Saints Enter A New Fraze
The long awaited signing of a right back happened on Tuesday as Saints announced the arrival of Charlton player Frazer Richardson for an undisclosed fee.
Richardson who will be 28 in October, arrived at the Valley on a free transfer last summer after being at Leeds since being a trainee, at Elland Road he struggled to make a breakthough although after a game in the UEFA cup for the yorkshire side and a loan spell at Stoke City he finally made his Premier League debut, ironically as a substitute against Saints in August 2003 in a 0-0 draw.
He still struggled to make an impact whilst Leeds were in the Premier, but after relegation he established himself in the side, but it was often on the right side of midfield as he was unable to oust Gary Kelly from the full back spot.
A versatile player Richardson also filled in a t left back on occasions and in 2006 was the subject of several bids from Sunderland, however these were rejected.
In the summer of 2009 contract negotiations between player and club stalled and Leeds signed Jason Crowe from Northampton and Richardson left Elland Road for Charlton Athletic on a free transfer after over 175 appearances.
At Charlton he was an instant success playing 38 times in the league and being voted into the PFA League 1 team of the year, so he looks to have the right type of pedigree for Saints.
This signing shows that despite communication problems in general between club and fans at present, when it comes to transfers Saints are doing things the right way and that is conducting the negotiations quietly and privately and then announcing it and that is the way it should be.
Although the fee has not been disclosed at present its believed to be in the region of £450,000
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