Adam Lallana is allegedly set to take out a full page advert to thank Saints supporters for their support during his time at St Mary's.

There can be no doubt that up until a month or so ago Adam Lallana was one of the most popular players at St Mary's, indeed perhaps only Rickie Lambert could undisputably be claimed to be more revered amongst Saints supporters.

However in the last few weeks of his Saints career his relationship with the fans was soured by his apparent eagerness to desert Southampton Football Club and head for Anfield. I think most Saints fans had expected him to leave, it was just that he seemed a little bit too keen to do so and that hurt.

Now it seems that the player himself is about to make a very public thank you to the fans by paying for a full page advert in the Daily Echo to thank the fans and perhaps I would hope explain his behavior over the weeks with an apology for a couple of little faux pas perhaps not going amiss.

The sorry thing about the whole affair is that Saints supporters have not been able to wave Lallana off wishing him all the best in what is a good move in footballing terms for a man who in fairness has given good service to Southampton Football Club and on the other hand is also a very good deal financially for the club.

I would hope that if Lallana is taking out the advert that his message is one that is not only heartfelt but acknowledges that the supporters have been hurt by his behaviour, if he does that I think Saints supporters will understand why he felt he had to go and will feel able to wish him all the best as well as being able to look back on him with fondness.

If Im honest i think that Adam Lallana has given this club good service, when Saints went into administration and dropped to league 1 it would have been easy for Lallana to leave, when we failed to get promoted in our first season in the third tier he continued to stay loyal at a time when undoubtedly he could have moved to a club in a higher division.

For this he perhaps deserves his move and the chance not only for a big pay day but an opportunity to challenge for honours and compete in European competition, we Saints supporters perhaps have to begrudgingly admit that for the man himself it is a hard offer to turn down and also admit that it is very good money for a player as well.

A thank you from Adam would perhaps bring closure on what has become a situation that has developed into a bad taste in the mouth, this hasn't been the first time a player has left the club in similar circumstances, it wont be the last, but it would be nice to feel that our heroes still retain an affinity for this club.

So good luck Adam Lallana deep down i wish you were staying, but I also know it was time to go, but my sadness is tempered by the fact that we have a nice large lump sum to improve the squad with.

Photo: Action Images

lockseaf77 added 20:26 - Jul 1 You mean he is heading for Anfield
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landsdownsaint added 20:34 - Jul 1 So gutted to see him go ,he become such an exciting player to watch. Personally I don't think he ever thought he'd reach the heights he has,that's why he's acted a little disrespectful ! But good luck to a true Saint ...he'll be back I reckon lol
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pintsizedsaint added 20:48 - Jul 1 Interesting to see what this is about. His comments about watching Liverpool playing and "wishing" he could play for them has not gone down well. In addition, there is apparently an article coming out alledging that AL refused to play for Saints again. That's not going to go down well. Perhaps the Daily Echo piece is to nip that rumour in the bud? Anyway - it's done and time to move on. £25m was an amazing price. Dusan Tadic is supposedly on his way and - to be honest - he looks promising and a potential upgrade from AL.

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pintsizedsaint added 20:55 - Jul 1 And, of course, Saints posted only a very brief statement so AL didn't get the chance to say something through them. Bit of bad blood at the end methinks.
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ArchersRoad added 20:58 - Jul 1 Well put Nick. Its disappointing to see him go but despite the past few weeks he's always given 100% effort when he's worn the shirt. Let's face it, if he hadn't we wouldn't be disappointed to see him go. Who knows as well, he may come to regret the decision when a Suarez-less Liverpool go into decline and a resurgent Saints sit above them in the Premier League!
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saintdavid added 20:58 - Jul 1 Completely agree. The brief statement on the SFC page lacks class. i can't understand why we feel, as supporters, that it is perfectly acceptable to declare Fox, Chaplow, Guly etc as not good enough for Saints as a mid table Premier League team but begrudge AL a move when so many observers feel he can play at a Champions League level. Good luck to AL, not withstanding recent his recent pressure for a move, he has been a great player for us bad times and good times. Saints will continue without him and find a new captain but we should be big enough to acknowledge his contribution with a level of decency and generosity.

