Interesting reading each of your memories. Just makes you think how much football has influenced our lives and what the hell would do with are weekends if it did not exist.
Late 70's through to the mid eighties was a brilliant time to follow Saints. Very good entertaining side,with some of the best players ever to play for Saints,2 FA cup semi's,matchdays were always a bit "edgy" as there was always likely to be a bit of a ruck,plus doing the Skates in their own backyard in the FA Cup.
Ignorance can be bliss and I reckon a lot of people will pick the decade when they were young fans. As a kid football is all about goals, skill and attacking football. Of course that love never goes away but it gets tainted with knowledge of tactics and defending.
Totally agree which is why for me its the sixties and early seventies. I was a nipper when watching England win the world cup on a grainy black and white tv something our various' golden generations 'of footballers have been unable to do ever since and i can remember the world cup fever that swept the country in 66 . Also Man Utd were much loved in the late 60s when the great Best and Charlton team led by Matt Busby became the first English team to win the then european cup which was the true champions league before the present money making modern day one came along. Also had a soft spot for Chelsea early 70s a fantastic attacking football team crammed with flair hated cynical Leeds who were the first team i watched at the dell 71 a game which we won thanks to Channon and Davies legends. I could go on and on Ron Manager style but nostalgia plays a massive part in football and young fans of this saints team will in years to come reminisce about the success we had and what a legend Lambert was etc etc and that is what football is about bit like life keep looking forward whatever your age but always take time to look back at the things that have influenced us
For me it was the 1980s. I was just starting to sit up and take notice of football in the late 1970s, when Pompey were going down the plug hole as far as league status was concerned. It was also a decade that Pompey ended in a much higher position than which they started. 1/1/80 - 3rd in the Fourth Division [League Two] 31/12/89 - 22nd in Second Division [Championship] And that with a season in the top flight under our belt to boot. Regardless of all that, it was a time when you could just turn up and pay on the gate on the day. Nowadays you can't meet up with your mates in the pub on Saturday lunch time and suddenly ask "Do ya fancy going to the game later?"
Even at Saints, you will probably be able to get a ticket on the day for a lot of matches, though the cost isn't as cheap as the eighties. Next year might be more of a problem
I have always enjoyed watching the Saints and have only been disappointed on three occasions. Branfoot nearly drove me away from football altogether, the very early seventies was frustrating and we were just awful and then there was the period when we got ourselves in a financial mess. Other than those three short times I have had the time of my life watching the Saints and consider myself to have been very priveliged to have watched players of the calibre of Ron Davies, Mike Channon, Terry Paine, Martin Chivers, Kevin Keagan, Alan Ball, Mark Wright, Steve Williams, Steve Mills, and Matt Le Tiss as well as many others.
The 70s was best for football (especially 76), music (David Bowie, Average White Band, Led Zep, etc), fashion, and me getting laid for the first time. But for the Saints fan, now is pretty flaming good.
As a Saints fan, I felt that the game changed considerably after one particular match. This was the inaugural live Premiership game against Man Utd when Dion Dublin broke his leg. Part of the the difference is probably accountable to the fact that it was one of the very few times that I sat in the East Stand at the Dell but I think it was the razzmatazz with the dancing girls and "Curiousity killed the cat" that signified that football was changing for good and in a fasjion that was not necessarily for the better. At the time, the seemed radically different from the usual entertainment of brass bands and hawk displays where the unfortunate bird crashed into a publicity hoarding with a resounding thud. Another factor that contributed to this was, as has been mentioned before, Ian Branfoot's tenure of the club but irrespective of the fact that I supported Southampton, the 1990's saw the likes of Chelsea and Man utd assemble squads that sometimes made you wonder just how we could beat them - although the victories again Utd were a couple of the best games I've watched. The premiership seemed to mark at point where you could no longer guarantee a home win and expect to see that season's top team put to the sword. It took a long time before I saw Saints lose at home (defeats to Leeds and Coventry with Ian Wallace) when I was small and most of my memories are of home wins. Contrasted with the Premiership era, I always felt that Saints often had to play above themselves or rely on a spot of "Mattie magic" to beat teams. This is why I feel so many people posting on this thread are stating that the recent past is so enjoyable as we have got back to the habit of winning at home on a regular basis and also generally playing in a swashbuckling style which is instantly familiar to those of us brought up in the era of Channon, Keegan, Williams, Ball, Boyer and MacDougall. Back in the 70's, it was possible for provinical clubs such as the detested Leeds of Don Revie, Derby, Villa and Forest to upset the bigger clubs like Liverpool and I don't feel that we will ever see the time again when less fashionable clubs such as Saints, WBA and QPR can similarly push the eventual title winners so close to the wire. One of the best football books I have read is "Why England use" which demonstrates why leagues need to have a "top team" to be the villain of the piece and why parity between all the clubs would eventually make for a dull spectacle. What is a shame is that football is dominated by a handfull of really big clubs with a yawning gap beneath them. Whilst the 70's also saw teams like Liverpool dominate, there never seemed to be the gulf that exists there now whereby clubs like Stoke just seem to be in the premiership for other teams to acquire points without making any serious attempt to challenge. Because so much money is at stake, I think much of the entertainment is gone from the Premiership compared to the compelling old Division 1. I would agree that stadiums are far better facilities these days and perhaps the technical ability and fitness of players is superior to in the past. However, i think that things changed much slower in the past and it was easier to develop an affinity for players and manager's alike , especially as teams in the 70's seemed to include so many local footballers that the squad better represented the supporters. This, I am sure, was by no means unique to Southampton. There is a lot of truth that people always look back to their childhood when comparing football, TV programmes, music, etc, etc and in many respects the football "product" is far superior these days than at any time in the past. However, I think the sport has become less personal and the increased commercialisation has robbed football of the the distinctiveness it had 30-odd years ago.
