While there were a few murmurings about Phillips not being able to cut it in the Premiership, after his poor return last season, many felt that his signing would definitely bolster a Saints forward line depleted with long term injuries.
There were far fewer supporters of the phillips move, when his agent gave a radio interview.
There the agent said that his client would be waiting for the best possible offer and would not be rushed into signing. This I have no problem with, as Phillips has to look after his career.
However I did object to his agent saying They've just got £7million from Wayne Bridge which they weren't expecting - we'll take some of that thank you. Southampton will have to prove how much they want him"
Clearly the man still thinks that he's living in the age of stupid money flying around football. Saints have shown how much they want Phillips by offering him a very attractive wage and the chance to once again prove himself at a higher level.
Saints have a very strict wage structure which is the best interests of the club. If Phillips thinks that he will automatically be a more important part of the team than Beattie, Oakley, Lundekvam or Niemi, he's deluding himself.
Considering that Phillips will be eligible for a considerable part of the £3 million transfer fee, as he didn't request the move, the sheer greed of his representatives is staggering.
By playing for Saints and once again being in the Premiership Phillips will have a more lucrative long term future,
His other main suitor is Rangers. There, Phillips will have to be content at playing mediocre club football week in, week out, a few high profile games against Celtic and an erratic run in Europe.
Phillips agent also seems to think that Rangers will be the club to offer the best package. He's kidding himself. Rangers are £70 million in debt and are looking to offload as many redundant high earners as possible. Arthur Newman was on a wage similar to Phillips at £27 000 a week. Rangers offered him a new contract at £10 000 a week to try and cut costs. Needless to say, Numan is no longer at the club.
That's the kind of environment that Phillips would be walking into, while Southampton continue there steady progress. Phillips agent seems to think that Rangers will put in a bid once they reach the Champions League group stages. He'd better hope that they do reach it, because by that date his other options will have moved on.
I've no doubt that Rupert Lowe has been sickened by the crass remarks from Phillips agent. Southampton have other targets to look over and I hope he has a date in mind to simply let the Phillips deal go.
£3 million is a lot of money, and with Pahars on the mend, we don't desperately need Phillips at all. A good player who would add strength to the squad, but not at any cost. Certainly not at the cost of breaking our wage structure, or in pandering to such a clueless, greedy agent.