Could Sammy Lee Return To St Mary's ?
Sunday, 25th Jun 2017 10:56

After the appointment of Mauricio Pellegrino to the St Mary's hot seat, could this pave the way for a return to the club for Sammy lee ?

When Ronald Koeman was appointed as Southampton manager in the summer of 2014, the club wisely brought in a man with both coaching experience and an extensive knowledge of the teams and players in the Premier League to assist him and help him in acclimatising in a league he had no previous experience of as either player or manager, that man was Sammy Lee.

Undoubtedly Lee brought something to the party and it was sad to see him also leave the club last summer after Koeman departed for Everton, Saints appointed Claude Puel and Lee's position went to Eric Black whose main credential seemed to be he spoke French.

Lee Initially fell on his feet being appointed to Sam Allardyce's England set up in July of last year, but with Allardyce leaving under a cloud and Gareth Southgate being appointed, Lee was once more unemployed, but soon joined Allardyce again this time at Crystal Palace, with Allardyce's departure from Selhurst Park Lee's future is once again in doubt.

With Pellegrino's arrival a new backroom team will need to be put in place and it could be that Sammy Lee would be a good fit, the pair worked together under Rafa Benitez at Liverpool from 2008 - 2010 when Lee was assistant manager with Pellegrino first team coach until he left to follow Benitez to Inter Milan.

So although Pellegrino speaks fluent English and has some experience in England unlike his two predecessors, that experience was 7 years ago and a lot has changed in the Premier League in that time and it would be wise for the club to put in a man to work alongside him whom he can turn to for advice on the way teams play and the players in the side.

The big question will be whether the pair got on at Liverpool, if they did then it could be an obvious decision to bring back Sammy Lee for his third stint at Southampton Football Club.

Photo: Action Images

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dixiefrog added 11:08 - Jun 25 Not sure it would happen, but on the basis that he seems to be liked by management, players and the fans, I'd love to see him back.
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vanmans added 11:16 - Jun 25 Would love to see Sammy Lee return to Saints. Most important thing is that Black goes.
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ChristchurchSaint added 11:16 - Jun 25 I'm sure MP probably has his own back room team in mind, but I would be pleased if he found room for Sammy. He was always full of enthusiasm and would help to blow away the dreary cobwebs from last season.
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legod7 added 11:51 - Jun 25 I would love to see Sammy back here. The problem is Black has still 2 years left on his contract. It would cost a lot to get rid of him.
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highfield49 added 13:11 - Jun 25 I would definitely welcome the return of Sammy Lee, it's a shame that he ever left. As for Black he couldn't even find his way to the technical area and looked as though he needed guidance to find his seat on the bench. Hopefully his contract can be terminated, at minimal cost to the club, and he can then be directed towards the exit door.
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larry12 added 13:27 - Jun 25

Les Reed has said that HE chooses the staff not the Manager, so fingers crossed about Eric "I won't ever look at Claude when in any dugout" Black. I did notice the Reed referred to MP2 as the Manager, while MP2 referred to himself as Coach. Was that a freudian slip? I might be disappointed to find Mein Fuhrer picks MP's assistants. I hope he won't do to MP, what he did to CP, regards players ins and outs, ie no choice. Here is your 2016/2017 squad Claude .Enjoy.

patred added 19:12 - Jun 25 a way back for Sammy...and Black out...sounds good to me
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SonicBoom added 19:25 - Jun 25 I'm not saying black is good, but I haven't heard anyone other than saint's fans criticising him. It seems he was hated from day one and that's that. Let's be honest whoever sits in that chair basically just carries out orders and supports what the manager says.
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