The return of Jack Cork to the Saints team last season coincided with the start of our revival, it was generally agreed he was a close second in all the player of the year polls, so why has he been frozen out ?
Last season Jack Cork had every right to believe he had made the breakthrough in the Premier League, after missing the first part of the season after taking part in the Olympic games, he returned to a team rooted at the bottom of the league with only 4 points from the opening 10 games.
After his return Saints went on a four game unbeaten run which put 8 points on the board and lifted us up the table, Cork then went on to be a vital cog in the Saints side, being ever present for the rest of the season, Morgan Schneiderlin took all the plaudits in the centre of the midfield, but it was Cork who put in the hard work with a feature of his play being his ability not only to win the ball but move it on quickly, there was a feeling that although Schneiderlin fully deserved his awards as Player of the year, that Cork was a close second and some would say that without Cork, Morgan would not have been anywhere near as effective and would probably have not hit the heights he did.
The signing of Victor Wanyama was a surprise in the fact that most people would concur that the two holding midfield players were perhaps our best two performers and this area was perhaps the last area of the team we needed to look at improving, Wanyama of course has shown his worth, however the big question is just why Jack Cork has been frozen out.
It is almost as if to make sure that Wanyama has no pressure on him to justify his big fee, Cork wont be played in case he plays well and the fans question the wisdom of playing Wanyama.
Conspiracy theories abound, but they are fired by the fact that Saints don't exactly have a squad strong on depth, that being the case, why has one of the best and most effective players been frozen out so drastically.
The stark truth is he has been frozen out, he has been available for every match bar the defeat at Arsenal, yet his total playing time in the Premier league is 4 substitute appearances, three of them in the 89th minute and the last one against Hull seeing him get a massive 6 minutes on the pitch, that game perhaps spelled out to the player that he is not going to get a game, Victor Wanyama who was having a stinker(In fairness his only one of the season) was taken off just after the hour mark, but it wasn't Cork brought on but Steven Davis, if Jack Cork harboured hopes of forcing his way back into the side, this more than anything told him that it just wasn't going to happen.
It is not as if Cork himself isn't versatile, he has played for the club in various positions, both as a holding man in midfield, a more attacking player, out wide on the right, at right back and in the centre of defence, if he cant get more game time even off the bench with this variety of positions played in his locker then he is never going to.
This week with the visit of Aston Villa we will perhaps see if Jack Cork has a future at St Mary's, if Morgan Schneiderlin fails to pass muster then Cork is the obvious choice to replace him, if he doesn't get picked for this game then the stark reality is he is never going to get picked.
I really don't have the answer to this one, I can't see why a player who was such an essential part of last season's team cannot get anymore than 9 minutes football this term, I can understand why Victor Wanyama is preferred, but I cannot see why a player of Cork's ability has been ignored.
I understand this is a squad game, but this season has not seen much of our squad used to any great degree, if you want to hold together a good quality squad for a Club of Saint's standing, then you have to make sure the better players in that squad not only get a game, but can see where their chances might lie of getting in the side if they do well, sadly I just cant see a future for Jack Cork.
I haven't heard any rumours of a rift between player and manager and Cork is a good professional in the fact that he hasn't gone moaning in the press about his situation, so it is a complete mystery.
If Schneiderlin is out and Cork doesn't replace him, then I fully expect him to move on in the transfer window in January, there will be no shortage of Premier League clubs who will be interested in signing him, if he hasn't realised already, he will know it this week, that for some reason Mauricio Pochettino just wont play him seemingly under any circumstances.