As Southampton dropped down to League One in 2009, amid a succession of sacked managers and warring boards, one of the constants that kept up the spirits of a battered fan-base was Adam Lallana. Not only did he appear loyal but he was the consummate entertainer –

full of feints and turns, he had a way of making or taking goals with panache.

What was there not to sing about? Adam had been playing “in the hole”, which he considered his best position, but he felt that he “developed” during 2009-10, playing wide left, and now declared that be his favoured position – which is hardly surprising as he scored 20 goals that season, exactly twice the target he had set himself at the start of it.

Saints fans had not seen that sort of goal-scoring from midfield since Matt Le Tissier was in his prime. What Adam would now inevitably share with Le Tissier was speculation that he would surely leave for higher things. Southampton’s promotion to the Championship in 2011 did not stop the innuendo: surely he would want to skip that division and head for the Premiership? But it was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who decided that it was time to make that move, leaving Adam to be dubbed by the Independent (rather ironically as it panned out)as the “the Saint who stayed behind.” A year, and another promotion, after Alex had gone, Adam was asked by the Observer’s Paul Doyle whether he envied Alex – and Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale, too, of course. “Not one bit,” Adam insisted, “this club is perfect for me.” And, anyhow, those three were “naturally” fast or powerful – or even both – he pointed out, whereas he was “more technical and smaller” and needed “to work harder at things.”

He’d certainly had to work hard even to get a professional contract, after being diagnosed, during his scholarship, with having ulcerative colitis and an irregular heart-beat. But he’d come through to be capped by England, despite Southampton’s humble status, at U-18 and U-21 levels. Adam’s father, who’d played for Watford’s Reserves, was the son of a Spaniard, so Adam would have been eligible to play for Spain. But, he was brought into Roy Hodgson’s senior squad, in September 2012, for a World Cup qualifier v Ukraine but had to wait until his first cap when he started against Chile. By then Mauricio Pochettino had become his manager and his contract was extended to 2018, but that’s where his story takes a downward spiral or at least as far as the fans would have you believe. Having won supporters and players player-of-the season awards in May 2014 and about to go to Brazil as part of the England World Cup squad, Adam was accused of courting Liverpool. With Pochettino moving on it seemed the player who had been feted as loyalty personified wanted to leave his “perfect” club. Transfers are part of football and star players will ultimately move but in the history of Southampton transfer sagas the departure of Adam Lallana was acrimonious. The problem arose because he was seen to be “engineering” the move even signing a Liverpool shirt before any deal could be done and even then when it was his public letter to the fans fell very flat. Speaking to Radio Solent in February 2015, just before his first game at St Mary’s for Liverpool  he had this to say

“I’m not stupid enough to think the way I left didn’t leave a sour taste in a few people’s mouths, I regret the way I left. I regret bits and pieces of how it happened and it got nasty. It was sad the way it happened.

What is true is that when I knew of Liverpool’s interest and that they had put a bid in, I did say to the club it would be my wish if they could negotiate a fee for me to move on. Not for one second did I say I wouldn’t play for the club again. I’m man enough to say it was my choice and my decision for me to move on. Deep down I hope Saints fans appreciate the times we had at the club together.

Football is a fickle game – if I do get the jeers and the boos I’m just going to take it as them missing me playing down there because I miss Southampton. I miss the fans and I miss the good times we had down there.”

For the record he did get jeered and booed and has done every time Liverpool and Southampton meet. His career at Liverpool has been mixed, he initially started well but injuries have sent him down the pecking order since and although Liverpool won their first piece of silverware, since his arrival, in 2019 when they beat Tottenham in the Champions League final, Adam had only started one game in the tournament and come on as a sub in the semi-final against Bayern Munich. Out of contract in the close season of 2020 he moved to Brighton, then managed by ex-Saint Graham Potter. When he subsequently moved to Stamford Bridge in September 2022 Lallana was asked to be Brighton’s caretaker manager.

Freed by Brighton at the end of the 2023-24 season he accepted a one-year contract at Southampton, who had just secured a return to the Premier league via the play-offs. Following a clamatous season during which Adam started just six games he retired from playing but immediately became a coach under new manager, Will Still.