The worst kept secret is out, but is Jose Fonte just being greedy is the question on most Saints fans lips.

With the recent run of bad form and criticism of Claude Puel and his tactics it would be easy for Saints fans to think that his reason for wanting to leave St Mary's after 7 years is to do with the manager, however the truth is that Fonte has wanted out of St Mary's season.

There are many wanting to lay the blame at the feet of Les Reed and the club for the bombshell that Jose Fonte wants away, but the club have taken little time in getting out the facts of the situation that despite what Fonte has been leaking to the press via his agent, Saints have been doing everything to keep him including a pay rise and a contract extension.

A year ago Fonte was happy to sign a new improved deal so what has changed, in short the players agent, he now has Jorge Mendes in charge and reading into it Mendes wants to get more money for his client Fonte and more money for his other client Jose Mourinho and in doing so more money for himself.

After all why would the manager of Manchester United be looking to sign a player in the twilight of his career for the £8 million touted in the media back in August ?

The answer did not please the board at Old Trafford who were expecting their new manager to be enticing players at the top of their game to the Theatre Of Dreams for big money.

In fact Les Reed has confirmed that the moment Fonte returned from the Euros in the summer his attitude had changed and he made it clear to the club that he wanted out before a ball had been kicked.

The club kept this from supporters as they tried to get their captain to stay in order to preserve his reputation with the fans in the hope they could persuade him to change his mind.

Les Reed commented.

“Yes. He has formally asked for a transfer.

“He mooted this earlier in the summer when he rejected the original offer to improve his contract and has repeated it since. In doing so he has declined the opportunity to both improve and extend his contract.

“Those are the facts on the table. The other fact is that we haven’t had enquiries for him, so will he leave or will he not leave? I don’t know.

“He certainly won’t leave on the basis that he can just go.

“We would not consider releasing him unless there was a decent transfer fee and secondly that we were in a position to replace him. If anybody comes along on the last day of the transfer window it’s not going to happen.

“He’s aware of all that and he has been very professional. He has played well when he’s played, and he is our captain, and if he remains at the club, which I would say is a strong possibility, then we would expect him to play the second half of the season in that manner right the way through.

“Jose is obviously 33 years of age, and maybe feels there is a different opportunity for him out there to be able to finish his career with a bumper contract. He has been a great servant to the club and we respect that."

“It is what it is and we will wait and see if anything transpires.”

Saints have been criticised by some fans who thought they had not offered Fonte any extension to his deal, but while Reed would not divulge direct details, he did insist that was not the case.

“I am not going to go into the details of what was offered to Jose,”

“What was offered to Jose was quite significant on the back of the fact he signed a contract in October 2015. So six months later we were prepared to improve that contract and extend it.

“The question of another year is not one we have rejected. He has turned down the opportunity to increase his salary and he has turned down the opportunity to get another permanent year on his contract.

“It is not right for me to go into the details of his contract.”

In fairness to Reed he is still being very conciliatory towards Fonte, but privately the club have been very frustrated by the players attitude and were not impressed back in August at the way his agent took the situation into the public eye using the media to try and force the clubs hand.

Reed has also made the clubs position very clear that they would not be held to ransom and forced to sell the player, this has clearly been the case over the past six months and those fans who claim the club sell any player if they get a big offer have been proved wrong in this case.

In truth £8 million for a player about to turn 33 was a good deal for the club, however only if they could get the right man at the right price, Fonte's attitude took them completely by surprise in the summer and replacing him has not been a priority up to this point, they had seen him as a vital part of the team for this season.

That meant they could not get their man to replace him, but they refused to be browbeaten despite extreme pressure from Fonte's agent via the media.

Fonte has previously claimed that the club had not offered hm a new deal, at the time this statement coming only two days before the home game against Be'er Sheva did not impress either the club or Fonte's team mates, it was seen as a disruptive comment at a time when the squad needed to be focused on an important fixture and goes a long way to explain why Fonte did not figure in that game.

But the club played down the comments knowing that it would only cause more disruption than was needed although they were seething.

