I was pleased this last week to answer the call I usually get once a year from councillor Alan Dowden, who I think has probably been representing the Baddesley area for more years than even he can remember, to help with the launch of Test Valley in Bloom.

As ever he gathered together youngsters from seven-to-11-year-olds from two different schools in the area who help with the project.

Also there on the day were two or three much older people, with due respect, who enjoyed the opportunity to talk to me about the fact they had been supporters of the Saints for over 50 years.

The names of the past kept dropping out and they both commented on the fact that it is good to be able to bump into someone like me to talk about those things.

Also we mentioned how ex-players such as Matt Le Tissier and Franny Benali are regularly seen in the area helping out various charities.

I am proud of that fact because obviously both of them, and many others, turn out every year for things like my golf day which helps Autism Hampshire, and other such events.

Apart from the fact the supporters love to rub shoulders, it is good to see and find out how they are and what they are doing now after many years away from the professional game.

But also the fact that the same faces turn up year after year reminds me of the fact that I used to instil into them how important it was to remember professional football is an integral part of the community.

They need to see where these supporters work and what they have to do to raise enough money to come and watch them play, and also the work done in hospitals, special schools etc.

I am not sure this sort of thing goes on as much now, probably because the majority of players, let’s be fair, in the Premier League are now more like visitors, coming from around the world and not staying too long in one place.

There have been obviously many changes in football as much as other sports, and life in general.

This week reminded me of the sort of change that has taken place when it comes to managing, which I did probably for three decades or more at every level.

Being a manager at any level in those days meant that you were responsible and got involved from the peak of the pyramid all the way down.

For instance, having set up the youth policy at Saints when signing youngsters I always tried to meet up with their parents.

Watching them come through the ranks with a good staff I had and meant there was more satisfaction from seeing a boy come in such as Alan Shearer or Matt Le Tissier at school level to eventually pull on an England shirt than as we see now somebody being brought in for the best part of £100m who has already been there and done it.

Another aspect which has hanged all-round the game cropped up at our own club in the last week or two.

As we know Mr Puel departed a couple of weeks ago and when the new manager, Mauricio Pellegrino, turned up – and we all wish him well – he probably found out what we did reading the Echo, namely that Harrison Reed was going to Norwich on loan for a year, two youngsters, Gallagher and Stephens, have been given long contracts, and there was a Polish defender coming in at about the same time as the manager.

What this means is that in my day no one at the club would have done this sort of thing until the new manager got his feet under the table and assessed the players concerned.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with it because the club has an ongoing factor and whilst there may be changes at the top of the pyramid, the rest of it has to be maintained.

This makes me realise that the men in charge of the first team are strictly coaches as opposed to what were once managers.

In other words, the new man arrives, he is introduced to the first team squad, he gets on with it, works hard at the training ground, sees what he has, takes the advice of other people who have been there longer, and then has to make his own decisions on picking the team hoping he will get better results than the previous incumbent.

I am sure the coaches are quite happy with this, let’s face it the majority, like the players, are from abroad, and they are not expected by supporters to stay as long as Ted Bates or myself did, so this set-up is probably right for them.

I suppose the one thing that hasn’t changed is that if the results or the players involved are not successful there is only one person who gets the sack.

Having said that, as we have seen with Mr Puel and others who have left Premier League roles recently, their first stop is usually the bank with a fair old deposit.