To read the full article on the Saints official website click here.

It’s a big relief to have Kelvin back in our lineup since he has signed to a new three year deal with the club. I also have a lot of respect for Davis to come back and help the Saints get back to the Championship when he could have had a chance at playing Premier League Football.

To read the story on the Saints official website click here.

This is awesome. No more dreading, no more worrying. I can’t wait for the new season to begin. Onwards and upwards Saints!

This isn’t too much of a let down as Davis was a much older player with who knows how many seasons left and, personally, I think Bialkowski or Poke could hold their own for us in League 1. But, it still hurts to lose another member of our starting eleven.

Plus, I’m sure Davis wasn’t keen on leaving the Saints. I was angry and felt like he was being disloyal at first but with the uncertainty of the future of the club, I don’t blame him for finding work elsewhere. I’m sure I would have done the same in his shoes. I do doubt he will ever see first team action at West Ham though.

And we have a lot to talk about.

I’ve always tried to have a positive outlook on both life and football. Even when the Saints were relegated from the Premiership years ago, I kept assuring myself in my mind we would be back in the top flight in a season or two.

But things have certainly gone downhill for the Saints, relegation to League 1 and a nasty 10 point penalty that I have no optimistic view of. Not to mention the mess of the club’s ownership problems.

The club has recently also seen the loss of key players in Surman, McGoldrick and Svennson. Thankfully, Stern John is returning to the club along with coach Mark Wotte. Thank God, at least having a stable manager through this will help. However, the Saints still have a lot of work to do to turn this around.

As the saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn and I can only hope this is a new beginning for the Saints.

There are 2 things currently lacking that could suddenly see Saints become a force in the division, rather than relegation candidates. Firstly some defensive stability and nous – frankly this seems less likely with each game so let’s forget that for now. What Saints could improve is their gameplan when dominating possession, which on the evidence of the season so far, will be most of the time.

Currently Saints seem a little to eager to make the killer pass – against Blackpool Schneiderlin was doing a painfully accurate impression of Steven Gerrard on a bad day with hollywood passes finding the crowd every other minute. Hopefully the manager will impress upon the team that by working the ball around with a decent level of movement and control they will eventually create better openings.

It’s 6 games in 16 days coming up and we need to take at least 9 points from the 5 league matches if we’re to move away from the relegation zone. All of the games, home and away, are tricky but winnable – if we show the form we showed against Derby rather than Blackpool.

Claus Lundekvam has announced he is about to retire due to injury. It’s sad that such a long serving player should have to bow out in this way but it always looked unlikely that he would be able to return to form and fitness after so long out at 35.

He joined in 1996 and initially looked uncomfortable adjusting to the English game. After a dodgy first season he settled down and became a comfortable ball-playing centre back, decent in the air and with good positional skills. He went on to form two of Saint’s best defensive partnerships; firstly with Dean Richards during Glenn Hoddle’s tenure and secondly with Michael Svennsson under Gordon Strachan.

Both times Claus was the less aggressive member of the duo and as a result was perhaps less celebrated outside of the Saints faithful. In more recent years as injuries have taken their toll it’s become easier to appreciate how good he was at his peak, as well as the importance of half-decent distribution from defence.

Claus probably has some sort of record for the number of managers/chairman he has worked with during his time at Southampton! My favorite memories of Claus at Saints will probably be a combination of the cup final, his partnership with Killer and his adopted Hampshire accent.

Farewell Claus, best of luck in the future and thanks for the past 12 years.