I understand your message but disagree with your inference that we don't punch above our weight today and that somehow by losing this means we've lost our identity.
I also disagree that all we are known for is the club that sold. Many football fans also still know us as the 76 FA cup winners, the team that came second in the old first division in 83 -84.
However I do feel that English football, not just Saints, is changing its identity by going global, but that this affects some teams (Man U etc.) more dramatically than others (here I include Saints). Bringing in Gao as owner has definitely tilted our hat towards trying to join the global bandwagon and I'm not so comfortable about where this will take us.