Over the past decade or so Saints supporters have become accustomed to only the rare headline in the national media, however times have changed.

This time last year a big story in the national press on Southampton Football Club was rare, although we had got off to a good start to the season the media were only waiting for our bubble to burst and Luke Shaw aside didn't even really consider Saints to be a club where there was going to be a clamour for the services of our players in the transfer window.

January 2014 changed all that, the departure of Nicola Cortese meant that the press latched on to a story and certain journalists sympathetic for whatever reason to the former Italian banker decided that they would mount a campaign aimed at destabilising the club and its owner Katharina Liebherr, even after the initial furore had died down these hacks lead in the main by Neil Ashton at the Daily Mail kept their campaign up to give the impression that the club was in meltdown and after the departure of Pochettino and several players had fanned the flames many Saints supporters started to believe everything they were reading.

This press speculation was all knew to most supporters who had never seen this level of intensity in the press directed at their club, indeed that could probably be said for most clubs in England although fans of Man Utd, Liverpool etc would have had much empathy for the Saints faithful being used to a media that wants to turn every drama into a crisis.

After a great start to the season and the success of the team under Ronald Koeman and the success of the new players, the media called off the hounds and for the past few months we have enjoyed the plaudits in the press with some journalists conspicuos by their absence.

International breaks always bring a dearth of stories at club level and this weeks one being the last before the transfer window reopens in around 6 weeks time is no different in fact it is more intense because after months of stabbing in the dark and re hashing stories of transfer rumours unlikely to happen, the media finally are getting close to something happening and this week has seen a focus on Saints unlike any other.

Yesterday alone we have had the following shock horror rumour mongering

1. Morgan Schneiderlin wants to play for a big club.

2. Spurs want our head of player recruitment

3. Spurs and Liverpool want Jay Rodriguez and are lining up big bids

4. Ronald Koeman is about to be aproached to become manager of Holland

5. Athletico Madrid will recall Toby Alderweireld at the end of the season.

First thing to say is that yes all of these things could happen as of course could Katharina to be the first Premiership club owner to land on the Moon or Shane Long be asked to replace The Edge on guitar in U2, like these two examples all of the 5 mentioned could happen but as of this moment in time have no real evidence to suggest that they could.

Indeed for rumour 1 it would be strange is Morgan didn't want to play for a big club, indeed I have had the same ambition myself since age 5,.

Rumour 2 is just plain baffling, what football club tries to unsette a member of another clubs backroom staff, especially one whose name is completely unknown in the national press, oh yes this one came from Neil Ashton say no more he would link Saints with sinking the Titanic if he could.

Rumour 3 is not a new one, Rodriguez was meant to be going to those clubs in the summer accoring to the national press, many members of which seemed to be unaware that the player was injured.

Rumour 4 omits to mention that the last time Koeman's name was brought up 3 weeks ago he emphatically stated he didnt want to take the job and wanted to see his contract out at Saints, no quotes mentioned of that though

Rumour 5 is again just pure speculation and designed to cause unrest.

But these are the things we have to get used to now we are up amongst the big boys, we are far more in the public eye now and if we continue our way forward at the same rate it is only going to get worse.

But we Saints fans should have learned something in the summer and that is to keep calm and carry on, most of which the press predicted for us back in June/July turned out to be nothing more than scare mongering, however there was a light at the end of the tunnel and in hindsight what happened proved to be for the best, we received well over the odds for certain players which meant we could strengthen the squad without having to dip into the incoming cash from the Premier league and Sky etc, not only are we stronger on the pitch, but we are stronger financially off it.

So when we read these headlines we should not fear them, but find them amusing, I said back last season that it would never be about what happened, but about what we do next, the Club is a completely different structure than it was a year ago and much better and stronger for it, let's not allow ourselves to become hysterical everytime the press link us with something we don't want to hear.