Now though the club have taken off the kid gloves and are making it quite clear what is happening to the fans, the truth is that the player and his agent have crossed a line and it is hard to see a way back.

Reed clearly knows why Fonte is seeking a move and can understand the reasons ie a big pay day, that has not been the issue, the issue has only been about the way that Fonte and his agent have tried to force the issue when the club made it clear that they would not let him go till a replacement is in place.

Back in August lack of time was a factor, now though hopefully the club has had six months to source a replacement and could make a signing imminently.

You have the feeling though that they are incensed by the behaviour they have had to put up with and even though they might sign a new central defender they won't be selling Fonte just yet unless they truly get a massive offer.

The situation at Manchester United has changed, Mourinho has had his card marked by the United hierarchy, he has also sorted out his team and got them back on course, before he couldalmost justify buying Fonte, now that is not so easy with United's defence now a lot more solid and only Chelsea and Spurs having conceded less, United won't countenance a big money move for a player the age and bluntly the quality of Fonte.

As I said there are many who would like to point the finger at Claude Puel for the situation, but the reality is far different, the manager has had to remain silent and let fans blame the rotation policy for Fonte's absence in some crucial games, now it seems that perhaps the manager would have preferred to play him but it wasn't as simple as that.

Indeed Fonte was not selected for the opening game of the season, despite being back at the club and others who had played in the Euros being fit and ready, the reason for that is perhaps becoming clearer now.

Jose Fonte has truly been a club legend up to this summer, sadly that reputation is looking tarnished

Photo: Action Images

tiptop added 00:25 - Jan 6 Maybe it feels Fonte's rep is tarnished. But questioning Fonte's quality? The guy has been awesome - last year in particular. Then the euros made him question the uptil then unthinkable. Now - maybe he feels the club haven't shown the investment he would like. And doesn't see it changing. And maybe fancies a bumper payday or a last hoorah at a big club. This scenario sounds suprising but wholey possible.

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TeamCortese added 07:22 - Jan 6 I don't care what the club or Les Reed have to say Nick. Fonte is a Southampton legend and as far as I'm concern they (Les and co) can go f*ck themselves. This whole episode has been handled very badly and only highlights the incompetence of Les Reed. This is not the first time this has happened...do I need to mention Alderweireld. Even the Morgan Schneiderlin saga was very similar. Les Reed probably has the easiest job in the world. Sell all your best players and not be answerable to the fans and when a player is unsettled tell the public he's after a bumper payday. Surely if Jose is just after money he'd go to China or to the UAE. Being a European Cup winner I'm pretty sure he'll have plenty of suitors. Les and the other 'Yes Men' in the club never address the important issues, namely: - Why the club keeps losing its best players and managers? - Why we are not competitive enough in the transfer market to take the club to the next level? Just show some honesty Les! I’m getting fed up with this nonsense. The way the club is managed surely can’t go on much longer.

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pintsizedsaint added 07:29 - Jan 6 Odd one this. Not many players hand in transfer requests these days - largely because that can forgo them loyalty bonuses. It can also cause alienation with fans. Just get the sense that there is more to this than meets the eye. I actually hope so because, if not, it appears SFC offered a one year extension plus cash but he didn't want it - meaning he had no intention of staying and believes he has a "big opportunity" to play for a big club. It does appear SFC are happy with that and now look to put him in the shop window. Trouble is it actually doesn't change anything. SFC won't sell him unless a decent deal comes in and they have a replacement lined up. Will Man U go for him? Just doesn't make sense for them to do so - and their fans are already making it clear they see Fonte as a 4th choice CB at best. Everton are probably most likely suitors but they will have to pay high and it is unlikely to really satisfy their hardcore fans either. Let's face it: it's going to be a lot of money spent on a player with 1-2 seasons max left. China is a possibility. And if he goes there then it's clear it's just about the money. What I don't buy is this "Saints have treated him disgracefully" bull. It appears he was offered a wage hike and an extra year, which would have seen him finishing his career at Saints and becoming a full bloodied legend likely to be offered a role at the club. He doesn't want to stay and SFC appear to be acting in a sensible business like way. Yet overall he has been a fantastic servant of the club and I wish him the very best. It's a shame it won't end in that true legend way but he must go with the club's best wishes and not like a thief in the night like Lalallana

