Jason Puncheon is out of contract in the summer, a few months ago it looked inevitable that he would be gone, but now its not so clear cut.

Whatever happens Puncheon has performed one of the most amazing turnarounds in a Saints career we have ever seen and in some respects could be compared to Kelvin Davis who himself was the target of the fans wrath in his first two seasons at the club, only coming good in his third.

For Puncheon though its taken longer for his comeback and he will celebrate his third anniversary of joining the club at the end of January, although knowing the way controversy follows him around thats far from certain.

He joined with a good reputation in League One on the field but with hints of an attitude off of it and was one of several major signings funded in that January window meant to propel us at least into a play off spot, initially although Saints would fall a little short Puncheon showed signs that he had what it took although tellingly his three goals for us that season all came when we hit five goals in victories over Walsall, Huddersfield and away to Bristol Rovers, some supporters felt that when Saints were on top Jason could perform, but when the chips were down he lacked the bottle to dig in an work for the team.

With Saints big favourites for promotion the start to 2010/11 didnt go well for either the team or Jason, he played in 17 consecutive games in all competitions at the start of the season, but couldnt seem to get his game together and with Alex Oxlade Chamberlain breathing down his neck that didnt seem to inspire him in fact the opposite, after the 3-1 win at Notts County when he was replaced by Chamberlain in the 69th minute just as Saints had equalised he threw his toys out of the pram and within a couple of weeks was off to Millwall on loan where he would score on his debut.

He wouldnt stay long at Millwall and returned to St Mary's were he was reluctanly forced to play a couple of games, one in the FA Cup against Blackpool when effectively a reserve side was played and the second ironically enough the home game against Notts County.

He was then off to the Premier and Blackpool where again he scored on his debut, although he would score three times for the Lancashire club he would only start 6 games plus a further 5 as sub, only around 2/3 of the games he could have played in.

Last season it was clear that his future didnt lay at St Mary's, Chamberlain was gone but replaced by relatively expensive signing Steve De Ridder who was heralded as the next best thing, Puncheon was expected to go to lackpool but Ian Holloway didnt want him and he went to QPR on loan where he managed 2 sub appearances before returning to Saints in the January where including a cup game he managed 9 appearances in the second half of the season usually being subbed if he started or from the bench, the summer saw him in limbo and again most Saints supporters had their sights higher than him for the wide position.

However this season for some reason he has been motivated in a way that he hasnt been in the last two years the bright lights of the Premiership are perhaps where he feels he should be and he has an attitude that means that he needs to feel that he is a top player and valued by his manager and the fans, anything less and he loses that motivation.

Thats perhaps been shown in the fact that again his first three goals as mentioned all came in big wins and his three goals this season hve again all came in wins in which we have dominated sides, Villa at home 4-1, QP away 3-1 and Reading at home where we were in total control although the 1-0 scoreline doesnt reflect that.

In cricketing terms Jason is something of a flat track bully when it comes to scoring and putting in his best performances, some would say that is harsh and although statistics support that theory I would agree with them Jason has put in some good performances this season in other games, he clearly has that motivation, but we as a club have to ask ourselves two things, just what is that motivation and secondly should we be setting our sights higher than Jason in the transfer window.

On a plus side his performances have helped the team and hopefully will continue to do so, but is his sole motivation to be playing for a contract, as we have seen with other players in the past, once they have that signed they lose the drive they had, certainly Jason's 14 appearances this season have in the main been good and on a par with any other member of the team, but in the little under three years he has been here, a time when he could have played something in the region of 115 -120 games, he has so far managed 51 starts plus 4 as sub thats not a great return.

My worry would be that whilst he is under no pressure for his position he can perform well and is interested, however if we sign a winger in the January window, could the attitude in Jason resurface and rather than wanting to compete in games he sulks as he did two years ago.

We would all hope that Jason's good form continues and that he signs a new contract and establishes himself at the club in a way that he hasnt done yet, but its not that simple, ideally he would not be out of contract next summer then we could see where that drive is really coming from at present, but we dont have that luxury and we have to make a decision soon whether Jason Puncheon has a long term future at St Mary's or not.        

Im sorry if some would feel that this article is a little negative and even biased against Jason, I havent intended it to be so, what I have tried to do is paint the full picture of the situation rather than just taking perhaps 8 good games out of the 14 he has played in isolation, Jason PUncheon is a complicated character and whatever happens in the future a look back at his career so far suggests it wont be a smooth ride, can a leopard change its spots ? we are about to find out !

Photo: Action Images

SuperKelvin added 10:21 - Dec 14 I think Puncheon's problem in league 1 and the champ is that he always thought he was a premier league player. I think he was probobly right. Whether people think that isnt the kind of player they want at the club is up to them, some might say ramirez is only here for the money, but I don't think thats terribly important as long as the performance is there. He works very well with clyne, giving us a really good and direct threat down the right, offering more defensive protection than Lallana on the opposite flank. Ohh and btw...Kelvin has NEVER come good! He is a chronically bad goalkeeper who did nothing but threaten to hinder our rise up the leagues.

