Saints fans need to unite behind the team on Sunday against Everton to help it get three points, rather than turn against it.

Social media is full of Saints fans indignant at our current situation, they complain that the club has no ambition, that this is not what they "signed up for" when they bought their season tickets, that they are not being entertained and that Les Reed should be sacked, Ralph Krueger is incompetent and a whole host of gripes.

Whilst it cannot be denied that there are issues at the moment on the pitch that need addressing, those who have followed the club over the past 30 years or so are a little bit more realistic about what the club has achieved over the past four years, in what has been our most consistent period in our history.

The end of last season marked our best ever run of finishes in the top flight, never before had we managed such consistency, yet many told the World very loudly that this was the worst ever season.

Now I am not going to tell anyone that they have not got the right to have an opinion on whether the club is going wrong or not, all I am going to say is base that opinion on reality and use a little reasoning, rather than ranting.

We all need to look at what we want from this season, do we want to pull away from the relegation zone or do we want to see ourselves dragged into it, personally I want Saints to win every game and pull away, I want Mauricio Pellegrino to succeed, even though at this moment in time I can't see that he will, it is not personal it is purely about winning games and then entertainment, in that order !

This being the case we have to look at what we want from Sunday's game, do you see it as a vital game that we need to get three points from, or do you see it as a chance to have a go at the manager and try and convince the board that he should be sacked.

If it is about winning the game and pulling away from the relegation zone, then we all need to be behind the team for the whole of the game and helping it find the motivation that at the moment they areclearly not getting from the manager, if we still lose the game there will be plenty of opportunity to rant and rave at the manager etc once the final whistle is blown.

If for you it is about showing the board that Pellegrino should be sacked, then don't even bother going to the game, history shows that vocal protests against manager's often force the board to show they are in command by keeping him in the job, it often prolongs the tenure of said manager and means that with a toxic atmosphere dragging down the team all it actually achieves is making it that much more difficult for his successor to repair the damage.

If you truly cannot get behind the team (And I mean the team here not the manager or board) then your best way of protesting is by staying away, you still make a big point to the board with the raft of empty seats, but you do not harm the teams chances. Football boards are swayed by lost revenue not a few people shouting in the stands or on social media.

Back in the early 90's things were much worse than they are now, I can assure you of that, the manager Ian Branfoot was determined to play a certain way and he was not getting results, the newly formed Southampton Independent Supporters Association orchestrated a campaign that although focused on making the fans views clear to the Saints board, also made sure that during games the fans got behind the team.

This meant that we saw some stirring victories and the crowd carried the team through and when Branfoot was sacked, his successor Alan Ball was able to keep the team up because of vital points gained during this period.

The message was clear then, protest only before the start of the game and after it, once the referee blew the whistle for kick off the Dell was passionately behind the team, not the manager or the board, but the team.

Of course times have changed in football, but not that much that we cant learn from the 1993/94 season, on Sunday we need the fans to be unified in their backing for the team, it needs to be one of those special St Mary's atmospheres.

This is a good squad of players, they are all proven in their abilities at this level, there is no reason why we should not win a few games and move up the league, we are still nearer to the top ten than the bottom three, that tells you something.

We have been spoilt over the past few years, I wouldn't quite say we have punched above our weight, but we have really hit the par score for Southampton FC, we have some great foundations, they are still there, it just doesn't feel like it at the moment due to the lacklustre performances on the pitch.

Photo: Action Images

arthurfane added 11:10 - Nov 21 Fully agree. We need to get behind the team on Sunday - it is difficult though, with the manager employing the same unimaginative tactics each week, and the players looking like they simply don't care anymore. The energy that had St.Mary's buzzing a few years back, under Poch and Koeman, was fuelled by the high-octane football the fans were seeing. Appreciate we shouldn't be booing our own players - I certainly won't be - but we're well within our rights to boo a performance if we see fit....

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skiptonsaint added 11:14 - Nov 21 Good post. The thing is though old Saints teams at the Dell always seemed to give their all and that helped keep the fans positive. The players need to show the fans they are up for it and determined as well. A few strong challenges at the start etc First goal is going to be so important ...
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saintpp added 11:18 - Nov 21 Great post all very true i just hope the moaners and entitled to boo ones take heed because without the fans backing our slump will continue. Those who booed redmond as he waited to come on are just.sorry to say.morons,how do they think that helps him or the rest of the team? I want Mp to succeed but i too have doubts that he has what it takes and we need 3 points this week desperatly with the fans roaring the team on. Having said that if we lose i want him sacked but more importantly i want us to win.

