If we were to go down I would imagine that the majority of our squad would be wanted by a top flight team either here or abroad. Wages could be an issue but really wouldn't surprise me if there was a huge exodus if we went down.
I am amazed at your post Saintmagic. I’m Not having a pop at you but I genuinely have no understanding of your mentality here. It is like you are a different breed of football fan. It comes across to me as if you treat football as a hobby or an entertainment you like doing, such as going to the movies. I’ll repeat I am not having a go, I just do not understand that and it is clear that we have very different feelings about football.
Regarding the bold bit, yes I do. It is not my whole life, it is a hobby. If Saints go down I will be slightly annoyed but I won't be suicidal or really angry, we will just be in a new league. As I have said before I used to care much more when I was younger/up until the summer with Poch and everyone leaving, but that left me slightly dead inside with regards to the reality of football and changed my mentality.
We were in the top flight for years before our relegation and no one complained then about us being make weights. We got to second once and did well in some seasons, but in general we were just glad to be there and enjoy the games. I have no problem with being midtable with occasional forays into Europe....and please don't anyone start talking lack of ambition....that always makes me want to reach for a shotgun....being happy with that doesn't mean that I can't dream like everyone else. I enjoyed being an admired footballing club....and I want that back.
Nothing wrong with that....fans come in all flavours. Sadly for most of us, Saints is more important than perhaps they should be.
Yeah I am not embarrassed by it or bothered by it. I can understand people getting passionate about teams/caring more than me, I am quite a laid back person in general so that is nothing new to me. That said I still come on here most days to debate about the ups and downs of the club I claim not to be overly bothered about Maybe I am lying to myself.
This is also a very good point and why I only said he might be able to pay off his debts with player sales. At the moment we aren’t exactly flush with players that other clubs want and player values would drop with us. I doubt anyone would take Forster (for example) off our hands for a sizeable fee if they also had to match his wages.
Probably . I am talking about 2006-2011 probably the peak of my "caring". Maybe it is just the being in the PL and I am more suited to wanting the prize of getting promoted, but actually being very "meh" about it when we are there.
I see both sides. I understand the point of wanting your team to be the best they can but to me following Saints is about more than that. It's about feeling part of something, enjoying the game win lose or draw, it's about having a good sing song and meeting different supporters etc. I've made no secret of the fact I won't all be that fussed if we go down, yes that doesn't mean I want us to, but if we did I'd probably be over it within an hour of it being confirmed and be buzzing for the next season. The opposition is largely irrelevant to me, I follow Southampton and don't care what if we're playing Man United or Birmingham City. I've also grown to despise a chunk of our fanbase, we've become another ****ty self entitled plastic club imo to the point where I don't really want to attend home games anymore and although I'm not saying I want us to go down, a big part of me would relish losing 10,000 supporters or so and going to new places. I also don't think that hating the PL means you wouldn't want promotion, If thar happened it means another memorable season for fans. We go up, possibly have another memorable season or two and then inevitably come back down at some point. I think people are wrong suggesting it would be good for a clear our etc. though, could be a long time this time round and there's much bigger clubs who have gone down and still not returned.
I dont think relagated teams get the best prices for the players that they sell because they want to shift the wage bill as well and the sharks know that, so they arent in such a strong position. Also there isnt a guarantee that there will be a speedy promotion back to the PL, and I'm sure that that is where the foreign owners want to be
Guess I just don't believe Gao has the money to take the Saints forward nor the intentions, Everything so far has smacked of being cheap, the hanging out for compensation for Puel to the appointment of MP2, a very cheap option when obviously better more proven managers were available at the right price. Time will tell but I wouldn't be surprised if none or very little of the VVD money was spent on new players. What his endgame is heaven only knows. I've also lost a lot of respect for KL for selling the club to an obviously dubious character even though she was desperate to sell, then trying to dress it up as anything but.
I agree, just somewhere along the line I just lost my passion and realised I was just supporting a load of mercenaries who generally don't give a toss about who they play for. They don't love the Saints and I don't love them, used to, Micky Channon was my hero, Rank Xerox was my kit! Nowadays it's more of a hobby discussing the rights and wrongs of football but not really being overly emotional about the whole affair.
It is a hobby though. And it is supposed to be entertaining, and a pleasure. I know it's bloody torture sometimes, but football is supposed to be a distraction from the cares and worries of everyday life - instead of worrying about finance, romance, your kid's futures, or whatever, we can all stress out about Saints instead. And still find a way to enjoy it. It is only a bloody game after all, though I do hope that when things go wrong in the real lives of some of our fans, they react with a bit more resilience than they do when things go wrong on the football field.
Sounds like another potential Eastleigh fan. The lower leagues are great. I haven't seen a single case of diving, rolling around in mock agony, ganging up on the ref etc, etc. Hard tackling is allowed too. One or two of the managers are complete plonkers but mostly in a funny, rather than a Mouhrino, way.
There are no genuine leagues. Even if you look at the Championship, spending **** loads of cash is the only way to win things. People that think it will be much different than the Prem are crazy
Yep agreed. If the board have ANY intention of sacking MP, I’m pretty sure it’ll be after 31st Jan. following no significant player purchases.
It's the most competitive league in Europe though. The Neymar deal was the final nail for football at the highest level for me. It's become ****ing farcical and it's not just the money, the hype surrounding everything now is nauseating.
I think there was a fear of relegation, especially once the PL had become long established and the jump between the top divisions appeared wider. Like a large chunk of our fan base I hadn’t known life outside the top division when we went down and those that did know had probably forgotten. Now I don’t think there is the same fear there once was