Heroic 0-0? You didn't see the 1960's Leeds! Horrible lot, as were the "mighty" Liverpool team that followed. This is the best time to be a fan, no question in my view. I can take grandchildren to games with no fear, Saints fans are just the right side of insane and (pompey and millwall apart) we are rarely herded like sheep.
I remember the petrol stations handing out world cup coins for the 1970 world cup campain and my brother avidly collecting then after giving my dad grief to get his petrol from certain places - was is shell or esso?? Football was a better game in those days with class players such as Chalton and Best.
Incidently, prior to this there were no replica shirts just rosettes and those rattler things - sorry don't recall their proper name.
That is my first memory of football too! Rosettes. My dad wouldn't buy me one though. I can still remember him, telling me to meet him on the other side of the turnstile and being given half a crown to get in. The turnstile had "Boys, 2/6" written on it and I was very frightened of all the noise (I was 7), on what was my first visit to Fratton Park, (1st time to Pompey town too, probably) having spent my childhood on sleepy Selsey Bill, up to that point.
As with believing the summers were sunnier in our childhood and youth, we always hark back to the good old days. The 70's were dark days for Pompey fans so I would say supporting Pompey in the 80's was the most fun - mostly on the up and, as stated elsewhere, you could mostly just turn up at the turnstiles from the pub 15 minutes before kick-off. For those younger Pompey fans, they will obviously say the Redknapp era was best which from a football point of view, obviously, in many ways it was - notwithstanding where we now find ourselves as result. Our stripey neighbours have a lot to cheer them these days, while we of the blue pursuasion remain anxious about the future - all the more reason to reminisce about the good old days. Well, I'm off out to a party now, so a happy new year to you all - both Pompey and Saint. May 2012 bring you health and happiness.
As a Southampton supporter standing in the Archers watching Terry Paine cross the ball so accurately for Ron Davies to put in the back of the net in the late 60s. Then in the late 70s seeing Saints gain promotion to the top division with the brilliant midfield of Ball, Williams and Nicky Holmes and establishing themselves playing some swashbuckling football. My support for the club waned from the mid 80s until last season when a guy I know in Fareham would rave about how good SFC are to watch. So this season I have returned to the fold and have been pleased with what I have seen. I also support Portsmouth to a degree. In the mid 80s they played with a certain "pomp." My favourite player of all time in PFC colours has to be Neil Webb, a pity injury put paid to his time at Manchester United so early. On a grander scale it has to be AC Milan of the late 80s with their trio of Dutch players and a supporting cast of top Italians. At an international then Brazil of 1970 and Holland in 1988.
There were many supporters that let their support wane when they found they could not get into the Dell because of the new restrictions. They swore they would not support Saints while they remained at the Dell. When they moved to St Mary's the numbers started to swell again on a regular basis. I often wonder how many of the extra following were the old supporters actually returning to the fold, from the old crowd of absentees. Quite a few I would of imagined. Saints seem to have got back a significant few regulars. What is today's average home gate 22/23000. When Saints get back into the top flight it would not surprise me to find that we need to expand or move. I am sure we would average maybe 35/40000 on a regular basis with a few more for the bigger teams. Topping around 45/48000. Seems like a pipe dream I can hear you say, well maybe. I would like to remind you as soon as we moved to St Mary's while we were at least holding our own in the league, we regularly had full houses and could have perhaps sold more. Who knows, back in the 40's and 50's Pompey regularly had large crowds. Whether either could actually get them again would be a gamble in a way. With better transport links perhaps.....is it a pipe dream who knows? Oh By the way Happy new year and a prospeous one to one and all. See you next year!!
And a happy bloody new year to you and all........Just remember we shared the same pram.......I always had to go down the handle end as I was the youngest. It also meant you couldn't play with me.....
Was it one of those big silver cross prams? When my mother decided she had enough children my father let my brother and I purloin the pram's wheels for our cart. Some large staples, some string and some old planks plus a box together with a decent sized nut, bolt and washers and you were away. We pushed each other miles in that thing. http://www.oilyhands.co.uk/homemade_gocart_dilly_trolley.htm
