At his pre match press conference Southampton manager Tonda Eckert gave some very definitive statements on the goalkeeping pecking order at St Mary's, but this has raised some eyebrows and it could be more about transfer clauses than ability.
In his pre match press conference ahead of Saints trip to Lincoln City, Tonda Eckert gave a very clear message of support to his current first choice goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, he also gave his commitment to 2nd choice George Long & 3rd choice Jamie Jones.
But he was not so complimentary about Aaron Ramsdale who now looks set to twiddle his thumbs for at least the next 4 months on the highest wages at the club.
Tonda had this to say when asked about where Aaron Ramsdale currently stood at the club:
"Maybe I need to go a little bit further back on Daniel. He came in in January and we as a club, myself personally, have made a clear commitment to him.
"He is number one, and that stands. He deserves that. He's had some brilliant performances in the last year and now towards the beginning of the season.
"My commitment to Long has a number two stance as well and I think that group has worked very, very well last year together with Jamie.
"It's not just for the goalkeepers. Jamie has experience and has such an important role for the dressing room in general.
"It's clear that he came in as a training goalkeeper and as someone who supports everywhere he can, and that is the way that we go forward."
When asked whether it was a waste of talent not to have Ramsdale involved he replied:
" I think that every constellation, not just for the goalkeepers, has its own story and history. Rambo's started at this club before myself.
"With Rambo, we've had honest conversations from the first day of pre-season until the very last day of the transfer window.
"He's a part of the group, just like everyone else. Everyone is playing his role, the expectations for him are clear: to support the team in the best way.
"He's been very professional in doing that. That's all there is to say."
Personally I was a little concerned to hear him say that, I fully expected to hear him back Daniel Peretz, as quite rightly as he said he had some brilliant performances last season, he deserves to be number one at the start of this season.
But no player whatever his position should be in the starting order on anything other than merit, Peretz holds the number 1 shirt and it is his to lose, if he puts in good performances week in week out he should hold his place end of, if he doesn't play well then the manager has a decision to make.
But conversely no player should be ruled out of consideration either.
For obvious reasons Aaron Ramsdale wanted to leave the club in the summer, indeed the club wanted him to leave, for no other reason than they cannot afford to pay his Premier League level wages in the Championship.
But it looks like he is here till January at least and that means that he like any other player should be in contention for a place.
Indeed there is a precedent set by Tonda Eckert himself, Sam Edozie put in a transfer request and put out quite a negative message about the club on social media, yet Tonda remains loyal to him and used him as a sub at Lincoln on Saturday, if we talk about commitment then the likes of Tom Fellows who played no part at Lincoln other than sitting on the bench for the entire game, must feel a little miffed, likewise Lewis Dobbin who got on for just 12 mins.
I don't think anyone would deny that Ramsdale is a better keeper than Peretz, in that he has a lot more experience at the highest level and his transfer value is probably three times more than Peretz's.
But that should not mean that he is put straight into the first team now, as I have said Daniel Peretz is holding the jersey, if he plays well then it is his to keep.
But if Peretz's form does drop and there has been evidence that he is not performed at the standards that he set last year, then it has to be the best man for the job and to be blunt here there is not a Southampton supporter who would claim that George Long & Jamie Jones are better than Aaron Ramsdale.
It is a strange statement and it leads me to believe that there is something more behind this statement than just the fact that Tonda Eckert is standing behind his man.
I am starting to think that there is money involved, it is possible that the fee we paid Arsenal for Ramsdale has a clause in it where we have to pay more money if Ramsdale plays a certain number of games for the club.
If Ramsdale comes in, then he could activate that clause at some point in the coming season, the fact that we can't shift him on a permanent basis due to his wages (Not his fault) and that we are likely to make a loss on him, probably means that we don't want to increase that loss by having to pay Arsenal a few more million.
To be honest this is the only reason that I can plausibly think of for his continued isolation from first team contention.