Photo: Action Images

birminghamsaint added 13:47 - Nov 12 I heard a rumour that Spurs were after ‘Sammy Saint’ as a potential recruitment target! Of course this could either be to replace Pochettino, play up front instead of Adebayor to add more mobility or as a possible successor to Daniel Levy himself. The word on the street is that he would be a recruitment coup for any of these scenarios.
0

compello added 14:50 - Nov 12 Thank God for you sometimes Nick. I actually allowed myself to start getting angry, scrolling newsnow and letting my heart rate rise. This article makes perfect sense. The head of recruitment nonsense comes on the back of the Pavillion video. Ashton has grabbed ahold. It probably has no basis. And if it does, Mitchell is the head of recruitment, not 'recruitment'. I'm sure we wouldn't collapse if he went. Jay is injured. Not a sprained ankle. He has an injury that limits and ruins careers. Why would a club, even as stupid as Spurs, be considering a£20m offer. He's not game fit, he hasn't scored a goal since the spring. The press are getting desperate. Reference Toby. Why would Athletico suddenly want him to break the terms of the loan agreement? Doesn't make any sense. This is tosh. Plus he seems happy. Presumably now that Fonte is playing for his country, Liverpool will see him as an ideal replacement for Lovren. No doubt Tadic at Man Utd is a 'done deal'. Oh and Jack Cork is apparently keen on Palace. Again. When these articles appear, it would be wise for us to scroll down and look at the profile of the 'journalist'. Most are children who are replicating the original cr*p written by the daily mail- giving us the impression that multiple reports = credibility to the story. Yawn.

0

WestSussexSaint added 21:18 - Nov 12 I have no problem with speculation in the press. It is a key part of football an fuels many of the pub debates we all enjoy. The fact there is more Saints news in the mainstream media I think is a good thing. However, there has to be a balance and certain parts of the media have an agenda against Saints which is just ridiculous. So called journalists should be brought to heel based on the accuracy of their reporting. All those predicting meltdowns and relegation should have held their hands up by now and admitted they got it wrong. Very few have and some continue to peddle negative tripe on the basis the current success is pure luck. This should extend to football pundits who are supposed to know something about the game - yes I'm talking about you Savage!

0

redwight added 10:38 - Nov 13 You kept me sane throughout the summer, Nick, and continue to do so. Better than valium, but cheaper and without the side effects!
0

halftimeorange added 12:54 - Nov 13 No reason to panic. The Saints senior management team showed both their nous and mettle in the summer and even if all these people went others to replace them will be identified then, if not already. Football in England is an industry from which many people derive over-inflated salaries, not least within the media. Most of these will want to keep and nourish the contacts and, quite possibly, "arrangements" that they have with the "big" six. One could include the current England manager in that set-up. I have no doubt that there is an unwritten concerted campaign to keep clubs like Southampton, who don't encourage a media entourage, away from the top table. When Cortese began running the show he alienated as many in the press as he allowed anywhere near our club. My guess is that protection of what they already have plus, in the case of the Daily Mail a long-term allegiance to Rupert Lowe, are the reasons that we are the subject of so much unwanted speculation. Sadly for our detractors we are eminently fortunate to have a resilient owner and forward-thinking board. No panic.

1

cheltenhamsaint added 13:11 - Nov 13 If Morgan wants to play for a big club he has to have an outstanding season for Saints. That's good news isn't it? Same for all the other players. Their career progression will mean we have benefitted too on the field of play. Enjoy the ride and don't fret, To be fair to Savage, he was the first pundit I heard to admit he got it wrong to suggest us as relegation candidates, "horribly wrong" in his own words. Since then he has been our biggest champion. Whenever a caller trots out that the new players at their club needs "time to gel" he shouts "Look at Southampton!" back at them. Finally, when asked if Saints could end up in the top 4 he said "I think they can and if they do it will be the greatest achievement in Premier League history" Other pundits are following suit now cautiously without making a committed statement but I think Savage was the first to stick his neck on the line and say we could

1

SaintNick50 added 11:51 - Nov 14 An interesting article, Martin Samuel fights back! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2769078/Southampton-emulated-M
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Rochdale Polls