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AussieSaint added 11:22 - Nov 21 You’ve got to admit we are crap at the moment, the adrenaline isn’t there on the pitch, in the stand or in front of the tv at 3am. We are in a rut and need goals to get points. Try Hesketh and give Tadic a rest. We need Prowsey on the pitch for his set plays. Old heads and young legs isn’t that the Southampton way?
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steve73 added 11:30 - Nov 21 It's really nothing like the Branfoot era. Those matches were utterly toxic; I loved the drama of it all at the time. I was only 20 and lived, slept and ate football. It was really MLT that saved us, Ball just told every other player to give it to him whenever possible and he was magic. The current situation in some ways is even worse because although some are angry there's also a lot of apathy. This 'you've never had it so good' attitude is all well and good but the whole thing lacks spirit. The manager and players need to know how we feel. Not that most of them will give a crap, their bread's well and truly buttered no matter what happens. And is it really a good set of players? Most of them, in my opinion, have reputations far higher than they deserve. We've been found out and unless things change we will be relegated. This Premier League is a nasty business anyway, and although I obviously don't want my team to fail, ever, I really can't say I've enjoyed a lot of the stuff that's gone on generally, even when we've been doing well on the pitch. So yeah, I wan't a raucous atmosphere against Everton of whatever kind. Not lots of disgruntled observers tutting and leaving at half time. What the bloody hell has happened to this game!

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Whiteknight added 11:39 - Nov 21 Nick, I agree with the sentiment of your post and as Steve73 said I never want Saints to fail. However, you miss an important point: if the players don't seem to give a damn why should supporters? It's a two way street. As supporters we were here before the players (well before in some cases!) and will be here after they leave. The only thing I expect is that a player on the pitch gives their all - is that too much to ask?

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saintmark1976 added 12:05 - Nov 21 Sorry Nick but your wrong in regard to the Branfoot era. I know because I was there as the saying goes. Branfoot wanted to play a particular way much the same as our current manager. The difference is that the fans knew that we had a match winner in Matt but Branfoot would not give him game time. There is no comparison to where we are now because unfortunately "our" match winners now play for other clubs. In addition those who did play for Branfoot gave it 100 percent despite his tactics and there were no want away VVD types looking for the next big pay off.

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SaintNick added 12:15 - Nov 21 The players are "not" not giving a damn, they are just poorly motivated and with no leadership, this is something common in football, not every team can be up for it every game so to speak. Somthing has to break the circle, if it is not going to be the manager. then it has to be something else and that has to be the supporters. At the moment at least three players Tadic, Redmond & Forster are getting extreme abuse from a large section of the support, does that motivate them ? the answer is no and it probably does not motivate their team mates either who must wonder whether they will be next. So it needs us to change that by getting behind the team and that means all the team on Sunday

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SanMarco added 12:17 - Nov 21 Yes - Nick speaks pure common sense. Isn't the trouble though that being a football fan has little to do with common sense? Human nature , especially in the instant gratification neoliberal world of the last few years, does not usually sit back and say "it is not too good at the moment but remember it was a lot worse 8 years ago so let's be happy with what we have got". I have never in my life (on a match day in the ground) booed or abused a Saints player - I did laugh at the "Sell Clark" chant re Colin Clark mind! Having a 'toxic atmosphere' is obviously counter-productive to the getting of 3 pts but getting people to accept that poor performances and lack-lustre players is not an issue to get angry about because it was worse a while ago is a difficult argument - and good luck with it if things go badly on Sunday. On whiteknight's specific question - yes sadly it often does seem too much to ask...

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SaintNick added 12:25 - Nov 21 SaintMark76 actually you are being selective in your memory, yes Le Tiss was a match winner, but then again so could Gabbiadini be now. You say all the match winners have gone now and back then that wasnt the case, well in the two years before 1993, we had seen leave the club Rod Wallace, Alan Shearer, Neil Ruddock, even Tim Flowers. So the above list shows that not only did e have match winners other than Matt but we had plenty of want away players as well. Thee were also plenty of players who were not giving it 100%, David Speedie and Kerry Dixon for instance even Perry Groves. In fact there are many comparisons to be drawn about that era, including the fact that we and other top flight clubs fans back then had not grasped what the premier League/agents/money was doing to the players, who were suddenly chasing money not glory. Even the comparison in managers is more accurate than you think, Branfoot played the way he did because he did not have the players to play differently and he was looking to avoid relegation

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Whiteknight added 12:27 - Nov 21 Nick. I do not agree with giving individual players abuse during a match (if they play for Saints) and would never boo the team. At the same time we have large areas of the ground which don't sing, don't create atmosphere etc. What's your solution to this? However, players are meant to be professionals. If they can't motivate themselves then it's a bit sad, particularly given the ridiculous sums of money they are paid. If you think the players are all trying their hardest then I'm afraid either you are deluded or we desperately need a lot more decent players. Also I notice that you rightly mention the unfair targeting of Redmond, Tadic and Forster. However, you don't take the opportunity to praise Yoshida (a player you consistently target) as one of the few who really does seem to give a damn - double standards?

