The recent announcement that Simon Rusk would be taking over as temporary manager of Southampton, it drew a lot of comments on social media, however a chunk of them concerned the person appointed a his assistant.
That assistant is Adam Lallana, and the reason that this has raised some criticism on social media, is that there are those that cannot forgive him for demanding a move back in 2014 and his behaviour at that time and see that as deserting the club and that there is no forgiveness.
There is precedent for this situation though, Mick Channon is deservedly considered one of the greatest players ever to have graced the shirts of Southampton FC, but he has a track record of demanding to leave the club and subsequently leaving.
Back in May 1975 Channon himself demanded a transfer after Saints had failed to secure promotion back to the top flight after their first year in the then Second division, back then there was no freedom of contract, Southampton refused to grant his transfer request and Channon stayed.
He was obviously glad he did as just a year later he was running round Wembley with the FA Cup, but move forward to 1977 and he was granted his wish to leave and joined Manchester City.
His time there was not successful and he returned to The Dell in September 1979 and resumed his position as Southampton legend.
Back then there was no outcry, no one decried his return or called him a traitor, or that he should never be allowed to set foot in the club again, he was not booed on his return to the club as a Manchester City player after Saints returned to the top flight in 1978.
Channon was just about to turn 31 when he arrived back at the Dell in 1979 and still performing well when he left for the final time in 1982 approaching 34.
This shows that prodigal sons can return and finish a job they never completed when they left under a cloud.
I am not defending Adam Lallana though for his departure back in 2014, to be honest, the whole summer of that year stunk with the way that Liverpool poached not only Lallana, but also Rickie Lambert & Dejan Lovren.
In the case of Lallana it hurt because he was "one of our own" as the song goes, but he deserved a big move, Like Channon he was loved by the fans after he had broken into the first team squad in 2007/08 and would be a regular in 2008/09 as a squad full of youth headed towards administration and relegation.
It would have been easy for him to have left in 2009, but he stayed and the rest as they say his history, but when he left he had given us 6 years of being a regular first team player , he had played 235 League games and scored 48 goals across one relegation, two promotions and 3 divisions, add to that another 30 or so games in cup competitions and he had paid his dues at St Mary's, at 26 years old like Channon before him he deserved a big move, the chance to earn more money and test himself on a bigger stage, City had finished 2nd in 1977 only a point behind Liverpool, it was a big move.
The way Lallana left was not nice, no one who was around at the time was happy in the way it played out and I suspect that if he could turn back time he would not have repeated the mistakes made then, that does not mean that he would not have wanted to leave, he was being offered a chance to join one of the biggest clubs in the World, challenge for trophies and get paid a lot of money, why would he not want to go.
Yes it left a sour taste in the mouth, but time is a healer and as Mick Channon proved, it is possible for a Club legend to demand a move and leave and then return without the fans turning their wrath on them.