Premier League: Player sales signal the end of the Saints story

Rickie Lambert: First of many to be leaving Saints this summer?

Rickie Lambert has signed for Liverpool and the weekend papers were full of other names likely to be moving on from St Mary's. Ralph Ellis says that means only disappointment ahead for Saints fans.

It seems a distant memory now, but 1986 was the year I thought West Ham had finally cracked it. John Lyall's fluent team went into the last few days of the season with a genuine chance of winning the title.

All it would have taken was a win at Everton, and for Chelsea to get at least a draw at home to Liverpool, and all my boyhood fantasies would have come true. (Well, not necessarily all of them, but we'll draw a line under some not related to football!).

In the event Gary Lineker took his season's total to 30 to lead a 3-1 Toffees win, Kenny Dalglish scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge, and my beloved Hammers finished third. But not to worry, once the initial disappointment subsided, came the thought that this new Upton Park side with the goalscoring prowess of Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee could only get better.

Wrong. They spent next to nothing strengthening the squad that summer, finished 16th the following year, and within a couple of seasons both McAvennie and Cottee had moved on. Back at West Ham it was business - or lack of business to be more accurate - as usual.

Forgive the history lesson, but it struck me that this year it will be Southampton fans taking their turn at discovering how quickly huge promise can turn to bitter disappointment. The only difference is that, in the modern world, the big money from elsewhere eats far more quickly into a promising side from a smaller club.

Saints enjoyed a stunning season under Mauricio Pochettino. Third in the table in October, they brought through young English talent with football that was pleasing on the eye and seemed like a stepping stone to challenge for a place in Europe.

How quickly that is crashing down. Pochettino himself has gone already, lured to Tottenham and the challenge of bringing the Champions League (or, at least, some entertainment) back to White Hart Lane.

Rickie Lambert, whose 13 Premier League goals were so crucial to the success story, has sealed a move to his boyhood heroes Liverpool. Adam Lallana is another Anfield target and seems certain to go. Luke Shaw is wanted by both Manchester United and Chelsea and will also be on his way.

When confirming the Lambert move on their official website, Southampton insisted they did not 'need' to sell any more players, but didn't guarantee they wouldn't, and you can expect other clubs to make bids for the likes of Calum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse and Jack Cork. Once it starts breaking up, it won't stop.

Ronald Koeman is currently the 2.47/5 favourite to be Southampton's next manager, and if he gets the job would arrive with an excellent track record. He's lifted Feyenoord from mid-table to second in the Dutch League, and before that won the title twice with Ajax and once for PSV.

But it is a poisoned chalice. If you think that the 51-year-old Dutchman, or anybody else, come to that, can take a Saints side shorn of all their best players forward then you'd best be prepared to think again. The powers that be in the St Mary's boardroom have clearly decided it is time to cash in on some of their best assets, and once you do that the only way is down.

Saints are currently 2.47/5 to achieve a top ten finish next season but, once the lay side of the market becomes more liquid, any price around that mark would be a lay. Even if the new manager gets given the bulk of the transfer income to spend again - which seems unlikely - there won't be time to bring in the right players at the right prices.

Saints fans enjoyed a wonderful season but, just like we Hammers all those years ago, they'd better get used to the idea that it wasn't the start of something great but merely a happy memory.