A quick look at ten things from the past of Southampton Football Club that we look back on with fond memories.
1. Red & White Stripes, im sorry but our colours are red & white not our kit, Man Utd's, Liverpool & Arsenal's colours are also red & white but they would not dream of playing in stripes so why should we be any different. The clubs we all admire and aspire to be are all built on tradition and part of that tradition is a recognisable kit, of course it cant be completely unique, but we are red & white stripes and in the main have been mostly since 1896.
2. Terraces, Ok we all know why we havent got them anymore, but for those of us who remember them, we know that they had the ability to create a unique atmosphere, not to mention the good old days when you could make a decision to go to the game at 2.45pm and knew you would be able to stand with all your mates rather than be 4 blocks away on your own. Terraces didnt cause violence themselves, I was never punched in the mouth by a football terrace, although in fairness i was nearly hit by a piece of one thrown by a Bradford fan in 1976.
3. Drinking whilst watching the game, long ago in the dark days it was decided that if you allowed a football fan to drink during the game it always resulted in violence, but these laws date back to a different time and are as relevant today as one that says German's cant be admitted to the Ground in case they are casing the joint for use in the forthcoming Operation Sealion. They were changed slightly to allow supporters to drink on the concourses out of sight of the pitch, but this is slightly strange as it suggests that scientists have discovered that drinking alcohol in the vicinity of grass leads to violence.
4. Dogs running on the pitch, this was admittedly a rare event, I can only remember it happening once at the Dell, but a dog running around the pitch and refusing to be caught despite the hilarious attempts of some of the players was always a welcome distraction when it happened either live or on TV, the question is why don't they run on the pitch anymore, either they can read and are afraid of getting the stadium ban mentioned on the warning signs or dogs in general are better behaved these days.
5. Games played in snow, nowadays a short sharp shower can put the game in doubt, back in the good old days it took a lot more than that to stop a game, I remember a classic win against Man Utd in the first week of March 1986 when the Dell was covered with about 3 inches of snow, simple, sweep the touchlines clear, use blue paint to mark them and play with a brown ball, nowadays the game would have been postponed on the Thursday to stop the visiting fans having to make the journey down from Surrey.
6. Floodlight Pylons, OK we never had these at the Dell but plenty of grounds did have a traditional layout of a floodlight stanchion in each corner, these were very handy in helping you to get a better view of the game when it was packed and occasionally you would have some idiot decide to climb one to ludicrous heights, back then everyone just stood and pointed at him and laughed, today would see the game abandoned, the area around it closed off within a mile radius in case he fell and a policemarksman bringing him down with a crisp shot.
7. Crush Barriers, again handy things, you could lean on them and in moments of celebration you could stand up on them and lead the singing in the Milton Road end or in the Archers to enable you to get a better height to yell abuse at the away supporters, back then several policemen would drag you down, truncheon you to the ground, drag you out and kick you into the street with at best taking from you a ficticious name and address, today if you did the equivalent of this ie standing on your seat you would be analysed on ctv, pounced upon when leaving the stadium, held in custody for 48 hours, taken to court and given a 4 year ban from all football matches in the country.
8. The long walk from the Dell tunnel to the trainers bench, thi was a walk that could be great when you are doing well, or if your doing badly murder for a Saints manager, Lawrie McMenemy endured hell for his first couple of years down here, followed by 9 years of basking in glory, Ian Branfoot was a scene straight from the French Revolution only there was no Guillotine involved (there were health and safety regulations even back then) Visiting managers were not immune, now our pantomime villains can slyly nip out of the tunnel and take their seat whilst the crowd's eyes are elsewhere, back at the Dell they had a 50 yard walk along the touchline.
9. Boys Pens, in the old days most grounds had an area of the ground reserved purely for boys, these werent family centres they were replicas of school play grounds, ours was the middle chocolate box which offered a great view of the pitch but could be hairy sometimes with various school rivalries breaking out into open warfare, although to be fair it was never that dangerous as most schools top boys would not deign to go in the boys pen, but be down on the terraces with the MIlton Mob, nowadays its all family centres and having your picture taken with SuperSaint .
10. Football Specials. Back in the old days British Rail would often run a special train to big games especially cup games, back then you could take drink on the train so people would turn up at the station laden with enough beer to sink a battleship plus their sandwiches, for 4 hours people would sit and drink and discuss the game, as they neared the destination the atmosphere would change and the singing would start, when the train pulled in the doors would be thrown open before it was stopped with everyone trying to be first on the platform as the chanting echoed around the station concourse, after the game was always a different matter with pitched battles, so perhaps this is one thing that is best left in the past lol