Andy Oldknow has left the club for the second time.

In a surprise announcement last night it was revealed that Andy Oldknow has left Saints.

This was of course the second time he has departed St Mary's.

There are some who will not have a high opinion of Oldknow due to the fact he originally was part of the Jim Hone executive board, who rightly or wrongly were the subject of an intense whispering campaign 2 years ago, hindsight now tells us that the round of rundundancies at that time made by those executives, actions that didnt make them popular with those around the Club, were in fact not acts of rash folly, but desperately needed cost cutting at a club that was heading to bankruptcy, but no one wanted to listen to reality at that time.

But Hone, Oldknow et al left quietly, yes they were paid well, but that was their contracts and would any Saints fans accept leaving their employment if their employer refused to pay them money owed.

Of course Oldknow had a certain reputation, football clubs and the people inside them dont like change, in fact that could be said of virtually any company, when anyone comes in and tries to make changes then that upsets the staus quo and that usually means upsetting people.

But whatever peoples thoughts on Andy Oldknow and to be blunt most Saints fans would only know him by name and title, perhaps it could be said that the position the Club is in now is in some way down to his involvement, the connection between this football club and a previously unheard of Swiss Millionaire was Andy Oldknow, although we will perhaps never know how much of a connection, its fair to say that Markus Liebherr didnt hear of Saints plight by reading the Daily Echo and that somewhere along the line both Club and Swiss millionaire had to be put together, after all Saints were only one of dozens of clubs who were seeking investment, if Oldknow didnt make the initial introduction he certainly did a lot of work to make sure that the deal went through and for that every Saints fan should thank him.

So why did Andy Oldknow leave the club, of course like most departures its by mutual consent and that doesnt tell the full story, I dont know the full story either, however in business you have ambitious people and Saints in one respect were lucky to have several, but sometimes that can be too many and ideas dont coincide.

Personally I wish Andy Oldknow luck for the future, history will be harsh on him because in truth he got down to hard work rather than being a figurehead, however his part in Southampton FC's history might be slightly more crucial than many will realise   

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