Saints have sacked youth team coaches Jason Dodd and Paul Williams, at most clubs a story that would at best carry a short piece in the local paper, but for the Daily Mail's Neil Ashton an event that spells the collapse of the entire club.
What has Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail got against Saints, since the moment that Nicola Cortese left St Mary's he has never missed a chance to try and de stabilise the club, barely a week goes by without Ashton suggesting that one player or another isn't about to leave.
On the day that Cortese left Ashton used the word "meltdown" and here is that word again in his piece telling of Dodd & Williams exit from St Mary's
As mentioned at any other club the departure of a couple of youth team coaches would barely merit more than a few lines in the local paper, yes Jason Dodd is a club legend as a player but his coaching career is not illustrious and even less so Williams who played 39 league games in a two year spell under Gordon Strachan.
According to Ashton these are the men responsible for the likes of Luke Shaw et al coming through although given that Dodd has been here in his current position only a little over 4 years and Williams only 3.
But Ashton once again trolls out his favourite phrase "Meltdown" and tries to use the departure of the pair to give the impression that this will see the likes of Shaw leave in disgust, despite the fact that most of the players and staff are now on holiday, Ashton states that this move has been met with disbelief by them all, perhaps they have all sent him a postcard !
Ashton finishes his article with this
"Shaw is leaving Southampton when he returns from the World Cup with England and captain Adam Lallana has also made it clear he is quitting when he returns from south America.
Dejan Lovren, who was outstanding in his first season with Southampton, will agitate to leave if Southampton start selling their best players."
Perhaps this is why The Mail seem happy to let Ashton peddle hhis agenda, he seems to know a lot more than has been printed, Perhaps Shaw will leave, but Adam Lallana has not made it clear he is quitting preferring to concentrate on the World Cup, likewise Dejan Lovren who only a day or so ago made it clear he wanted to stay, but will now be agitated if players leave after this.
It is of course sad to see Jason Dodd and Paul Williams go, but the inference from Ashton is that these two were integral to the youth set up, truth is that our Academy set up has been strong for the past 15 years, it has survived far more influential peiople leaving to move elsewhere, Huw Jennings the man responsible for the modern day youth academy left in 2006, yet we have still remained strong, Huw who ? you might say and rightly so, only at Saints and with the likes of Ashton stirring things up do you hear when Youth coaches are sacked at a club and in a national newspaper to boot.