IT IS QUITE amazing when you think of what football has become.

In the midst of severe austerity measures across not just Britain, but various parts of the first world, football’s bubble has just expanded that little bit more.

The cash paid out for Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll really is mind blowing – to the point where it doesn’t really seem real.

All of a sudden, the £10m various clubs were considering spending on our very own Alex Chamberlain doesn’t seem quite so huge.

It’s a bizarre statement to make, that an eight-figure sum for a 17-year-old playing in the third tier doesn’t seem quite so massive, but if Andy Carroll is worth £35m having scored just 34 career goals, then who knows what to make of anything.

Still, Chamberlain is still here, which can only be a good thing for Saints’ prospects of promotion.

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I did say a couple of weeks ago, when it looked as if the winger was about to leave, that £10m (or at least a sizeable chunk of it) would allow Nigel Adkins to really strengthen the squad as a whole, but I’m glad we at still have Chamberlain until at least the summer, if not longer.

As for the new signings, it’s hard to really know what to make of them. N’Guessan seems to have had a decent showing against Exeter midweek, which is promising.

Forte has dropped a division down to come here, which is a good sign – even if we do have our own squad players in the Championship. Adkins will obviously know him well, so we would do well to trust his judgement on the capture.

Leaving aside the long-term deals for Guly, Lallana and Chaplow, who were already here, I can’t help but feel a little bit of extra depth could have been brought in.

Perhaps some extra cover for Lambert for example.

With our supposed financial muscle, Saints have been understated in the signings made this season.

I'm not expecting more million-pound-plus deals like Fonte or Lambert from last season, but the tap does seem to have gone from gushing to dripping between January last year and this.

While our first team is virtually second-to-none in the division, the squad still looks a little light to deal with a gruelling fixture list.

Despite that, there is no reason to not be full of confidence that Saints can power their way out of League One and on to better things.

But a bit more quality in depth would have seen the title far more likely to be here in May.