gio1saints

09.07 Boarded coach. Not where was originally told. But it was parked up outside the Deanery. And The Safety Officer kindly directed me. It’s a wild bunch so far. Yes apparently it has a WC but no you can’t use it? Yes thete is a USB. And seats feel comfy. Yes to getting an aisle seat just behind the driver so will have a panoramic view of….the coach backside ahead of us lol. So far so good. Nobody’s handing out the bingo cards, yet. 😇

08.45. First and hopefully last moan of the day. There are no signs telling you where to stand and wait if you are on a certain coach. So everyone just hanging around. And massing around the one or two coaches here. Goodness knows what’s going to happen when 50 coaches turn up and thousands ( 1500+ ?) people get into a jumble trying to find the right one. Bit not organised.

08.30 and a nice buzz around SMS lots of supporters. Many kids getting face painted. All here are mostly for official and unofficial coaches. Cars go past all hooting support. It’s already a good atmosphere! 😇

Thought I’d journal my thoughts and experiences during the day from a travelling fan perspective at various times as a keep sake. Feel free to add your own thoughts. And COYS!

I’m not sure what holding a whats now over a two year grudge about manager recruitment and transfer mistakes made by SR has got to do with Russell and what he’s done since he arrived - apart from highlight even more what a decent job he’s done in context of the shot show he inherited. He may be the poster boy of the current regime but he had nothing to do with recruiting Nathan Jones or buying those duff players. And, if this thread is turned into an anti-SR thread that’s ok - but surely if one is going to highlight their obvious fuck ups it’s fair to identify the good that’s happened also? And indeed to highlight that they actually seemed to learn from mistakes? Our loan window (s) for example very successful very astute. Plus recruiting RM and supporting him- very good decision if you like your football with lots of goals - which Saints fans traditionally always have!

My head says go with the back five and line up that did a good job before at Leeds. My heart says go with the front three from WBA home and take it to them from the start like we are the home team. And win in style. I have no idea which is better to start but I suspect it will be the back five with the more open game reserved for latter stages if required. NB. Brooks played his best game for saints that last match - was it a one off or not- because he’s been iffy tbh with us - but if THAT is his true level and he can repeat it he must get on the pitch.

If I’m allowed in as it’s quite a family centric kind of area? I’m historically barred from quite a few of these places for attempted arson( it was never proved and I believe Fratton Park is still standing) attempted aggravated assault ( bloody queue jumpers for the match day programmes and getting a photo op with Sammy Saint - really gets on your tuts don’t they?) attempted assault and battery ( see above) attempted common assault, (see above) attempted GBH ( bloody hell I just threw the lump of concrete the skates threw at me back fer goodness sake in case they needed it for their caravan stabilisers) attempted walking whilst under the influence of alcohol (guilty, probably) attempted fraud ( the dog ate my ticket ) attempted extortion ( c’mon just one more pint - I know last orders was 45 minutes ago but how is that extortion ? no wonder it got thrown out) attempted living off the earnings of a high class lady (all unproven in court) but I’m happy to make your acquaintance.

Right that’s it. I’m singing this whatever in the standing section. Join in or be a party pooper. For the bantz of course. 🎼Downes Downes, Stephens and Downes, Downes Downes Stephens and Downes …..I want the world to see …Saints are laughing - they’re laughing at Leeds….🎼

One of the BIG factors in RM getting something of a reputation as being inflexible with his version of the PB style was that unbeaten run. Imagine you’ve broken the club record for unbeaten matches playing a certain way. Plaudits all over the place and massive recognition nationally and internationally. Then you lose a game or two. Was it your unbeatable system - or was it bad luck was it a bad day at the office the pitch the weather bad preparation or the suspensions and injuries? I reckon in that scenario he probably believed so much in his system that his ( unconscious) outcome bias forced him to think it must be something else - not the system of play. Unfortunately for Saints it took too long for him to work out that Saints and most of all himself needed to change adapt & adjust approach - and that it was not primarily anything but that. That period between just before it not working as it had done and what seems to be Russell’s revelation moment prior to Leeds away was why we did not get automatic. Frankly, it’s an eminently forgivable human error mistake. Most of us would have done the same - carried on with a tried and trusted record breaking system. What we’ve seem the last three matches is RM engaging his coaching head once more, not getting carried away with the hype, and seeing what needs to be done to win a football match. It’s worked the last three and whatever the outcome Sunday I think it shows RM is capable of learning new skills adapting and upgrading himself - and how he prepares his teams. It’s a good sign if he is our manager in whichever league we are in next season. I sincerely hope he is with us either way.

