Is this the best time ever to be a saint?

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Nah - it was the Southern League days when we walked it most seasons, including winning it without a defeat and won two games 11-0, we also got to cup semi-finals and finals on a fairly regular basis bearing in mind the Southern League was professional and paid higher wages the the Football League.
 
For me my favourite season ever supporting Saints was our 2nd (?) season in the Championship when we lost in the playoffs to Derby. Was away travelling for the second half of the season and would ball round random places in Thailand/Australia/New Zealand looking for the results for Saints, just knowing that we would end up 6th and in the playoffs. We batter wolves away something like 6-0 with about 2 games left. Going mental at Rasiaks equaliser at 5am in a bar in Thailand also springs to mind. **** you Leon Best

I agree with others who have said about the summer of 2014, my interest has wained massively since then as it all feels like a complete waste of time and if I'm being completely honest it is only really out of habit that I continue to check the scores/read on here. I will always be a football fan and a Saints fan just don't care anywhere near as much as I used to
 
Saint Helen said:
In some ways I think we were spoiled by playing in L1 and the Championship. Being a fan then - especially in L1 - was so easy because I basically expected us to win virtually every game and we did! The stress of previous seasons when we were fighting for survival in the PL were forgotten and although that stress hasn't returned I feel a different kind of pressure. Who'd have thought that now, instead of worrying about the drop people are worrying about not being high enough in the PL table to play CL football next season? In many ways, it's a great position to be in but I get the impression that our fans just aren't enjoying it as much.

As for me, it's definitely a great time to be a Saints fan - I've finally made it to St Mary's, had a trip to Wembley and have met some really fantastic people from this forum. I don't feel so alone as a Saints fan in this part of west Wales any more :D
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I agreed with Archers about 1976-84 being the best, in many respects, but really and truly, it is probably now. For the all-round experience it is now. Quite nice stadium, instead of a shed [yes it was however much you loved it]. A club that actually wants to do better, and is trying hard from boardroom level down to be so, rather than just the manager and players back then. And a hope for the future, when back in the 1970s-80s, practically all Saints fans were just happy to be in the First and Second Divisions. I remember Bobby Charlton saying something dismissive about South Coast football while he was a player, but they can't ignore us now, however much they want to. And it's only going to get harder for them. So, in a way it's good that the expectation level is so high because the club know that the supporters won't settle for mediocrity, which will spur them on. And success will come.

Shepherd's Clearing said:
Nah - it was the Southern League days when we walked it most seasons, including winning it without a defeat and won two games 11-0, we also got to cup semi-finals and finals on a fairly regular basis bearing in mind the Southern League was professional and paid higher wages the the Football League.
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Then again, the Southern League must have been **** hot. Several League titles and we beat Spurs a lot too. But as I wasn't there it's a bit diluted for me personally. :)
 
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I started being a fan in the last few games of the 04/05 season. I didn't feel the hurt that many of you did and I must say that until we went down to league one I still wasn't as much of a fanatic as I am now. This is probably down to hard times and obviously that 08/09 season being a disaster. I started to take a real deep interest at the beginning of the 09-10 season, obviously I was thrilled with the saving of the club. The 09/10 season was undoubtedly one of my favourites, lots of new players, better players and we started to win so many games. In a way I think that season mirrors the first of the summer clearouts in 14/15. Pretty much building a whole new team so felt almost a new era.
I first got a season ticket for the 2010-11 league one promotion year. Since then haven't looked back and have thoroughly enjoyed the upward trajectory. At uni so obviously can't renew but I still follow saints every game with as much passion as possible. This has been the best time to support Saints, this decade has been superb. Sure we haven't been at our best this season, but I still believe in the progression. We've gone from league one to beating Inter Milan. We've gone to Wembley twice, seen saints score 6 (7) goals there. We now have international stars in the side.

A final point from me. I know there are one or two players that ultimately have burnt their bridges, but I will never forget the joy of following that group of players from league one to the premier league. That's what made it special. Everyone was in the same boat. You could see the joy of Rickie and Morgan and Adam as we sauntered up the leagues. It wasn't a team of egos (then) but a group of lads who took us from the bottom and got us to the top.
 
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Not sure about this being the best time, but its the easiest time to be a saint. When the only danger is the football is a bit boring, or the gigantic fee we command for some player we pinched from nowhere, that's when you know how freaking soft we've become. Not my best times as a fan by any stretch. But I appreciate the effort people have made to get us to this strong position.
 
