Saints Chairman Ralph Krueger has again made a statement regarding the transfer speculation surrounding the club.

A week or so ago Ralph Krueger addressed the fans via the club's website and made a bold statement that no players would be sold until a new manager was appointed, it was a statement designed to help calm down some of the more volatile elements of the club's support who were becoming more voiciferous and only helping fuel the fires of those in the media who are looking to de stabilise the club.

The reality of the situation i that for some Saints supporters, whatever Krueger did was going to be seen as a reason to claim the club was in meltdown, if he said nothing he would be accused of being naive and doing nothing if he made a statement he would be accused of being naive and just saying fine words.

Whatever Krueger said of didnt say was always going to be a stick to beat him by for some, the news that Rickie Lambert was about to be sold to Liverpool meant that Krueger almost immediately found himself going back on his own words, no manager had been appointed yet here was a player leaving the club and the club talisman at that.

It has to be said though that just about the only thing wrong with the deal was the timing, £4 million for a player who will be 33 in January is good business, even more so if we keep our current playing style under a new manager.

But when Liverpool came calling with an ultimatum Ralph had a quandary, did he do what was in the best interests of Southampton Football Club or did he do what was i the best interests of Ralph Krueger's reputation amongst Saints fans.

The easiest decision would have been to rebuff Liverpool and keep Saints supporters off his back, but that would probably not be the right decision either for Saints or Rickie Lambert himself, perhaps some Saints fans dont realise it, at least not yet, but Ralph Krueger has shown that he is not afraid to make the right decision even if it is not the best decision for him personally.

In his latest statement Krueger has again reiterated that the club's vision and focus remains unchanged

"We are staying true to our plan and vision and, as a result, we have no need to accept any offers. We are deep in the process of appointing a new manager who will continue to move our club forward. It remains our preference not to partake in any transfers until the new manager is in place. Our scouting & recruitment department continues to monitor targets we have identified to improve our squad, and the new manager will have final input into our recruitment process."

he only thing that has changed is that Krueger has pointed out that the club's "preference" is that no players leave, Preference rather than an emphatic "Won't leave" this shows that he has perhaps learnt that he has to pick his words, what it doesnt mean though is that the club are no longer resolute, as confirmed

"There may be circumstances under which the club will feel it is right for a player to move on. Those circumstances have to be right for the club and the player. This is the case with Rickie’s move to Liverpool. "

This is a trying time for the club at present, its made harder by the fact that as of yet we don't know how good or bad Ralph Krueger is as as Chairman, what we have learnt though so far is that he leads from the front and he is not afraid to change direction when he feels that it is right for the club.

What we also need to realise is that at the moment we are in the hands of Krueger and indeed Katharina Liebherr, yes only time will tell if they will take the club forward, but we have to trust them, if for no other reason than we have no other choice.

So the best thing we as supporters can do is support them and help them through a difficult time, if we do so then it can only help the situation, it cannot worsen it, indeed the only thing that can worsen it at the moment is ourselves making it seem more of a crisis than it is by knee jerk reaction social media postings that only fan the flames.

If supporters realise that the fact in modern football is that players and managers move on when they get better offers whether they are at Manchester City, United or Saints and that all that matters is what happens next and not the past then perhaps we can move on.

Ironically Nicola Cortese's entire manifesto was based on forgetting the past with the future all that matters, some of his die hard supporters are now conveniently forgetting that and not allowing his successor the time to show that he knows what he is doing.

Photo: Action Images

GeordieSaint added 15:25 - Jun 2 I just read that Ricky's mum was crying when she heard he signed for Liverpool. Saints had to let him go in that scenario. Absolute legend. Good luck to him, even though he is knocking on a bit Liverpool have got themselves a bargain. It is just a shame he is no longer technically representing Saints at the world cup. Cheers for the memories.
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Stephen added 15:50 - Jun 2 RK said he'd like to think that the manager would be part of the decision. He didn't say the manager would be part of it. The interview is on the website it only need you to watch it again as I did to check out the very negative claims about RK.
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slynch added 15:53 - Jun 2 Kreuger spends so much of his time avoiding saying anything meaninful that is is difficult to know what he actually means to say: it possible that Kreuger that could give some of us a chance by learning from Pochettino and employ the services of a interpretter?
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IanRC added 15:56 - Jun 2 Agree with all this, they need to be given some time before we can make a sensible judgement. Agree entirely with GeordieSaint too, very galling that he will be representing another team at the World Cup but he has been a fantastic servant to the club without whom we might well be languishing in division 1 still.
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Equos added 16:00 - Jun 2 Nick another excellent article. Who knows what the long term will bring, What has happened since Katharina Liebherr intervened has been very impressive. An expensive chief exec who appeared to have become unaccountable and was removed, a stronger board put in place. An ambitious manager has left (but he was always going to -much better now than mid season) . Ricky's dream has come true and other players may leave, but we are now in a much better place than when the Liebherr's arrived. We are also far stronger than would have been the case had Cortese been left unchecked. Lets celebrate both Ralph and Katharina's courage and hope their intentions for the club good , as far as I can see despite it being a difficult summer the signs are very positive.

