ericb

Can't disagree with that. It's been a frustrating season in many ways, we're about three players off being a good side and the European jaunt especially was a huge disappointment (thanks wanyama). My biggest worry is that next season we don't have the Europa to entice players and the other sides will improve. To the game itself, anything but a win will be a poor result. Villa are terrible, the atmosphere will be toxic and we are - to be honest - a lot better than them.

I tend to start songs at virtually every game, the combination of being tone deaf and half ****ed might well explain why others don't join in with me though...

The away support these days is really f*cking odd, far more people travelling on the bingo bus and pubs seem to have as many people wanting to take selfies for social media as they do lads on the ****. Shame really because our numbers are some of the best i can remember, and if we could turn out those numbers with the vocal element we had in league one and the championship we'd be up there with any in the league.

You clearly don't have a clue if you think most of those are decent! I've been to all of them recently (bar Sunderland and Everton) and this is my opinion on them all Leicester - championship season, a small corner of "ultras" that couldn't have been more than at best 100. Poor in noise and spent the whole time banging a drum. Spurs - Genuinely one of, if not the, quietest ground in London. Absolutely shockingly dire and even Spurs fans themselvs admit to it. West Ham - Hit and miss, there's still needle in Upton Park when they want but most of the time it's pretty drab apart from the section to the left of the away support. Liverpool - Utter joke, one of the single worst atmosphere's in the country. Stoke - Probably about the same kind of noise as us. Bournemouth - lot of day trippers and part time fans. Palace - Great at making noise about themselves on social media but whenever we've played there have been easily drowned out by the away support. Used to be one of the single worst atmospheres in any league. Norwich - Always thought they were pretty under rated to be fair and in my experience the loudest bunch in this group, still don't think Carrow road is any better than St Mary's though. As with others who go away regularly i'd say St Mary's is easily as good as any ground in the Premier League and at least has two sections (Itchen/Northam & Kingsland north) that actually try and make noise every game, also when the Kingsland main gets involved it can be very good.

Not really sure you can call it elitism though, more that person x has spent considerably more money over a sustained period than person y and therefore assumes that they will receive some preference on limited numbers of tickets. Which if most people are honest is a relatively reasonable assumption. I look at it much the same way i did with the allocation of tickets for the european aways. I never did understand the moans from people that the most consistent away fans got first dibs, rewarding the most loyal people first is ultimately the fairest way of doing things.

Standard victims technique though. Why let facts get in the way of a good old sanctimonious outcry. I really can't stand a large section of the Liverpool support, constantly thinking they're something special and that the world is against them, when the truth is they're a **** version of United, but with more plastic fans and a quieter away following. No doubt next week they'll find some other myth to make up to make the whole world "take pity" for them. They've been the same classless dins since the 80s and I don't see it changing now.

I make a point of abusing the sellers/buyers on the way past every time, hopefully we can shame people into stopping buying them.

I've got be honest with you despite knowing how well they've done (Leicester that is) i'm still genuinely taken aback when i see they've only lost 3 games. I means that's good going even for a normal side that wins the league. I mean the average amount of loses for a league winning side since the start of the premier league has been 5/6, and below four you're looking at a handful of sides (Chelsea, Arsenal and United). To be this far into the season having lost that few is pretty f*cking impressive to be fair.

Dinlo was used all over Southampton when i grew up (and still is now i guess) as was (and still is) Squinny. Basically they're busy making up myths again to make themselves look special.

To be fair to Robson he did protest with ref and say he fell over his own feet so i don't blame him for that one. I can't really pick three so i'm going to cheat... three from the past, Paul Davis Roy Keane Adrian Heath Three current (still playing) players Lallana, i doubt i need to explain that Darren Bent, for the Everton goal and generally being a c*nt Steven Gerrard, for being one of the main players tapping our lot up for the mickeys at the england camp.

You're right, how mind plays tricks! Still not a shabby first game Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jesus this thread makes me feel old, my first game was the 84 season. Cov at home and we won 9-3 I think. I remember my older brother telling me not to get used to it, how right he was! To be fair I genuinely think the last few years, coming up the leagues till now, has been almost as much fun as those days. Hopefully we don't now have a branfoot inspired drop to come! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah fair enough just assumed you'd be going longer than that.

Usually i agree with things your posts but that just isn't true, in the late 90s when we struggled to take more than three hundred north of Birmingham and our support in London for games that weren't relegation deciders was made up of very quiet families, we were far worse than we are now. The Championship and League One improved our support no end - home and away - but now we're an established Premier League side again a lot of the support has changed and like ever Prem side it's getting worse year on year.

Not normally one to take the **** out of the cherries but this has to be the most small time thing i've ever seen, their official site is selling half half scarves from the game! http://www.afcbdirect.co.uk/productDetails.aspx?productCode=4852SOU

Unbelievable #againstmoderncoffeemachines

On my way home so here's my thoughts not having seen the highlights. Good game in general, Chelsea are close to getting back to the level they should be at but we're better than I've sometimes given us credit for too. Costa is dirty, cheating and niggling, but also turned the game in Chelsea's favour today through his own sheer will. A sign of a truly world class player. First half we were the better side, second half Chelsea upped a gear and tore us a new one. Three acts of cheating - rolling around on the floor, diving and ignoring us putting the ball out of play - ended up with us throwing it away. Either due to yellow cards for our central midfielders or winding up our most composed centre back to make mistakes. It wasn't a penalty, but was a very, very good tackle (I may be proved wrong on this). Long is currently our most important player and bringing on Pelle to replace him was a huge mistake. Clasie could be a great signing and my early worries have been proven wrong. Still, onwards and upwards. We're not a bad side and lost to a better one, it happens in football. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What a ridiculous statement! Of course Toby is part of their success, we could all see last season just how good he was and everyone thought he was too good for saints, but to think he's the only reason is madness. I honestly don't understand a section of our fans that can't see how good Poch' was/is. The guy is fast coming up to be one of the elite group of managers and i fully expect him at some point in his career to manage a genuinely big side (United and him would be the perfect fit in my opinion).

If us losing a game sent the skates down i'd want us to lose in a heartbeat (assuming it'd do no damage to us that is). If our season was done and dusted and us losing meant Leicester won the league over the other teams there i wouldn't actively want it but i wouldn't be disappointed either.

Because they were in the saints end taking photos of Arsenal players celebrating Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Happy about this wasn't going to be able to make a Monday night game but now I can go. Good stuff. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Was weirdly silent last season and tons of football tourists too. I even had a bunch of Japanese tourists that tried to sit down & then spent the game taking pictures of Arsenal players. I ended up having a massive go at them after they got the cameras out when Arsenal scored.

Yup my feeling too, really hope the club don't have that little rat faced weasel anywhere near this game. He forfeited his right to taking part in anything to do with Saints by acting like a little c*nt when he left (and a couple of times before that too)

Was hoping to make Bournemouth away as i still have a lot of friends that are Cherries and was looking forward to a **** up there, now thanks to BT i can't go.

Nice guy and undoubtably a hard worker but he was seriously lacking in talent. Still definitely one i hold with fond memories but i hope to god we never go back to his level of players again!