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Former Saints midfielder Armstrong joins Vancouver Whitecapspublished at 17:52 3 September
17:52 3 September
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Former Southampton midfielder Stuart Armstrong has joined Major Soccer League side Vancouver Whitecaps.
The 32-year-old was a free agent having ended his six-year spell with Saints in the summer.
Whitecaps sporting director, Axel Schuster said: "We are very excited to welcome Stuart and his family to Vancouver.
"He is a player who has excelled for many years at the highest levels in the United Kingdom, as well as internationally with Scotland."
'So much depth - perhaps too much'published at 12:41 3 September
12:41 3 September
Ray Hunt Fan writer
Coming off back-to-back defeats to open the season, Saints fans were enthused by the deadline day, adding three recruits to aid our quest for survival.
The goalkeeping situation was sorted early in the day with the huge coup of Aaron Ramsdale. An international, Premier League-ready stopper who is comfortable under pressure and with the ball at his feet.
We welcomed back last season’s loanee Ryan Fraser on a permanent basis and the late arrival of Maxwel Cornet on loan from West Ham to improve options. The challenge now is to give meaningful minutes to his new recruits and somehow, find his best XI among the 14 summer additions.
Overall, it was a positive window. The squad has so much depth. Perhaps too much. The self-destructive playing style will have an impact on squad morale, but the international break has come at the right time for Russell Martin to figure out his best XI.
Indeed, Martin has a wide array of options at both ends of the pitch. But is the failure to capture a new central figure going to be costly? Given our struggles in front of net, you would have to say yes. Right-back Yukinari Sugawara is the only player to ripple the net so far.
Martin continues to use last season’s top scorer Adam Armstrong and new boy Ben Brereton Diaz in wider roles without a main central threat. Another summer signing, Cameron Archer, made his first start in the midweek cup clash at Cardiff, scoring a brace and Ross Stewart could be another central option. The injury-stricken forward has only managed a total of 27 minutes since his summer 2023 arrival from Sunderland, but remains sidelined.
The manager's focus will be putting a stop to the costly mistakes that destroyed our chances at Newcastle and Brentford and to find a way to get our forwards scoring again.
Do we have enough to survive? Jury is out, but so far, not so good.
'Not seen anything to change my mind yet'published at 14:56 2 September
14:56 2 September
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions.
Lawrence asked: I know it's only been three games but how do think the three promoted teams have fared so far? Do you think any will stay up now?
Phil answered: Not seen anything to change my mind yet, Lawrence, although the way teams like Everton have started will give them all hope.
I fancy Ipswich and Leicester to pick up points at home to give themselves a chance, but I do worry about Southampton's passing style in the Premier League – and I know I'm not the first to say that.
Brentford showed exactly how to play against them by pressing them into mistakes as they passed it around at the back on Saturday and you can be sure others will follow suit.
Southampton manager Russell Martin is unmoved and will stick to his style – but if they keep losing then there will have to be pragmatic adjustments, otherwise they will be in big trouble.
'Players have to be responsible for what they do on the pitch'published at 09:28 2 September
09:28 2 September
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Former Southampton striker Jo Tessem says players "have to be responsible" for the mistakes made in Saturday's defeat at Brentford.
Manager Russell Martin's tactics have been questioned after Saints were repeatedly caught when playing the ball out from the back against the Bees.
"Unfortunately they [Brentford] are a better side than us," Tessem told BBC Radio Solent's Goin' Home With Adam And Jo. "It seems like they always find some spaces when they win the ball.
"Similar to Nottingham Forest, they just sat back, let us play and said, 'Let's see what you can do - and when you lose it, we're going to punish you'.
"That was how Brentford were set up. You can see the tactic. Quick counter-attacks is the way they always play. Break with pace, get it forward, wingers high, cross it and score goals. They did that to Southampton.
"You can see we played with very high risk and lost the ball a few times. When we had the ball and passed it around, they sat deep and waited for us to lose it before pouncing on us.
"The players have to be responsible for what they do on the pitch and their decision-making. When you make a mistake in this league, you get punished."
