With this weeks media reports on Alex Oxlade Chamberlain would it be wise to play him in the games against Werder Bremen & Athletico Bilbao.

There are two obstacles to Nigel Adkins selecting Alex Oxlase Chamberlain for the memorial cup on Saturday, firstly there is the attitude of the player at the moment as shown in press statements earlier this week, add to that the rumours that he has been fined and that he is livid about that, wont make for a happy bunny in the dressing room, perhaps the manager will feel that because of this it might be better for team morale if Chamberlain was given the day off.

Secondly there is the reception that the player is likely to receive from the St Mary's crowd, although times have moved on in football and players dont have the loyalty they used to have, large sections of football crowds have yet to grasp that, they still consider that kissing the badge is a pledge of true loyalty and that players truely believe that their club is the greatest in the land with the best fans, this being the case Oxo would be right in the firing line.

If Nigel Adkins, who whatever his faults shows himself to be a calm and sensible manager, takes all of these into account he may feel that by playing him tommorrow no real beenfit can be gained for either the club, player or more importantly the team.

Adkins will harbour hopes of keeping Chamberlain, he may also concur that a hostile reception from the crowd wouldnt help Chamberlain feel more like staying, in fact completely the opposite.

This all being the case peerhaps best for everyone is a bit of a cooling down period, with feelings starting to clearly run high in not just the player but fans as well, a weekend of reflectio might be the better course of action.

But perhaps more importantly, this day is meant to be one in which supporters can remember Markus Liebherr, surely its best to do tha in a good atmosphere, I for one dont want my memories of Liebherr to include the venom that was thrown at Alex Oxlade Chamberlain by the supporters      

Photo: Action Images

ThereIn76 added 15:17 - Jul 22 I can't be there tomorrow but I sincerely hope that (a) Alex plays and (b) is left in no doubt how much we'd like his to stay with us. I'm sure he'd like to join one of the "big four" but am unconvinced about the genuineness of this "interview" - he's quoted that if he stays with Saints he might get injured, well an injury can happen whomever you're playing for, the only way to be sure of avoiding injury is not to play. Well, if he goes to Arsenal he'll be on the bench at best.

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SaintNick added 15:39 - Jul 22 The interview appears to be genuine in that two papers have directly quoted him, what he really means when he says about injury is that, if he gets injured at saints he will have 3 years left of a £5 k a wek contract, if it happens at Arsenal he will have 5 years of a £25k a week contract and therefore total financial security for life. sadly in todays game thats the first thing mosty players wil look for

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sholingred added 17:47 - Jul 22 Stick him in the reserves,17 years old ffs needs to show a bit of respect,whats going on,every player that comes through wants to get away,very frustrating and we need to make a stand.
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