x

Make St Mary's The Stadium Of Red

Saints supporters need to show their backing for their team with a display of colour and noise to match some of the great days of the past.

The game against Aston Villa will see the completion of Saints 14th season at St Mary's and the stadium has seen its fair share of ups and downs in that time, but it has also seen many memorable days when everything has clicked both on and off the pitch.

Southampton Football Club need one of those days again if they are to beat Aston Villa and take a giant step to a place in the Europa League.

In short the team have given us some great performances and now is the time for the supporters to show they appreciate that, but in addition sometimes the supporters have to give something to the team to help them capture their best and Saturday's game is one of those occasions.

When Saints run out against Villa it needs to be a sea of red & white and a cauldron of noise and that needs to be kept up throughout the game, at risk of repeating myself and i know I have mentioned this quote before, but Lawrie Mcmenemy often said of Saints supporters when comparing them to his native Newcastle fans, that up in the North East the supporters do their bit and then the team chip in whereas down here the team have to give something to the fans and then the fans chip in.

In many respects that is true, but I truly believe that the Saints supporters are more colourful more passionate and more louder now than back in McMenemy's day, although it has to be said that sometimes they still need the team to produce the goods first before they get St Mary's rocking.

But that is not always the case and there have been some great days at St Mary's both a decade or so ago and more recently when the Saints fans have turned up in turbo mood and have been determined not to let their side waiver one bit, examples would include.

2008 V Sheffield United for a crunch relegation battle
2011 V Walsall for the game that rubber stamped the promotion to the Championship.
2012 V Coventry for the game that saw promotion to the Premier

These are just three final day games at St Mary's where the crowd has turned up with their colours and their voices determined not to see a defeat.

So the fans are needed again, bedwetters and those who like to scream abuse at scapegoats need to either stay at home or put their prejudice's to one side, make no bones about it, the season has faltered and this is now a very important game, if we want the team to do their bit we have to create the atmosphere to do it in and that means total support for the whole of the 90 minutes even if we suffer setbacks.

So wear your stripes with pride if you havent got a Saints shirt or stripes wear something red, create that sea of colour, create that cauldron of noise and Southampton Football Club can take another step forward and make sure that the times ahead are as good if not better than those that have gone.

What to read next:

Southampton 2 - 3 Liverpool - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Will Saints Be Cast Adrift At The Bottom Before They Kick A Ball This Weekend
The Premier League table does not make good viewing unless you turn it upside down, Southampton are rock bottom 2 points adrift from the team above and 4 points off Ipswich 4th from bottom, so will that gap be worse before we kick off on Sunday.
Southampton V Liverpool The Preview
Usually the visit of Liverpool to The Dell & St Mary's was something that Saints fans looked forward to in the calendar, it was a game that often threw up a shock result for the home side, but as we go into the latest clash with the Merseyside men, there seems little hope of that this year.
Return Dates Set For Injured Southampton Duo Ramsdale And Bednarek
If you thought that things couldn't get worse for Russell Martin after the defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, then think again, injuries to two key players in the past fortnight have added to his woes.
Do Southampton Need To Recall Bella-Kotchap For Liverpool Clash
With Jan Bednarek seemingly set to miss his first Premier League game of the season, Saints are struggling for central defenders to take on the League leaders Liverpool at St Mary's, is it time to bring in a player out of the cold.
Does Shea Charles Prove That Russell Martin's Player Judgement is Flawed
There has been a lot of words typed on the internet about Russell Martin and his tactics, but is this just the reason as to why we are doing badly in the Premier League, last season there was a clear evidence that his player selection is not what it should be.
Central Defensive Injury Blow For Southampton
If the next few weeks were going to be tough with the potential absence of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, then they are now getting much worse with the news that a central defender has been injured in International duty over the weekend.
England England's Number 16
It was a dream England debut for Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis, in front of his future Father in law ex Manchester United & Republic of Ireland legend Roy Keane, not only scoring but also nearly getting an assist.
Nick's Saints Saints Away Travel Lay On 6th Coach For Brighton
Brighton away was the first fixture Southampton fans looked for when they came out back in June so there was great disappointment when the game was switched to a Friday night as it means it's virtually impossible to get back on the train.
Saints Not Afraid Of Sacking Russell Martin Even If They Have To Pay
Recent reports have suggested that Southampton have not dispensed with the services of Russell Martin due to the alleged £12 million compensation cost. However it is now suggested that this is not the case and that if they do lose faith they are willing to pay the price.