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stmichael added 10:33 - Dec 14 Its all about partnerships remember Bridge & Marsden. Clyne & Puncheon clearly like each other and have built a good understanding on the right hand side. Of course we should offer him a new contract otherwise another premiership club will just pick him up on a free. I think his attitude since returning to the fold has been good. Last season he was messed about in my opinion after the return to the fold and he should have played alot more games. He got his head down and worked and now he is arguably our best player this season. Good on him i would be delighted to pick up the paper and find he has signed a 3 or 4 year deal.

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bstokesaint added 10:43 - Dec 14 A good balanced argument. I'd say he's done enough to earn a new mid term contract. He's turned around my views on him, and so it'd be nice to believe he's changed permanently for the better since his sulkier days in the lower leagues. As others have pointed out his partnership with Clyne is very useful right now.
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landsdownsaint added 11:09 - Dec 14 There is no argument for this,he has to be offered a new contract considering his performances this season ,at the moment he's one of our best players and if contracts need sorting while he's playing so well then we have no choice but to sit down with him and talk
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SaintJez added 11:14 - Dec 14 ofcourse Puncheon is worth a new contract! Have we not been watching his performances recently? We could spend 6 million quid and not be able to buy someone who could play like he has been. I'm not saying he's the best bloke in the world - and his almost refusal to play for us in the lower leagues still grates - but on a pure business decision, Punch is definitely worth a new contract or else we'll be forking out a lot of money to replace him. and I'm amused by SuperKelvin's remarks about umm.. Super Kelvin! Presumably the pen name is ironic?? Personally I think he's a decent keeper who is prone to crises of confidence at times but he was voted the best keeper in the league in all 3 of the last seasons so clearly not everyone thinks he's hopeless!

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SaintNick added 11:39 - Dec 14 I agree on his performances over the past couple of months he is worth a new deal, but theres the rub, you cant judge a player on half a dozen good performances especially when his previous 40 or so spread over three years havent been great, thats why he is out of contract at the wrong time, ideally if he had another 18 months left then we could say his attitude is changed, but is he just playing for that new contract and to put himself in the shop window

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SaintNick added 11:46 - Dec 14 I would aslo add that the games that he has looked good in have all come against poor opposition, when we have played better sides especially away from home he has been poor, Arsenal, West Ham, Everton, Liverpool spring to mind. I would pose this question if we stay up would we be looking for someone better ? i would say yes, if we go down will he be the same old puncheon not wanting to play in a lower division ?? Perhaps we would be better keeping the staus quo and let him play for his contract, when he is playing against the better teams and away from home as well as he has done against the poor sides then perhaps he his worth a new deal

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ThereIn76 added 11:52 - Dec 14 I think you’re being strangely dismissive about the importance of Puncheon’s goals this season, against Villa and QPR they provided a two-goal cushion which, especially at QPR proved to be essential. Against Reading we dominated but still needed somebody to put the ball in the net. Puncheon’s intelligent run, excellent first touch and finish meant that we got it. So they were all vital goals at vital times.

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SaintNick added 12:16 - Dec 14 im not denying they were vital goals etc, but we are raving about a player who has been as poor in as many games as he has played good games, he is definately a home sort of player apart ffrom in games like QPR Personally I would like to see him get 15 good games out of the next 20 or so before i would pass judgement
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SaintJez added 12:24 - Dec 14 not sure I'm raving about him but he's proved he can be a match winner on his day and I wouldn't want to let someone with that rare commodity leave the club on a free. Whether he wants to sign a new contract (with us) and what wages he'd want is another matter entirely. Again.. it comes down to a business judgement call as to what you're willing to pay but I certainly think we should be making an offer.

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1teeminants added 16:46 - Dec 14 What really annoys me is people seeking the negative aspesct all the time. Why cant we be saying ....well done Jason you are playing very well you have been one of our best players this season ,you have sorted your head out after clear the air talks fair play to you. having said that he clearly has been a problem player for former clubs too as the manager of Barnet pointed out but i say the above. Sign him up!! if we dont another prem club will. He is definantly prem qualilty .

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Scrooge added 06:27 - Dec 15 " I would aslo add that the games that he has looked good in have all come against poor opposition " He was great against Man U Nick, causing all sorts of bother until he got bemusingly substituted. Then we lost.
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ExiledSupporter added 12:19 - Dec 15 I think Nick's original post expresses the dilemma with JP perfectly, he's played some very decent games for us this season and has been anonymous in a few others (especially away from home). There's no doubt his motivation is suspect and inconsistent. Personally I have been thinking that Mayuka might be worth grooming for this position and so I would be inclined to let the JP situation roll on for a while, but this may only hasten his departure elsewhere...at present I can't see him as much more than a squad player for any decent Prem side, but the trend of his performances is certainly upwards after a dismal couple of years. You're right to raise the dilemma Nick, definitely not easy to resolve with much certainty. Perhaps if we could sell off de Ridder then the costs of offering JP a deal would be somewhat offset

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tiptop added 08:52 - Dec 17 Good piece Nic JP's mentality is an interesting one. He is def work in progress and I hope for everyones sake he has turned a corner - I get the feeling he is content and happy to be part of what Saints are doing. He has been shown faith by the club and in NA has a great mentor i think. I hope he continues to play for the club and his team mates once he has earned a new contract. He also still needs to improve and as Nic says do it over a longer period. Re the bad performances against Arse, Liv, Everton, WHam did anybody else play as well in those games as against QPR etc? We need to sign competition for the wings..eg Lens, Ince. and see how JP coped then

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