL teams. Also, I assume there is a wage structure to be respected. Also, I would like to think we will try and promote our academy players and give them a chance in the first team, as well as signing younger players. We could have spent 6M on Butland in the summer, but would he have been experienced enough. Also, Ince is now valued at 8M, would he be worth that? Yes there is a need for PL experience, but that comes at a high cost in either transfer fee and/or wages. Older players on the fringe of other teams, are often there for a reason, and no guarantee they would do a better job for us. One of the downsides of playing the youngsters, is that they sometimes make mistakes. Many were calling out for a new LB early in the season. Would Butner have been better? One thing is certain, if Shaw wasn't getting a game with us, he would have gone to sit on the bench at Arsenal for a lot higher wages. What concerns me more, and mentioned by others, is who in charge of transfers? How have we ended up with two unfit signings (Forren and Boruc), arguably a player not suited to the rigours of the PL in Ramirez, and we were supposedly going to sign another (Coutinho) for a small fortune, when he would likely not be suited to a PL relegation battle. It is obvious that transfers are being made without the managers approval, or even involvement. If Reed is advising NC on this, he is incapable of accessing a players ability or suitability. It appears to me that players are being offered by agents, and the decisions are being taken by NC and LR. Why did we sign Mayuka? The cynic in me would also question why are we making big money signings in Italy? In fact, Cortese's insular nature, and desire to run the show his way, is typical of persons who want to hide what they are doing. Maybe some dodgey dealings under the table. Hopefully I am wrong, and Pocchetino will be more involved in this summers transfer dealings. The squad is good enough to avoid relegation. While the naysayers will shout about the points total, and games without wins, we are playing better than all the other teams down the bottom. Our new style and recent performances indicate that we will be more than OK. Have faith - City will be the next 3 points.

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big_buddaH added 22:26 - Feb 6 Nick, I agree, we could do with a winger, but he would have to replace Puncheon, which would presumably be unpopular with many. Also, how much would one cost? Personally, I think Puncheon will be moved on in the summer. He looked good earlier in the season, but only makes progress down the wing if Clyne is supporting. Otherwise, he doesn't have the pace to go to the byline and cross. Consequently, he often drifts inside, and goes nowhere. Occassionally, when he has enough space, he goes for goal and scores, but not often enough. I was glad to see him switch wings occasionally in recent games, but if we can get good money for him in the summer, I would be happy to see him replaced.

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BlackRod added 00:34 - Feb 7 If Forren isn't fit how come he was on the pitch for Norway this evening? I expect he will need to be rested on Saturday
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Sango123 added 08:01 - Feb 7 I think other than a centreback, we actually need cover for wingers and a defensive midfielder. A hard tackling defensive midfielder is needed to cover Morgan and JAck in the centre of the park.
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