The comments of Les Reed after the announcement of Calum Chambers to Arsenal have not pacified Saints supporters, far from it they are even more incensed.

The famous saying is "The buck stops here" and that has to be the case for Les Reed who after telling the world he is in charge of transfers at Southampton Football Club is not enamouring himself to the supporters with his latest comments.

The departure of Dejan Lovren was not a major shock to Saints fans, but Calum Chambers to Arsenal feels like a kick in the teeth.

"Calum made it clear to us that he did not see his future at Southampton. As such, it was crucial that we were able to negotiate a substantial fee that also reflects the work our staff have put into Calum’s development since he joined the club at the age of eight.

These were the words of Les Reed on the Clubs official wesite, of course fans know that players harbour ambitions of playing at the top clubs and for the top wages, but a year ago before he had made a Premier league appearance Chambers was happy enough to sign a four year deal, now he should have been made aware in quite certain terms that he would be sold when it suited Saints and that is certainly not at this very moment just after we have lost yet another player.

We should have told Chambers that he would not be allowed to leave until the squad has been strengthened, we now have five players out and only two in, whilst we are being linked with a host of players the fact is that being linked is not actually signing them, yes by all means let Chambers go to Arsenal, but let him depart on our terms not his.

Yes the most important thing is to make sure that the squad has the strength in depth but more than that it is the PR value, Saints supporters have had enough of rumours over the last six months both good and bad, it is worse when it seems to be all the bad ones happening quickly and the good ones seemingly just as far from fruition.

It is bad enough losing Chambers, but truth is although as a right back we already have Nathaniel Clyne at the club, with the departure of Lovren and Shaw we are short at the back, it is just bad management to let Chambers go before we have secured some incoming defenders.

So im afraid the buck has to stop somewhere and that somewhere is squarely at the feet of Les Reed's door, plenty of fine words over the last few months but every time its cut to the chase we have been found wanting, if Arsenal wanted Chambers that badly then they would have waited, whether that wait was one week, two weeks or even a season should have been controlled by Saints, we have shown weakness, Im sorry but for many supporters Les Reed is going to have to pull some rabbits out of hats now, he has set his stall out, to the suporters at least as a man who is not in charge, perhaps the players think that also and know that if they apply a little pressure then they will be allowed to leave no matter what the contract says.

As I said in an earlier article today, I still have faith in Katharina Liebherr to do the right things by this football club, I still have faith that we are in a lot better position than we were two years ago as well as being better structured than most in the Premier to keep moving forward, however Im not certain that Les Reed is the man for the job he is doing.

Photo: Action Images

kristianJ added 21:51 - Jul 28 I understand why some people are getting upset but £12-16 million is a lot of money for Chambers. In my view Clyne is clearly the better right back. Whilst Chambers is a nice tidy player, he lacks a bit of pace to be an international level right back - he got destroyed by Nathan Redmond against Norwich earlier this season. I actually don't think it's a good move for Chambers as despite assurances from Wenger it's difficult to see him getting too much game time at the Emirates this season, (esp. with the purchase of Debuchy) - so it may well hamper his development. Off the other players we've lost, only Lovren looks like a big blow at the moment - and we may well sign a decent replacement for half the price, given a bit more time. Off the other three players that have gone (SRL, Lallana, Shaw) we have bought in two good replacements (Pelle & Tadic) in the transfer window and have a v promising kid (Targett), who looks to have a better natural footballing ability than Shaw. The stories about J-Rod and MS are worrying, but if players are desperate to leave then what can the club do? You can say no, but if they go off in a huff aka Lovren and then go on to poison the dressing room is it sensible to hang on to the player as their market value drops? I've watched some of the pre season games and H Reed and Mcqueen have looked promising. I also think Pelle looks like an improvement on SRL, as he's younger, taller and much more mobile. So it's not all bad news... Give it another couple of weeks and then let's see how the squad looks.

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sidsaint added 22:00 - Jul 28 We can only believe that the players bought into NC and MP's Southampton Way and do not believe in the new board and their statements. More worrying is that RK has not been able to persuade them to stay. If you are going to sell then make sure that you have a replacement lined up, we have no evidence that this is the case apart from press rumours and agent talk. It is also football sense to extend the contracts of players whose contracts have a year to run, i.e. Cork and Fonte this has not happened. Again it is well known that it takes time to bed in new signings, it looks as if we will have about 70% of our starting line up on August 17th new to the club with possibly only a few training sessions to get to know each other unless of course we get the whole of Feyenoord to sign up. Our Technical Director the inimitable Les Reed has given the example of a 4 year contract extension for Harry Reed to demonstrate the commitment in youth for our future. No pressure then Harrison who by the way I think has a great future. Have we negotiated sell on clauses. Does Reed know what they are? The jokes are now rampant in the press. Even RK has joined in. Ex players like Mick Channon are saying we are a laughing stock. The bookies are slashing our odds for relegation. OK we have to wait until Sept 1st to see the full picture but with a month to go it looks like a horror movie.

