A light-hearted look at next Tuesday nights League Cup opponents Southampton.
Southampton or the Saints march in to Leeds 11 next Tuesday for our fourth round Capital Oe Cup showdown. Obviously dear reader you will be aware that Southampton were once a club who fell on hard times and found themselves in League One (like Norwich), who put together and kept together a decent side (like Norwich) who added wisely to their squad (like Norwich) and unlike Leeds and like Norwich they were rewarded with a swift return to the Premiership.
Here are some more obscure facts about Southampton....
In the Charlton programme, my late Grandfather gets a honourable, posthomous mention (page 43) and his most favoured method of transport was a Ford Transit van. Production of the Transit van was switched to Southampton in the mid 1960's to cope with growing demand where it remains to this day.
Southampton does not enjoy that healthy relationship with its neighbouring city Portsmouth and indeed their loyal followers who make the long journey north next week will be spoilt for choice which ex-"Scummer" or Pompey Reject to abuse first (or they could join in with us booing and groaning at Luke Varney). At the moment the Saints are supreme as far as the football is concerned with poor Pompey languishing in League One on the verge of financial meltdown.
However shipping is a different matter, whilst Southampton sees some of the worlds most expensive cruise liners set sail from its waters, for those of us in the cheap seats who can only afford the humble ferry, most ferry services have been switched to Portsmouth. Since 1996 you can only get to the Isle of Wight from Southampton.
Musical talent emerging from the city is not just limited to sea-shanties. British R&B sensation Craig David was raised on the city's Holyrood Estate. As the hits dried up for Craig he was lampooned constantly on C4's "Bo Selecta" programme by Avid Merrion aka Leigh Francis. Ironically Francis was raised in Morley, a stones throw away from ER and even though he has since reinvented himself as Keith Lemon lets hope it is a good omen eg Leeds take the p**s out of Soton ala the "almost cruel" 7-0 in 1972.
In the same year that Don Revies superstars put the Saints to the sword seven times, Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs earned a massive novelty, one-hit wonder number two hit with "Seaside Shuffle". The group were fronted by Southampton born Jona Lewie who had far more credible hits as a solo artist with songs like "Stop the Cavalry" and "Kitchen at Parties". The latter track was partially revived in 2010 for a ad campaign by a well known Swedish furniture manufacturer.
One man often found in the kitchen back in the 1970's was Robin Tripp. Robin Tripp was a fictitious character played by actor Richard O'Sullivan initially in TV's "Man about the house" and then spin-off "Robin's Nest". Tripp was a self-confessed Southampton supporter and a Saints scarf was often proudly hung on the set. Unfortunately Richard O'Sullivan is now a resident at Brinsworth House, a nursing home for members of the acting profession who have fallen on hard times so a bit like Leeds United, one of the most famous icons of the 70's now forlornly languish largely forgotten although in our case its an elderly resident who holds all the power!