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slynch added 21:05 - Jul 1 £25mill!!!! Dem scousers 'r nuts!!!! Saints' fans should take a full page ad to thank him for going!!!
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Bulgarian added 22:07 - Jul 1 IMO the Board statement says it all: no adjectives, no emotion, no wishing well - absolutely nothing. It is a clear message that the Board felt betrayed by AL or his agent: they counted on loyalty and were bitterly disappointed by AL stubborness to leave (and maybe threatening he won't play for the Club again). Adam is a good lad and great servant to SFC, but in the last couple of months something happened to his ego - he made a number of faux pas concerning his relations with fans and media appearance - the favela incident, the first comments on Liverpool's website, his photos from Brasil... It's obvious the Board didn't want to sell him and that he pressed impatiently. Unfortunately, this saga was decided several weeks before the World Cup and what we saw afterwards was just the inevitable completion of the plot.

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bstokesaint added 23:19 - Jul 1 I don't think I'll ever forgive Adam for the nature of his departure. I'm a fair person, but I always thought he was one of us. He was proud to become captain and then quits a year into a long-term contract. I even remember in an interview he said he wanted success, with Saints, and would stay a Saint as long as they continued to progress. He's gone down massively in my estimations and I don't feel obliged to wish him all the best given the disrespect he has shown for the club. That double page spread will do at least one session on the can.

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eastlondonsaint added 23:58 - Jul 1 "Ive been at this club since I was 12 and - being honest - I can only see my future lying with Southampton Football Club. If someone was to say I would end my career playing for Southampton in the Premier League then Id snap your hand off for it. Im privileged and honoured to be given the opportunity to be here for another five years, its something Im looking forward to grab with both hands" What a difference 12 months make - fukk him

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1970 added 00:05 - Jul 2 I'm afraid Clattenburg was right about Adam having a huge head i remember too his statement when signing his 5 year contract "i'd be quite happy to finish my career at this fantastic club"and the interview at the world cup when he knew all along he was going "i cant wait to meet Ronald and see what the future plans are"cheeky little c**t can f**k o** as far as im concerned.

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SanMarco added 00:14 - Jul 2 He has jumped at a chance offered to him and good luck to him. I am very sorry he has gone and I am not 100% sure it will be a move good move for him - glad he didn't go to Spurs though. Well done to the board for not making it easy for him. My gripe is a purely practical one based on the contract he signed and the money he will make out of the actual transfer itself: 1. That contract gave him many extra thousands over the year. As he has broken the contract he should return the pay rise in full 2. His behaviour was a de facto transfer request. He should therefore not gain anything from Saints for the move. The fact he didn't put it in writing is irrelevant. I know both of those points are naive idealism but even so that's what should happen. Finally I hope that those who will be angry about this + the almost certain departures of Schneiderlin, Lovren and possibly Jayrod are not going to try to claim that this would have been any different if NC had stayed. There is absolutely no grounds at all for arguing that.

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SonicBoom added 00:45 - Jul 2 Seems some fans are unbearably upset and whiny. Just wish him well and let him go. We'll get over it. Still if you're that bothered you can give him a really good 'boo-ing' when he plays against us. That'll show him.
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no7saint added 07:22 - Jul 2 I hope he doesn't get crucified by our fans when we play him, mostly as I always think it's counterproductive. It usually ends in firing up the player who then scores against his old club and doing that hand to ear thing as he jogs past. He'll then feel vindicated about his move away, when one day we may want to re-sign him (you never know). After spitting feathers for a few days I'm grudgingly coming round to the fact that he was loyal when it counted and at 27 feels he has been a key contributor to taking us as high as we can realistically hope to get. For that reason I wish him no ill, although I won't be sorry when the scouse fail to qualify for Europe post-Suarez either.

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law101 added 09:37 - Jul 2 Lallana hasn't handled any of this with much class or intelligence. Unfortunately he doesn’t come across as the brightest of footballers and his actions and behaviour is a real shame and a sad end to one of the most well loved player’s time at the club. The club and fans just wanted to see some respect and we haven’t got it. The biggest shame of all is Lallana has been a pleasure to watch and is well worth the money we all spend on tickets. It's not often we get a player and performances of last seasons standard coming from a home player week in week out.

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