What have Saints fans got against Tony Pulis Jr, before he has even joined the club.
Saints fans have been known to take a dislike to a player at the Club, usually its been for good reason, but in all my years of supporting Saints, never have i come across vitriol to a player before he has even joined the club.
The truth is that signing this player could be the last straw for many supporters, and to be blunt I can see their point, in a time when we are trying to save wages, just what is the point in getting a player on the books in a position where we are well served, ie in midfield, when the supporters can clearly see that the problem lies in other areas.
But in runs deeper than that, the fans could accept a player with experience, they know thats whats needed, but the truth is that Pulis Jr has no experience whatsoever, at the age of 24 his career, spread across six clubs consists of 10 league starts, 9 of these at Grimsby two years ago, 2 league cup starts, plus 13 appearances as a sub, one of which against Newcastle in last seasons FA Cup was in the 91st minute and consisted of exactly two minutes.
So the fact is Tony Pulis Jr offers nothing to Saints that they havent already got, indeed their is the very definate suggestion that if he wasnt playing for his Dad's team, he would be out of football altogether, as it seems no other team is interested in signing him, except of course Saints.
Even Bristol Rovers didnt rate him, his month on loan there in March consisted of one appearance as sub.
So why are we considering buying him and who is making the decision, Poortvliet most certainly wouldnt have heard of him and you would have thought that one glance at his playing record would tell the Dutchman all he needed to know about the player, if you havent found your level and are making regular appearances at the age of 24, there is something drastically wrong.
If as rumour has it, it is Lowe making the decision, that also strikes me as slightly strange, frankly he doesnt fit Lowe's well publicised blueprint for this seasons squad, where he is trying to get rid of journeyman players and replace them with youth, Pulis has neither youth nor experience on his side.
But the person to feel sorry for is Pulis Jr himslef, the man must have the thickest skin in history to be able to firstly turn up for training at Stoke and secondly to read what everyone is saying about him.
Certainly its hard to see who he might replace in our midfield, certainly the centre three are playing well and on the right wing we have plenty of options, yes we are short on the left, but that can be covered, this is a baffling situation, Pulis just doesnt have a track record and if he had had any hidden talent then surely a club would have picked up on it by now.
Of course if he arrives i would like him to succeed, but I fel the pressure would be on him so much that it would make it very improbable and therefore its hard to see what anyone has to gain from signing him, certainly not Poortvliet whose reputation with the supporters will suffer, certainly not Lowe who will come under more fire from the fans and certainly not the player who will immediately be in the spotlight and bear the brunt of the fans frustrations.