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Life certainly isn’t dull at present if you’re a Southampton supporter. This time last week, the very future of the south coast giants looked in doubt when a consortium, co-fronted by former Saints favourite Matt Le Tissier, pulled out of a deal to buy the club, blaming the refusal of the Football League to budge on matters pertaining to the club’s holding company being placed into administration at the end of last season. It appears no-one was prepared to take on the newly-relegated League One side, which must begin the new season on -10 points. But, out of the blue, a white knight suddenly appeared in the shape of German-born multi-millionaire Markus Liebherr, the driving force behind the Swiss-based Mali Group, who manufacture everything from heavy-lifting cranes to domestic fridges. His first act was to freeze out manager Mark Wotte, who had only agreed a new 12-month rolling contract days earlier, his existing deal having ended at the end of June. The former Netherlands U-21 coach certainly seems to have been hard done by, but Liebherr is obviously keen to be surrounded by his own men, one of which, if the market vibes are accurate, maybe Gordon Strachan. On the face of it, it would seem a strange move for the ex-Celtic boss to transport his family from one end of Britain to the other to manage a team in the third tier of English football just months after leaving a club that appear regularly in the group stages of the Champions League. But Strachan, who enjoyed some success with the Saints in a previous spell as manager, is now as short as 4-5 with Skybet to make a swift return to management. Former Portsmouth boss Tony Adams has been the only name attracting significant support and is now 5-4 while it’s 18-1 and above others. The Saints are a best 25-1 with Skybet and extrabet to win League One next season, while Skybet offer 8-1 that Championship football will return to St Mary’s in the 2010/2011 season. But in a league that features three other recent Premier League clubs, Herr Liebherr may be forced to wait a while before seeing a positive return on his investment. Perennial play-off sufferers Leeds are again the bookmakers favourites to win League One (7-2 with Stan James and Coral).