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saintmark1976 added 22:07 - Jul 28 I posted last week that we are in the process of a "fire sale" and I stand by that even though some "happy clappers" did not agree. Now it looks as though Spider and Jay Rod are on their way which further convinces me. In my opinion there is no point in blaming Mr Reed for doing what I suspect he is being told to do by his boss Katrina. Stop thinking as aggrieved supporters and look at it from her point of view. 1. She with out warning, inherits a football club and Cortese pours millions of her money into it. We still only finish eight in the Premier league. Good for us, but not setting the world on fire is it. 2. Given our restricted fan base and small ground (by Premiership standards) there is no chance what so ever of making progress to where the big money is i e the Champions league, unless she pours even more funds in. 3. Clearly in my opinion, she appears to have had enough and does not wish to risk further funds. Indeed she appears to wants some of her money back and in truth who can blame her? 4.I would suggest that she can now do one of two things. Let the club run within its means and take a chance of staying in the Premiership or sell it. My money is on that having got most if not all of her money back, maybe even with a profit then up for sale we will go. 5. Even without all of those players that have left the club is attractive in that the ground is debt free and apart from Staplewood so is the balance sheet or so we are led to believe. 6. Whats the worst that a new purchaser can expect? Relegation and Sky parachute payments and start again in the Championship. Sounds like a deal to me. Sorry, but that is modern day football. Its not "jumpers for goal posts" any more but an entertainment business where nothing much counts except money and it will only get worse I fear..

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saintss added 22:33 - Jul 28 I heard through the grape vine!! That an offer to buy the club for 498million at the end of last season was turned down?! This a rebuilding and restructuring. Great to be a saints fan don't forget to enjoy the ride!!! Going to be an interesting season......
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davepid added 22:35 - Jul 28 Great news about Bulgarian saints getting together. Congratulations on your hard work. Don't suppose any of them know of a game maker, couple of defenders and a striker looking for work?
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zonehead added 23:31 - Jul 28 Les just say NO!
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montecristo added 00:27 - Jul 29 I am resigned to watching the spectacle I predicted weeks ago, its an absolute nightmare. What worries me is Saints failure to bring ANYONE in. The two that came, came for RK, not Reed or Saints, so where does that leave us. Reed has had plenty of time to have clinched signings we need about seven and not even one has come in. The word in Portugal is that Saints have made an enquiry at 15 million euros for Marcos Rojo ,about 5 million less than they are asking. Its this kind of stupidity from Reed thats sends me into delirium. He doesnt seem to know what he is doing. And what is Krueger doing he has apparently not been seen at St Marys for 6 weeks.

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aceofthebase added 07:01 - Jul 29 Blame it all on the POX!
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saintmark1976 added 11:33 - Jul 29 Montecristo. With respect and as I posted earlier.Does it not occur to you that Mr Reed is simply doing what his boss Katrina tells him? If you work and do not do what you are told then you will be sacked. Please tell, why should Mr Reed be any different?
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redwight added 11:33 - Jul 29 This fire is now completely out of control - I could weep for the club I love. Three short months ago the talk was of a CB, GK and some pace in midfield to complete the jigsaw. Now, who would want to join - and who would want to stay? Nick, I've admired your voice of reason in recent weeks. You've kept me calm and kept me believing. Now I'm beginning to wonder if you're not the best captain a sinking ship could have.

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SaintDownUnder added 12:02 - Jul 29 The reality is that we are selling well. With the exception of Lavern - all the other deals make sense. We've been over paid on players and their is a short window of opportunity to take advantage. The reason I say with the exception of Lovren is that we don't have adequate cover in his position, all the others we do. I also believe that Lovren had an impact not just in the way he played but the way he got the best out of Fonte. I fully expect J-Rod and Morgan to leave too, and I'm ok with this as we have cove in those positons. Reed did say that no player would leave unless it was on Southampton terms - the reality is they've put a price and clubs have been willing to meet those valuations, to be fair he hasn't actually deviated form this. Now don't get me wrong I'm not enamoured with Reeds performance mainly because he seems to be able to sell well but he needs to prove he can buy well too - although I share the sentiment on here that's its gutting to see the team dismantled - really at the heart of our frustration is the lack of buying - if we had big name replacements signing then we the fans would be singing a different tune. Fortunately the fixture list is kind for the first 10 or so games so we should pick up points with the squad we have. I agree with Cheltenham and Synch - lets reserve judgement until RK has had time to work on replacements.

