The game against the Toffee's is going to be one of those games that we need to have everyone behind the team if we are to come through adversity.

It cannot be denied that at the moment Saints are in a crisis with injuries and suspensions hitting at just the wrong time, however this is nothing new and over the years Saints have at various points had similar crisis's, although I can never remember it being quite as bad as this.

But in the past when this happened the Saints supporters didn't turn to internet message boards to vent their fury's about why this should never have happened and why it wouldn't have happened under the last Chairman/manager etc, if only for the fact that for most of them the internet wasn't in existent.

What happened back then was the Saints fans showed the Spirit Of Southampton and did what football fans did back then, they got behind the team and drove it forward, sometimes to great effect, just when it looked like it was a situation that was beyond our control.

That is what is needed now against Everton, it will do Southampton Football Club no good at all if certain sections of the supporters at St Mary's for the game against Everton turn on firstly the usual scapegoats and secondly any youngsters forced into action.

Of course the past wasn't all rosy and there were plenty of games were the Dell crowd turned against the manager or players, but in the main at key moments it united and turned the energy from a negative to a positive.

Older supporters will remember seasons like 93/94 when protests against Ian Branfoot stopped the moment the game kicked off and the crowd got behind the team and in vital games it worked, the Newcastle game of that year when Matt le Tissier scored two wonder goals for instance.

But there were other seasons as well 95/96 when Manchester United on the cusp of winning the League title had the champagne put on ice as we beat them 3-1, this was the game when they changed their shirts, not as many TV pundits try to tell us, the following year when we beat them 6-3

But the power of the crowd was never more evident than in 98/99 when Saints looked dead and buried after a Boxing Day home defeat against Chelsea and although are away form remained appalling this would be our last loss on home soil, in the remaining 9 fixtures we won 7 and drew 2.

The crowd sensed something in home games and that filtered through to the players, when fellow strugglers Blackburn went 3-1 up in the 47th minute at the Dell with only 4 games remaining after that, we looked down as their players taunted a distressed Saints crowd, but Mark Hughes scored his only goal of the season just after the hour and and Marian Pahars equalising on 81 minutes to raise the roof, Blackburn hung on for the draw but we would not lose the remainder of the season and complete the "Great escape" as it became known as Selhurst Park became Dellhurst Park with well over half the 24,068 crowd from Southampton..

The morale of the story is that perhaps the internet and blanket coverage of the Premier league has changed the way we support football, there have always been scapegoats in football and at Saints we have had more than our fair share, but we didn't seem to revel in their failings as some do now with certain players.

This leads to sometimes football supporters losing sight of what we should actually all want and that is our team to win games and play at the highest level and challenge for honours.

When we play Everton this is what we should want, we should want to see our team battle through adversity and come out of the other side with three points, not as it sometimes seems with defeat and the opportunity for people to say "I told you so"

We don't have to look back too far for an example of this, the second game of this season to be exact when we drew with West Brom and Graziano Pelle was now clearly the main culprit of all our woes, that soon changed .

So the situation is not ideal, but lets try and turn it to our benefit, lets leave the moaning and ironic cheers at home for the afternoon, lets all get behind the team and see what we can achieve, we might just surprise ourselves.

Photo: Action Images

VeloSaint added 13:34 - Dec 19 Xmas came early for the bedwetters on Tuesday. The trio of nappy wearing idiots are back in force on the forum. A couple of wins should put them back in their box.
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stmichael added 16:00 - Dec 19 Too right I will be bed wetting again this weekend on the forum if we put in a gutless heartless incompetent performance like Tuesday. To which you will say we are 7th in the league and would have taken this in the summer. I don't think anyone will turn on Mane or Long or Forster or other big money underperformers on the pitch. Hopefully you wont turn on your own undeserving scapegoat the loyal servant Jose Fonte. After the game we can all have our say which is how it should be. Some on here think it is their board and you cannot contribute unless you agree with them. The summer was very traumatic and lets face the club were not in control and did not deal with it well making a lot of last minute signings which at the moment are not working out. There was every reason for people to voice their concern and discontent without being abused for it. The great start saw the real bed wetters take great delight in putting people in their place and disrespecting the previous management and players despite years of great achievement. Now it has turned full circle again and the next few weeks will reveal whether the start was a fluke or whether the current form is a blip.

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A1079 added 16:59 - Dec 19 The rallying call for support and getting behind the team is fair enough, and in most cases, I think Saints fans do that, even if, prior to the game, they are less than confident or even if things are not all that rosy. I do think though, that to deride anyone and everyone who shows the slightest criticism, constructive or otherwise, or displays any displeasure with performances or tactics etc as bedwetters has now in itself become a tiresome and often misplaced accusation, in the same way to level anyone who dares to say anything that is off message is in some way not a "true" supporter. This board should be mature enough to withstand a whole range of opinions and views on their club, their team, and football in general, recognising that some will agree and others won't and sometimes we all get it wrong as much as we get it right. Where arguments fail is when they become abusive, detrimental or in any way can offensive - arguably the word bedwetter is a term of abuse towards anyone who dares to criticise. I readily reacted unfavourably during the close season and I have held my hands up and stated though I think it was handled badly the outcome far outweighed my expectations and the first quarter of this season was tremendous. I was not the only one, though I did not share the extreme views that the club was going to implode - I never thought that for one minute. The worst that could have happened is that we got relegated - huge disappointment but not the end of the world. We have a club which a few years ago we nearly did not. I have been to a number of games this season including Tuesday night, and however you try to dress it up, it was abject in all respects. Not because I expected us to win. We have no right to expect to win. I do expect a certain level of performance, effort and commitment. Can you honestly say that was there on Tuesday? I will be there tomorrow (travelling 250 miles) with my young son. I hope to enjoy the game. I expect it to be difficult. I will sing and shout and support as I am sure the great majority will. I don't expect us to win - I just want to see us try hard and do our best and whilst a defeat will be a disappointment, if I come away and believe that they have done their best, in the current situation I cannot ask for any more. You make very good and informative statements and write ups Nick, some things I agree with and some things I don't but on this one, and specifically to labelling persons who may not fully endorse everything the club, manager or individuals do as bedwetters is an unnecessary and derogatory term. All that aside, I appreciate the work you put into this board and long may it continue and as always, mine is just a viewpoint, not a fact. Have a good weekend and enjoy the game.

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ItchenNorth added 17:07 - Dec 19 Spot on Nick.
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SaintGeorge added 18:03 - Dec 19 I wrote a little bit about negativity earlier in the week, and how grizzling is all part of the fun of football, but no-one seemed to want to run with it :o( Ah well, for what it's worth every game I've ever been to I've come away scarcely able to speak from yelling support, but I only get to about one (home) game a year now since moving abroad. Last exception was the Paint Pot - what a day out that was :o) I made this vido about the day but it came out with a tiny picture on youtube - technology wasn't what it is. I digress - yeah always get behind the team when the match is *on* - but complaining *after* isn't wetting the bed - its part of being a supporter.

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