While a popular choice among the supporters in the early running, few believed that he would be coming to Saints, particularly after his less than favourable assessment of the south coast shenanigans during a radio talk show.
All that is of course now water under the bridge and it was clear from the statement on the Saints website that clear roles have been defined for Burley and new director of football Clive Woodward.
It is hard to think of a better appointment for Saints. While interviewed for the position, Wotte and Lok proved to be a red herring and nearly all the media were convinced, On the Cross included (ahem), that they were near certainities for the post.
Burley, however, is no experiment. He knows the Championship and he knows the Premiership where Saints need to be. He has an excellent repuatation as a coach and is also the kind of 'big name' that will appease those anxious at another Lowe experiment after the failures of the likes of Wigley, Sturrock and Gray.
Quite how Lowe pulled it off will emerge over the coming weeks, but for now he should be congratulated for an inspiring and highly logical appointment. He was determined that the appointment would be his first choice after backing down on previous appointments, such as the ill-fated attempt to reappoint Hoddle, and it certainly appears that he has got his man.
We Saints supporters are certainly used to surprises, unfortunately not necessarily good ones, but Burley's appointment truly came out of the blue and looks the perfect Christmas present going into the match against Watford.
In truth, the Dutch experiment would have left too many unanswered questions and would have been a huge gamble. Burley's appointment is one of the few that will unite the fan base and delight the players.
The future's bright, the future's red and white. Welcome to Saints, George. You are most welcome.