Well it obviously means different things to different people; the players, the coaching staff and the fans will all be taking different things from it. But it is the fans I am thinking about. I couldn't help but notice how many young kids were at the game, getting completely caught up in the celebrations. Many of them would not have been born when we were last in the Premier League. For some, this would have been their first or second season watching Southampton. So to them watching Southampton equates with success and enjoyment. And thats how it should be at that age. I remember my in first full season back in 1965/6 which saw us gain promotion to the old Division 1 for the first time. I had no idea of our history and the fact that for all of it we had been a 2nd or 3rd Division club. No idea then, just how monumental an achievement it was. Just as todays kids won't realise for a few years just how great an achievement our rise from the ashes has been. The 1976 Cup Final will always be my greatest memory as a Southampton fan. By that time I had had 10 years of realisation of what being a Saints supporter really meant. Not glory, glory after all. Some misery, some boredom, some great moments; getting into Europe for example. But certainly not the bed of roses I had been anticipating. So, winning the FA Cup which was just about at its zenith at the time, and as a 2nd Division team, and beating Manchester United was just about as good as it could get. As a football supporter, you have to suffer a bit to really appreciate the good times. I hope though, that today's kids don't have to suffer quite as much as we have in the recent past. It feels like we are not at the end of our journey but still somewhere close to the start. What does being back in the Premier League mean to you?
As someone who doesn't live in Southampton, it'll be nice that other people where I am will know a thing or two about the team I support and perhaps converse with me about them. They all support top teams like United and Arsenal (because they're idiots) so it would be nice if we could beat them.
Excellent post, Lff. Blimey, what does it mean to me..? I started going the same year as you, and I do have similar feelings. There is one feeling you have omitted though, and I wonder if you feel the same. I always felt that Saints were a smallish club, with a small club mentality, although Lawrie did huge amounts to change that. When he left, Saints gradually went back to that small club mentality, so everything that has gone before is always tinged with that disappointment. When Lowe and Co came in and eventually built the stadium it was definitely a good thing, but the whole project was under funded and not properly thought through. Southampton were still a smallish club with a shiny new stadium. That stadium however, was much of the asset that led to the present owners being in place. And nowadays, the feeling is... we're back, move over, coming through..! It certainly doesn't feel small anymore. I one hundred percent think we're not here to make up the numbers. This feels quite similar to certain times when Lawrie was at the club, but instead of the boardroom holding back the progress, it's the boardroom that is driving it on, waiting impatiently for the road to be laid, so that this Southampton bus can continue speeding along it. This is going to be the best it's ever been.
To be honest Second, I hadn't thought about it in that way but you are absolutely right. I've even said as much in the original thread without realising it. In other words our getting into Europe and winning the FA cup were monumental achievements for a 'small' club. And I think you are also right that it doesn't feel that way any more. Of course, as someone who is never satisfied, I'll probably start to miss the old Saints
Less games to watch. In League 1 I could get to about 7 or 8 games in the North. In the Championship it was down to 5 but they were usually on TV. In the Prem it will be 2 in the North east and 2 in Manchester. Ho hum. There is always 30 seconds on Match of the Day.
It means being in a League we have no chance of winning. And it means more games played at odd hours of the day, midweek, Sundays etc, making it harder for me to get to games. I have savoured every moment of this last season, because it's hard to imagine there'll ever be a better time to support Saints. But hopefully it also means not having to sell our youngsters. A full St Mary's every week. Trips to White Hart Lane, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge for this adoptive Londoner. And beating the League winners at St Mary's.
I have watched Saints for just a few more years than you and I agree the last couple of years have been phenominal and great to be a Saint but you are also right when you say most people who you talk to only want to talk about manu arsenal et al and not Fulham QPR Bolton or anyone out of the top 6. I loved finishing 7th and having European football at the Dell. Then winning the cup and promotion but then 27 years of not too much except great players at the Dell you know them and I loved to go. Painer was my hero as a Winchester boy but also Gabriel. Micky Mel Blythe the list goes on and would Le Tiss have stayed if we were not in the prem, not cos he wanted to go but an offer may have been to good to refuse then when we finished 2nd wow I know Lawrie said it probably won't happen again but who knows and that is why we want Saints at the top. Better players will come to the Saints and our academy will churn out the odd great and they will stay. Yes we need to be in the prem and whether we win it or not there will be plenty of great memories. I am 59 now and I can't wait. COME ON YOU SAINTS
Great post. I had drafted a post like this in my head on Saturday night, but yours is far more eloquent. Like you I looked at the kids on Saturday and wondered who was getting most out of the celebrations. There were a number of us who would have been there in '66 and again in '78 to see promotions to the top league, and I know a lot of us felt that this was sweeter as it really feels as if the Board and the manager are together as one in being highly ambitious. Like Second Stain, I believe that we may finally lay to rest the small club mentality. I remember the Board blocking the manager. There is a story that Keegan went North after the Board had refused to buy a replacement for Steve Moran following his injury. The club slipped from 1st to 7th. As we know, Lawrie left because of the Board's lack of ambition. Southampton is a big place, and a relatively affluent City. There is no reason why it should not have a Premiership club, and not one scraping along every year but genuinely competing. In Liverpool, the Reds are a global brand, but not so Everton who probably draw on a smaller catchment area than that available to Saints. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't compete. So back to your question. For me it marks the continuation of an amazing journey that started in 2009/10. It has expunged the memories of some pretty bleak times and given me more optimism about Saints than I have ever experienced.
It means that I started watching Saints in 1952....and today I was driving along repetively singing "We're Premier league, We're Premier League, We are Southampton, We're Premier League!" at full volume!
It means having a smile on my face that would take plastic surgery to remove. People remarked on it at work and one told me off for spooking the customers
It's a pride at being a Southampton supporter which has grown and grown over the last three years. This journey has been brilliant and I do wonder whether I would have followed the club with such enthusiasm and gone to as many away games if we had remained premier league also rans and had to pay the premium prices. But the whole point of being in those leagues is to win and get promotion and we've done it and now it's time to attack the premier league and see how high this managment team can take us. You only have to look at the examples from 66 to 78 to see that the clubs most successful seasons have come from those seasons closely following a promotion year. Excitement is the overall feeling
I'm so glad, for your sake Fran, that it doesn't require plastic surgery to put a smile on your face in the first place.
Well, it's great to have achieved something after a marathon race, with falls and stumbles on the way and picking ourselves up and driving on to the tape (already broken by a great Reading team, but no shame in coming second to them). Having achieved it, I'd love us to go straight back down to League 1 or 2. Why? I can hear you ask. Oh, sorry, I could have sworn I heard .... Well, I like going to football grounds where fans still have a real sense of humour and your team competes with theirs man-to-man, not money-to-money, which we will have to do next year. We may survive a season or two again, but how much pleasure will there be in it? Walsall, Exeter, Yeovil, Bristol, Rochdale, Darlington, Chesterfield ...... Now they are places to dream of and have a good day out in. Anyone remember the Third Division South ? Wow!
It meant that for the first and last time in my lifetime, I was on the pitch at SMS with my son. I`ll never forget Danny Fox suddenly appearing over us as he was surfed towards the tunnel. By coincidence my son joined his first ship in Soton on Sunday, so the much maligned Mrs AberdeenSaint was with us. The only game she has ever accompanied me to was Partick vs Culter (a wee Aberdeen junior team) in the cup last year in front of a few hundred people. She was expecting something similar, but was amazed at the atmosphere and sense of occasion - hey presto, another fan!
