I woke up on Friday morning to the headline, "Southampton sacks Adkins", and I thought, how is this possible? Everybody loves Adkins. The supporters love him, the players love him, the coaches love him and the back room staff love him. So how could 'Southampton' sack him? Ah yes, Nicola Cortese! Somehow Cortese = 'Southampton' so I began thinking about what exactly is a football club? All football clubs started from the bottom up; with a group of friends, at a factory, a youth club or, in the case of Southampton, a church. They grew from there and the factory owners started to see benefit in their team beating their rivals so they stared getting in better players and paying a few shillings for their services. Gradually, as the working man got more spare time and some disposable income the professional game as we know it took shape. Essentially though, the football clubs represented, and were given life and supported by, the community from which they were born. Without that community is there any point in a professional football club? I know this is incredibly simplistic and things have got far more complex with the global and commercial expanse of the game but this is surely the basis for a club. So, back to the original question, "What is a football club"? Well, its not the players, who come and go with ever increasing regularity, and for the same reason, its not the manager. Its not the ground which also changes shape and location and, thankfully, its not the chairman or even the owners which also change over time. I literally, cannot think of any other physical property to describe it. If that is the case then it must be more conceptual, it becomes an idea rather than a physical thing. That actually works for me. My idea of football clubs today is not the one I had when I was a schoolboy 50 years ago. Similarly, my idea of what Southampton Football Club is will differ from others reading this and contributing to football forums. That would explain many of the 'disagreements" that occur. The one thing I do know for sure is that the club I now support is a different club from the one I supported on Friday morning. I still crave success but I when I look at highs and lows of supporting Southampton I know that my feelings will from now on be more detached and less personal and that is a shame.
Good post LFF. I feel the same at the moment but the reality is that if in six months we are further up the table we will all feel differently. After all we all want Saints to be the best!
A football club is a group of people, united by a common idea. As such it is bulletproof, and cannot die. If Liebherr had not saved us and the club had gone into liquidation, it would not have been long until a new Southampton FC was formed, and the same supporters would be going to watch, wherever they played. That is why I have always said, and will always say, that supporters own the club, and everybody else, the chairmen, directors, manager and players, are merely custodians.
I love this post. A football club for me, especially over the past 2 and a half years has meant pride. I have been proud to support my local team on it's way up through the footballing leagues, challenging all comers and doing things the right way. In a footballing world dominated by prima donnas, mental chairmen and sackings, I was proud to be associated to a club that put attractive football, youth policy and positivity as its key values. A massive part of this was Nigel Adkins, with his constant smile, watching all of his interviews was so refreshing. On Friday, a large part of my love for Southampton FC died. I know we will all get over it, and I will keep supporting saints, but I will always have that 'what if' feeling about what we could have achieved with Nigel Adkins. I do know though, that even when this terrible decision comes back to bite us, and we get relegated (as I think we will now we have changed manager at such a pivotal point in the season) I will still be in the terraces in the championship, supporting Southampton Football Club.
You have made the classic error of stating that everybody loved NA. I didn't and quite rightly thought that his team selectoins and substitutions were shiite. Minority of one me!
I have loved players and managers and have not been so fond of others (not hated you note, this is Fran talking here), but they only come and go and are purely here to serve the thing I do love (Southampton Football Club).
Agreed, classic error. Majority or vast majority then. Really though, didn't like him or didn't like some of his decisions? Or is it one and the same?
Good point, but that takes me back to my original question, what exactly is SFC and what is it we are loving? I think Wisescummer is probably pretty close to it.
A football club is something that is a constant in your life when all else fails you. People come and go, but (hopefully) your club is always there. It makes you part of a group:your own fans but also football fans in general. It brings you the extremes: joy and sorrow, but both pass and you move on. It fills those little empty bits that exist around real life.
What is a football club? I have thought long and hard about the answer to this question and it is not easy. Well there all the physical things such as the stadium, the facilities the individuals etc but that is not enough. I think a football club is different things to different people involved with a club and even different things to the different fans of the club. Southampton FC means different things to me than it does to Nicola or Cortese or Les Read or even Rickie Lambert. It is not the main vehicle through which I live my life and gain enjoyment but it is one of them and an imortant one. In a way I think it is a bit like my favourite newspaper as I like to think it shares my values and the principles by which I live my life. There are football clubs that I just could not support even if I lived on their doorstep although I might watch them occasionally, that would be a bit like picking up a newspaper you ordinarily wouldn't read in the dentists or hairdressers. Success has nothing to do with it otherwise we would all be Man U or City supporters. It is difficult to put your finger on a precise definition. It is certainly not about the manager or the CEO or The Dell would have been empty when Branfoot was our manager and no one would have gone near The Dell or St Mary's when Lowe and Askham had their greedy hands on the controls. It is almost like a spirit. I was going to say it was the team but players come and go teams change and form and play in different ways. Perhaps it is the ethos of a club in the sense that I expect a Saints teams to play in an entertaining way with some panache and to be good sportsman. Perhaps the answer lies in what club you might wish to support and those you would not. For me I could support Norwich or Swansea or Arsenal but I could never support Chelsea or Manchester United or Stoke City. Perhaps it is actually only about the game where you see your team play in the sense that you watch something quite unpredictable, skilful and full of excitement that sends adrenalin through your veins and you get hooked on the adrenalin and by association to your team. That is the best I can do I am afraid.
Well expressed Godders....A little bit of the spirit that made me fall in love with Southampton Football club died on Friday and I hope to god it can be rekindled in the coming years...Success should not be at any cost and I happen to believe that we were already on the right track but I will continue to give my full support and hopefully the spirit will return.
If Poch is a success then we will recognise that Nicola did the right thing, then you will feel better. At the moment a bad thing has happened without us knowing why. Everyone will feel better if they see the team succeed and they see Nigel moving on with his life.