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SanMarco added 12:41 - Jul 29 According to the Echo The Times is saying that Fonte, Clyne and Cork also want to leave. There is something poisonous here that goes far beyond any perceived incompetence of Reed. Players dont behave like this just because the board is rubbish - most clubs have rubbish boards but the whole team doesn't up and out the door. EITHER there is truth in the rumours that there is no intention to spend much of the player-sale income (and the players know this) OR over the past few months (say since January) certain people who should have had the club's interest as their main responsibility have been poisoning the players with undermining 'advice' and muck-spreading. MoPo clearly decided to leave at the time of NC's departure. I wonder whether his 'generous' decision to see the season out is going to end up being the thing that sinks us. He had several months with players who clearly respected him and LISTENED to him. He would not have known much about the board's future plans (indeed he made that quite clear on several occasions) so I wonder what he was saying.....

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corkcitysaint added 21:47 - Jul 29 We are becoming a laughing stock as a club. Nobody at board level seems to care. Even Blackpool have more players then we do now. Oh, the embarrassment of it all.
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ExiledSupporter added 22:05 - Jul 29 I've deliberately and with difficulty refrained from getting too much involved with the debate about what the club's strategy has been around this seeming avalanche of sales. Some of you may recall that I have many times over the last few years questioned the competence of Reed and nothing that has happened recently has altered my opinion of him as an unconvincing and pretentious windbag. All you Cortese acolytes, remember that Reed was appointed by him in the first place, what can Nicola have been thinking about...? But, despite my gravest reservations about Reed, I cannot believe that the club would have allowed him a free hand in deciding who should go and for how much, he must have been given parameters within which to work - even though the way he talks implies that he has much more freedom of initiative than I believe he has. No doubt Krueger and Koeman have much more input into the transfer market planning than Reed would have you believe. Clearly Osvaldo was not primarily his selection and there is no reason to think that either Pelle nor Tadic were his choices. So what are they trying to do. I've just listened to Krueger's interview with Sky sports and he frequently refers to a rebuilding strategy that they had by the end of last season, before the World Cup even began. Now that sounds a bit like a post event rationalisation to me, but I do think that selling players for prices that are higher than you think they are worth going forward and spending the money on players who are as good if not better is a good one...who could disagree with that, just so long as the new players materialise sooner rather than later and meet the quality criterion. Frankly the cash we have received for Lambert, Lallana, Shaw and Lovren has in each case been exorbitant from the perspective of the buying club (I see that Liverhampton and Rodgers in particular have come in for quite a lot of criticism for paying that much for Lallana...serves him right). Probably Saints didn't plan to sell Lovren but he was clearly going to be a very disruptive influence within the squad once he thought that his head and the rest of his body might not be united any time soon. In this respect I very much agree with Reedyetc's comments a couple of posts earlier. Chambers I have much more difficulty rationalising, but again perhaps the club rightly felt that they could get more depth in the squad and more experience by selling him quickly. However MS and JR would be several departures beyond the pale and I am relieved that RK has made some quite emphatic comments to the effect that they are to stay come what may (well at least for this season). So guys it is still all about who we have recruited before the start of Sept, although I share all your uneasiness, let's keep calm until we know the outcome. My greatest concern is the drain of Prem League experience from our ranks which will not be easily replaced by just recruiting cheaper replacements however good, from other leagues. Please will someone make sure that Jack Cork is given a new contract that reflects his true value to us asap.

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montecristo added 23:36 - Jul 30 SaintMark so if I understand you correctly les Reed is just a yes man doing what he is told, who cares about the club and the supporters, no integrity, no conscience, no heart , just lining his own pocket no doubt. If thats the case, he is one sorry individual..As for someone elses earlier comment, Red was appointed to the academy by Cortese, no way would he have been promoted to DIRECTOR , that is a joke.

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zonehead added 17:00 - Jul 31 Les like Chambers I think your future is somewhere else
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