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petesmaterob added 12:30 - Nov 21 Agree with most of Nicks comments about lack of leadership but also Whiteknights comments about players not trying. Me and Pete are old school and do not agree with booing the players or changing managers every five minutes. However it is clear that players are not working so hard as previous years and that has been highlighted by the stats. My view that it is due to to tactics and defending a lot deeper and not getting forward enough or quick enough so ultimately I do blame the manager for not installing the right work ethic or dealing with disruptive elements such as Van Dyke or other dissenters within the squad. With regards to Redmond he has gone backwards at a rate of knots this year, along with many others, and is is just me a Pete that notice the bickering between him and Bertrand. I am not a knocker of Les Reed because overall the record is impressive but the management team within the club need to have a root and branch review of everything from youth development right through to the first team.

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saintmark1976 added 12:35 - Nov 21 Nick you say "not every team can be up for it every game so to speak". In the case of Saints this season can I ask why on earth not? With no Euro involvement and being knocked out of the League Cup at the first attempt we have played one game a week since August. Surely it's not to much to expect or ask that the players give it 100 percent every seven days? Reference Forster, Tadic and Redmond. They should have been dropped weeks ago and I venture to suggest the manager knows as much but is unable to do so because of other influences within the club's management structure.

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dirk_doone added 12:39 - Nov 21 The scapegoating of Yoshida has to stop. He has been our only player this season who's improved and he's put in more effort than anyone. It's getting almost as bad as the campaign against our captain, Fonte, over the years that he was here. As for crticism of the club's management, will anything ever rival the campaign against Cortese that was waged on here? I take it you are going to give your full support to our current manager, Pellegrino, and hope to keep him here for the rest of the season, Nick?

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dirk_doone added 12:45 - Nov 21 My point is, not that I'm a big fan of Pellegrino, Nick, but that you, like everyone else, can be very selective in who your favourites are, (previously Danny Fox and currently Redmond and who your scapegoats are, previously Fonte and now Yoshida). You also tend to blame your fellow Saints fans for everything that goes wrong at the club when the truth is we have very little ifluence.

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SaintNick added 13:00 - Nov 21 Dirk I understand that you cannot accept any critisism of your favourite players, you keep harking on about Fonte years after the event, any criticism I have levelled at a player I have done so with a full explanation of why I beleive it is justified, sometimes i am right soetimes i am wrong and you may remember that after criticising Fonte I was just as quick to praise him the following season. It must be hrd to live with that the man you championed as loving the club so much turned out to be just another mercenary with no loyalty whatsoever As for Cortese your comment that i waged a campaign against him is beyond contempt, it shows how bigoted and blinkered that you are and how little knowledge you had of the situation, perhaps if you had the guts that I had to have when Cortese waged his campaign against me, much of which i kept private and followed the proper procedure with the football ombudsman and subsequently won, then you would do something about what you see wrong at the club other than whinge that I have had a go at your favourite players. I had a little bit of respect for you Dirk, that has gone with your cheap ill informed comment. As you say at the end, you feel that fans have little influence over the club, so how could I have waged a campaign

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bstokesaint added 13:02 - Nov 21 I think what we have right now is a perfect storm of cr@pness. At the top we have new owners who say nothing of their intentions, and reportedly have little or no money to spend. Then we have a board who seem to be losing their way and recruiting players in the wrong positions and a manager on the cheap, effectively winging it in the blind faith that he's the next Poch. He isn't and he's the next problem. As the chant goes I genuinely think "he doesn't know what he’s doing.” It might help if his former captain and star player was behind him drumming up the troops, but his head is at Liverpool. The only player who really looks up for it is a favourite TUI scapegoat and is often described as “Championship at best”. The rest of the players turn up because they’re paid to do so but don’t really know between them how to score a goal. One of the most intelligent strikers Saints have had for some time spends his time making runs that no-one sees and another striker with one of the best conversation rates the PL has ever seen sits on the bench. The one with one of the worst conversion rates is a shoe in each week. And then finally there are the fans, well just see above, not much to get excited about right now is there?! For the record I loved the MLT days. Don’t get me wrong I loved the Poch and Koeman days too, but at least in the old days we were restricted more by capability than over-run with spoilt brats.

