When it was announced that Adam Lallana was going to thank the fans in a full page advert in the Daily Echo it seemed a good way for the now ex Saints Captain to make up with the supporters, but that has not turned out to be the case.

Saints supporters expecting a heartfelt message straight from the heart of Adam Lallana as was the case with Rickie Lambert's departure a month ago' were to be sorely disappointed and judging by comments on social media sites, the full page message actually seems to have been counter productive in that it has further fuelled rumour that Lallana has changed from a down to earth all round nice guy to a person who has found it quite easy to turn his back on those supporters who have worshipped him.

The full page in today's Daily Echo seems little more than a pr stunt dream't up by his people, rather than a personal message written by Lallana himself, most of the page is taken up by a picture of Lallana himself followed by a very short few words reading.

"14 unforgettable years, the memories will last a lifetime, thank you Saints fans for your endless support, a place in my heart forever"

This has lead to indignation across social media sites, whilst most Saints fans can appreciate the reasons why Lallana should want to move, they are struggling with the alleged reports in the press about his behaviour, here Lallana had the chance to say a few things to the fans on a personal level as Rickie Lambert did, but he chose to put in a few words that said nothing.

Pointedly the Southampton Football Club's own official statement was just as short as Lallana's message, it merely confirmed that the player had left and that the fee although undisclosed would help the club further develop the squad. It was a cold and emotionless statement unlike the warm words that accompanied Shaw & Lambert's departure.

When both Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw left the Club statement's were far more extensive and wished both players well with their new clubs, seemingly suggesting that transfer negotiations had been conducted in the right manner and that Saints felt that the move was not only right for the players but also for the club itself.

Saints short and sweet statement lends credence to an article in the Daily Star this morning that suggests that Lallana had told the club he would never play for them again if they did not sell him to Liverpool.

Certainly rumours in the press after the end of last season suggested that unlike Shaw & Lambert, Lallana was making demands about his potential move, the other two seemed content to sit back and let events take their course, or at least publicly they did meaning the supporters could wave them off with no animosity.

But with Lallana there was that whiff of something that stank in the air, at best Lallana was just plain naive, certainly the signing of a Liverpool shirt in Miami and the comment to the fan that he hoped he would be moving to Anfield was ill advised, but that could all be put down to it being just another naive, arrogant professional footballer who had no idea of anything bar his own self.

The sad thing was that Adam Lallana was never that type of footballer, over the years he had always come across as a humble person with his feet firmly on the ground and it should be remembered that in the past he has shown great loyalty to this club, if anyone in the squad truly deserved a big money move, it was him for the service he has given us, in fact he really should have gone with the fans wishes ringing in his ears and not some newspaper report allegedly showing him up as being just what Mark Clattenberg alleged up at Goodison Park last December.

The Daily Star is clearly getting its info from someone close to the club, football clubs usually retain their dignity and rarely get involved in wars of words publicly, but that doesn't stop them getting their side of the story out through friendly journos in the national press.

When

"A club source said: "Adam threw his toys out of the pram and said he would never play for the club again if they did not accept Liverpool's offer. It left a bitter taste."

As was reported in today's Daily Star, you can bet your bottom dollar that this is coming from a club source very close to the corridors of power, it is not just on the words of the car park attendant.

I can understand why Lallana should be desperate for this move, the irony is that if he had kept quiet and let things run there course then like Shaw and Lambert it would probably have happened, the reality is that a year ago Adam Lallana signed a five year deal knowing that there were few other premier clubs interested in him and those that where would not have been interested in paying much over £5 million, one good season later and his value has rocketed, the truth is this is perhaps a much better deal for Saints than some would realise, Lallana was always going to go at that price the only real question was for how much, Saints were within their rights to hold out and try to push the price up, Lallana didn't think they were and if the Daily Star is to be believed issued these ultimatums.

Whatever way you look at it Lallana hasn't come out of this smelling of roses, only he and the club know the real truth, however with this full page ad he had the chance to set a few things straight, he had the chance to leave with his dignity intact and the supporters who loved him for so long and supported him through thick and thin to wish him well.

If he had written the piece from the heart and not dismissed us with so few words that could have been the case, to be blunt I have had better thank you's in Macdonalds when buying a burger, if he had done that then we would remember him fondly, now even the most avid Lallana supporter feels cheated and that these are the actions of a man that if these allegations are true did not deserve our affections.