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cheltenhamsaint added 16:18 - Jun 2 Good article Nick and agree that it was the right thing to do for everyone, the only "loser" being RK and he was man enough to take the flak for the club. It rounds off a rather wonderful story to RL to tell in years to come and enjoy at this moment. Now for a bit of pedantry "It remains our preference not to partake in any transfers until the new manager...." He uses the word transfer and not leave. Let us not forget that a transfer can be in as well as out. It is important for us to focus on those coming to the club as well as possibly leaving. And to other posters - Technically SRL is a Saints player until the 1st July when the deal is completed. He cannot be registered as a Liverpool player until then.I for one am treating SRL as a Saints player during the World Cup and he should appear as such on any official document or presentation.

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landsdownsaint added 16:29 - Jun 2 We've still lost our best player for £4 million ! How's that good business ? I do agree that RK has an impossible task on his hands and not being a football man we are in all sorts . I do hope I'm wrong as well
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Zambucco added 16:34 - Jun 2 Nice point cheltenhamsaint maybe Nick would like to write an article about this, should we also lose the services of AL & LS it will give some comfort to the brokenhearted. I have absolute faith in the board and rubbish all suggestions, of selling the club, RK paying lip service, meltdown. It feels good to have a board running things as opposed to a megalomaniac. I know I'd much rather go to work for a firm that is stable financially and has a board with a clear plan. As opposed to somebody building grandiose dreams with other people's money. Still buzzing for the new season!!! COYR!

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SaintNick added 16:52 - Jun 2 landsdown, Lambert was far from being our best player last season, good clubs know when to sell a player, Rickie is at his sell by date, we could have left it another year and this time next year got next to nothing for him or we could deal with the situation now and have £4 million to put towards a replacement
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slynch added 17:09 - Jun 2 If Kueger sells all the Saints players to Liverpool and uses the money to replace them with ones which are ever so slightly better, then logic says Liverpool will end up 8th and Saints 7th?
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landsdownsaint added 17:20 - Jun 2 Perhaps I am knee jerking like a lot of others Nick ,but being a Saints fan has taught me to be like this ...COYR :)
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Rockinrich added 17:34 - Jun 2 Well done Nick, lets see what happens in the Summer. I wish Rickie all the best for his future with Liverpool, he has been a great servant to the Saints and his letter shows what a great character he is. By the way GeordieSaint he won't officially be Liverpool's until July 1st, so we can claim him as a Saint in the first part of the World Cup.
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BoondockSaint added 17:45 - Jun 2 It was no win for Kruger: Sell Rickie now, he's caving in to Liverpool and going back on his word. Hold off until after the World Cup, and he's treating the club's most popular player like garbage. But this was a special case,so this was the only route: Give Rickie what he wants-we all know he's earned it! Best of luck to him (except when he plays us!). Now on to other business, we shouldn't be bullied by the Scouse over Lallana: in today's market he's worth much more thatn 25 million, and if don't do business until we're go and ready, then they can walk off (alone) in a huff and watch us sell him to one of their rivals (if we feel like selling).

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saintmark1976 added 17:51 - Jun 2 Sorry Nick but I for one am pretty fed up with both the new chairman and Les Reed at the moment. They have both recently given interviews and made statements which are, in my opinion, an object lesson in political spin. Whilst I was not that impressed with our now departed previous chairman I did admire the fact that when there was nothing to say then he simply kept quiet. Mr Kueger and Mr Reed appear to me to be gentlemen who talk a lot but actually say very little. Hopefully they will prove me wrong going forward but at the moment Ihave serious reservations

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GeordieSaint added 18:32 - Jun 2 Thanks to people who pointed out he is still a saints player until July. England will probably be home by then I suppose. I can enjoy srl for a bit longer As a saints player. I bought an england shirt for the first time since the mid 90's this year and spent ages deciding whether to get lallana or lambert on the back. Went with Adam in the end so hopefully he will stay put for a few weeks yet.

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montecristo added 20:07 - Jun 2 I go along with much of what saintmark says.The problem Saints have at the moment is image, and we appear still weak simply because the owers that be are not doing and saying the right things. They just are not convincing. Having said that, actions speak louder than words, apart from Rickie, noone has left and I completely agree with the decision to let Rickie go. I wish him well, he is an absolute legend , a real Roy of the Rovers character, the likes of which we may never see again in English football. SRL has captured the English imagination like no other footballer in England before him, and I suspect that in every household of this land there will be someone wishing him to score for England in the World cup. I have a feeling he will get his chance Rooney is off color, and there is nobody better at taking on a challenge than Mr. Rickie Lambert. What is fascinating about Saints is that we keep turning up these absolute gems, like Ron Davies, Channon, Marsden,Pahars,Keegan Le Tiss and now SRL. Somebody up there likes this club, its time we won the League.. and I believe we can do it!!! The focus is now on the board, rumor has it that Claude Puel is in the running to be the next manager he would be a very good choice, and carries a lot less baggage than Koeman. If they pick the right man the likes of Lallana will stay at least for one more season if we sign four or five good players to fill out the squad we would then have a chance.

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Rockinrich added 00:21 - Jun 3 Not sure if Rickie is a Saint until July as I thought the BBC website had an asterix against his name, but it doesn't seem to anymore.. Either that or it was a speck of dirt :-( Anyhow I will still regard him as a Saint until the end of the World Cup.
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SanMarco added 01:41 - Jun 3 When they were quiet people moaned that they should say something. Now they have said something people are moaning that they have said something. The point is there isn't much to say. Do we expect them to confirm that AL and LS (and one or two others) want to go - of course not, even though its true. They should stay quiet until they have something to say.
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