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Could This Be A Big Week For Saints ?

Saints fans will be hoping that this week will see some big news and I don't just mean the release of the fixture list on Wednesday.

This coming weekend will mark the fifth week since the end of the season and for most Saints fans the problem with that is that Saints have appeared to have sat on their hands and done nothing about the managerial situation at St Mary's.

The press have done much speculation about the future of Claude Puel, indeed the key journalists who usually have the ear of the club are all saying the same thing, that it is virtually certain that Puel will not be in charge for the coming season, but why the delay ?

When thousands trooped out of St Mary's after yet another failure in front of goal and with many having not renewed their season tickets sick of summers of uncertainty, it was hoped that the club would act with decisiveness and swiftly make a decision either way.

What we got was confirmation that the club was reviewing the situation and that it would now consider it's decision, that in itself was a vote of no confidence in Puel, most who write about the club including myself were of the opinion that the decision had already been made and both parties had agreed to end the marriage with dignity and with both coming out of it with their reputations intact.

This involved the club as being seen to have made a reasoned decision and not looking like they had been forced into it by the supporters and Puel perhaps taking a job i France, then they could have trotted out the story that Puel and his family were not happy living in England etc etc.

That was reasonable, but a reasonable period of grace would have been around two weeks, three at a push, but we are heading into the fifth week since the final game of the season and apart from a few well placed media briefings from the club to trusted journalists we have heard nothing.

This is not good for the squad, if Puel were to stay at least five players would not be happy and would be seeking to depart due to their treatment by the Frenchman and his rotation system.

Likewise lining up new signings, how can we possibly do that until we know who will be in charge of the team ?

The main issue here is uncertainty, even if Puel was to stay we could then look at replacing those wanting out.

That could all of course be due to the saga surrounding Lander Holdings and their proposed buy in to a majority shareholding of the club, certainly Saints could have a lot more clout should this happen and that in itself could be a reason why they have failed to appoint a new manager yet.

Lander have now seemingly obtained permission from the Premier League and passed their fit and proper test, indeed last Thursday it was reported that they themselves were celebrating their imminent purchase, but nothing since.

That could be because the i's need to be dotted and the t's need to be crossed and if Lander are serious then that should be quick.

So this week could be pivotal in the history of Southampton FC, it could see Lander Holding take a majority shareholding in the club, believed to be 80%, that in itself could trigger movement in the managerial situation and again might persuade one or two that their future still lies at St Mary's.

We stand on the verge of something big, but we cannot stand on this verge for much longer, their comes a point where Lander need to put up or push on, Katharina Liebherr needs to draw a line in the sand at some point and either the deal gets concluded or we continue on as we are, that doesn't mean that we cannot sack the manager or keep and buy key players, we have done that very well for the last three summers, but it does mean we won't have as much money.

There are those that would prefer this course, the Liebherr family have been good owners and they canot take it to the next level as the Chinese could, however what is the next level ? there are six clubs at the top level in the Premier League who now perhaps have an infrastructure that means that they will rarely be overtaken, Manchester United's appalling seasons are still better than our best and that should be considered.

Yes big investment will help, but it won't allow us to compete on anything like a level playing field and perhaps never will and it should be noted that Everton and Newcastle are two clubs who have tried to build that structure but have failed over the past decade or so.

So what will happen this week ? who knows, but one thing is certain something has to happen soon if we are to continue to move forward, to do so we need to instill confidence and loyalty in not just the squad but the supporter base too.

Rightly or wrongly too many supporters have not renewed season tickets and that is another story, but we need to get them back quickly and start to build a supporter base that can see and believes in what we are doing and buys it's season tickets based not on form which is temporary, but on supporting the club through thick and thin.

It's what they do at the likes of Everton and Newcastle, if we aspire to be above them then we need to match them in all areas not just on the pitch.

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