Thank you

I got into Highbury once that way and had to keep quiet with my mate as we were deep in the hardcore nut jobs Arsenal home end the league match we got walloped before the FA cup final with them…That was a cash at the gate style fifteen minutes into the match effort…oh and we had to say we were arsenal too….I think back now and ask myself why I did such dumb and dangerous things to follow Saints…got horror stories about away trips to Millwall, Spurs, West Ham, even Brighton, Orient, Palace Ipswich and so on still in my memory. Think it’s a kind of PTSD. Risk taking behaviour engendered by supporting Bloody Saints. 😇🤫😖

Think I played in a couple of those. Nice thing to do. And got proper saints kits to wear which was a nice touch! ( how did you manage that Steve?)

This is the one… Downes Downes Stephens and Downes, Downes Downes Stephens and Downes….

I’m going with the official Saints travel coaches. Not done that since I joined something to do with Saints away support away travel back in the mid eighties. Anyone know if the coach quality has changed since then? Ie do they have usb sockets, wc facilities tv screens etc ? Or is it just the same old coaches ?

And that kind of loose comment revealing secrets is why you were never allowed to become one of the Saints Diplomats. Yes, them. 😎. Having said that your classification as a “Lethal Weapon” ( are you still qualified?) would have been very useful should our work through normal diplomatic channels fail - as indeed they did in that Bristol night club. 😂

I went to Cardiff FA cup Final via a notorious night in Bristol with a bunch of Saints forever reprobates - without a ticket - but managed to get one by staying online and alert. Id be confident if you travelled up and stayed close to saints fans you’d find a ticket somehow. 👍 I had almost similar situation for our semi v Liverpool at WHL back in the day whereby I accidentally sold my mates ticket outside the ground to a saints fan as thought he was unable to make it but then when he belatedly arrived somehow managed to get him one off someone else. If you turn up and believe, the universe will manifest you a ticket! 😁

I don’t mind admitting that I am going to have difficulty coping with the emotional intensity of this match. I’m sure there are others with similar feelings. With that in mind I thought I’d put down some thoughts about how I’m planning to cope with the downsides. ( and if we win tbf!) From someone with experience 😎. One can get so emotionally invested - a football match outcome somehow transforms into life or death - and that in turn can mean you can feel joyously elated - or very down indeed. It can get heavy. The latter is particularly an issue as it can easily migrate to impact the rest of your daily life - if it’s not managed. It’s not fun. Good mental health is vital not optional - but so few of us do any mental health exercise! I’ve had to do a lot of mental exercise work personally to manage myself, not always successfully, and I’ve been lucky to have a brilliant knowledgable expert wife plus compassionate understanding friends - but this Play off Final is going to be a massive test for me. Just for context : I have had serious cancer surgery and survived it - but it never scared or stressed me like watching saints can! My current coping mechanism for this match is to try imagining the positives that arise out of defeat at Wembley. : Loads of goals and wins to celebrate next year at SmS. : Probably smash the league. : Another is to reframe the situation and put it into a longer time frame than just one match ( ie its just part of a saints long term renaissance win or lose), :another is to look closer at the down sides of winning - VAR means you don't know if you scored or not- then there is the unfairness of the wealth gap Man City etc are super wealthy and we will never compete, basically it’s can we get to top ten at best…. All this versus the unbridled happiness of getting promoted at Wembley.m this Sunday surrounded by 40,000 fellow Saints all happy. : One day of joy, maybe , followed by a horrid year like Burnley just had. Or Sheff Utd. : OR a day of sour sad defeat but a year of entertaining fun football lots of goals as compensation. Trying to keep emotionally untangled from the outcome either way is my best mechanism. Plus try not to drink more than one or two beers as that can weaken the resolve! All in all it will be hard. I hope that other Saints out there who maybe know what I’m talking about get some help out of this and if anyone wants to chat offline about how to cope with Wembley let me know as am always happy to help fellow saints 😇

What? Like RM has not got the best out of him? Baffling comment. Or do you mean Has did not know how to get best out of him but RM clearly does? Hope you meant the latter!😃

I think Scotland cutting off their nose to spite their face not picking wee man. Picked two injured Saints players already a risk but then add a kid in his place who has not played since December but is a Liverpool player instead plus compounded by they got massive injuries at wing backs which is what Ryan can play and has shown he can play well. Stupid decision imo.