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ItchenNorth added 13:23 - Nov 21 Spot on
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saintmark1976 added 13:53 - Nov 21 Brilliant post bstokesaint. Bang on the money and very eloquent to boot. Nick, you need to calm down.After all football is only "the most important, least important thing in the world". Carry on replying to Dirk in the same fashion and you will give yourself a cardiac arrest.
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Number_58 added 13:59 - Nov 21 I'm not bothered about seeing 'unity' on Sunday, I'd just like to see a few shots on target and something to get excited about just for once.
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pintsizedsaint added 14:02 - Nov 21 I posted a week or so ago about how i hoped the game against Liverpool would bring the best out of MP's tactics. I was left quite disillusioned by Saturday's performance i must say. I get the sense that the players are just simply not reacting well to the tactics. I'm not saying they are giving up or not giving 100%, but you could see the heads go down once liverpool scored a second. Tactically, MP needs to change and change fast. Playing Long up front on his own feels almost desperate (the guy hasnt scored since Feb) and it is clear some players are being picked simply because they are 'seniors' within the squad - and MP wants to keep them on board. Tadic must come under that bracket; he is not playing well but he's not being dropped. It all feels like MP is simply trying the same thing again and again in the hope that it will somehow click. That's disappointing, and not something i would expect from a modern day manager. Players will just lose more and more confidence. I would prefer MP sitting down with the squad and talking through what works/what doesn't etc. rather than repeatedly hitting heads against a brick wall. I didn't expect us to win against a very good Liverpool side. But i expected us to put up a fight. We did alright for the first 20 minutes but then it all went wrong - and the low confidence in how we play came to the fore. A good manager would now correct this - particularly against Everton at home. I would expect to see two up front (pref Gabbi supported by Austin or Long). If its Long up front again then I fear that MP is perhaps getting out of his depth. We have good players, but a manager needs to know how to motivate and play to their strengths. Not sure that is happening at the moment.

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BoondockSaint added 14:37 - Nov 21 Don't agree with slagging players while they are playing, but if the whole team-except Yoshida (who does) aren't putting in an effort, what should fans do? Walk out? No professional athlete should need motivating. Isn't it their competitive spirit that helped them get to this level? Wasn't it their drive to be the best what helped them rise above others who had talent but no work ethic? Any good athlete that I have known has had to win not matter what they are at, their own sport, or any other competition, even a coin toss-they hate to lose. True, once they reach the top level and get big money, their ego takes over, but if they need to be motivated they need to get out. Nick, we may have had "match winners", but you can't compare any of them to Matt. Yes, they could get you a goal when you needed it, but he would get you goals from nothing when you needed them and win a string of matches when you needed them.

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SaintNick added 14:59 - Nov 21 SaintMark. the being up for it im referring to is the extra found at crucial moments, we have all seen games when suddenly something kicks in and a team starts to play out of its skin, I dont think any of them are not trying, they just arent finding that bit extra that wins games. With regard to Forster, Tadic and Redmond, its easy to say they should have been dropped weeks ago, but the question is who do you replace them with. With Forster there seems to be little option at present, McCarthy doesnt seem to have not been match fit at the start of the season and they seem in no hurry to pick him. With regard to Tadic and Redmond again its either play someone out of position or leave it as it is

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saintmark1976 added 15:26 - Nov 21 Nick. Our views remain so far apart that I think we are going to simply have to agree to disagree and both just hope for the best for Sunday and the rest of the season. I am pleased to see however that you appear to have regained your composure and I have avoided the type of fearful pasting given by you to Dirk. I'm sure your health will benefit going forward!
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Number_58 added 16:03 - Nov 21 Things were obviously different in the Branfoot era, but the fundamental reason why fans are getting so agitated today is exactly the same. Prior to Branfoot we'd had the best part of 15 years of watching classy crowdpleasers playing attractive, flowing football and, essentially, scoring lots of goals along the way. Yes, there were crap results and indifferent seasons now and again, but the over-riding philosophies of McMenemy and then Nicholl were based on attacking football and entertainment. Branfoot ripped up that philosophy when he took over and immediately alienated the fans and players. History would seem to be repeating itself. Of course, it could be argued that we'd been spoiled by all those years of what now might be deemed as a 'golden period' in the history of Southampton Football Club and we were due a duffer like Branfoot to come along eventually. Same could be said about Puel and now Pellegrino after our period under Adkins, Poch and Koeman. Happens to every club now and again. Doesn't make it any easier to endure, mind.

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