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pintsizedsaint added 07:43 - Jan 6 Teamcortese: your views are symptomatic of a growing trend of so called "supporters" of this club filling forums with irrational, negative, venomous diabtribe at people like Les Reed and the chairman/owners. I am at a total loss as to why you and others think this is valid given the huge period of success SFC have seen over the past 5-6 years. All clubs sell players, and we have only seen players leave to bigger clubs for big fees who can offer far more wage than we can presently. We've done a great job of replacing those players too. You clearly don't care what has actually happened as you would rather vent bile at the club. If you don't like what this club is doing then go support Aresenal.

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mattthelegend added 07:44 - Jan 6 No such thing as a legend these days, Fonte comes across as quite arrogant the number of times I have waited outside after a game for autographs, I am talking the last 4 seasons now, with my kids and he has just walked past saying I have to go. Crap attitude from supposed club captain. Still we will never know what really goes on, football is now a business and we the fans will be treated like any other paying customers in the business world.

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SaintPaulVW added 08:01 - Jan 6 I think our love for the club blinds us to the fact that here is a player approaching the end of his career. If he wants one last big payday and one last chance at playing on an international stage he's got 2 transfer windows to go. Mixed emotions from me, he's been a brilliant player and I wish him well, he's earned a big payday but equally I don't want him to go and make us worse and someone better. All I would like to understand is why he didn't play in any Europa League matches.

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SanMarco added 08:40 - Jan 6 His moment in the sun last summer clearly turned his head. The point about the club not being impressed about him and his agent bringing it to the public eye gets to the heart of the problem: This kind of behaviour, from Lovren and Lallana onwards, gets results. Fonte was following in a long tradition, such behaviour wasn't stamped upon when it first emerged and Fonte thinks "it worked for everyone else...." PS re pintsized's rant - if after each article we had 26 posts saying "isn't it all marvellous, keep up the good work Les" then TUI would lose its readership pretty quickly. If we were intellectual rather than emotional about our support we would decide to do something more sensible than sing and chant our love for a branch of an enormous multinational corporation whose highly paid employees do not give a stuff about any of us. I often disagree with teamcortese but he is just like you pintsized: he cares...

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SanMarco added 08:40 - Jan 6 His moment in the sun last summer clearly turned his head. The point about the club not being impressed about him and his agent bringing it to the public eye gets to the heart of the problem: This kind of behaviour, from Lovren and Lallana onwards, gets results. Fonte was following in a long tradition, such behaviour wasn't stamped upon when it first emerged and Fonte thinks "it worked for everyone else...." PS re pintsized's rant - if after each article we had 26 posts saying "isn't it all marvellous, keep up the good work Les" then TUI would lose its readership pretty quickly. If we were intellectual rather than emotional about our support we would decide to do something more sensible than sing and chant our love for a branch of an enormous multinational corporation whose highly paid employees do not give a stuff about any of us. I often disagree with teamcortese but he is just like you pintsized: he cares...

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saintmark1976 added 08:47 - Jan 6 Amongst the many benefits of this site is that posters express their often strongly held opinions in a manner respectful to others. With this in mind TeamCortese is there any need to resort to bad language either stated or implied? Equally pintsizedsaint is there any need to accuse others of venomous diatribe? Please don't forget that while we hold differing points of view on occasions we are all Saints fans at the end of the day.

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pintsizedsaint added 08:49 - Jan 6 SaintPaul: he didn't play in Europa because (as Les has confirmed) he had made it clear early on that he was minded to move. SFC didn't want him Cup tied and therefore reduce his appeal/value to the likes of Man U etc. Depending where you sit that's either harsh or a smart business move - given that it was very likely Fonte would not be a Saints player for too much longer. It is interesting that Les has said there is a strong likelihood that Fonte will remain a Saint - up until the end of this season at least! There have been no bids for him and Les also made clear they will reject any last minute bid (Everton!) as they will want to have a replacement ready. Given the short window, a club would have to bid now and put their best price on the table. That's some decent poker playing from Reed! I suspect Fonte will go in the summer. It does make for an interesting 2nd half of the season as having Fonte around the first team must be causing some unrest.

