A mate of mine from Liverpool phoned up to say he had a premonition about Saints beating Everton and woke up singing a version of the Madness classic Our House on Saturday morning dedicated to James Ward Prowse.

There is no doubt that Liverpool's were hoping that Saints would beat Everton, that is nothing new, but after the Blue side of Merseyside had held the Red side last weekend in controversial fashion, Liverpool fans were wanting Everton's unbeaten record to go as soon as possible.

Usually Liverpool fans would dream of their team beating Everton in dominant fashion, but in the lead up to the Toffee's visit to St Mary's, my mate dreamt that Saints would do the job, so vivid was this dream that he woke up singing "Ward Prowse & His Little Magic Feet" to the tune of the old Madness hit "Our House"

He took this as an omen and under normal circumstances would have bunged a few quid on a Saints win and Ward Prowse scoring but with Liverpool being in Tier 3 lockdown all the bookies shops are closed and he didn't have an online account.

So he had mixed feelings come 4pm on Sunday when not only had Saints despatched Everton, but James Ward Prowse had pulled the strings in midfield and opened the scoring.

On one hand the number of texts that he was getting from those of a blue persuasion telling him that Everton were invincible would not cease, but on the other he hadn't backed his dream and won a few bob.

His song about Ward Prowse is actually quite catchy and i'm surprised no one has really taken this up at St Mary's before we went into lockdown, in fairness JWP made his debut over 8 years ago now so we have had plenty of time.

The tune has had a few airings before in the 1990's when it was used with the name of Claus Lundekvam "Our Claus in the middle of our defence" had a spell of popularity.

But I think the Ward Prowse version has that little bit more about it and maybe will get adopted when the fans return to St Mary's.

Maybe this will become a regular thing for him, he now has a psychic power to predict Saints victories and compose songs in his sleep about our players, I await ditties about Oriol Romeu, Kyle Walker Peters and perhaps an ode to Salisu based on an old ABBA tune

Photo: Action Images

SonicBoom added 09:21 - Oct 28 I think it's because no one really knows the rest of that tune beyond that one line....
0

SaintNick added 10:01 - Oct 28 That would be one step beyond
0

davepid added 16:31 - Oct 28 JWP has now clocked up 200 premier starts and 37 sub appearances. In all completions he’s made 285 appearances for us. At 23 he has scored one Premiership goal per 10 appearances. He is the personification of the Southampton Way. Joined the club when still in short trousers and has progressed through every level . He’s been local, non - controversial and fit throughout his 8 seasons with us; he’s visibly improved and has made the set piece situations his own. He’s now our captain and has played for England. And despite all that he’s not universally adored by us all. The major criticism is his tendency to pass back and sideways. This reminds me of Steven Davis and Matt Oakley . When they played with us their play was safe and steady not spectacular; only as they stopped playing did we realise their significance to team results. It’s his birthday on Nov 1 st. It reminds us that he will only be 26 , so we could see him around for many years yet. Can I be the first on this website to wish him a very happy birthday and to say thanks for his contribution to Southampton F C .

4

SaintPaulVW added 17:13 - Oct 28 Good post Davepid. I think his problem has been that he has never really had a settled position and also that he has been part of a team that has, until recently, played fairly poorly. Hopefully now that Ralph has put some fire in his belly, he has settled into a midfield role and the team is starting to really play well we can all appreciate what we have in our Prowse, In the middle of the field.

1

SanMarco added 22:31 - Oct 28 JWP has come on a fair bit in recent times and certainly under Ralph's management - let's hope the improvement continues. Lovely goal on Sunday.
1

underweststand added 08:46 - Oct 29 Good assessment ..davepid. To be fair JWP was on a hiding to nothing from the start when he debuted (2012) at age 17 and few of us expected him to become a permanent fixture at that stage. Several years on - he was still down the list of players like Steven Davis (who outlasted many of his contemporaries). After Koeman's departure, none of his successors knew enough or trusted JWP to be tried and he was often used for occasional games as a sub. for injured regulars. Not amongst the tallest / strongest in the squad , Ralph has convinced him to " man up" and get tougher in midfield , which I think he has achieved with some success. Like some of Saints predecessors, his chances of a long England career are very poor, as he will always be on the bench in favour of the "Media favourites" in the England set-up. IF ...he sees out his career with Saints, we may look back in 10 years time and see him as one of the players (like Paine and Le Tissier) were content to DAJFU and show that loyalty is an old-fashioned ,but much-respected quality in the present day cult fame and greed.

1

underweststand added 16:31 - Oct 29 I suspect that some of the antagonism shown towards JWP (in certain circles) may relate to his outward appearance, as he still retains his schoolboy-ish looks (and despite over 250 games for Saints) he is compared to some others in his generation who have become "tough and ugly"... (No intent / comparison to be made with any other Saints players) . Ralph has succeeded in getting him to " man up" ..and with some degree of success, he has managed to " toughen up" in midfield - without collecting piles of yellow cards.

1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Oxford United Polls