Good luck Adam Lallana I hope that you find happiness and what you want to achieve, somehow I think that you won't truly do so, as your alleged behavior showed that perhaps you are not as confident in your abilities as you will perhaps need to be at a club like Liverpool

Photo: Action Images

vectis added 11:20 - Jul 2 +1 Don't always agree with you, Nick, but you are spot on this time.
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slynch added 11:22 - Jul 2 He's a Liverpool player, get over it!
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vectis added 11:24 - Jul 2 @Slynch. Don't worry. I am. Tadic!!!!
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michaeljoycetf added 11:27 - Jul 2 I am not happy to see fans turn on Lallana this qickly.We have watched him grow up,albeit from a distance and their is little to suggest that he is a changed man, never mind what Clattendurg might say or what is written in the Star, Football fans are fickle and our lot are no different and are too ready to believe all the stuff that is written about our team.There arn't too many actual facts known about the Lallana saga, sadly most of it is conjecture and not always written with the best intent. I would like to believe that the sentiments inLallanas advert are genuine and I for one am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

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kchick242 added 11:36 - Jul 2 It's as shame that Lallana has left under a cloud and I hope it works out for him, but I think he is going to struggle and will turn out to be just like Charlie Adams when he left Blackpool for the big time at Liverpool.
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slynch added 11:37 - Jul 2 Vectis Tadic, welcome aboard: http://anfieldbanter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/southampton-is-laughing-all-way-to-b
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 11:37 - Jul 2 Well said Nick, I totally agree. The important thing for Saints now is how they replace Lallana, Lambert and Shaw. RL and AL scored 24 goals between them last season, that's a hell of a lot to replace. If they sign Pelle and Tadic then I still think they need one more striker and one more attacking midfielder/winger. We are very light on numbers, if you discount Osvaldo, Mayuka, Sharp and Isgrove, who will all likely to be sold or loaned out, then we only have 14 senior players on our books (aged 21 or above). There's a lot of money to spend and a lot of positions to fill!!

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patred added 12:10 - Jul 2 truely woeful advert.. deserving of the new name Lallanus
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spitfiresaint added 13:26 - Jul 2 Lallana definitely has changed. My daughter bumped into him in Ibiza last summer and let's just say this - his behaviour wasn't very good!
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pintsizedsaint added 13:38 - Jul 2 A bit of a sour end methinks. With SFC's brisk statement and the Daily Star report, it does seem that he wanted out as soon as LFC came sniffing. Whilst I hate that, it's not far off what 99% of other footballs will do. Yet it's the comments he made when signing new 5 year contract last year that sticks in the throat: if you don't mean those things then don't say it! Looking at SFC's actions, I reckon they took a good long look at calling AL's bluff and letting him rot (would have been interesting to see AL squirm out of that!). However, the £25 million LFC were offering was too good to turn down given his real valuation. So I can see why they took the money. Yet I would like SFC to shut up shop now. We've got enough money to make a real difference to our squad. Carry on letting LFC (and others) buying your players will risk alienating fans even more and run the risk of sounding like we are making false statements ('we don't need to sell players' and 'we don't need the money'). It also starts to set a precedent for all the other players - we don't want them to start to think AL's actions were acceptable. For Morgan and Dejan - I would like SFC to say not this season. If they do a Lallana then lets dig in and let them squirm - unless clubs offer a ridiculous fee (and I'm talking ridiculous - more ridiculous than Shaw's fee!)

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Jesus_02 added 14:01 - Jul 2 @ slynch: Cant stand comments like yours, its so patronising. The guy has acted like an idiot, he has treated the club and the fans without the respect they deserve and I for one think its ok to be pissed off with that. The same hasnt happened with Shaw or Lambert for a reason. I can see us buying better players than AL and Lambert but not Shaw. However I wish Shaw and Lambert all the best but Lallana could end up in beetroot factory as far Im concerned.

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SaintGeorge added 14:21 - Jul 2 Still a few people saying that we don't really know what was said behind closed doors - that maybe he was just being naïve... but why would he take out an ad in the paper unless he was feeling guilty about something? Just a thought.
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LesVivian added 14:23 - Jul 2 First of all - Daily Star?? This is a comic! Secondly - Fabregas fetched 27 Million or so? 25 for AL is a good deal. Thirdly, where does he fit in at Liverpool? Up against Coutinho, Sterling, Henderson etc. good luck to him!
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BoondockSaint added 16:57 - Jul 2 As soon as Laugherpool saw him whinging and moaning at the refs, on and on, they said "That's the man for us! We'll pay anything for a player that reflects our values!"
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ChristchurchSaint added 20:27 - Jul 2 Agree totally with Nick. If Banana Lallana had made his point by actually asking for a transfer, then I think some fans would have accepted (reluctantly!) that he wanted a move to try his luck at a genuinely bigger club who could possibly offer him more than us. If, as reported, that he threw his toys out, stamped his feet, and threatened a mega sulk, then I really do think that we have a fantastic deal-money in the bank and rid of a spoiled brat who will sulk again when he has to take his place on the Liverpool bench as will happen as soon as he has a couple of bad games. Sorry all I can say is GOOD RIDDANCE! ( And as for that pathetic page in the Echo- that was just another case of "Look at me, aren't I wonderful!)

