A few weeks ago Victor Wanyama was a hero to Saints supporters, now his behaviour is turning him into public enemy number one.

Ronald Koeman has confirmed that Victor Wanyama is missing from the Saints team because he is not "mentally and physically good enough to play" that was Koeman's words but I will use another phrase "Sulking"

A grown man is throwing a strop because he is being asked to honour a very lucrative contract after someone has tapped him up.

You could tell that Koeman is choosing his words very carefully when asked to comment on the situation when he added to his first comment "If he keeps playing like this, he is playing with his future."

Where this goes is hard to predict, I find it hard to comprehend that a s called professional can behave in this matter and indeed put the fate of his employers ie Saints in jeopardy, certainly there will be those who will point the finger at him for our exit from the Europa League, the reality is that perhaps in terms of on the pitch his presence was not missed after all he is not the most creative player in the final third, but his behaviour will have upset preparations for the game and will not have helped the squad in general.

Those players will also feel let down by Wanyama and the damage to team spirit will be something that we as fans will not see, but almost certainly other members of the squad will feel let down by him as he has cost them potential glory and income.

This perhaps shows Saints supporters how much the sale of players are out of their hands these days, there is no honour amongst most of the players and clubs these days and clearly this situation is something that has been done in a very underhand way.

These days contracts mean little apart from making sure a club can get something back when the player leaves, but in terms of keeping a player at the club when someone else comes calling, it means little.

Fans perhaps find this hard to grasp, for most a contract should mean a contract, but as we at Sants have seen both last summer and now this, players these days can behave like spoilt brats, the rest of us have to get on with life once something happens to disrupt it, we cant phone in work and tell them we are not physically and mentally right, yet players seem to think that is acceptable behaviour.

You can tell Ronald Koeman feels that it is unacceptable in the words he uses, and he seems to indicate that Saints wil now not sell him on a matter of princible, not in this window and perhaps not the next and that if he ots in the reserves to coin an old phrase, then so be it.

Saints fans would certainly like to see the club make a stand, they are sick of players calling the shots and to be truthful a lot of them seem to blame the club, but that is simplistic. football has changed and players hold all the cards and sulking is now one of the weapons in their armoury to force a move.

Photo: Action Images

ItchenNorth added 11:07 - Aug 31 Obviously doesn't like his new song ;)
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BaselSaint added 11:13 - Aug 31 Ronko can handle these petulant little boys as he has shown. No problem. Yesterday was a good lesson for him as Romeu stepped up and bossed it. Vic will come in to line or he will rot on the bench watching his stock gradually devaluing as he does so. We are a bigger club now and unfortunately the tapping-up wont stop so we just have to develop strategies to handle it.

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SanMarco added 11:28 - Aug 31 It strikes me that VW is not over bright and of course he did see certain other babies throw their toys out of the pram and secure lucrative moves last summer. Although in normal circumstance we should be delighted to get £20 million I think we do have to make a stand. If he doesn't want to play he doesn't have to - if we let him go now it really would send the wrong message to every player. 'Sky Sources' started this particular ball rolling. The PL need to enforce their own rules about this 'tapping' or whatever its called and then tell Sky that they are there to serve the game, not the other way round. Sky now create the PL narrative and then report it. Is it a coincidence that they chose our last game before the closing window? It is not a game I would have expected to be shown...

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Foz added 11:32 - Aug 31 I remember when Kenwyne Jones went on strike because he wanted to move to Sunderland when we were in the Championship. He got his move, but what was interesting was the way that the media seemed to find this quite understandable and acceptable behaviour to enable a player to move to a Premiership club. Jones tried this tactic again at Stoke, but with less success.
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IWOZTHERE added 11:55 - Aug 31 Got mixed feelings with this one...Out of principle I'd like to see Saints stick two fingers up at Spurs and hold him to his contract, but how much would we lose selling him next year? Regulations should change.
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LostBoys added 16:07 - Aug 31 I met the guy just after he signed at the away game in Norwich (the snowstorm one). We happened to be staying in the same hotel as the team while I was there on business. I said hello and welcomed him to Saints and said we were looking forward to having him play for us. At that point he could have just walked away after thanking us but he took further time to tell us he was delighted that Saints wanted him and how pleased and excited he was to join us. I am not sure what has changed but I suspect its his agent and a tap up from North London and possibly Alderweireld telling him how much money he is getting. I understand now he has refused to join up with the Kenya squad - appalling.

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SaintBrock added 19:18 - Aug 31 At no time Nick did Koeman suggests that Victor was sulking. Depressed maybe, unhappy certainly but there can be a whole raft of issues that cause that, he is after all a young lad and like all young lads and lassies for that can be ruled by their hormones. Maybe he just doesn't like England and the English people around him especially if he lives in an exclusive rich boys enclave. If he has a wife/partner maybe they are causing him grief over domestic issues about where she wants to live...? So we just don't know do we so cut the lad a bit of slack and let's get behind him and as you yourself said Nick, we shouldn't become "slaggers" on the back of unfounded rumours.

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corkcitysaint added 20:12 - Aug 31 Agree with SanMarco. The heart says sod him, keep him and let him suffer. The head says sell him. I long for the day when we can retain and strengthen rather then sell and replace.
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JGH added 23:24 - Aug 31 Not a fan of his actions but comparing him to every day life, ie we can't phone in sick etc, just wrong. We can quit... Victor - petulant child he appears to be of late - cannot
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BUCK added 23:43 - Aug 31 Fine the prick. That's what I say
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