Ricardo Fuller arrived from Portsmouth as our only outlay of the 2005 summer in a £90k move. He looked short of form and fitness and it was ony on return from loan at Ipswich that we saw the Preston North End form that earnt him a Premiership move.
Fuller turned the boos to cheers and ended the season on a prolific run of form in a dominant partnership with Gregorz Rasiak. He started the season as first choice against Derby before going off injured. He made a more than impressive return in the 5-2 win over Yeovil, setting up two goals from the bench and running rings around the Yeovil defence.
We need competition for places, especially up front and with the improved form of Kenwyne Jones, we finally looked to have four decent strikers. With Bradley Wright-Phillips still to consistently find the net, you can make a strong case for Ricardo Fuller to be in the starting eleven.
Strange indeed to hear him linked with a move to Stoke over the last few days. Stranger still to hear George Burley claim that "Ricardo was one of the bigger earners at the Club but at the moment there are probably three strikers ahead of him in the pecking order."
It was unexpected to see Jones come on instead of Fuller against Preston, but many put it down to a slow return of injury. In terms of proven ability Fuller is still a better option than Jones. Jones himself was linked with a move to Plymouth, but it is Fuller that has been shown the exit door.
Yes, he may be a higher earner, but Saints only paid £90k for him in the first place and would expect to pay more to our better players. Even then Saints offered him another contract, no doubt less than the three year deal he has at Stoke, but not a sign of wanting to force a player out.
In reality it may come down to Saints trying to free up the wage bill to allow for the likely arrival of Derby's Idiakez who is expected to sign for Saints today. Stoke have reportedly been trying to secure his signature for several weeks, so the arrival of Idiakez may have allowed Saints to juggle our assets.
As it is, Saints are left looking short of proven talent upfront, with only Rasiak consistently in the goals and Wright-Phillips, Jones and McGoldrick still to consistently find the net, not to mention letting Dexter Blackstock go to QPR.
With the loan window still open until early November Saints still have the option to bring in a Premiership striker looking for first team football, but no doubt that player would be on the wages that we are supposedly saving in selling Ricardo Fuller.
Strange times and the fans are owed a Fuller explanation.