On the subject of Lance, as a World Cup winner, he is surely on a decent wedge. I sometimes wonder if the club would be financially better off if they had just paid Eastmond what Offiah claims he was worth at the time he was negotiating his first major contract when Lomgy retired. I seem to remember the rumours being that the club played hard ball and wouldn't offer him any more than 2 years. I wonder if it would have been better business in hindsight.
Burns will certainly be a great signing, in terms of his half back play, organisational skills, his leadership and his sheer competitiveness. There may be questions over whether he fits into the Saints type of player mould but let's be honest, I can think of more successful players who were thought to be difficult than genuine nice guys who are squeaky clean professionals. I'm sure we still have the management structure to cope with the odd Sean Long character.