Graham: Brentford pressed very well, putting pressure on a poor Southampton defence. Mikkel Damsgaard was quality throughout the game and showed so many quality touches and passes. Good result but in perspective, Southampton were very poor and look like they will go straight back to the Championship.
Dylan: Brilliant performance today from the Bees. We managed to capitalise on certain mistakes from them. Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa looked very solid. On to the next!
Will: Job done. At times we looked sharp. We had many half chances we created that we could have done better with, but we were clinical when they made errors and did score from a corner. Those things are positive. Happy to have six points now with a tough run coming up! Come on you Bees!
Erik: Great for Brentford that other guys can grow and show what they are made of. I will not miss Ivan Toney - he is/was overrated.
Southampton fans
Steve: Yet again we give away goals. We are NOT Manchester City. We cannot continue to try and play every ball out from the back. We are not good enough. We have to clear it sometimes and go long. Continue like this and we will lose every game. Change the system and get rid of the weak links.
Andrew: Once again the Saints dominate possession but make mistakes at the back and don’t take their chances up front. The manager needs to realise soon that the tactics need to be adapted to suit the Premier League. Mistakes will be punished and this adversely affects the confidence of the team.
Oliver: This result has been a long time coming. We’ve lost three times in largely similar games with unforced errors being the decider. We only made one change (Aaron Ramsdale obviously). The manner of this defeat is a positive in that it gives Russell an early explicit warning to adapt his tactics and line-up over the international break.
John: It would help if the manager would pick his in-form and best players. If he continues to pick players that clearly struggle at this level, then we will continue to collect nil points. A change in approach is required or the points gap will become a chasm.
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 11:00 1 September
11:00 1 September
Watch all the highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures with Gary and the team.
🎧 Post-match reaction to defeat in Londonpublished at 19:34 31 August
19:34 31 August
The latest episode of Goin' Home with Adam & Jo is available now on BBC Sounds - and it contains all of the post-match reaction from Southampton's loss to Brentford.
Former Southampton striker Jo Tessem joins BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore to pick apart a third straight Premier League defeat for Saints.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Saints' costly errorspublished at 18:13 31 August
18:13 31 August
Charlotte Coates BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Premier League football is tough enough but it makes it a whole lot harder to win games if you are gifting the opponents golden opportunities.
That is exactly what Southampton did in their 3-1 loss away at Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Russell Martin has insisted his side maintain their possession-based style after winning promotion to the Premier League but it hasn't been successful so far.
Will Martin stick or twist when his side face Manchester United after the international break?
The Saints boss said to BBC Match of the Day post-match: "I knew it was going to be the narrative from the start of the season. The frustrating thing is we could have scored a couple of goals today but we made a couple of mistakes."
It is clear to see how Martin wants his side to play and they do it for large parts of the game, pressing in the top flight is amongst the best in the world and strikers are always looking to catch defenders out.
With no points yet to be won, the Saints are already facing an uphill battle to maintain their Premier League status.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Did you know?published at 17:49 31 August
17:49 31 August
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Southampton have lost their first three games in a Premier League season for a record sixth time, also doing so in 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2001-02 and 2012-13.
Saints have, however, avoided relegation on each of the previous five occasions.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: What Martin saidpublished at 17:34 31 August
17:34 31 August
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Southampton manager Russell Martin to Sky Sports: "We're very disappointed with the result and the goals we conceded. I feel like we're hurting ourselves a little bit. We had the best chance in the first half with Adam Armstrong. it's about taking a breath in that moment, that's my job to get rid of the tension. I don't think there was much in it between the two teams. We have to stop making mistakes that hurt us.
"What comes first is us and I don't think Thomas [Frank] will say it's their pressing because it's mistakes from us. We get punished in the Premier League as you do in the Championship. it's a much better performance than against Nottingham Forest.
"The subs had a great impact and the team will be different against Manchester United, that is for sure. Cam Archer was great when he came on. Adam Lallana came on and showed you how much quality he has.
"It's a brilliant goal but we should have scored two or three today."
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Send us your thoughtspublished at 17:00 31 August
Promoted sides splash summer cashpublished at 10:51 31 August
10:51 31 August
The three promoted teams all splashed some of their Premier League cash to try to improve their chances of staying up.
