Like most people I was watching TV this week and saw hordes of people at Calais running to try and jump aboard ferries or any vehicle getting on to the ferry to try and get to England.

I wondered, after just experiencing the transfer window, how many of them were actually footballers.

The window is a sore subject with a lot of people and I noticed that the chairman of West Bromich Albion, Jeremy Peace, came out this week and asked for it to close before the season starts.

I can understand that and also I have questions as to why we need the transfer window anyway and what was wrong with the old system when a manager had more time to think and see how his team was progressing, etc, and close it with about six weeks of the season left?

The other big event was England’s first game since the World Cup, which everyone has to admit was a surprising failure, and the lowest gate at Wembley since it was renewed.

The reason England struggled, in my opinion, is because of the lack of choice now at the highest level for the England manager.

It’s very good to see these top name players coming in from all around Europe and it’s understandable when most of our managers now are from abroad, as well as the owners of the Premier League clubs.

I think if the supporters can’t divorce the fact that they enjoy watching high level club football week in week out from expecting the England manager to win every game in style we will end up with the sort of press conference that Roy Hodgson conducted after the not very entertaining game against Norway.

He surprised many people by his reaction to some of the questions the day after from the mass media, and, believe me, having experienced all this when at Graham Taylor’s side, I can tell you the managers have to count to ten sometimes because questions are often phrased to try and get an unusual reaction.

Roy Hodgson has an image of being able to handle all of these situations, having had international experience with countries before, and it was a surprise when he flared up when it was pointed out that his team at Wembley only had two shots on target.

He felt that England would have scored more but for the fact the Norwegians defended so well.

The trouble is he then went on later when it was pointed out how few people had come to watch the game to blame the fact that the opposition were not attractive.

I presume the Norwegian manager might say: “We might not be attractive, but we are effective.’ Had it not been for Wayne Rooney’s penalty and one top class save from Joe Hart, we wouldn’t have got the win that not only was expected but needed after the Brazil experience.

I always look for the statistics which are rolled out on a regular basis, and I notice this season one of my old groans and moans has been answered, nothing to do with me I stress, that percentage of possession by teams is now given out as to which area of the field it happened, which is a good move.

I wonder, now that the dust has settled, what percentage of players in the transfer window came in from abroad compared to how many British players joined clubs away from the Premier League in particular.

A lot of the football news has been taken up by Manchester United, and why not with supporters all around the world willing them to at least get back into the top four?

Ex-players such as David Beckham have commented that it looks like it is the end of their own production line.

He, of course, was one of the famous group of six or seven who came from schoolboy level to internationals whilst staying at the one club.

We, of course, recognise that at Southampton as there is a history of producing our own players from schoolboy level, and as a manager nothing gave me more satisfaction than seeing a youngster joining at 14 and eventually not just playing regular first team football but being capped by his country.

I am not saying it weakens the teams at all, and I am sure especially with the amount of money spent at Old Trafford the results will surely be better than last season, but at St Mary’s the evidence is so far that whilst it was sad to see some of our players leave it does not necessarily mean that the performances will be any less than last year under Ronald Koeman.

It will be good to see particularly here a proportion of home produced players.

Having seen the list of players on the books, I was amazed there are actually 61, and the vast majority are home-produced youngsters and I am sure under the influence of Les Reed and his staff the conveyer belt will carry on.