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Saint Helen said:
In some ways I think we were spoiled by playing in L1 and the Championship. Being a fan then - especially in L1 - was so easy because I basically expected us to win virtually every game and we did! The stress of previous seasons when we were fighting for survival in the PL were forgotten and although that stress hasn't returned I feel a different kind of pressure. Who'd have thought that now, instead of worrying about the drop people are worrying about not being high enough in the PL table to play CL football next season? In many ways, it's a great position to be in but I get the impression that our fans just aren't enjoying it as much.

As for me, it's definitely a great time to be a Saints fan - I've finally made it to St Mary's, had a trip to Wembley and have met some really fantastic people from this forum. I don't feel so alone as a Saints fan in this part of west Wales any more :D
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You're not alone, Helen. The "Word" has reached the Beacons National Park (only a few miles up the A465). I also know at least one fanatical Saints fan in Caerphilly as well! He has absolutely no connection to Southampton, in terms of family or dwelling but he "chose" us in the early 80s after seeing the team destroy Liverpool....who most of his chums supported. (BTW at the time I was living in Langland......small world).
 
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----HistoryRepeating---- said:
Not sure about this being the best time, but its the easiest time to be a saint. When the only danger is the football is a bit boring, or the gigantic fee we command for some player we pinched from nowhere, that's when you know how freaking soft we've become. Not my best times as a fan by any stretch. But I appreciate the effort people have made to get us to this strong position.
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Blimey, never a truer sentence typed! And as soon as there's a wobble, there's a crumble... I think some people need to see a few more lows and highs before appreciating what we have.
 
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breconsaint said:
You're not alone, Helen. The "Word" has reached the Beacons National Park (only a few miles up the A465). I also know at least one fanatical Saints fan in Caerphilly as well! He has absolutely no connection to Southampton, in terms of family or dwelling but he "chose" us in the early 80s after seeing the team destroy Liverpool....who most of his chums supported. (BTW at the time I was living in Langland......small world).
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Heads of the Valleys... I was there for a couple of days three weeks back. Beautiful.
 
Sometimes I feel I want to go back to the 50's and 60's.........Where there was no expectations. You just wanted the side to do as well as they can. We were playing the Liverpools and the Spurs and doing exceedingly well against them. In those days Man city were the team to be after as far as the Div 1 championships were concerned. You were glad to be drawn against the top teams in the FA cup. Why............ because in those days the cup was very special........Teams didn't necessarily put out their reserves. Saints always gave a good account of themselves even though they were only in div 3 south....then later div 2. None of the big teams of the day ever took Saints for granted including the mighty Man city as they were then....even though we went there and beat the ass off them at Maine road 3-1 I think the score was.
We as fans though just wanted Saints to just do their best. It was great fun,
When they were promoted to the 2nd div (Championship) we thought we were in heaven especially after winning the FA cup. Then to actually make the 1st Division....well......we were ecstatic. That though is when things started to change. People wanted and expected us to win things again and again. Big opportunities were missed by the then board for expansion. The Dell in those days managed to hold up to 33000 odd. Yes on the odd game you would get that too. Ok you didn't necessarily see the game but you were there. Our average for that period was around 24/25000. Whats our average today 29/30000?
At best we are going to remain a top half Premiership team. We have to put our expectations down a level or two......until they have the right investment.
Then with the right investment who knows where we can go.............Come on you Saints.....lets be havin' ya..........
 
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TheSecondStain said:
Then again, the Southern League must have been **** hot. Several League titles and we beat Spurs a lot too. But as I wasn't there it's a bit diluted for me personally. :)
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Wouldn't be great to get a time machine, or something that could look into the past, and see exactly what those game were really like? How 'sporting' players really were and how rough and tumble it was. I wonder how surprised we'd actually be?
 
TheSecondStain said:
Pretty sure the level of 'allowed contact' would surprise us. :)
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Yeah, definition of a tackle was different then, the pitches in winter were generally awful, the fitness of the players not so great.

I went to most football league grounds in 80's and the facilities were very poor. Food not great and the toilets usually involved you p1ssing up a wall.

There was less coverage, less money in the game. But you know what? Loved every minute of it.
 
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Sans time machine, this is the only time I can support Saints, so of course it's the best time.

Life is best lived in the present.

Vin
 
RedandWhiteManofKent- Batman vs Joker said:
Yeah, definition of a tackle was different then, the pitches in winter were generally awful, the fitness of the players not so great.

I went to most football league grounds in 80's and the facilities were very poor. Food not great and the toilets usually involved you p1ssing up a wall.

There was less coverage, less money in the game. But you know what? Loved every minute of it.
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I went all the time in the mid to late 70s and much as I could in 80s but in this instance, I was referring to the 1880-1990s now that is another level again.
 
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