Oh- and btw, you cannot adapt and evolve what you do not have. Martin and his team created ( or more accurately adopted) the PB style in pre season and it had to be learned from lesson one page one. By everyone. Was not just a little change in how we play. It was throw away all we did last year and start afresh. Not enough credit given for the coaching achievement , in that context, imo.

Same for every other team tbf in our league but your point is well made. Given a little bit more than one day to prepare his team for the next match Russell and players have shown what appeared to be questionable ability to winningly adapt and adjust the PB style - against strong opponents - and under max pressure too.

Football management thinking must always evolve. What worked last match will be studied and counter-tactics created by other Managers. Variations of the PB game are rife in the world leagues including of course Saints. It took most teams until about the end of our unbeaten run to finally have enough data to work out exactly how to counter Saints and RM’s record breaking style of play. And counter it they did making RM and his team look like they were stuck in time doing the same things that only a month or two earlier were heralded as amazing & record breaking. Fast forward to the playoffs and of interest is the playoffs have seen a seismic shift in Martins approach. Previously Saints had a highly predictable PB bible and play style (boring and mindless for some) that ultimately got “ found out”. For the Last match v Leeds and the play offs to date though it’s different. RM has prepared our teams very specifically the last three and his tactics and approaches have shown he IS able to ( winningly) adapt and adjust the PB style. His players also. That must be clear to even the most avid Martin haters on here. Each match of Leeds away, WBA away and at home have been coaching master classes. Those who feel he is not up to coaching better than this season with these players if we go up may be right - but I’d be one to say he deserves the chance to show he can adapt to EPL if we do go up - and would 100% want him to stay and win the Championship for us next season if we don’t.

Dyche and Moyes are like peas in a pod. Souness and Roy Hodgson were same also.Play the players you have in their best positions. Pep, Arteta, Bielsa, early Has, Poch, De Zerbi, that Aussie guy at spurs, Kompany - and our very own RM are more the brand value type of managers. Play this particular style of football first and foremost. Do not care if it doesn’t suit you- change or leave/get sold. Managers who start off with strong values but then dilute them become anonymous if they lose. And unemployed. Managers with strong values who do not dilute them when they lose can become notorious. That’s better than anonymous. If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything so the saying goes. And those guys can still get jobs accordingly. Despite and even if they lose. That Vincent Kompany is in with a shout of the Bayern job despite that Burnley shitshow this season shows it in a nutshell.

Had a nitemare with JustPark few weeks ago went to see Bruce in Cardiff. The app said it was 1.6miles away so I thought fair enough that was the nearest parking I could find. Except that was as the crow flies across an effing river and I was parked in the dodgiest council estate that made fratton look salubrious. The driveway owner looked like a cross between a heroin dealer and a scabby pro plus Getting back late at night in the dark expecting to be mugged any second was not a nice thought although that did not dampen the euphoria of the brilliant Bruce doing his stuff once again. And the stadium under cover is a fantastic music venue btw. But getting back was awful. Booked a hotel in Bristol tired and needing to wash at 00.40 and they said the boilers broken no hot water. Got the room and Brek free though so guess not all bad. Even the cold shower was alright.

It’s an interesting discussion. I think it just reinforces the increasing importance of “ brand value” perhaps sometimes ( or often) over the actual football. in business a company brand value can be 80% or more of their open market sale value. Bayern Munich under Kompany would not likely lose much brand value even if they lost matches. If they employed Fat Sam though they would probably lose brand value even if they lost fewer matches. It’s obviously bizarre incomprehensible and extremely regrettable to football traditionalists- but it is the way of the world today.. It’s why managers who represent a certain brand ( or style if yiu like) of play appear reluctant to change tactics if it goes wrong. So much money is at stake all off the pitch.