If you think there is a lot wrong with Southampton FC then you should take a look at West Ham United who are truly unhappy with their club and Saints fans will have to sit back and watch on Saturday whilst they protest, but will it help or hinder us.

Those Saints supporters who think Saints are badly run should take a look at West Ham United and what their supporters think about their club, they feel that they have been evicted from their traditional home and moved into a soulless stadium by a board who care little about the fan base but want to make money fro the corporate side of things.

Indeed those who spend their time on social media criticising Gao should take a look at West Ham fans who have been organising protests for the last two years against owners David Gold & David Sullivan as well as vice Chairman Karren Brady.

This saw a supporter who had volunteered to wave one of those big pitchside flags so popular these days reveal a GSB OUT T shirt, GSB referring to the initials of the aforementioned trio.

At Liverpool on Monday night literally the entire away section of West Ham fans protesed against the owners with many flags and black balloons in view.

This is not new, this has been simmering for two years and at times has got very serious with death threats issued to supporters who have disagreed with certain fan groups stances.

You may recall we went to the London Stadium just under two years ago in similar circumstances after there had been pitch invasions and attempts to get to the directors box in the previous game.

Back then I said that our upcoming game was either going to see West Ham supporters drag their team down or it could spur them on to win the game.

It was sadly the latter with the Hone side 2-0 up inside 17 minutes that saw a massive change in atmosphere in the stadium and completing the rout on 45 minutes for a 3-0 scoreline, that saw Saints lie down and die with little fight, although they had the lions share of the possession, to illustrate how fans protests can sometimes galvanise a team as they did when the Southampton Independent Supporters Association organised protests against Ian Branfoot in 1993/94.

So what will Saturday bring ? will it make the Irons roar and the Saints cower or will it see Saints prosper.

Certainly there are a few players who started that game two years ago who won't play on Saturday, Cedric, Wesley Hoedt, Lemina, Charlie Austin, Dusan Tadic & Manolo Gabbiadini are all either out on loan or gone permanently, only Alex McCarthy, Jack Stephens, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg & Ryan Bertrand are likely to start of the starting XI that day with Nathan Redmond unavailable through injury.

So hopefully the revamped Saints will have more fight this time around and from this perspective we are a far better away team than we were back then, but the crucial element is going to be the West ham fans, will they inspire their team or break it.

The pressure is on West Ham this time around in a way it wasn't back then, they started the game 2 points ahead of us with 30 points from 30 games and we on 28 were 4th from bottom a point above Crystal Palace and Stoke City.

This game would either make us or break us and it certainly broke us , at least until the final few games of the season where two wins and a draw took us to safety with Swansea only getting two draws in their final 8 games to drop below us.

So what will happen on Saturday, hopefully we can capitalise, certainly our own support will be in a better mood than it was two years ago and the away support especially has been excellent, although to be blunt the West Ham stadium is open and soulless and it is hard for away supporters to make a great deal of noise due to the accoustics and the distance between the front and rear sections of the away section.

Most football fans will sympathise with West Ham fans, we might grumble against our own board, but that is all it has been a grumble on social media lacking the intensity that the Unhappy Hammers have shown over the past two years and at Anfield on Monday night, mind you we have far less to moan about than them.

Those that complain that Saints haven't spent money should note that since that game 2 years ago West Ham have spent over £200 million in the transfer market yet here they are on the verge of relegation despite big signings and high profile managers.

That shows that it isn't how much money that you spend it is how you spend it, Saints fans should take note our predicament's of the last two years have all been about who we have signed not who we have sold, they should also look at how West Ham's board have run their club and alienated fans and feel thankful that our owners have not shown such disdain to us.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 10:23 - Feb 25 WHU are in a false position for a team boasting much talent, some of which was there to see against Liverpool. They have several players who have previously undone the Saints in Antonio, Snodgrass, Noble and the returning Anderson. Despite our improvements and the Hammers disgruntled fans I think Saints will be hard-pressed to come away with a point. Having said that I'd rather attend games at the poorly sited St Mary's than the ill-judged vacuum that is the London Stadium.

1

bstokesaint added 14:17 - Feb 25 Last time West Ham were there for the taking we made Antonio look like Ronaldo and we got absolutely taken apart. I have little sympathy for a club who inherited a new ground at the taxpayer's expense. Regardless of how they think there club is run, we aren't in any real position to comment as we have largely winged it into our current position. Our reluctance to sign key personnel will eventually come back to bite us on the @rse. As well as we are doing now until we invest something you're always going to be left wondering how much better we could be doing with a couple of good signings. My main worry is Ralph will end up leaving in the same manner Koeman did when a better opportunity came up "to match his ambition".

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

AFC Bournemouth Polls