Time For The Spirit Of Southampton Football Club Thursday, 2nd May 2024 07:45 Recent months have seen a number of events and issues divide opinion and split the supporter base but as we head towards the play offs it is time for everyone at Saints to kick in the same direction. There has been a lot of division amongst Southampton supporters, from the very start of this season there were those who criticised Russell Martin and what they dubbed his Tippy Tappy style of football, there were those who criticised individual players, sometimes with good reason, but other times not. Then there was Russell Martin himself who built up a squad full of unity, togetherness, character & fight and then by some bizarre team selections and substitutions. To cap it all we then have the club itself drive through their desire to create a wall of red & white at the Northam End in a way that meant disruption to some Saints supporters forced to move seats and a another split in opinion that was not needed just as we approached a vital part of the season. But all these things are now done and dusted, at least for the moment, if we are to stand any chance in the play offs we need to be as one, the club itself, the owners and management, Russell Martin his coaching staff and players and perhaps most importantly the Southampton supporters. It is no use moaning about what has happened or for that instance what we think might happen, the great thing about football is that sometimes games are won by teams in adversity and we are certainly that now. Back in 1994 & 1999 we fought relegation campaigns that for the most part we were appalling on the field and lost more than we won, but at the end of the season we got behind the team as supporters and they responded and won some vital end of season games that meant we escaped relegation. Now we are trying to get back into the Premier League rather than stay in it, but the sentiment is the same, we have to get behind our team, our manager and our club and stir up what was called 30 years ago The Spirit Of Southampton. If we do that we can achieve what our ultimate goal for a club was and that is a return to the Premier League. That is still very achievable, so why would we not want to get behind our club ? The Leeds game is not important, but after that we have two play off games that most certainly are, I have no doubt that whoever we play, when we play the away leg, our excellent away support will travel in numbers and be loud. But we also need to do that in the home leg, it needs to be a sold out St Mary's and full of loud and proud Southampton supporters roaring their team on. If we do that then hopefully the players will respond and we will get a trip to Wembley, again we need to do that as we did in 2010 when we won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, one half of the stadium that wall of red & white that our CEO wants to see. Neither of these games are times for sarcasm and cynicism , its just time to enjoy our team challenging for something. So time for us all to stand up and be counted, it doesn't matter whether you are the type of fan who likes to stand up and sing, or if you are a person who prefers to watch in a more sedate way, we should all have pride in Southampton FC and want to help and not hinder it. There will be plenty of time for recriminations of this season when it has ended, it can still be one of glory if we all have The Spirit Of Southampton Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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