I have seen a lot of indignant comments on social media this week regarding the players potentially going out on loan,it is time to take a few steps back and look at why these players are going out on loan.
A couple of comments I saw on social media this week led me to believe that the air of negativity that is surrounding the club at the moment is leading some to lose sight of what the club is actually trying to do and the status of some of the players in the squad.
"Great little player the club should not let him go" was the first comment and the second "Great player with an eye for goal".
The first comment concerned Harrison Reed a player who for his battling spirit enjoys a certain reputation with Saints fans, but saying that he should not go out on loan shows that the person making the quote has perhaps lost a little bit of perspective here, as much as I like Harrison Reed, the reality is that in the grand picture he is nowhere near the first team and not likely to be barring a catastrophic run of injuries.
By my reckoning he is 7th choice in the central midfield behind (count em) Hojbjerg, Lemina, Romeu, Armstrong, Davis &, Ward Prowse and I dont think there are many Saints fans who would disagree with that ranking.
Reed spent all of last year and since being taken off at half time in our win at Bournemouth in November 2016 has played only 5 minutes of Premier League football for Saints, indeed in that season he featured in only 3 games for a total of 72 minutes on the field.
At 23 Reed's career is at a crossroads and all roads lead out of St Mary's, since his league debut almost 5 years ago in December 2013, in that time he has played under 5 different managers, started only 6 Premier League games with another 11 as sub, mainly small cameos at the end of the game.
It cannot be said that he has not had a chance, but the stark reality is that if he hasn't made the breakthrough now then perhaps he never is, if he himself want's a career in football then he has to move to fulfil his potential whatever that potential is.
The "Great player with an eye for goal" description was about Josh Sims who has already departed for Reading on a season's loan, now his career is at a totally different moment in time than Reed's.
He made an explosive debut against Everton that perhaps might come back to haunt him in that in the two years since, he too has struggled to make an impact, whether he has an eye for goal we don't really know given that in his 2 Premier League starts for the club and another 11 appearances as sub he has never scored a goal
Injury has hampered his career since, but last season he managed just 159 minutes on the pitch in the Premier League to add to 206 in that first season, this is the equivalent of 4 full games.
In that time he has shown that he has what it takes, but he still hasn't shown any of the 3 managers he has played under that he is ready to turn a few heads.
That is why he is out on loan, his need is different to Reed's, he needs to be toughened up, get a bit of confidence and show he can use his pace and undoubted ability on a regular basis at the highest level.
If he had stayed here then it might have ruined his career, a few bad games would turn the crowd against him as they have turned against the likes of Nathan Redmond despite the fact that Redmond contributed a great deal in his first season at the club he wastorn to shreds by a section of the crowd and that section will turn on Sims if he isn't the instant saviour.
So the move to Reading will undoubtedly benefit his as a player and hopefully in the long run Southampton Football Club.
But reactions from some supporters to news that both could be out on loan by the end of the month is symptomatic of the negativity that surrounds the club at the moment, every situation is being turned by some to use as a stick to beat Ralph Krueger and Les Reed with and i'm sick of it.
I have given both criticism when it is justified and certainly at times it has been, but I won't do so just because it is fashionable and as the case of these two loan deals shows, sometimes people berate them when the evidence is just not there.
Things are not great at the moment, but the reality is that we have just entered our 7th consecutive season in the Premier League, a fact which also makes us the 8th longest serving club in the current line up, we have to open our eyes to what the Premier League has become and how much it has changed in the last six years.
Over the last five years there have been few clubs outside of the big six that could match our achievements, although these achievements aren't good enough for a sizeable section of our support.
Of course I would like to see us comfortably in the top 10 year in year out and playing attractive football, but that isn't always possible and football club's have to go through periods of transition, clear out some players and bring in others.
So when Harrison Reed a player who has failed to establish himself over a five year period is used as a stick to beat Les Reed with i'm flabbergasted, especially as it wasn't so long ago that some of the people now complaining that Harrison Reed is going where ranting that previous managers have left because they were being ordered by Les Reed to play the youngsters.
So let's all take a step back and look what we want from Southampton Football Club and what is realistically achievable.
But let's not use every little thing as a chance to slag off the club.