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steadyeddie added 08:51 - Jan 6 Team Cotese - you obviously care about Saints, but on this occasion you are wrong. Blaming the club for all this is totally out of order. Fonte is being mercenary, and the lies and untruths have now caught up with him. 'Club Legends' can turn you know. I cant see this being sorted until the summer, and don't be surprised for him to stay.
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pintsizedsaint added 08:59 - Jan 6 I appreciate and respect people have different views but it's the relentless venom posted towards Les and the owners that get me - and I have to say it's mostly about other forums than here. I do get frustrated when we actually see the club coming out and giving an explanation of what's happened, only to hear people say they don't care and say irrational things that do not tally up with what we know. All I ask here is: how has this been handled disgracefully? I am simply at a loss to see where that is. The club offered Fonte (off their own back) a pay rise to become one of the highest earning players at the club and with an extra year on top. All of this was done in confidence but Fonte changes his agent and all of a sudden their is paper talk about Man Utd. What are the club supposed to do here? Beg?

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steve73 added 09:10 - Jan 6 Toeing the company line and saying the club isn't to blame is ok up to a point but why does this situation seem to happen to us more than anyone else? Nobody ever seems to want to stay, even the ones that signed long term deals in the summer probably won't be here much longer. I want us to be a proper football team again! Not a sodding shop front for teams too rich and too lazy to do their own scouting properly. I wish Jose well though; he's been a bit of a tool this year but it shouldn't overshadow all he's done for the club. It'll be some time, if ever again, before we can praise a player for such long standing to commitment to this club. Yes, he's buckled in the end but not before spending his best years here. A true captain and club legend. That said, he probably came back from the Euros thinking he was the best defender in Europe only to find that he wasn't even the best one in Southampton! Maybe damaged pride has accelerated things a bit. He's a good guy though and will be missed.

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LordDZLucan added 09:19 - Jan 6 If your assessment of the situation is correct, Nick, it would explain why Jose has been in and out of the team. A player cannot be fully committed to the cause if he is looking to get away. It's very sad that this has been played out in the media over the last 5/6 months. This could all have been avoided if we had made it abundantly clear to all concerned that we will not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES sell players outside the close season. I think we should make that statement now by publicly saying to Jose that he will have to wait until the summer to get a move and that the new deal that we were going to give him is no longer on the table. Also our reputation as a selling club does us no favours as players think that if they're awkward they will ultimately get the move they want - after all it has worked for Lallana, Lovren, Mane etc. WE NEED TO LOSE THAT REPUTATION FAST! The nightmare scenario now is that Crystal Palace offer top dollar for Jose , Les Reed accepts their offer and Palace stay up at our expense.

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Jesus_02 added 09:34 - Jan 6 @pintsizedsaint Fonte is our club captain, our longest serving player and a European Championship winning defender. To not play him in Europe is not good business unless you are in a different business than football. Cortese (for his many faults) at least understood that success on the pitch is what drives the business. Being cup tied in Europe may have reduced his price, but serious by how much? and how much would qualifying from the group stages netted, both in financial terms and in supporter good will. Les has been OK TBH, but he seems to work better under pressure and I think he has engineered a comfy spot for himself now. One last thing Fonte came down from the Championship to L1 for us , he has had many opportunities to "engineer a move" and has been the most loyal player we have has with perhaps the exception of (world beater,) Kelvin Davis, It is Les that's gone public with a statement saying that he has handed in a transfer request. Its pretty obvious that the only people that don't want a move are the fans

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pintsizedsaint added 09:43 - Jan 6 Jesus- you have mentioned a number of points but not the fact that the club have said they have offered Fonte a wage increase and an extension. How is that pretty obvious that SFC wanted Fonte to move? You say he's not asked for a move before etc. but in all seriousness he's never been fancied by a top club. He wins the euros with Portugal and all of a sudden he starts acting like this... Lalallana said he was happy at the club etc before Liverpool made enquiries. Look how that turned out.

