Luke Shaw said in a recent interview that he would love to play for Mauricio Pochettino again and loved working with him at Saints, but it seems the feeling is not mutual.

Four years ago it seemed Luke Shaw had the World at his feet, a regular in the Saints team and an England debut that saw him selected for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and a £30 million move to Manchester United mean't that at still only 18 a glittering career appeared to be ahead of him.

I said at the time I thought it was the wrong move for him, not only was he too young to handle a big move like this, especially to a club in transition, but his style was not suited to what United required from their full backs.

United want wing backs, players that can get forward and support an attack and put in telling crosses, that was not Shaw's game at St Mary's, he was a good left back in the traditional style, he had a short burst of speed that got him out of trouble, but he didn't seem to have the engine to get up and down the line, he had one assist in 60 Premier League appearances for Saints, that in itself was a slice of luck when a ballooned cross saw the Arsenal kkeper fail to come out and Jose Fonte head home an unlikely goal.

So I always thought that the United move would end in tears and that has been the case, injury has not helped but it seems nor has his attitude with Jose Mourinho coming out publicly and slating it.

In almost 3 1/2 seasons at Old Trafford Shaw has managed only 32 Premier League games and none of those have come this season, even last season Mourinho was loathe to use him and when he did Shaw rarely completed 90 minutes in the League at least.

Indeed this season his only appearances have been in the League Cup where he played 45 minutes as a half time sub at home to Burton and then in the following round the final 3 minutes against Swansea to run down the clock emphasising just how low down the pecking order he is under mourinho at Old Trafford.

This has prompted the manager's surprise outburst at Shaw in the media this season, perhaps frustrated by his attitude and failure to apply his undoubted talent, the player responded by telling the press what a great manager Mauricio Pochettino was and the nfluence he had been on his career, perhaps in a "come & get me" type of way, but if he thought that might encourage the Spurs manager to show an interest he would be wrong.

Pochettino has written of his time at Saints in his new book "Brave New World" and has criticised Shaw at St Mary's for his attitude and midset.

The Argentinian spoke of how at Southampton he felt that Shaw was not ready to make the sacrifices needed to make it at the top level.

“I felt his head was not in the right place to make the sacrifices and decisions that are necessary at that age."

Pochettino seems to have been proved right and at 22 Shaw is now at a crossroads and clearly needs to get away from Old Trafford to try and kick start his career, he has been linked with a return to St Mary's but clearly he feels that he is capable of more, although it is hard to think of one of the other big six clubs who would be interested in him given his track record since he left the South Coast in 2014.

Indeed Saints would only be interested if they received a big offer for Ryan Bertrand, our current left back proved to be a shrewd piece of business, selling Shaw for £30 million and getting Bertrand for £12 million now can be seen as typical Saints transfer dealings, sell high, buy low and then develope the player.

But Shaw would be a risk and one that we would perhaps not be willing to take especially at the wageds he would demand.

Word is on Manchester is that he would be available on loan in January, his contractual status appears unclear, the four year deal he signed in 2014 expires next summer, although United do have the option to extend it for a further year, whether they have done that yet is not known and a loan deal might give them the opportunity to see if he is worth another year or whether they are going to write off their losses on a player who seemingly had the World at his feet a few years ago and now could be following another former Saint's left back Wayne Bridge into the list of those whose career faltered after leaving St Mary's, Bridge did stay and get his grounding in before his move, but at 22 when he left for Chelsea he had already played nearly half of the total league games he would manage in his entire career.

Shaw is still only just over the half way mark at Old Trafford to match the number of Premier league games he played for Saints, hopefully his career will not go the same way as Bridge's, but the next seven months or so are going to be crucial.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 09:48 - Oct 31 I suspect he would have had the same problems whether he stayed or went. He was over-hyped and probably over-indulged at a very young age and seems to have believed that being better than Danny Fox made him a genius. I hope his career picks up but that is up to him - a period of very hard work and silence + mature advice would seem to be on the cards (difficult to get the latter when you have an 'agent' of course).

4

sfc1971 added 09:54 - Oct 31 Shaw has had his priorities wrong for a long while. His social life and eating crap come 1st. it`s a case of could have been but never will be I`m afraid to say.
3

GeordieSaint added 10:46 - Oct 31 Bit harsh on Bridgey, he won at least two league winners medals as a regular in the Chelsea team and would have won a lot more England caps if Ashley Cole wasn't ahead of him. He only had one season where he really was out in the cold at City but that was only because nobody could or would pay his massive wages. Apparently he was on 120 grand a week at city and not even included in the squad which to put into context is more than Harry Kane earns now. No wonder he just laughed it off and went and played golf on a Saturday.

