On Sunday the visit of Liverpool sees the return of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren, but do they all deserve the same welcome back.

It will be easy for Saints fans to welcome back our returning trio with the same vitriol last observed when Marie Antoinette was dragged through the streets of Paris on the way to the guillotine, however would it be fair to tar all three with the same brush or for that matter conducive to a Saints victory, here we look at each individually and consider their status on the meter of hatred.

First to leave was Rickie Lambert, much has been made of his "dream" opportunity to join his boyhood club, there is of course that factor, but that would not be telling the whole story, there are some who would say that Rickie owes a lot to Saints and that being the case that he should have shown a bit more loyalty at a time when the club was clearly going through a difficult period with Pochettino leaving and seemingly all our players wanted by some club or other.

The time called for our senior players to lead by example and Rickie was the first to go, having said that the writing was already on the wall for Rickie at St Mary's and the likelihood was that this season he would have struggled to be a regular, age was catching up with him and never a fast player he was visibly slower in his last 12 months with Saints, that being the case it could be said that he deserved that last move to for a big payday, especially since for the bulk of his career he earned considerably less than most in the Saints squad had done.

So the verdict on Rickie was the move was the right one for both him and the club, only the circumstances and timing was perhaps wrong, Rickie should be warmly applauded and thanked for his service to Saints.

Adam Lallana is perhaps the most difficult, there is no doubt the manner of his leaving left a sour taste in the mouths of Saints fans, but was it really all Adam's fault, it should be remembered that he remained loyal to the club through the dark days of administration and relegation to League One and still remained so when we failed to bounce straight back, in many respects Lallana had given Saints good service for a far longer period than is average nowadays.

Again it comes down to circumstance and timing and there is a case that the club handled the situation badly at the time, they did not manage it, they did not communicate with the player according to some sources and preferred to ignore the overtones of Liverpool and hope that it would go away during the forthcoming World Cup, perhaps now with experience we would do things different, but we were caught in limbo and their was no experienced leadership in the boardroom to handle the situation.

The downside is that now some Saints fans almost spit when the name Adam Lallana is mentioned and the more the player himself tried to explain himself the deeper hole he dug himself into, the fact though is that he genuinely was being offered a dream move, the club was being offered far more than he was worth, he as a loyal Southampton player for so long deserved better.

This being the case I think that we need to accept that all parties, Lallana himself, Saints and Liverpool all should have behaved with more dignity and respect and we Saints fans have to move on and get closure, perhaps Adam will never be welcomed back at St Mary's with the affection he would like or even deserves for his service, but he does not deserve the Judas status some would bestow on him, the jury should be out, perhaps one day he will be applauded but perhaps this is not the occasion and certainly he does not deserve vitriolic abuse either, lets see his penalty be to see his new team drubbed and left trailing in our wake that would be a fair outcome overall.

Then there is Dejan Lovren, he had one solitary season at Southampton Football Club, it cannot be denied it was a good season although the first half was decidedly better than the first, but hisbehaviour was despicable, the statement that his "head was already in Liverpool" was crass and lacked class, it showed him up as a mercenary with no respect or feeling for what was at the time the people paying his wages.

Perhaps he has already had his comeuppance by the fact he has failed so miserably at Anfield, personally I think there are reasons for that which are beyond his control and Brendon Rodgers is more to blame, but the fact remains that he is only slightly more popular on Merseyside than he is in Southampton and part of that is because Liverpool fans recognise a wrong un when they see one and know that should he have had a good season his head would just as easily be in Barcelona or Manchester as Liverpool.

Lovren deserves every bit of vitriol that is aimed at him, however before one bit of abuse is hurled at him or indeed any of the other players we should remember that this could perhaps spur them on, before the game keep it to a minimum and once the game starts concentrate on supporting our own team rather than hating the opposition, lets get the game won and then we can worry about a bit of banter.

So there we have it there is more than meets the eye in this sorry tale and the three protagonists are all different in why they moved and the reasons behind it.

Photo: Action Images

legod7 added 12:30 - Feb 19 You cannot tell how the fans will react on Sunday. Especially if the Arsenal game is anything to go by. Theo Walcott is always welcome back as he left when we really needed the money. So why is AOC welcomed back when we were on the ascendency and his move was engineered by his dad. Yet the only one who was booed was Chambers who did not ask to move but we accepted a very good offer because we still had Nathaniel Clyne.

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LostBoys added 12:39 - Feb 19 I think Lambert will be cheered and Lallana and Lovren jeered. In the same way I am happy to applaud Walcott but never AOC.
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saintschmoo added 12:52 - Feb 19 I think to a certain extent all booing of ex players is childish and silly. We've no reason to be bitter I don't think. Well in terms of Ricky, it's very rare in Football that you buy a player when he's 28 and then get the opportunity to sell him for 4/5 times the amount you paid for him,when he's 32. The fact that it was his dream move made it a no brainer. His appreciation for Saints isn't in doubt. Booing him would be ridiculous. He's a legend. The same for Lallana, he was loyal when we needed him to be and he helped us back up. He turned 26 and thought If I want to play in the Champions league (who wouldn't?) then I've got to go now. Penny for his thoughts now we're 4th eh?! Lets be honest who saw that coming?! I think he would have stayed if he knew that was going to happen. As for Lovren? I'd already forgotten about him, who cares?! As I said Booing is childish and we've no reason to be bitter, I hope we focus our energy on getting behind the team on Sunday.

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bstokesaint added 12:55 - Feb 19 Adam showed his true colours when he left the club. As a player I wasn't really that bothered. He was replaceable. I was more disappointed as I felt he was one of our own and would go on to be a lifetime legend like Le Tissier. We all assumed he was loyal, but that's only because no-one else came in for him, with maybe the exception of Wolves if the above article I read this morning was true, back in the days when we'd jsut got releated. He gushed about the club and how he wanted to stay with us "if we continued to improve" (which for the record we have done). Whether he was easily led or his enthusiasm got the better of him I don't know, but as far as I am concerned he has dug his own grave by being hugely disrespectful to the club "he loved". At least Lovren doesn't proclaim to be anything less than a money-grabbing mercenary. And given that booing a player is not scientifically synonymous with throwing away three points, I will be making my feelings known. I suspect the liar is actually incredibly worried about this game. The fact he wasn't mentally strong enough to stand-up to a few cyber bullies on Twitter shows where he's really at. Just look at some of the horrible stuff Le Tissier and Lineker face every time they tweet an opinion. I’m sorry Adam, you and Dejan deserve all the stick you get. Rickie I wish you well as always, but no goals please.

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WestSussexSaint added 13:03 - Feb 19 The fact is that based on recent games the only one of the three likely to be playing is Lallana. I doubt many really know what the truth is behind his move so we base our opinions on press stories and perception. To this end Adam could have certainly handled it better and whoever advised his to take out the one page add in the Echo did him no favours. The article on the BBC website may help people make up their own minds but this seems to be a fairly honest account from Adam's perspective. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31524487 I think this is an opportunity to show these players that we as a club have moved on and are better as a result. Rather than boo them why not just hold up a copy of the league table when they are on the ball with an accommpanying smug grin!

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bstokesaint added 13:22 - Feb 19 I'd like to believe he's actually telling the truth for once Sussex, but no-one held a gun to his head when he was at Southampton and told him to say he wanted to be a Saint forever (I can't remember the exact quote - but it was pretty much to the word without any ambiguity). As the captain he should have been setting a better example and at least have stayed to speak with Poch's predecessor. He sensed things might be changing and he jumped ship as soon as he could. I'm thinking the only thing he really genuinely regrets is getting found out. I'm certainly not a bitter person and don't hold grudges against anyone as a rule, but the manner in which he left, when he was captain at my club, the club I have supported passionately since I was knee high, was an absolute disgrace.

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densham41 added 14:09 - Feb 19 Every breath you use to Boo lallana an dejan, could be spent pushing the Southampton to victory. This is the biggest game in my opinion for years and years. Win and that dream is becoming reality. Any Southampton fan reading this whether you post on here or just read. Please leave the Staduim Sunday evening knowing you have given everything for the victory. The players will respond.

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Zambucco added 14:45 - Feb 19 About time to put this to bed and focus on the here, now and our future. They're our past, they played a huge part in helping us to rise the table. They helped to make us wealthy. We have replaced them, with better and moved on. So let's applaud them for the work they did for us, and understand they are human and greedy like the rest of us. Sadly they're not trained to be media pundits and never put a foot or word wrong. I can assure you all my vocal talents will be firmly behind this current magnificent squad! COYR!

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ericofarabia added 14:51 - Feb 19 I'm with bstokesaint. The manner in which La La Land conducted himself pre, and post move as well, was nothing short of a disgrace from a player, who was, until the deal was completed The Captain of our team. The shirt signing and comment during the World Cup, not putting in a transfer request (presumably to get his "loyalty bonus"and fee %), saying he dreamt of playing for them whilst leading our team out each week, and then the pathetic Echo Advert featuring a full sized pic of himself .... badly advised by his PR team or just an egotistical tw@t? I don't think he'll relish the 1st challenge against Big Vic!! End of the day the best response is to cheer our team on to victory and sing what a waste of money when he gets subbed off at 60 mins!!

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NewburySaint added 16:19 - Feb 19 Rickie-legend who deserves all our love and thanks. Not when playing against us though, just polite applause! Lovren-clearly not the best character that has ever turned out for us but at least he was man enough, honest enough, to hand in a transfer request. As for Lallana, he can only be described as naïve at best or to simplify it a t**t! There is evidence in things he said and done in the summer which showed 0% respect for our club and us as fans while instigating a move to Scousehampton and before and after as well. As for the Echo advert, it showed another side to his character as well i.e. a massive unintelligent ego on legs-in my opinion he's not welcome back at my club, our club ever again other than as an opposition player. Having said all that I will not be booing or and abusing the latter 2 as I want to support my team and don't wish to waste my energy with these 2.

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