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aceofthebase added 22:40 - Jul 2 Lallana what a shame he has gone but I fear his head will soon become stuck between the posts at Anfield. SFC have achieved a handsome deal and no-one is irreplaceable.
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thesaintsweare added 06:16 - Jul 3 we got a good deal. didnt we? even if LFC got half of what he did last season they would be lucky. i havent seen an awful lot of him, but never missed a match last season. all the goals he scored there is only one or two which really seemed would go in rest could have been saved. His dribbling is good but when defenders are letting him and not really pressing him.Against good defenders like against mancity,arsenal and chelsea he struggled. He is not champions league material. In all the England matches there wasnt even a worthy pass or dribble. dint see the whole season why anyone would pay 25mil for him. think Lambert was much better infact lambert made lallana look good. Unfortunately for him ha ha hm h h ha ha. Just cant stop. I am happy we at least got 15 mil more. But i guess Pochetinno was a real loss.But now it looks good again.. Go Koeman.

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ThereIn76 added 12:20 - Jul 3 I may be going against the grain here, but once again a sense of perspective is needed. When clubs sign their leading players on long contracts, it is invariably in the knowledge that the players will not see them out. Hence the point of doing so to make sure that any other club wanting to sign the player meets the selling club’s valuation. People who are claiming that players who sign long contracts should see them out are living in cloud cuckoo land. Would they have preferred it if Lallana had signed a two-year contract and left for a much lower fee than £25m? Or allowed his deal to expire and then departed on a free transfer, à la Sol Campbell? Regarding the manner in which Lallana is alleged to have “forced” Saints’ hand, we will only ever get one side of the story and – quite likely – not a particularly accurate one. It could be that Saints demanded that he give them an answer whether he wished to remain or go to Liverpool before the World Cup, so that if he wants the move, they can get on with obtaining the best deal for the club, get the money in and allow the management to look for a replacement. We would never hear about that though, only that he said he wanted the move. On top of that, are the red tops like the Daily Star interested in accurate, balanced reporting, or stirring outrage at yet another “overpaid, pampered, under-performing” England footballer? People are making judgments based on innuendo and hearsay. As for the interview he gave for LFC TV, well how impressed would you all be if Saints signed a new player and then found that all he wanted to talk about was what a great club he’d left behind? Immediately questions would be asked about his commitment to Saints. The ad in the Echo is a fairly vacuous gesture but why slag the guy off for it? It’s better than nothing. Also people shouldn’t read too much into the statement on the club website. How much was said by way of a tribute to Nigel Adkins when he was relieved of his duties? When contracted players decide they want to move elsewhere, there is no point in trying to hang onto them. Did any readers give a monkey’s what Lyon supporters felt when Lovren came to us for £8m a year ago? If we sell him on for £20m that’s good business. If he’s determined to leave then it’s better that he doesn’t come to the training ground, so that only those players who do want to be part of the future of SFC are involved. The departures have to be seen as an opportunity to build and progress. Pochettino going has allowed Koeman to be brought in and he might do even better for us than his predecessor. Players moving on provide opportunities for those still here – if it means Cork and Ward-Prowse start more matches then that’s a good thing. The income from transfers enables the manager to shape the team in the way he wants, which is no bad thing either and the signs are that there’ll be inward activity in plenty of time for the new season. So let’s all control our sense of moral indignation shall we and look forwards. For the Echo to run a poll inviting readers to vote that the alleged manner of Lallana’s departure somehow renders his contribution to our resurgence over the last five years irrelevant is crass and lazy and unworthy of any paper that considers itself to be above the level of the gutter. Also we know full well that even those whose departure was more “dignified” will be doing their damnedest to help their new clubs beat us – as Lambert will do on the first day of the new season (if he gets off the bench) and as Bale, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain and countless others before them have done. Show a bit of class guys. Move on and look forward.

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