2

underweststand added 11:00 - Oct 31 Luke Shaw, like many others who have left Saints looking for greener pastures, has found he has ended up in with a few United U23 games played on mud heaps. Similar stories followed Walcott and Alex Ox-C who had a long haul to get regular runouts at Arsenal, and Gareth Bale who was a laughing stock at Spurs - during his first season. We know that players careers can be short (and to his credit Luke Shaw came back from that horrific leg break) but for players like Schneiderlin it turned victory into massive disappointment when the only game time came as a late sub. in scrappy matches. For those who only move for the money, it maybe acceptable, but for those who only want to play every week it's a heartbreak. Most Saints fans realised that Shaw's move was too early in his career, and looking back at others who have departed we see a picture of good players who played in a good team, but who after their moves, became just part of a group of overpaid individuals wearing the same shirt. The team element they knew and felt at SMS - just wasn't there. Shaw found a place in a Saints side where he could play and he looked good. Lovren was a typical example of a player who did well playing alongside Jose Fonte (who made him look a bit better than perhaps he really was), and likewise it was Fonte's influence that made one or two others look " that bit extra." I feel sorry for Luke Shaw. Football has been his life since junior school and having played for England whilst still teenage (or thereabouts) he now finds himself on the scrapheap of over-rated, overpaid stars at a big club who can sack anyone at anytime. Should we take Luke back...perhaps not. The football adage of " never go back" often rings true, although it has worked for Billy Sharp (for the third time). at Sheff.Utd . Personally, I might make an exception for Theo Walcott(?), but for the rest...thanks for the memory but no thanks. If for no other reason than bringing back "old heroes" may please a few fans, but would be a betrayal to the very concept of Saints Academy which is meant to promote new young talent. Our biggest problem is getting a manager to mould a team that plays the brand of football that every Saints fan wants ...and to do it before Christmas(!). I hope that Luke Shaw finds himself a new club soon, but it shouldn't be Saints.

4

TimSaint added 12:01 - Oct 31 Rather unfair that the article slates his appearances, yet fails to mention the fact that Shaw has been plagued by injury, during his time at United - especially that 'Dave Buust' style leg break that must have kept him out for a year !! Like many other footballers these days, he was drawn to the big club and big pay packet - but I guess the move was a good one from Saints' perspective. Bertrand and 20m profit was too good to turn down. Yes Shaw couldn't pass a KFC or McD's if the rumours are true, but I am not so sure that his love of fast foods would have kept him out of the team as much as ousting an in form Evra. He really does need a run of games to build his match fitness, but seems to have fallen out with JM and as such, Ashley Diver Young gets the left back berth. I wonder if he has considered his career path and move to OT, whilst sitting in his apartment, or completing another 18 holes. Maybe he has thought about it - but then he checks his balance and all is good. We couldn't afford to have him back at Saints, even if we wanted him.

2

DockersRottingCorpse added 12:05 - Oct 31 Nandos are looking for staff
-1

abingdonsaint added 13:17 - Oct 31 I would agree that he left too early, but we need to remember the role of agents in these situations. He was obviously poorly advised, as at 18 years old moving was a huge decision he probably wasn’t capable of making. Age apart, anecdotally Luke is perhaps not the sharpest tool in the box, so badly needed sensible guidance. Shame, because he is talented....
1

LordDZLucan added 13:58 - Oct 31 I remember Luke Shaw's first Premier League game for Saints. We had just got promoted to the Premier League and we had a problem at left back. Danny Fox was just clearly out of his depth. After 10 or so games of the season Luke was brought into the side and from the moment he stepped onto the pitch it was problem solved. It takes a special player to make that sort of impact in his first game especially as a 17 year old. I'd like to think he's still got that in him and that he can push on if he joins the right team.

2

CovSaint added 14:31 - Oct 31 Perhaps underweststand, the football adage of 'never go back', notwithstanding Billy Sharp, is never more so wildly wide of the mark than in the case of Wilfried Zaha... just a thought.
2

perazi added 18:37 - Oct 31 Sad story to be sure!! Agree with Lord Lucan - you could tell he was a special player from those early first team performances. I can recall him making many bursts forward for Saints; he had great touch; lovely passing and his crosses were good. It is surprising he didn't rack up more assists. Not only did he leave too early but his fitness, diet and discipline have obviously not been up to scratch. I still remember that pre-season video clip where Luke's birthday was celebrated with Pochettino an co. - 18th birthday I suppose - great days to be a Saint's fan. Can't see him coming back here.

1

SaintBrock added 19:28 - Oct 31 The advice that I would give to Mr Shaw is, leave Man U and their over-rated self-obsessed anti-football crackpot of a manager and join a decent top six club even if it means accepting a few shackles less than you're getting now. Also, ignore all the snide innuendo that passes as insight on forums like this.
1

BoondockSaint added 13:15 - Nov 1 He got the move he wanted and then showed up at that dream job overweight. That is not a professional attitude and managers of other clubs are well aware of things like that. Still, he can have a good cry on the bags of money he's made.
0

WanderingSaint added 17:43 - Nov 3 His ponchant for fast unhealthy food was an open joke when he was here. Nando’s couldn’t possibly give him a job as he’d eat the profits in a single sitting. Seems like youth and regular games kept under some control. Can’t see another top 6 side wanting him. Poch has publicly criticised him, cant see him eating rice and broccoli at Arsenal. Looks like it’s over before it began. What a waste of talent.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls