Saints are in danger of relegation to League One and behind the scenes is a whirlwind of confusion and disruption. Sportingo writer Graham Fisher looks at just what is going on down on the south coast.
'With the confusion and lack of stability in the boardroom has come a total lack of money for the manager to invest in his team'
What a sad state of affairs we are all witnessing at St Mary’s. This once-proud club, which spent 27 unbroken years in the top flight until their relegation in 2005, appear to be falling apart at the seams.
The latest news from the club is that their top striker, Bradley Wright-Phillips, and their most promising youngster, Nathan Dyer, have been arrested and bailed on suspicion of theft from a nightclub.
The incident allegedly refers to a drunken act of rifling through handbags and coats and stealing mobile phones and small amounts of cash. Of course, the players have not been found guilty of anything.
Whatever the outcome, the incident will tarnish the reputation of the players and the club and will not help with the spirit and harmony required to battle their way out of relegation trouble.
Since the publicity-seeking and much-criticised Rupert Lowe stood down as chairman in June 2006, there has been speculation about three or four serious takeover bids which have either come to nothing or been totally misinformed speculation.
Businessman Michael Wilde took over from Lowe, but then himself stood down eight months later. Leon Crouch took over as acting chairman and, despite reports of his sacking in July 2007, he still remains in position. Rumours persist of people interested in buying the club, but rumours are all they seems to be.
This week there has been potentially alarming news for Southampton fans that Lowe and Wilde are planning a joint attempt to take over the club again. Leon Crouch reacted angrily to this bombshell, saying: "Rupert had nine years and didn't get it right.
"The reason we're struggling, is because he got us relegated. Michael Wilde promised a bright future for the club but delivered nothing. Why would the fans listen to them again?"
With this confusion and lack of stability in the boardroom has come a total lack of money for the manager to invest in his team. George Burley, now Scotland manager, took Southampton to last season's play-offs, where they were desperately unlucky to lose to eventual winners Derby in a penalty shoot-out.
Hopes for automatic promotion this season were high amongst Saints fans, but close-season transfer activity painted a worrying picture. Starlet Gareth Bale was sold to Tottenham for £6million, captain Chris Baird went to Fulham for £3million, and Pele went to rivals West Brom for £1million.
Little or none of the £10million received was given to Burley to spend.
The summer sales were followed by the transfer of top striker Kenwyne Jones to Sunderland for £6million - also not re-invested - and the release on loan of Rudi Skacel and Grzegorz Rasiak to Hertha Berlin and Bolton respectively. It was no surprise that Burley jumped at the chance of getting away from St Mary's to manage Scotland.
There were the usual rumours of a big-name manager taking over. In the meantime, John Gorman and Jason Dodd were promoted from within and made joint caretaker managers. This move did nothing to halt the downward spiral on the pitch and a series of defeats followed.
The board publicly backed Gorman and Dodd, saying that they had the position for the rest of the season. That ended when Southampton tamely surrendered their place in the FA Cup at Bristol Rovers.
A few days later they unveiled Nigel Pearson as their new manager. With all due respect to Pearson, his only experience as a number one was in keeping Carlisle in the Football League with a dramatic final-day escape. This was hardly likely to send ripples of excitement and enthusiasm through the ranks of Saints fans.
To be fair, Pearson has only lost two of his first eight games in charge, but there has only been one win in that time. They now sit two points above the relegation zone and Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Coventry simply wasn’t good enough. Next comes a daunting trip to FA Cup semi-finalists Cardiff knowing that defeat could leave them in the drop zone.
Southampton are a Premier League club and the thought of them dropping into League One is one that should upset all football fans (apart from Portsmouth fans, of course).
There are some serious questions that need to be asked as to how people have let the club fall so far. The fans need answers and they need them quickly, before this proud club disappears into oblivion.
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