Ipswich and Southampton have both spent more than £100m, while Leicester paid out more than £75m.
Ipswich spent £109m on 10 players - seven of whom are from Premier League clubs including Chelsea's Omari Hutchinson, who joined for £20m after a successful loan.
Southampton's signings, which included the deadline-day arrival of Ramsdale, were from a wider variety of divisions.
Leicester, meanwhile, recruited exclusively from top divisions - with four of their seven signings from the Premier League and one from each of the Italian, Portuguese and Belgian leagues.
Saints sign West Ham forward Cornet on loanpublished at 00:31 31 August
00:31 31 August
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Southampton have signed West Ham forward Maxwel Cornet on a season long-loan.
The 27-year-old was part of the Hammers 2023 Europa Conference League winning squad and has made 37 appearances for them over two seasons.
Saints boss Russell Martin said: "Maxwel is a very dynamic player and he gives us another exciting dimension to the group.
"He’s someone who can be a real threat to the opposition on the pitch and I’m delighted the ownership group and board have been able to get another attacking option in for us.
"He’s really excited to be coming here and I think it’s a move that can bring out the best in him and work really well for both him and us."
'One of my proudest moments' - Fraser on Saints returnpublished at 21:57 30 August
21:57 30 August
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Southampton have signed free agent Ryan Fraser, 30, after the winger was released by Newcastle United at the end of the 2024-25 season.
He played for the Saints on loan last season, helping Russell Martin's team to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Upon Fraser's return, Martin said: “Wee Man played such an important part in our squad last season, both on the pitch and in the dressing room, and all of us are delighted to have him back.
“Everyone could see the quality and creativity he has and he delivered in so many big moments for us. What many people outside of the building won’t have seen is the impact he also had off the pitch within the group, and it’s fantastic for us to be able to keep someone not only with great ability, but the same level of character too.
“His experience in the Premier League is an additional asset, and he’s delivered at that level consistently over the time he’s played there, so it’s another really positive signing for us.”
Fraser said: "I'm probably the happiest man in Southampton at the minute. It's been a long summer from the play-off final to now, but my number one goal was to get back here and now that it's happened, it's one of my proudest moments to be honest. Probably second after winning the play-offs. So yeah, it's really nice to be here.
"I think the journey that the players and the fans went through last season, we came together and it's amazing to be back."
'A player we have big belief in' - Frank on Meghoma signingpublished at 20:55 30 August
20:55 30 August
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Brentford believe they have signed "one of the biggest left-back talents in the country" after sealing a deal for Southampton's Jayden Meghoma.
The 18-year-old made four senior appearances for the Saints and moves to Thomas Frank's Bees to become their fifth first-team signing of the summer.
“I’m very pleased with this signing,” said head coach Frank.
“Jayden is an England youth international and one of the biggest left-back talents this country has.
“Again, we had competition from other clubs, so we are definitely doing something right.
“I like Jayden’s offensive ability - he is quick, has good one-on-one skill and can cross – and he has good defensive ability as well. He is adaptable and can play outside or inside full-back.
“There is still a lot he can learn, but Jayden is a player we have big belief in. He can help us this season and in the future.”
Should transfer window close before season starts?published at 16:20 30 August
16:20 30 August
Media caption,
Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder and Planet Premier League pundit Cesc Fabregas believes the transfer window should close before the season begins.
Ramsdale joins Saints - the fans' verdictpublished at 16:03 30 August
16:03 30 August
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We asked for your views on Aaron Ramsdale's transfer from Arsenal to Southampton.
Here are some of your comments:
Pete: It's a great signing and not before time. The last big signing I remember years ago was for Shilton so let's hope. We should have attempted to sign Broja as he did a season on loan for us and was one of the finest strikers we had. Here's to a hopeful season.
Mark: Very happy with the signing of Ramsdale. The signings of Downes and Harwood-Bellis were crucial, as was holding on to Walker-Peters. But I still feel we are going to struggle up front unless we also bring in an experienced striker!
Martin: Brilliant signing for us. We haven't had a solid keeper for a while. Saints showing some intent this season to stay up. Good luck Rambo.
Image source, Getty Images