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TeamCortese added 10:44 - Jan 6 To everyone on this forum apologies for my language it's not acceptable and it won't happen again. I guess a got a little too passionate. Southampton FC is at a crossroad. The reason why I'm so emotionally invested in Fonte's departure isn't just because he's an excellent footballer and a great servant to the club. It's more because of what he represents and I would like to think the qualities he's demonstrated over the years is a reflection of Southampton FC. We may not be the the most prestigious club in the world to play for but above all else we have demonstrated to everyone in the footballing world the idea of success. Success isn't necessarily about winning it's more about the manner in which one picks themself up from failure. Fonte epitomises that story and is the foundation of the dressing room. While it makes economic sense to sell him (especially when you factor his age) it will have wider ramifications. It will send out a message to the fans and the football community that we are no longer a football club operating on the principles mentioned earlier but rather as a profit maximising business machine no longer connected to the game. Even if he does want to leave what upsets me most is the manner of his departure. This could have been handled much better and in a more sensitive way for the fans at the very least. If you think I'm being naive or too ideological let me ask you this: - Would Man Utd let Giggs or Scholes leave in this manner? - Would Barcelona let Xavi leave in this manner? - Would Liverpool let Gerrard leave in this manner? - Would Chelsea let Lampard or Terry leave in this manner? - Would even Watford let Troy Deeney leave in this manner? All of the above names make/made up the core of their respective club's dressing rooms. They're all characters and Fonte is one of our own! It's about the bigger picture and I don't see that from the board at the moment.

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highfield49 added 11:36 - Jan 6 Personally I have little or no sympathy with Fonte in the current situation. We all know who the club legends are and the last of those were Rickie and Kelvin, Morgan would have been if he hadn't sold out for the wrong reasons. Let's face it for just about all of us who support the team the difference between £60,000 a week and £120,000 a week is just a dreamworld that we're never going to be within touching distance. Quite simply Fonte has been badly advised by the scourge of the modern game, the agent, who is the only individual who will come out of this unscathed. Absolutely shameful.

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SaintBrock added 11:54 - Jan 6 Of course the club is to blame, Nick. Puel is the one who has upset Jose whereas the three previous managers saw him as central to their plans. How was it possible to upset Jose he is nigh on implacable and has been a proud skipper of our teams for all these recent great years. If you'd been 'messed' about the way he has this season wouldn't you be a little upset as well. I'd be spitting blood. Also it is my guess that VVD is a factor in all this, two rutting stags locking horns for leadership does not bode well.

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dirk_doone added 12:19 - Jan 6 I feel that Les Reed is a totally untrustworthy, Machiavellian character, who has driven all of the good staff, managers and players out of our club yet still manages to take all the credit for their hard work. I wouldn't believe any of the self-publicising spin that he and his PR team come out with or the negative 'leaks' which always seem to emanate from him about players and managers just before he sells them. Jose Fonte has been a loyal club servant and great player for us and would continue to be so if it weren't for Reed forcing him out because he sees this as the last opportunity to get a big transfer fee for him. Talking of greed, I would ask the question, are large 'premiums' on the club's profits being paid into a Swiss bank account thus forcing the club to take out loans? Because the vast sums of money pouring into the club from Premier League income and transfer fees must be going somewhere.

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SaintBrock added 12:40 - Jan 6 Well dirk done, you said it... I couldn't possibly comment ;-)
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LloydWickham added 12:55 - Jan 6 How I see this... I believe Fonte was not offered a contract extension until recently, possibly due to Van Dijk speculation or possibly due to pressure from fans to offer Jose an extension. TOO LATE! It seems Jose is really not happy, he clearly does not see eye to eye with the coaching staff and feels let down from the powers above. "Jose Fonte Greedy" .......NO! If you believe as I do that Jose was offered a Pay increase but no contract extension originally in the summer, why did he not take it?? If you are not going to get the extension anyway surely you would take the additional funds, be that for 6, 12,18 months and still keep your options open. It would appear he rejected this offer to hold out for the contract extension he wanted. "Jose Fonte Has been eyeing a move since the summer" ........I don't think so? Was his head turned and eyes opened my speculation, of course it was. He publically came out and said regarding the MANU rumors that if it was true, he would be flattered but made clear that had no approach from them. The speculation more than likely made him think "could there be one big move before the end of my career" but I don't think he ever would have dreamed of submitting a transfer request! I think it is possible that Jose may have been tempted by big club to finish his career. What hurts now is that due the lack of backing from the board, lack of respect from the coaches Jose will now probably end up moving side ways just to leave! Very sad and massively let down by Southampton fc. Good luck to Jose, a class act and a true saint !

