Morning all, Just been thinking about the journey home last Saturday. One of the most emotionally mixed for many a year, and not just because the other 4 in the car were all slightly morose Evertonians. All 5 of us live around Chester and were listening out for goal news from Chester's game against Salisbury knowing a win would guarantee their position in the Conference Premier. With 4 minutes to go, Chester were leading 2-1, while their fellow relegation candidates, Herford, were drawing 1-1 at Aldershot. Then a first blow. Salisbury equalised. Come on, Aldershot. NO! Hereford take the lead. Chester throw the kitchen sink, hit the woodwork - but the game ends with their relegation. When we hit the doo-doo Chester were being wound up. They re-built with fan's money and it took three back-to-back promotions to get to Conference Premier. They started badly, and then got worse. They bought in a new manager for the last few games and he came within a goal difference of 2 of keeping them up. How cruel. Lots of us probably have second teams (Eastleigh is an obvious choice) and Chester have been mine for years. I know I'm a Saints fan as Saints are the only team that can hurt me - true love defined! I got over the disappointment personally very quickly, but obviously back home and meeting people I know who are dyed-in-the-wool Chester fans I found myself in counselor mode. The most common reaction was that non-football people "didn't understand". "I know no-one has died - it just feels like it" one of my mates at the gym said yesterday. We surely all remember that summer of 2009, when we were seeing headlines suggesting Saints could fold, and may be forced to re-start in the Conference. OMG, the desperation to beat Burnley so that we might take the 10 point deduction immediately and know we could start the following season with a clean sheet - provided we survived. In the course of my conversation yesterday I was telling my mate how, when the announcement was made that Saints were screwed, I just took myself off down the garden and cried. It's pathetic, I know. I have a strong marriage, a great family and a wonderful life. What the hell was I doing. But it's what it does to us, and we know it's irrational but there it is. Will Mauricio go; will Adam, Luke et al still be with us. These things matter to me as much as the next Saint. A club that lacks ambition would not have been beating Everton on Saturday. They'd have been happy to have been playing a local derby with Bournemouth, or seeing off the might of Yeovil. We've shown ambition in spades. Surely, the board must know how quickly the whole thing can fall apart. Our old fishy friends down the road provide a perfect example. The only way is not up - going down is equally likely. Standing still is not an option. It's a big summer, that's true. But while watching Adam & Rickie win the World Cup and worrying about the future of Saints reflect on 2009, and think about what might have been - the stuff of nightmares!
I think any true fan will understand where you are coming from. Not one of us would like to see any team fold......That includes are friends down the road...really. However it is also true that teams play with fire when they try to spend more than they can realistically afford. Sadly it is a sign of the times that the "Chester's" of the footballing world struggle to make ends meet, as not enough of the money made on the footballing front, finds it's way down to the lower echelon of the leagues.
Totally, agree, Beddy. My main point here though, and probably badly expressed, was really how quickly we've all forgotten the bad times and re-set our expectations so high. In many ways this is right, but while we all develop ulcers worrying about the fate of Adam and Mauricio et al we could do worse than to simply remind ourselves where we have been and how quickly we have reached these dizzy heights. For once, I'm nit trying to make a small club v big greedy club point. The other point is the impact that supporting a team has on us. It's hell, folks! Why do we do it?
Great post. So sad for Chester, like I am for (most) teams that get relegated, but at least the drop doesn't put them out of business, and they can bounce back next year. And the most important point, we should never forget how incredibly fortunate Saints were to have been noticed by Nicola Cortese, and through him, by Markus Liebherr.
Why do we do it? Because we have no choice. Every time you love, you give a hostage to fortune. They can give a lot back and make us happy or drive us to despair. Football fans (and presumably fans of other sports and even pop stars) pay for their joy with the risk of despair.
The worst things that happen to us can be (I don't know the situation with Chester but good luck to them) the best things to ever have happened to us. I remember being so desperate to win the play-offs when we were in the Championship. It seemed like the only chance we could get back into the Prem and live the kind of will we/ won't we stay up juggle that I grew up with. Look at us now! The slide into L1 & the -10 pts was agony but look at the good times we had, the respect for other fans we found we had, and the respect they found for us. The JPT win was truly a great day, and has helped us to understand how important such competitions can be. The transformation into a club that expects to win, and frequently does. Wow. Rejoice even in suffering, hard though it may be. It makes the sweet times sweeter. I dare say we're enjoying this season more than some of the successful sides, like... Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea? Actually that's about it - there aren't many more successful sides to compare with. We're obvioulsy having a better season than United
The only time I felt was 'bad' was THAT summer. I was even ok with our relegation to Div One because we were trying to do the right thing and at times our kids were terrific. But yes, during the summer it was awful although I was probably being naive in that I never really believed we could go out of business altogether so I guess I never hit the depths of despair. Funnily enough I really felt that sense of family and loss that you talked about when Adkins was sacked. Thank goodness Pochettino turned out good! But all in all, I know exactly what you mean. Its irrational on the one hand but for me Southampton have been a part of my life since 1965 so how can one avoid having a deep attachment? Other than my immediate family, there is nothing really that has survived with me that long.
I for one haven't forgotten the bad times. I said at the beginning of the season I would be happy just to stay up! If I'm being honest, I will take that next season; although it seems you have to keep swimming forwards like a shark, otherwise you drown. I was chatting with a Slovakian football fan (armchair). He was a Real Madrid fan (might as well pick a good team I suppose!). He hadn't heard of Southampton FC! Although this surprised me, it's the way it's always used to be. All I said to him was to look out for Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and our captain Adam Lallana playing for England in the World Cup, you might get some idea what we're all about these days.
Absolutely..! Remember the season end after the 8th place with WGS..? Unbelieveable to recall, but I think Lowe said that Saints had the strongest [or one of the strongest] squad in the Premier League. Of course, we'd not strengthened, Kevin Phillips apart, and the season ended slightly worse. After that it was all downhill. You've got to be careful because every club is moving forward. I think every person involved with Saints knew that, bar Lowe.
I still look back on that as the most successful season I've ever witnessed. We weren't playing as nice football as we are now, but we had an FA Cup Final! A friend of mine still blames the whole of our downfall on James Beattie being sold.
It was a certain Jamie White of ex-Saints fame that hit the equaliser for Salisbury, would Chester have stayed up if it wasn't for that goal? Cruel if so, especially as Salisbury had nothing to play for. Teddy Sheringham's son is also at the Whites on loan and has had an amazing spree of goals since he has been there, if they can keep their current team together I reckon they have a good shot at promotion next season.
