Virtually the entire 12 months of 2017 plus a few going back into 2016 saw major unrest in the Saints fanbase, the turning of the New Year needs to see that en in the cause of unity and staying out of a relegation fight.

Saints fans feel hard done by over the past 18 months or so, although neutral observers would find it rather strange that we were so upset given a top 8 finish plus a Wembly Cup Final that went to the wire.

However it cannot be argued that there are a few things going wrong this season, but are they as serious as some would have you believe ? The answer is at the moment probably not, but unless we start winning a few games then we could be in big trouble.

Therefore although we may all have different opinions as to what the problem is, we hopefully are all agreed on one thing and that is we want Saints to win a few games and pull clear out of trouble.

I have said this many times, we are not a bad side. but at the moment things are not right, but a couple of wins will change all that.

So staring from now we need to put negativity out of the window for a month or two, concentrate on the positives of the past few years, the likes of Les Reed come in for a lot of flak, but the reality is we are still in a better position than we have been for the best part of the last 30 years, things can't be great all the time.

So we now host Crystal Palace on Tuesday night in a game that will go a long way into seeing us pull clear of be dragged into a relegation fight.

So Southampton Football Club needs everyone to be pulling in the right direction at the moment, as supporters do we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution.

Indeed over the years the times that I have been proudest to be a Saints fan has been in times of adversity, anyone can suddenly become the biggest fan ever and fine a ticket for Wembley etc, but it's when the chips are down that you find out who are "Supporters" and who are just "fans" and there is a big difference.

So we need the next few months to be about recreating the passion of the Saints supporters back in the 1990's when we travelled en masse to Delhurst Park and frightened big teams at the Dell in crucial matches, we need that against Palace, what we don't need is the atmosphere at the final game of 2005 when we went down with a whimper to preceed the darkest days of our clubs history.

This season is far from that year and the set up of the club is far different and positive and that is what we need positivity.

So come to the Palace game prepared to back the team and create an atmosphere that enables them to win the game, not one that is toxic.

It is always about the name on the front of the shirt, not the name on the back or on the boardroom door !

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 18:16 - Jan 1 Yup. The annual December dip is now over, time to kick on.
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skiptonsaint added 18:38 - Jan 1 Can we have a lucky 2018 please compared to 2017
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brownk added 19:19 - Jan 1 Fantastic rallying call and the same passion shown at Old Trafford by 25000+ Saints supporters is needed! COYR
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ItchenNorth added 21:39 - Jan 1 Spot on. Fans need to really raise their game in the stadium. We play a massive part in turning poor performances into positive results. It's not just about player attitude, but fan attitude too. I'd rather see (and no doubt players would hear) 20000 passionate fans backing the team, than a full house with 1000s moaning and groaning getting on players backs. Do that and players will be afraid to try that skill or afraid to take on the shot for fear of failure and fan reaction. It becomes massively counterproductive. If you don't like what you see, put that aside during the game. We have to create an atmosphere that player's want to play in, and then you'll see the best of them.

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helpineedsomebody added 09:04 - Jan 2 since 1885 INVESTMENT NEEDED
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aceofthebase added 10:02 - Jan 2 Fantastic Nick, I suppose that means you will not knock Yoshi for the rest of the season.
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SaintNick added 11:37 - Jan 2 I comment on Yoshida on here and in the pub, when he is on the pitch I give him my 100% backing, I cant help it he keeps letting me down. '-)
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Everhoping added 13:03 - Jan 2 I only get to a few away matches a year when within range of East Midlands, usually, occasionally London. I haven't seen us score live since 2011 ( even that was a 4 all draw at Peterborough, incidentally above us in league one that day were Brighton, Bournemouth and Huddersfield! ), but I always support even so, If it helps I'll stop going ,to get us a win...
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