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bstokesaint added 12:58 - Jan 6 I still find it amazing how many fans would be effectively to be happy to give up what we have now to risk going back to the pre-administration days when we were constantly living on the edge. We're streets ahead of where we were then. We're a top 10 side and not a regular bottom three side. We have a great academy and training facilities and we've hit a rough patch (which admittedly we need to sort) and all of a sudden everyone loses their brains. I've heard supporters who have been season ticket holders since the 70's and 80's say this is the worst team they have ever seen. How do even contemplate arguing with such nonsense?! Did their season tickets skip a couple of decades? We have been absolutely dire for a number of seasons, but that seems to have been forgotten very quickly. It's far easier to accept that the club have found a successful way to bring in exciting young talent that generally play eye-catching football of a decent calibre which attracts the attention of the footballing world. It's hardly surprising that big clubs want our players. So we sell them on at a premium and bring in more. Okay, it's a factory, but we don't get into debt we have a constant stream of talent and every time we dip into the transfer market we get linked with more exciting players than we have ever have done historically. We beat transfer record after transfer record. For a long time I wondered if Rory Delap was going to be our best ever player! If you can accept that and the fact that footballers are easily swayed by agents and bright lights, and large bank accounts then you can see what kind of job the club has in keeping them. It's all very well to bang on about the old favourite "ambition" and a "little of investment", but do the people using these terms actually know what that involves? I’d guess not. And for the record Cortese was not a God, but an egomaniac, who did do a grand job for SFC, but ultimately could have brought the club to its knees in order to complete 'his' single-minded journey. I say good luck to Fonte. He has been a fantastic servant to the club and deserves a last big pay day. Whether or not he's gone about it the right day doesn't bother me too much, but I certainly don’t feel there's anything the club could really have done about it other than what they have done. We've recruited Lovren, Alderweireld and VVD so I suspect we know what needs to be done. I'm more worried about what we're going to do about scoring more goals. The signings of Gaston and Osvaldo worry me when talking about creative players. I'm hoping that the board are one step ahead, as they ultimately tend to be. And good luck Jose. Let’s hope you make the right move and not a stupid one (China).

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DPeps added 13:37 - Jan 6 Fair enough if Fonte wants a payday. He's earned it. Maybe he wants a chance of winning a domestic trophy to add to his JPT. Joking aside, I think the club would have been wise to sell him last summer. If we knew that negotiations were going nowhere we should have sold, both out of respect to Fonte (rather than letting him stagnate) and to avoid problems in the changing room. Hindsight is a wonderful thing...

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ItchenNorth added 14:13 - Jan 6 Hi Steve73. I think the reason why this situations happens to us more than other clubs is largely down to how successfully our recruitment is and our academy. The Likes of Wanyama and VVD for example come to Saints because they know we can provide a stepping stone to a higher level: if they perform in the Premier League with us. They also know that we are a stable club that is run well. That's an attract proposition to the best talent out there, so hopefully we replace quality with quality. Recruitment though is never an exact science so not all signing are going to work out. Players though are largely mercenary by nature these days: because the league is just awash with money. Look at the developments in China as another example: we are seeing top elite players from every major European league heading to the far east on what seems like a daily basis. This is purely to chase money. Can Saints do more to hold on to their players? Maybe a little, but at the end of the day the players and agents have the power and hold all the keys. With regards to Fonte: if he’s handed on a transfer request there’s little way back now imo. He’s been a great player for us and I wish him well. Let’s hope the black box comes up trumps again.

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