Nigel Adkins has spoken of how he is diaspointed that Oscar Gobern has chosen to turn down Saints offer and join Huddersfield.
On an interview on the Saints offical site today Nigel Adkins speaks of his frustration of Gobern's departure,
" Im annoyed ill tell you why, we offered him a great deal and he is a player that when i came into the building hadnt played in two years,
When I arrived i could see he was a good athletic player, I tried to create the opportunity for him to play games by moving the experienced Paul Wotton on an allowing Oscar to become our fourth midfielder"
Im sorry Nigel but this isnt quite true is it, yes you moved Wotton on, but in his place you brought in Richard Chaplow, Gobern didnt play a league game till he came on as substitute on Jan 1st against Exeter and even that was only a 7 minute cameo appearance in a game that was well won long before he got on the pitch, indeed this would be the pattern in the second half of the season after that Exeter league "Debut" under Adkins Gobern would feature a further nine times off the bench mainly in cameo roles that stretched from around 20 minutes to five, out of a total of 25 games.
His only league start came against Brighton when he dug in and did a job, yes we have lost a great potential player for the squad but lets not dress this up as a player that has scorned Saints, the manager scorned the player, if he was the fourth midfielder why did the manager bring in Dale Stephens on loan to start 5 matches, a player that in truth was no better than Gobern.
I would have liked to have seen Gobern stay, I liked him as a player and think that his contribution last season should have been greater and would have been if he had been given the chances, but I understand why he has chosen to go, the manager did no give him enough minutes on the pitch, bringing in a loan signing from Oldham was not a vote of confidence so im afraid for Nigel Adkins to try and suggest that Gobern was disloyal is unfair to the player, if his manager had shown more faith in him then Im sure he would have wanted to stay, but he could see the writing on the wall, stay at Saints and the best he would get is a few more cameo's off the bench, whislt at Huddersfield he now has the chance of regular first team football and the chance to prove himself.
There are some who would say he wasnt good enough anyway and thats fine, this is a game about opinions, my only beef is the way in which our manager has commentated on his departure, this isnt a player who has played regularly and left at the first chance, this is a player who barely got time on the pitch, what was there to suggest things might change next year ? Certainly if he didnt think him good enough in League 1 then why would he in a higher division
Perhaps its also refreshing that Gobern chooses to look for regular first team football for possibly lower wages than he would get at St Mary's, in these days when many would rather pick up a fat paycheck than play football, then good luck to oscar for choosing football above sitting on the bench.
Good luck to Oscar Gobern, he never let Saints down in the games he played, he might just be one to come back and haunt us, but his departure can be laid at the feet of the manager who didnt paly him, managers have to make decisions, some are right and some are wrong, Nigel Adkins chose not to play Oscar Gobern, that is his perogative, all we as supporters ask is that he be honest, back your own judgement, if you had played him he would still be here !