The new Saint Le Saux has no regrets
It would be understandable if Graeme Le Saux’s words were tinged with regret. After all, it appears he could hardly have left Chelsea at a worse best price canada goose parka moment. As he was heading for the exit, Roman Abramovich was embarking on an extraordinary shopping spree which could establish the club as one of the most powerful in Europe.
Yet as Le Saux chatted after training at Southampton yesterday he looked more brown from the sun than green with envy. Having spent more than a decade in two spells at Stamford Bridge, he says it was clear to him that the time had come to depart. He senses, too, that he has joined another team with an exciting future.
Despite his being almost an automatic choice at Chelsea last season, conversations with the hierarchy there seem to have left Le Saux in no doubt that he needed to leave. Even before Abramovich arrived brandishing his chequebook the 34-year-old was apparently preparing to abandon a contract which had a year to run. When he landed in Southampton as part of the deal which took Wayne Bridge to Stamford Bridge, it was hardly a bolt from the blue.
«It didn’t come as a shock at all,» Le Saux said. «I realised it was time to move on.» He will not elaborate but insists he harbours no regrets. «I was never in a position to leave myself open to regret. I don’t make decisions lightly.»
Like Gianfranco Zola, another popular and long-serving Chelsea player, Le Saux has conducted his departure with dignity. There is no hint of criticism of the club nor a desire to see them fall flat on their faces after investing heavily in new talent.
«I have good friends who are Chelsea supporters and I still speak to some of the players,» he said. «Like everyone who’s interested in the sport, I’m looking at what’s happening there from a general perspective: whether they are going to gel or not, whether it’s a risk – although when a man’s that wealthy it’s not really a risk.»
Le Saux knows how money can help best canada goose jacket for men to construct a championship side, having been part of the Blackburn Rovers team best canada goose jacket review which won the Premiership in 1995 with the assistance of Sir Jack Walker’s millions.
He dismisses direct parallels, pointing out that investment at Blackburn was buying canada goose jacket online less sudden and that some of the buys – himself included – were hardly expensive. His hope is that Abramovich’s wealth does not harm the game.
«That’s something we will have to find out,» he said. «It is potentially a concern for football in England when the sport is going through a difficult time financially. We all hope that it doesn’t destabilise an already fragile market.»
Le Saux sees no sign of fragility at Southampton. With a Uefa Cup campaign ahead, and an FA Cup final just behind them, he has found a positive atmosphere. After three miserable Uefa Cup campaigns with Chelsea, who have gone out to St Gallen, Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Viking, a decent European run would go down a treat.
«If burlington coat factory canada goose coat you speak to any of the players and mention the Uefa Cup goose, they get excited,» said Le Saux. He, too, is looking forward to it, although his move was based on more than that. Conversations with the manager Gordon Strachan and chairman Rupert Lowe left him with «no second thoughts» about the transfer.
«With the timing of me leaving Chelsea, it was important for burlington coat factory canada goose coat me to come somewhere that had the quality and ambition and the stability of a club like Southampton,» he said. «The environment that I’m in down here in terms of the stadium, the training facilities and the opportunity for best canada goose coat for skiing my family all helped me to make this decision.»
Although used at left midfield and left-back by Chelsea, Le Saux has been best canada goose canada goose coat 1000 bulbs coupon coat for women earmarked solely for the defensive role by Strachan. Informed that Claudio Ranieri wanted Bridge, Strachan insisted on getting Le Saux. He knows he has obtained a player of huge experience whose performances last season suggest he is far from waning.
«There’s a stature about him,» Strachan said. «He’s been good for the players. When we watched him playing last year, [my assistant] Garry [Pendrey] and myself thought he must have a chance of playing for England again. We never thought by any stretch of the imagination that he would be playing for us this year.»
Le Saux probably never imagined he would be at Southampton either, though this is not entirely new territory for him. He recalls coming to the club when he was «12 or 13» for soccer schools and had a trial with them about a year before he signed for Chelsea.
Southampton must be sorry they did not sign Le Saux authentic canada goose outlet at that point. Regret, though, is not on the agenda when Le Saux reflects on what he has just left behind.