Back in the 1980's they used to ask what have the Titanic and Lawrie McMenemy got in common ? The answer was they both should never have left Southampton ! Is Morgan Schneiderlin the latest in what is becoming a long line of ex players about who they are saying the same.

Since the great player exodus of the summer of 2014 it seems that once a player departs from St Mary's his career never quite reaches the same heights that it had with Saints.

Dejan Lovren is a figure of scorn, almost hatred at Liverpool, Rickie Lambert was always going to be a bit player at Anfield but he surely could not have foreseen how quickly his career would nosedive once leaving St Mary's and Adam Lallana although having his moments in a Liverpool shirt is yet to convince the Kop that he is going to become a Liverpool great. This season Nathaniel Clyne can't seem to recapture the consistency and form he showed last season in a Saints shirt.

Luke Shaw has had his flaws exposed at Old Trafford and although injury has delayed his progress, he has struggled, over at the Emirates Calum Chambers career path seems to be following that of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in that he is hardly a regular and his undoubted talent does not have the freedom to mature him into a truly great player as it might have at Southampton.

Sadly and i do mean this sincerely as Morgan Schneiderlin gave Saints great service and deserved his big move, the Frenchman's career at Old Trafford is far from flourishing and United's season seems to be deteriorating rapidly.

Ironically FC Midtjylland loom ominously over Schneiderlin's season as so far the low point for both Manchester United and Southampton in this season is a rainy night in Denmark with FCM beating both by a single goal.

But whereas Saints have used their defeat to stir them onwards and upwards, it looks like United's could drag them down, certainly the 800 United fans in Denmark were of that mind as the Telford Reds joined with the Guildford Reds in roundly condemning their team with a chant that could not be repeated on a family website such as this.

But from Morgan Schneiderlin's point of view it draws comparisons, not just with the cheap 1980's Titanic joke, but just where his career is going.

He was a 72nd minute substitute in Denmark so he perhaps could not be blamed as much as some, but the fact that he was on the bench and not on the field at a time when United need their best players is perhaps a sign of where his career is going.

Yes he has time out through injury, but he has also been lucky that other United players notably Sebastien Schweinsteiger have missed games thus meaning that he has been in the time at times when he might not have been.

He joined United for Champions League football, yet for him that has meant 4 starts and an appearance as sub out of the 8 games the Red Devils played is Europe's top competition and now he finds himself in exactly the same position his former team did six months ago, perhaps he is reflecting that if he had stayed at Saints there is a good chance he might have helped his former side to beat Midtjylland and progress, he most certainly would have had more of a chance to influence the game than he had last night and ironically if he had lead Saints to victory in Denmark then he might well have contributed more to United's season than he has don so far.

So why is Morgan Schneiderlin following his former team mates into footballing obscurity ? it is certainly not about ability, Schneiderlin like Lallana and co before him had proven himself at Premier League level with Saints he had experience at International level.

The answer is probably about choosing the wrong team, Manchester United like Liverpool and Arsenal have one thing in common they are all striving to match past glories and they are buying their way to doing that and it is a short term view.

In fairness none of them could have predicted just how badly their respective sides would fair, indeed this season all the so called big sides are struggling, even if Schneiderlin had joined Manchester City or Chelsea he would be faring no better and the irony is that his transfer fee to United was more than the entire Leicester City side cost.

So where does Schneiderlin's career go from here ? the answer is far from certain, indeed United's own fans are approaching meltdown, if we think we have a few bedwetter's then our numbers are dwarfed by the amount by United's massed legion's of "Sofawetter's" and this could well drag the Old Trafford club into the abysss and lead them down the road Liverpool have been walking down for two decades or more now.

United seem certain to have a new manager next season, but will he rate Schneiderlin ? will he want to ship him out, clear out the culture of defeat and bring in his own players, that could well be the case and then Schneiderlin will face a dilemma, where will he go next, his reputation is tainted, the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are not going to be in the running, perhaps his old manager Pochettino will offer him a lifeline at White Hart Lane.

The only problem with that though is whether MoPo will still be with Spurs next season with United already being reported as being seeking his services and let's face it if we draw another Titanic comparison, Mauricio Pochettino does not seem the type to let the women and children go first in the lifeboats, he is very much a man whose loyalty lies to himself, something for Spurs fans to ponder.

So Pochettino moving to Old Trafford looks like the only way Schneiderlin will flourish at United, as a player who worked with the Argentinian at St Mary's he would be seen as a trusted player in the dressing room, the foundation to build the team on.

But if Pochettino is not in Schneiderlin's future then what is, as mentioned in England his options will be limited, returning to St Mary's with his tail between his legs could be better than staying at Old Trafford and indeed better than any other option open to him, but would he be willing to do that ?

The answer is probably no, but any move for Schneiderlin will be difficult because of the high wages he is on, few teams on the Continent would be able to afford those wages and few teams in England would be willing to match them.

So Morgan Schneiderlin may be reflecting this morning as to whether he should have stayed at Southampton, he may have further time to do that if the form of the last month of both club's is repeated in the next six and he might just see his former club finish above his current one.

The Titanic comparison is harsh and perhaps such a tragedy should not be joked at, but it is an old one and I'm not the first person to use it and perhaps some members of the Saints squad should be considering their own career path's and whether the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence, so far that has not been been the case for those who have left Southampton of late.

Photo: Action Images

schatfield added 09:51 - Feb 19 i think you may have your Southampton blinkers on here.....Clyne is playing well, he is slightly unfortunate his team mates are not so much, Shaw is injured but was really starting to show what he had just before the injury occured and Schneiderlin is one of Utds best players, like Clyne, surrounded by some bad ones at this moment in time.
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SonicBoom added 10:05 - Feb 19 Unfortunately players don't think like that. MS will consider he's joined a team for two or three times the wages that have far greater prospect of winning the Champions League, the Premier League or any of the cups than we will ever have. They aren't doing it right now but they will spend money to make sure they compete. Yes he might not make it but even if not he would probably get a spot at the second tier of PL teams. Such as Liverpool or Spurs. I think the real motivator for him would be whether he gets to play as he gets older. As much as we love Saints the players don't and I think most would rather be a smaller fish at a bigger club with problems than a bigger fish at Saints not really competing for anything.

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SaintGeorge added 11:28 - Feb 19 Pedant's corner - I always thought the Titanic thing was about Alan Ball, who went down after leaving Southampton.
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RogerToye added 11:39 - Feb 19 It certainly does not seem to be about prestige its about short term career path and being on a bit of gravy train days of loyalty to one club are gone to be fair some players need a change after a five year stint I remember when Micky Channon went to Man city and came back wasn't the same player, but still had the wielding arm celebration. I for one enjoyed the players while they were here but some times the bright lights of the capital and the history of bigger clubs tempts a player to see what they may achieve. Apart form Lovern and Alderweireld who showed they could play but saw there fortunes elsewhere, the others don't deserve to be castigated by this site or any other. individually they look ordinary but in a flying team all those players were great getting the right marks for top performances. Their value, vastly over rated in my opinion as got us a team now that has depth and is now in the mix for top 7 place each season. It would be good if we could go beyond the second round in Europe. you either want to be in that number or not

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BoondockSaint added 14:09 - Feb 19 He's just not being played properly when he gets on the pitch. Van Gaal is continually playing the players in the wrong positions and that is why he is a Van Goner. I doubt MoPo is moving. It grates on me that the "pundits" lavish so much praise on him when he is basically riding Kane's coattails. So far, he has not had to show his weakness: he can't adapt during game play. I would be really surprised if ManU pick him over Jose. They need Jose's star power to attract top players and play head games with other managers. Remember, they are in competition with ManCitihad. The noisy neighbors hire Pep, and they are going to hire MoPo as an answer? That's like your neighbor buys a Maserati and you go out and buy a Cooper Mini!

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TimSaint added 14:09 - Feb 19 You ask if the potential new manager would like Morgan or not, but the question is, does the current manager like him ? I know teams are selected for certain games, but the reality is that Man U have a well publicised injury list of 12 to 14 players, (depending on which story you read), but Morgan still only made the bench and a 20 min cameo.
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SanMarco added 16:09 - Feb 19 MS and AL both spent several years at Saints before they could be described as very good/great players. On moving to the 'bigger' clubs they've needed to familiarise themselves to new roles and prove themselves in five minutes or they are failures. A new player settling in at Saints, e.g. Claisie is usually given more time. Also AL in particular suffered because he was suddenly a great player and moved on straightaway on the back of a few months' excellent form. He arrived at Liverpool and was suddenly playing like he was for us three years ago - good enough but no world beater. Of course all of these players moved to huge pay rises which may just sooth their battered egos and some, Clyne and Shaw come to mind, may yet end up as greats.

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brianletiss added 19:08 - Feb 19 I feel for Morgan. Not for what he earns but unlike his new club which I loathe, I want him to be a success. I'm sure he joined them because of the money and because he thought United had a far better chance of winning something than the Saints. Realistically that is probably still the case. What he won't have counted on is being on the bench particularly when so many other players are out. What he is likely to be most concerned about is his international prospects. He was breaking into the French team when he was with us and his chances for the Euros must be diminishing by the day. A real shame because we miss his combination of defensive qualities and his range of passing. No one in the current squad offers that.

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IanRC added 21:05 - Feb 19 I would have him back in a shot, by far our biggest loss despite the money received.
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GeordieSaint added 17:32 - Feb 20 If he had stayed he would be lower in the league, out of the fa cup and out of Europe. Don't panic nick, mourinho will get the best out of him.
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simmo400 added 20:18 - Feb 21 It's all about money. He plays a quarter of the games and yet picks up 4 times the cash. His agent knows it he knows it. Not really about football anymore Nick. He's a good player but won't stand out as he's in a group of good players that's why he goes unnoticed. You've got to say even though United are crap he has more chance of winning things there. If sold so what big cheque and move on. Win win for MS.

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SaintBrock added 10:19 - Feb 22 This has more to do with wishful (and spiteful) thinking than reality Nick. If players step up a level of course they will have to fight more for their places. Stop trying to be a wise old sage is my advice.
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chilcosaint added 16:48 - Feb 22 Morgan is of course a special case compared to most of the players we have sold to "bigger" clubs in the last couple of summers. He stands out because most of the others improved their chances of regular appearances for their country by moving whereas Morgan's place in the French team was already assured. He is possibly now on the verge of losing that place not through any fault of his own but by his club manager's reluctance to pick him. He should still get into the Euro squad but what happens after that? If Mourinho does take over at Man Utd then I can see him becoming a centre point of the team but his best hope of regular Champions League and international football is probably to move to one of the big French clubs, PSG or Marseilles maybe.

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10i added 07:51 - Feb 24 It's as I already posted on a thread in the Forum: MS by far is the best midfielder in the squad, yet van Gaal isn't able to see it. No other Player has a winning percentage like him, when he starts, but he doesn't start despite that. Van Gaal doesn't rate him despite he performs when he Plays. That means it is very likely that any new Manager will do him nothing but good. The Man.U. fans criticise him for not scoring and not assisting, but that's not what he is there for. The stats say Man.U. would be quite some Points better off, if MS would be played a lot more, but luckily he isn't and so we still are able to compete with them. Let's hope he sits on the bench a lot for the rest of the season as it will help us to maybe finish above them...

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